5 things to watch in Week 6 of high school football

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, October 7, 2022 | 7:00 AM

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This could be a make-or-break week for some teams with conference title hopes.

There are five matchups on the Week 6 schedule pitting teams with undefeated conference records. Among them is a Century Conference matchup between fourth-ranked Washington (5-1, 2-0) and No. 5 Sto-Rox (3-2, 3-0).

Each team celebrated an undefeated conference title last season, but that was before realignment moved Sto-Rox from the Three Rivers to the Century.

Another first-place matchup has No. 2 Bethel Park (5-1, 1-0) visiting No. 1 Upper St. Clair (6-0, 2-0) in the Class 5A Allegheny Six. In Class 2A, No. 5 East Allegheny (5-1, 1-0) visits No. 4 Freeport (5-1, 1-0) in a conference also named the Allegheny Six.

Big trouble in Big East?

Gateway and Penn-Trafford have finished as the top two teams in the Big East standings five seasons in a row. So, when they meet each season, it’s usually a de facto conference championship.

This year has a different feel as Gateway hosts Penn-Trafford at 7 p.m. Friday.

Each has already lost once this season and a second loss could mean trouble since only two teams are guaranteed playoff spots. Franklin Regional (2-0) leads the conference, ahead of Gateway (2-1), Hempfield (1-1), Penn-Trafford (1-1), Plum (1-2) and Norwin (0-2).

Gateway lost to Franklin Regional in Week 3. Penn-Trafford lost to Hempfield in Week 4.

Class 5A will have an eight-team playoff bracket with six automatic qualifiers and two third-place teams earning wild cards.

Rivalry renewed … maybe

It’s wasn’t long ago that Central Catholic vs. Pine-Richland was among the most-anticipated games on the WPIAL schedule. They’ll meet again Friday at Carnegie Mellon for a game that could be a good matchup, but can any nonconference matchup really equal their old red-hot rivalry?

Consider: The Vikings and Rams swept the WPIAL big-school titles seven years in a row from 2013-19. Central Catholic won five and the Rams won two. Three times they met in the finals (2014, ’17 and ‘19).

Their rivalry took a hit the past two seasons while playing in separate classifications. Central Catholic won the 6A title in 2020 and Pine-Richland won 5A that year.

However, after a year apart, the rivals reconnected last season for a high-scoring nonconference game won by Central Catholic, 49-35.

Win and you’re in

The season is far from over but North Allegheny’s playoff scenario is simple. Win and the Tigers are the first team to clinch a WPIAL playoff spot in 2022.

North Allegheny (5-1, 2-0) hosts defending state champion Mt. Lebanon (2-4, 1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in the only Class 6A game on the Week 6 schedule.

Four of the five teams in 6A will qualify for the playoffs. With the limited games remaining, there’s still a scenario where all five teams finish 2-2. If that outcome were to occur, head-to-head results and Gardner Points couldn’t break the ties. The WPIAL would need to use its margin-of-victory formula.

Under that formula, a team can gain or lose a maximum of 10 points per game. North Allegheny is plus-14, Central Catholic is plus-5, Seneca Valley is zero, Mt. Lebanon is minus-9 and Canon-McMillan is minus-10.

Unusual absence for TJ, Clairton

No team has won more WPIAL football titles this century than Clairton and Thomas Jefferson, yet both programs are in strange territory this week.

As Week 6 begins, neither team appears in the TribLive HSSN rankings. The two programs are models of consistency, which makes their absence more surprising.

Clairton has won 10 WPIAL titles since 2000 and TJ has nine.

Yet, each team dropped out of the rankings after suffering a conference loss last week. TJ lost to Laurel Highlands, 31-24. Clairton fell to Greensburg Central Catholic, 34-18.

They’ll try to bounce back Friday night. Thomas Jefferson (3-3, 1-1) hosts Trinity (2-4, 1-2). Clairton (2-4, 2-1) hosts Springdale (0-6, 0-2).

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Bethel Park, Central Catholic, Clairton, East Allegheny, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Gateway, Hempfield, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Pine-Richland, Plum, Sto-Rox, Thomas Jefferson, Upper St. Clair, Washington