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Six things to watch for the week of Nov. 5-10. * Eight teams will punch their tickets to Heinz Field and eight others will earn semifinal berths when the WPIAL football playoffs resume Friday. It’s the semifinal round for teams in Class 6A, 4A, 3A and 1A, and the quarterfinal round for 5A and 2A teams. Among the best semifinal matchups are North Allegheny-Seneca Valley in 6A, South Fayette-Belle Vernon in 4A and Clairton-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in 1A. The top quarterfinal matchup might be found in 5A, where Peters Township meets Penn-Trafford. * Tuesday will be a big day, as the PIAA playoffs begin in boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball, and field hockey. A total of 13 girls volleyball teams qualified for the state tournament. The list is headlined by Class 4A North Allegheny, 3A Knoch, 2A North Catholic and 1A Bishop Canevin, all of which won WPIAL titles Saturday at Fox Chapel. North Allegheny and Knoch are defending PIAA champions. * Expect at least one WPIAL boys soccer team to reach the PIAA championship. It’s happened every year since 1987. Quaker Valley won the Class 2A title last year and North Catholic was the 1A runner-up. Eleven WPIAL teams will begin their quests for what they hope will be a state title. Class 4A Seneca Valley, 3A Franklin Regional, 2A Shady Side Academy and 1A Avonworth enter the tournament as WPIAL champions. * The PIAA girls soccer playoffs will also include 11 teams. Entering the tournament as WPIAL champions are Class 4A Seneca Valley, 3A Oakland Catholic, 2A South Park and 1A Freedom. Norwin, Moon and Shady Side Academy won PIAA titles last season, but among them, only 1A Shady Side Academy qualified for the tournament this season. Since the PIAA began contesting 1A championships in 2010, a WPIAL team has reached the final in all but one season. * While there’s a good chance there will be WPIAL teams playing for state titles in the other fall sports, it likely won’t happen in field hockey. History just isn’t on the side of WPIAL teams. Since the PIAA championships began in 1974, no WPIAL team has ever won a title. Four teams will have a chance to make history, a quartet that includes WPIAL champions Peters Township (Class 3A), Penn-Trafford (2A) and Shady Side Academy (1A). * The PIAA girls volleyball championships begin Tuesday with 13 WPIAL entries: Class 4A (2), Class 3A (4), Class 2A (4), and Class 1A (3). Only three of the defending champions are back: North Allegheny (4A), Knoch (3A), and Freeport (2A). Maplewood, last year's Class 1A champ, moved up to Class 2A and lost to Corry in the District 10 final, thus did not qualify for the state tournament. |