What to watch for in high school sports for Oct. 21, 2021: City League playoffs kick off

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 | 8:51 PM

So, they meet again.

A week after wrapping up the City League regular season with a Thursday night clash, Allderdice and Brashear square off again a week later.

This time, a berth in the City League championship game is at stake.

Last week, Brashear senior Daquan Griffin rushed for 173 yards and scored on two long touchdown runs as the Bulls knocked off the Dragons, 38-22.

Junior Shawn Soloman rushed for 132 yards and scored twice for the Bulls, who finished 2-1 in the City League, 3-3 overall. They were a half-game in front of the Dragons, who ended the regular season 2-2 in the league, 2-5 overall.

From 2014-2017, these two City League powers met three times in the championship game, with Brashear winning in 2014 and 2015 and Allderdice prevailing in 2017.

The two haven’t met in the playoffs since.

Class 4A frays

There are two, possibly three WPIAL girls volleyball playoff spots up for grabs in Class 4A, to be decided on the final night of the regular season Thursday.

In Section 1, Butler visits Seneca Valley. If Butler wins, it ties Seneca Valley and clinches. The Raiders have already qualified.

In Section 3, Hempfield is at Latrobe while Norwin visits Penn-Trafford.

If either the visiting Spartans or the visiting Knights win, they clinch a postseason berth. If they both lose and end up tied for fourth place, they both qualify since they split the head-to-head matches in the regular season.

More volleyball spots open

Besides those spots mentioned above, there are several other spots up for grabs in Class 2A and A on the final night of section play.

In Section 2-2A, if Brentwood loses to Carlynton on Thursday, Quaker Valley clinches a playoff spot.

In Section 5, Valley has a one-game lead over Ligonier Valley but loses the head-to-head tiebreaker. Valley is at Deer Lakes on Thursday while Ligonier Valley travels to Derry.

In Section 3-A, Hillcrest Christian visits Eden Christian while Cornell hosts OLSH. If Hillcrest or Cornell win, they clinch. If they both lose, they both qualify as well since they would finish tied and they split their regular season matches.