Thursday, October 30, 2008

Picking the winners, first round

Here's how I see the first round of the WPIAL football playoffs shaking down:

Class AAAA
Gateway over Mt. Lebanon, Canon-McMillan over Shaler, North Hills over Fox Chapel, Penn Hills over Pine-Richland, Bethel Park over Hempfield, North Allegheny over Woodland Hills, McKeesport over Upper St. Clair, Central Catholic over Penn-Trafford

Class AAA
Thomas Jefferson over Uniontown, Hopewell over Greensburg-Salem, New Castle over Franklin Regional, Trinity over Indiana, Highlands over Laurel Highlands, Montour over Yough, Blackhawk over Ringgold, Mars over Chartiers Valley

Class AA
Beaver Falls over McGuffey, Keystone Oaks over Ford City, Jeannette over Valley, Sto-Rox over Beaver, Greensburg Central over Freeport, Aliquippa over East Allegheny, Shady Side Academy over Bishop Canevin, Center over Seton-La Salle

Class A
Clairton over Brentwood, Serra Catholic over Monessen, Rochester over Chartiers-Houston, Beth-Center over Western Beaver, Avonworth over California, North Catholic over Fort Cherry, Monaca over Carmichaels, Springdale over S.S. Beaver

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know everyone thinks of TJ as the best in AAA, which they probably are. But if you look at their schedule, besides the opening game against Glenville, TJ has played against a terrible Big 7conference and their other 2 non-conference games were against Uniontown and Laurel Highlands (Keystone Conference). So, TJ has yet to play any legitimate WPIAL teams. I'm not saying that TJ won't win the WPIAL, I just think that they might get shocked when a team like Blackhawk or Highlands plays them to the wire.

mike_kovak said...

I think TJ would welcome a challenge. Tough games tend to make teams better.

Anonymous said...

mike you homer, no way CM beats Shaler

Anonymous said...

anon, i think you're underestimating the talent of CM. they've been stepping it up on defense. i think they will win friday, but with a win comes gateway and lets say that'll be 42-0

mike_kovak said...

In an 8-9 game, I believe both teams have excellent opportunities to win.

And if I was a homer, I'd be picking teams from District 8.

Anonymous said...

would you give me a break on Fort Cherry??? Fort Cherry has a special offense with Stankus running the ball he has had three 185 yards plus in the past three games...Phillips is a very hard player to stop between his running and throwing abilities and the recievers are doing good with Liggett and Snatchko..... Crowley is the fullback a great blocker and a great runner there offense is very fast and can compete with anybody on their side of the bracket.. It seems like nobody is giving the local team a chance and they are 8-1 only loss being to Clairton who is a strong canidate to win at Heinz they beat Serra 41-21 Chartiers 14-6 in the rain Charmichaels 25-0 and all of these teams are in the playoffs.. I would like to have a reason why Fort Cherry is being picked to lose...Thanks

mike_kovak said...

Fort Cherry's defense is the reason I picked North Catholic.

Rod Taylor said...

I stand by my Rams. I will make the trip to Blackhawk and witness an upset.

Anonymous said...

Yep - just like the first post says here, someone always claims that TJ has played nobody and yet they continue to get to Heinz Field each year. Last year it was Montour, this year its Highlands, in '06 it was Blackhawk - there are no guarantees but I have to say that I like their chances.
By the way - TJ totally overwhelmed Montour last year down at Heinz after many people thought Montour was "a team of destiny". Quite a few people said TJ hasn't played anyone in yet '06 too heading into the championship game against Blackhawk down at Heinz and they totally blew up coach Hamilton's squad that year too.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens I guess.

Anonymous said...

FC had a bad 2 games on defense and then they made one move and held CH to 6 pts the next week FC will be fine

Anonymous said...

hey anon, where was Stankus, Phillips, Crowley, Liggett and Snatchko in that Clairton game??? They gained less than 70 yards the entire game.

great, you guys can put up 70+ on Frazier, do it against a good team.

some offense...

Anonymous said...

ya anon but you have to admit its true. TJ has played absolutely no one in the WPIAL. But you also neglected the fact that i said they probably still are the best of AAA. Maybe you should read more carefully next time

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen Trinity play, but they're going to have a tough game tonight. I live in Indiana and have seen that team play and their QB and run defense are really, really good. They put up a great fight against Highlands, one of the top teams in AAA. But, as a McGuffey grad, I wouldn't mind seeing a Trinity loss. Speaking of the Highlanders, I just hope they can keep it close against Beaver Falls. I think they got a little bit of a screwjob by getting seeded 16th. I mean, doesn't their conference have to be the toughest in AA?

-JP

Anonymous said...

Considering CM's recent playoff matchups with Shaler, I think its a safe bet to say CM will win a close game in dramatic fashion

VCTMbrian said...

That is a great point Anon...

I recall those CM/Shaler games, they were GREAT!

Anonymous said...

r keith taylor, what are your thoughts after the blackhawk beat down of ringgold?

Anonymous said...

Hey "ANON" - maybe YOU should be more careful what you POST! You and I both know that your only reason for saying what you said was to let everyone know that you think TJ is overated, and that's fine - everyone has an opinion. Sprinkling in a "They will probably win it all..." doesn't change what you were really trying to say. You said that they haven't played anyone - which is basically the same thing as saying that they are overrated, and that their record is misleading because of who they have beaten.

My point; which I had assumed was easy to understand, is that someone says that very same thing EVERY YEAR, and yet they continue to win. They take the approach that they can't change who is on their schedule - all they can do is play - and beat - whoever they must play next. After what they have done over the last 10 years, you'd think that the "they haven't played anyone" arguement would run out of steam at some point.