WPIAL sets football playoffs for 2021, but this year’s format clouded by covid-19

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, September 6, 2020 | 10:04 PM

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Covid-19 uncertainty clouds this year’s playoff picture, but the WPIAL did make a recent decision about the 2021 football postseason.

The WPIAL board approved a new formula for determining the number of football teams that qualify. The formula, revealed during its late-August meeting, was overshadowed at the time by covid-19 concerns linked to the upcoming season.

But the new formula will break from tradition.

No longer will conferences in the same classification qualify the same number of teams. In 2019 for example, every Class 2A conference sent four teams to the WPIAL playoffs. But now many conferences have unequal numbers of teams — a tradeoff for shorter road trips — so larger conferences will receive more postseason berths than smaller conferences.

Conferences with eight teams earn five playoff berths.

Conferences with six or seven teams earn four berths.

Five-team conferences earn three berths.

As a result, Class 6A will have a five-team bracket in 2021. Class 5A has 12 teams, Class 4A has 14, Class 3A has 12, Class 2A has 16 and Class A has 15.

Sixty-two percent of WPIAL teams will qualify for the playoffs (74 of 119).

The WPIAL had to make one adjustment in Class 2A. The formula would’ve qualified 17 teams, which is too many for a four-round playoff, so tie-breakers will eliminate a fourth-place team from one of the five-team conferences. The team with the most Gardner Points advances to the playoffs.

But that’s all a year away.

The WPIAL in July revealed two possible options for this year’s football playoffs. One would reduce five of the six classifications to eight-team brackets. The other option would reduce all classifications to four-team brackets.

“All playoffs in theory are up in the air for 2020,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said.

The decision will be determined in large part by what the PIAA does with the state playoffs.

Here’s a breakdown of the total number of WPIAL football teams in each classification and how many will qualify for the 2021 playoffs.

Class 6A: 8 teams, 5 qualifiers

Class 5A: 18 teams, 12 qualifiers

Class 4A: 22 teams, 14 qualifiers

Class 3A: 20 teams, 12 qualifiers

Class 2A: 27 teams, 16 qualifiers

Class A: 24 teams, 15 qualifiers

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.