|
Five things to watch for the week of Feb. 4-9. * Burrell has won 13 consecutive WPIAL team wrestling championships, but the Bucs have won only one PIAA title, and that came in 2008. Will the Bucs claim their second this week? The PIAA championships begin Monday with preliminary-round matches. The rest of the tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Burrell, Freedom and Beth-Center will represent the WPIAL in Class 2A, while WPIAL champion Kiski Area, Seneca Valley and Canon-McMillan will compete in Class 3A. Kiski Area was the runner-up last season. * As section action winds down in WPIAL basketball, there are some big matchups this week, some with playoff and section title implications. A few boys teams can make history. Among them are Deer Lakes and Penn Hills. Deer Lakes (13-4, 9-0) travels to Steel Valley (11-7, 7-3) for a Class 3A Section 3 game Monday. The Lancers are trying to win a section title outright for the first time since 1992. Penn Hills (16-3, 9-0) plays at Woodland Hills (15-4, 9-2) in Class 5A Section 1 play Friday. Penn Hills hasn’t finished section play unbeaten since 1993. * Also in boys basketball, Mt. Lebanon (17-2, 9-0) hosts Upper St. Clair (18-2, 7-2) in a Class 6A Section 2 game Tuesday. Mt. Lebanon hopes to finish with an undefeated section record. The Blue Devils have clinched a section title for the third season in a row. Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer won his 400th career game Friday. Other key games this week include Shaler at Franklin Regional on Tuesday, Quaker Valley at Ambridge on Friday, and Cornell at Vincentian on Friday. Cornell (No. 1) and Vincentian (No. 2) are the top two teams in Class 1A. * In girls basketball, will Penn Hills (13-5, 9-2) claim a share of the Class 5A Section 3 title with Oakland Catholic (17-2, 11-1)? Penn Hills hosts Oakland Catholic on Tuesday. The Indians handed Oakland Catholic its only section loss Jan. 10 after Adia Brisker beat the buzzer with a game-winning bucket. A few other important games this week are Greensburg Central Catholic at Clairton on Monday and Shady Side Academy at Carlynton on Tuesday. Shady Side Academy (No. 2) and Carlynton (No. 3) are ranked among the top teams in Class 3A. * The WPIAL playoff landscape in Class 6A girls basketball changed just a bit last week when Norwin upset then-No. 1 and two-time defending champion North Allegheny, 44-43. It was just North Allegheny’s second regular-season loss in three seasons. There’s now a good chance North Allegheny (18-1, 11-1) and Norwin (17-1, 10-1) will split the Section 1 title. But the class also features new-No. 1 Peters Township (19-0, 12-0) and Bethel Park (16-2, 9-2). Peters Township is the Section 2 champion. Those four teams will likely earn the top four seeds. |