5 things to watch in WPIAL Week 11: Regular season rematches dominate playoff schedule

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, November 10, 2023 | 7:00 AM

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About two months ago, Penn Hills coach Charles Morris made a prediction before he left the field at Pine-Richland’s stadium.

He was right.

“If people remember, after the game, I said, ‘I know we’re going to see these guys again,’” said Morris, whose Indians will get that rematch Friday night.

No. 2 Penn Hills (9-2) faces No. 3 Pine-Richland (8-3) in a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal at North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium. After Penn Hills won the first game, 26-20, Morris had a hunch that wasn’t the last they’d see of the Rams, who are defending WPIAL champions.

“They’re a well-coached team, they’re the reigning champs, and they weren’t going to just bow out,” Morris said. “They’re going to fight to the end, so I knew they’d come back around.”

This week’s playoff schedule includes 10 rematches from the regular season. So, instead of “Week 2” of the playoffs, maybe calling this “Round 2” would be a better description.

There are three rematches that were even closer the first time around than Penn Hills’ six-point win.

In the Class 2A bracket, McGuffey gets another shot at Century Conference rival Washington after losing 13-7 in the regular-season finale. Beaver Falls squares off again with Midwestern foe Neshannock, which escaped with a 27-26 overtime victory in Week 4.

In Class 3A, Avonworth rematches Beaver, which came within five points of upsetting the Antelopes. Avonworth won, 33-28, in Week 6.

Both Class 6A semifinals are rematches, but neither was close the first time around. Central Catholic shut out Mt. Lebanon, 49-0, and North Allegheny defeated Canon-McMillan, 30-6.

In the other rematches:

• Peters Township defeated Moon, 40-7, in Week 6.

• McKeesport topped Trinity, 35-7, in Week 4.

• Elizabeth Forward defeated West Mifflin, 24-7, in Week 1.

• South Park defeated East Allegheny, 22-16, in Week Zero.

How much does the first matchup mean for a rematch? In Penn Hills’ situation, not too much, Morris said.

“I think both teams are drastically different,” he said. “Both teams are better and hitting their stride. You’re seeing guys who people maybe didn’t know about (in Week 2) have blossomed. I expect the game to be a 48-minute slugfest.”

For Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne, it’s a familiar opponent beyond being a rematch. He was Penn Hills’ coach for five seasons and some of the Indians’ seniors got their first starts with him as coach.

Now, LeDonne and Pine-Richland block their path to the WPIAL finals.

“You build relationships, and I still talk with a lot of those guys,” LeDonne said. “You care about them and want to see them succeed, but at the same time, you’re on the other side of the ball. So you’ve got to try to stop them.”

Cherpak, Cerro among WPIAL’s best

Saying “Montour coach Bill Cherpak” certainly would sound strange nowadays.

But a couple of decades ago, the Spartans nearly succeeded in luring Cherpak away from Thomas Jefferson until he decided to stay with the Jaguars. It all worked out a few years later when Montour found its championship-caliber coach in Lou Cerro. They’re now two of the WPIAL’s top coaches and combined have won more than 500 games.

Their teams meet in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal Friday at Montour. It is only their second matchup since clashing in the WPIAL finals six years ago. Montour (9-1) is seeded third and Thomas Jefferson (9-2) is sixth.

Both coaches celebrated milestone wins in the past year. Cherpak earned No. 300 last November, becoming only the fourth in the WPIAL to reach that number. Cerro celebrated No. 200 earlier this season.

It was in 2002 when Montour made an unsuccessful attempt to hire Cherpak. Cerro was coaching at Seton LaSalle when Montour hired him in 2005. Now, they’re both athletic directors as well as successful coaches.

WPIAL stat leaders collide

The WPIAL’s leading scorer will run into the league’s top passer in a Class 2A quarterfinal Friday.

Steel Valley running back Donald Barksdale leads the WPIAL with 32 touchdowns while Western Beaver quarterback Jaivin Peel has a league-best 2,637 passing yards. No. 1 Steel Valley (8-1) hosts No. 9 Western Beaver (7-4) in Munhall.

Barksdale, a junior, is coming off a 205-yard, five-touchdown rushing effort in the regular-season finale. The Ironmen had a first-round bye last week. Peel, a freshman, passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns to defeat Serra Catholic, 38-21, a week ago.

Same as last year?

It’s a new year, yet Class 6A has the same old matchups.

Yes, both semifinals are rematches from the regular season, but they’re also rematches from last year’s semifinals. A year ago, Canon McMillan lost to North Allegheny, 7-0, and Mt. Lebanon lost to Central Catholic, 28-7.

Can either team prevent a North Allegheny vs. Central Catholic rematch in this year’s finals?

Same as last year

Teams from almost every conference will be in action this week.

For the second year in a row, 16 of the WPIAL’s 17 conferences are represented in the second weekend of the playoffs. However, the only conference eliminated so far — the Class 5A Big East — also was the only conference eliminated at this time last year.

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: Penn Hills, Pine-Richland