WPIAL First Round Playoff Preview
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs
Ethan Spozarski | October 31, 2024
The WPIAL has 65 teams that advance to the 2024 playoffs. Here are our top 1st Round WPIAL Playoff Games to look out for in each class:
5A
#8 North Hills vs #9 Franklin-Regional
The North Hills Indians finished with an 8-2 overall record this season and a 4-2 record in conference play. The Indians had two separate winnings streaks, both of three or more games in that span also scoring 21+ points in five of those eight wins. Four different players had 100+ rushing yards on North Hills and three players had 100+ receiving yards including senior RB Jack Martin.
The Franklin-Regional Panthers finished with a 7-3 overall record and 4-2 conference record this season. Five of their seven wins featured 35+ points and three of those games they eclipsed 42+ points. Senior Chase Lemke, who is committed to CalU for baseball, has thrown for over 1,220 yards and 14 TDs. Junior RB/OLB Kyle Dupill has over 250 attempts with 1,770+ rushing yards as well.
#7 Penn Hills vs #10 Moon
The Penn Hills Indians finished this season with a 6-4 overall record and a 4-1 in conference record. They started 0-3 on the year, but won six of their last seven games with their only loss coming from #1 seeded Pine-Richland. The Indians have two QBs with 700+ yards passing in sophomore Devin Harris and senior Jay’mere Ellis. Two different players have 400+ receiving yards, and senior Naytel Mitchell has 1,027+ rushing yards and 15 total TDs on the year.
The Moon Tigers finished with a 5-4 overall record and a 2-3 conference record. Three of Moon’s four losses were by one possession and three of the four came against the top three teams in the Allegheny Six Conference (Upper Saint Clair, Peters Township, Bethel Park). Three times the Tigers scored 32+ points, and only one time was held to under double digit points.
4A
#1 Thomas Jefferson vs #8 West Allegheny
The Thomas Jefferson Tigers finished with a 9-0 overall record with a 4-0 conference record. Five times the Jaguars scored 40+ points and only one game did the final score end with a one possession difference. Senior QB Luke Kosko threw for over 1,400 yards and 17 TDs. Senior Brayden White has 800+ receiving yards, along with three other players having 100+ yards. Sophomore RB Tyler Eber has 1,300+ rushing yards this season and is averaging six yards a carry.
The West Allegheny Indians went 6-3 overall with a 4-1 conference record this year. The Indians ended the year with a big win over conference opponent and previously undefeated Montour in a 13-7 OT win. Six times the defense held their opponents to eight or less points including two shutouts. Three different rushers have 200+ yards rushing led by senior Brock Cornell who has 900+ yards and eight TDs.
#3 McKeesport vs #6 Belle Vernon
The McKeesport Tigers finished with a 6-4 overall record and a conference record of 5-0. The Tigers started their year 1-4, however rallied back and finished on a five-game winning streak. In four of those five wins McKeesport scored 40+ points and twice had 54 points. McKeesport also has two rushers over 500 yards in sophomore and Penn State commit Kemon Spell and senior Anthony Cromerdie.
Belle Vernon finished this year with a 4-4 overall record and 3-2 record in conference. The Leopards started out the year 1-3 but ended 3-1. Junior starting QB Curtis Wade has thrown for 950+ yards and 12 TDs, while three different players have 100+ yards including senior Kole Doppelbeuer who has 350+ and 13 total TDs. Doppelbeuer also has 600+ rushing yards on the year with his QB right behind him with 350+ yards.
3A
#8 Southmoreland vs #9 Highlands
The Southmoreland Scotties finished off the regular season with a 7-3 record and a 3-2 conference record. They started off strong, out scoring their first three opponents 150 to 47. They fell short in their last two conference games losing to Elizabeth Forward and Greensburg Salem but they already had enough wins under their belts to secure the eighth seed in the playoffs. Their quarterback, freshman Anthony Smith, threw for 1980+ yards with 21 touchdowns along with three rushing touchdowns over the course of the season. The team also relied on senior wide receiver Elliot Premus who had 1030+ total yards with 11 touchdowns. Another big contributor to the team’s wins came from senior running back Camren Phillps who had 800+ rushing yards for 7 touchdowns.
The Highlands Golden Rams finished the season with a record of 6-4 with a 4-3 conference record. The Rams had some solid games including a 53-52 victory over Elizabeth Forward and a 12-10 loss to Imani. The team was able to get 36+ points in six games, including two shutout games. In terms of defense the Highlands struggled a bit in the beginning giving up 136 in the first four games of the season but they would find their groove in the later half of the season, only giving up 23 points between the last three games.
