North Allegheny trying to make most of calm before the playoff storm

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, November 5, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The North Allegheny football team didn’t have a game in the first week of the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the Tigers took a week off.

“We were going to do everything we could to make the most of the extra time,” NA coach Art Walker said. “We wanted to get healthy and also get extra reps in. It’s a balance of getting things done but also not burning your guys out.”

A bye week in early November might catch some teams by surprise, but it’s nothing new for Walker and his coaching staff. The quirkiness of WPIAL Class 6A — with only four teams making the playoffs in the big-school classification — means the Tigers often start the postseason with a bye.

In 2021, North Allegheny didn’t draw a first-round bye. This year and last, all four playoff qualifiers in WPIAL Class 6A were given a week off.

The schedule restarts Nov. 10 with two semifinal matchups.

No. 2 seed North Allegheny (9-1) hosts No. 3 Canon-McMillan (6-4) at Newman Stadium. No. 1 Central Catholic (9-1) hosts No. 4 Mt. Lebanon (5-5) at Fox Chapel in the other semifinal that day.

Both games are 7 p.m. starts.

Is a week off good or bad at this time of year? Walker said that really depends on the situation.

“You could probably ask me that every year and probably get a different answer,” he said. “How healthy are you? Do you need a break? We knew once we qualified it was coming, so from a preparation standpoint, it was much easier than last year.”

A year ago, after a bye, North Allegheny squeaked out a 7-0 win over Canon-McMillan in the first round of the playoffs. Walker said his coaches have tried to learn and tweak their approach from season to season.

North Allegheny went on to win the WPIAL title a year ago.

“We’ve made a couple of little changes (since last year), nothing drastic, but we’re still coming in every day,” Walker said. “We’re still practicing. We’re still trying to keep our guys in that sense of normalcy of what they’ve been doing.”

Walker said at this time of year, his coaches try to be smart about how much contact they allow at practice. After 10 games in 10 weeks, all teams are dealing with some bumps, bruises and nagging injuries.

“We’re just trying to get our guys healthy and in a good place,” Walker said. “There are a lot of illnesses going around, so we’re making sure guys get enough rest.”

But there’s also the risk of being too relaxed and losing your sharpness. Practicing on a bye week can require more self-motivation, since there’s no urgency in the schedule.

Particularly when the weather turns cold, Walker said, focus can slip if there’s no game on Friday, but he noted that he has an older team nowadays.

“I really think our guys have handled it well,” Walker said. “Our coaches are doing a really good job with the practice segments we’re doing, keeping our guys engaged and understanding the purpose behind what they’re doing.

“With us being a little senior oriented, they have a good understanding of this process from the previous seasons.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny