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Six things to watch for the week of Oct. 1-7. * Now that the Ryder Cup is over, it’s time to focus on some WPIAL golf, and there’s a big two-day stretch this week. The WPIAL Class 3A boys individual championship will take place Tuesday at historic Oakmont Country Club. Latrobe’s Brady Pevarnik and Franklin Regional’s Palmer Jackson are among the favorites. The girls then take center stage Wednesday, as the Class 3A and 2A championships will be held at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley. North Allegheny’s Caroline Wrigley (Class 3A) and Sewickley Academy’s Tatum McKelvey (Class 2A) are the defending champions. * Can you believe this is already Week 6 of the high school football season? The season has flown by, much like the Gateway offense has against opposing defenses. The Gators are averaging 45.5 points per game, the most of any Class 6A or 5A team. Friday, Gateway (6-0) travels to Franklin Regional (5-0) for a marquee game in the Class 5A Big East Conference. There is a trio of outstanding matchups in Class 1A. Jeannette hosts Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Clairton hosts Imani Christian, and Rochester hosts Sto-Rox. Other top games include West Allegheny at Baldwin and North Catholic at Elizabeth Forward. * Tennis, anyone? The WPIAL girls tennis doubles championships are Wednesday and Thursday. North Allegheny (Class 3A) and Shady Side Academy (Class 2A) host the first three rounds Wednesday. The finals and consolations in both classes are Thursday at North Allegheny. Two of the top tandems to keep an eye on are Shady Side Academy’s Ella Santora and Aya Youssef in Class 3A and Sewickley Academy’s Emma DiSantis and Aleena Purewal in Class 2A. * Two of the elite Class 4A boys soccer teams will clash Thursday when No. 1 Seneca Valley (11-1, 9-1) travels to No. 3 Pine-Richland (7-3-2, 6-2-2) for a key Section 1 game. Seneca Valley has won eight games in a row, one being a 3-1 home triumph against Pine-Richland on Sept. 15. Also in Class 4A play Thursday, Canon-McMillan hosts No. 4 Upper St. Clair in Section 2. North Catholic, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, has a couple of interesting non-section games this week. The Trojans host Canon-McMillan on Tuesday and travel to Class 3A No. 4 Moon on Saturday. * What a year the Oakland Catholic girls soccer team is having. Just 6-12 a season ago, the Eagles are 8-1 (6-0 in Section 1) and ranked No. 2 in Class 3A. They travel to No. 5 Plum (9-1, 6-1) for a critical section game Monday. Oakland Catholic defeated Plum, 5-2, on Sept. 7. Pine-Richland, ranked No. 5 in Class 4A, hosts No. 2 Seneca Valley on Monday. Other big games this week include Greensburg Central Catholic at Shady Side Academy on Wednesday and South Park at Waynesburg on Saturday. * Three key volleyball matches this week involve a team that is ranked No. 2 in its class. The biggest matchup of the week will take place Thursday at Central Valley. The Warriors (6-1), ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, play host to No. 1 Knoch (8-0), the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion, in Section 4. Also on Thursday, North Catholic (7-0), ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, travel to No. 5 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (6-1) in Section 2. On Tuesday, Baldwin (8-0), ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, travels to No. 3 Oakland Catholic (7-1) in Section 2. |