#6 Deer Lakes vs #11 North Catholic
Deer Lakes finished the regular season with an 8-2 record and a 5-1 conference record. The team started off strong going undefeated the first 6 games of the season and scoring 27+ points in all the games. They struggled a bit in the middle of the season taking two tough losses in a row to Beaver and Imani but they ended the season strong with a 56-0 win over Burrell. The team was led by senior quarterback Jake Fleischer who had 1600+ total yards with 19 touchdowns. Another big scorer was senior running back Zier Williams who had 1140+ rushing yards with 16 touchdowns with two additional receiving touchdowns. The final impactful player for the Lancers is senior wide receiver Zach Grant who had 630+ receiving yards and found the end zone for 13 total touchdowns.
The North Catholic Trojans had a 4-6 record in the regular season with a 3-2 record in the conference. The team started out slowly losing the first two games of the season but they would find their groove in the middle of the season with a three game win streak that included shutting out both Quaker Valley and McGuffey. They would then take some tough but close losses but would end the season on a good note with a 55 to 43 win over conference rival Hopewell.
2A
#8 OLSH vs #9 Riverside
The Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers ended with a 4-5 overall record and a 3-3 conference record. The Chargers started down 1-3 in the season, but battled back with a 28-8 win against Shady Side Academy to end their season. Senior QB Vann Kavals threw for 1500+ yards and 500+ passing yards. Kavals also racked up over 100 tackles, 10 sacks, and 2 interceptions as a defensive end. Senior Iseia Fields-Schulz also made a huge impact on the team, scoring 5 touchdowns, and 700+ yards.
Riverside Panthers finished the regular season with a 5-5 overall record and 4-3 in conference play. The Panthers lost their first two games, but won their next three, including a 9-7 victory over Laurel Spartans. Freshman QB Aidan Gaydosz had over 600 passing yards, closely followed by Aiden Garcia with 547. Senior Robbie Janis had rushed for over 1100 yards and leads the team in scoring with 9 touchdowns
#7 Mohawk vs #10 Keystone Oaks
The Mohawk Warriors went 6-3 overall and a conference record of 5-2. The Warriors only lost 1 of their last 6 games in the regular season. QB Bobby Fadden threw for 1400+ yards and 15 touchdowns. Fadden rushed for 518 yards, second only to Warriors’ Sam List who rushed for 570. Blake Logan leads the team in scoring with 8 touchdowns and averages 17.2 receiving yards per game.
The Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles finished with a 4-4 overall record and 4-2 in conference play. The Eagles lost their first 2 games, then won their next three, including a narrow win against Carlynton, the #12 seed. QB Brenden Quarles had 575 passing yards and scored 4 touchdowns. Billy Bricker, the Eagle’s top rusher, rushed for 775 yards and leads the team in scoring with 9 touchdowns.
1A
#8 Leechburg vs #9 Cornell
Cornell has only lost two games this season – No. 3 Bishop Canevin and No. 1 Fort Cherry. After the loss to Fort Cherry, Cornell closed out the season on a three-game win streak, including a dominating win over No. 12 Monessen. Running back Walter Clarit averaged over 10 yards per carry on 100 carries in the regular season in an offense that averaged 36 points per game.
Leechburg did not lose until three weeks ago, starting the season with seven straight wins. In those seven games, they averaged 43 points per game. Quarterback Jayden Floyd used both his arms and legs to boost the Blue Devils to the playoffs, with nearly 1,400 passing yards and 1,100 rushing yards.
#6 Jefferson-Morgan vs #11 South Side Beaver
The Rockets completed their first perfect regular season in 34 years in their closest game of the season, a 28-27 win over No. 10 California last Friday. The next closest Jefferson-Morgan regular season margin of victory was 15 points. Quarterback Houston Guesman passed for over 1,600 yards and ran for over 1,100. Guesman’s number one wide receiver, Deakyn DeHoet, came within 40 yards of 1,000.
South Side Beaver defeated No. 15 Rochester last week after losing back to back games to No. 4 Neshannock and No. 7 Laurel. The one-two combo of running backs AC Corfield and Mateja Pavlovich combined for almost 1,400 yards in the regular season, each getting over 100 carries. South Side’s season came to an end last season at Acrisure Stadium, losing 42-28 in the WPIAL 1A championship game.
Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews
