5 things we learned: Home-field advantage didn’t guarantee wins in WPIAL 1st round

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, November 6, 2021 | 10:20 PM

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There are high school football stadiums in Western Pennsylvania where visiting teams rarely win. New Brighton walked into one of those daunting places Friday night and confidently won.

The Lions, seeded 13th in the WPIAL Class 2A bracket, celebrated a dramatic victory over No. 4 Washington, 21-20, in overtime. As a result, they became the first visiting team to win on Washington’s field since 2013, snapping a string of 42 consecutive home wins by the Prexies.

Surprisingly, playing at home Friday wasn’t a decisive advantage for many teams. Of the 29 first-round games, visiting teams won 11. That 38% success rate is the best by first-round road teams since football expanded to six classes in 2016.

“The biggest thing is confidence,” New Brighton coach Joe Greco said. “You have to have your kids believing they can do it.”

When New Brighton’s seniors were freshmen, they endured a 54-20 loss at Washington in the first round of the 2018 WPIAL playoffs. Some played in that game, including senior lineman Alex Mittner, a four-year starter who made a game-winning tackle in overtime Friday.

“When (Mittner) was playing down there as a freshman, he was 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, playing against Washington, who had giant linemen back then,” Greco said. “But he was in there battling. So, he’s like, ‘Hey, I know what I can do now. It’s my turn.’ He’s now a 235-pound senior and made the play on the goal line to stop them.”

Greco credited his team’s experience from three seasons ago as a confidence boost. Friday’s loss was Washington’s first at home since Seton LaSalle won 35-27 on Nov. 1, 2013.

“In the back of their minds, they knew a little bit more what to expect,” Greco said. “In the playoffs, when you go to a foreign land, you don’t know what to expect and it makes you a little unsure. Every little bit helps.”

WPIAL home teams fared worst in Class 5A where three of the four visiting teams won Friday. No. 9 seed Woodland Hills, No. 10 Fox Chapel and No. 11 Peters Township all celebrated upset wins.

Also winning on the road Friday were No. 10 Laurel Highlands and No. 9 New Castle in Class 4A, No. 9 East Allegheny in 3A, No. 10 Mohawk in 2A, and No. 9 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, No. 11 Shenango and No. 13 Springdale in Class A.

New Brighton’s win was most dramatic.

In overtime, the Lions used a 10-yard run by Keandre Williams to score on the first play, and Cayden Pauvlinch kicked the extra point. Washington answered with a 9-yard TD run by Eddie Lewis on second down, and the Prexies chose to go for two and the win.

Washington quarterback Davoun Fuse tried to follow blockers to his left, but Mittner dragged him down from the side.

“It was exciting to say the least,” Greco said.

A year ago, road teams went 3 for 22 in the first round. Combined over the past five seasons, visiting teams won only 21% of the time.

Making history, twice

Friday was a historic night for two WPIAL teams.

Armstrong and Laurel Highlands earned the first WPIAL playoff wins in each team’s history. While Armstrong waited only seven seasons for its first WPIAL victory, Laurel Highlands had waited since 1966.

Laurel Highlands achieved the feat by defeating host Beaver, 27-26, adding a win to what had been an 0-10 postseason record. Armstrong earned its first playoff win by defeating Montour, 27-16, in what was the Riverhawks’ fourth playoff appearance since the team started in 2015.

Both schools were created through mergers. Laurel Highlands was created by merging North Union and South Union. The Armstrong district was created when Ford City and Kittanning combined.

A third team, Southmoreland, had a chance to win its first WPIAL playoff game but fell short. The Scotties lost at home to East Allegheny, 36-11.

End of the road

The season is officially over for two WPIAL conferences.

Teams from the Century in Class 2A and the Tri-County South in Class A went winless Friday — a combined 0-9 — so both conferences were eliminated from the playoffs.

The Century losses included Washington’s in overtime, but three others weren’t as close. Chartiers-Houston lost to Mohawk, 34-12; McGuffey lost to Laurel, 41-2; and Beth-Center lost to Steel Valley, 49-14.

In the Tri-County South, West Greene lost to Springdale, 28-0; Carmichaels lost to Shenango, 31-13; California lost to Leechburg, 28-7; Mapletown lost to Rochester, 35-0; and Monessen lost to Cornell, 33-0.

Washington and West Greene were No. 4 seeds that both lost to No. 13s.

Here’s the kicker

This was a busy weekend for Peter Township senior Andrew Massucci, who doubles as a standout soccer player and one of the WPIAL’s top field goal kickers.

Massucci made a 36-yard field goal Friday night in the fourth quarter of a 33-28 playoff victory over North Hills. His kick came with about nine minutes left and proved vital since North Hills later pulled to within three points.

On Saturday, Massucci played in the WPIAL Class 4A soccer championship and scored his team’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to Seneca Valley.

Worth the wait

While Fox Chapel’s playoff win Friday wasn’t quite historic, more than 20 years had passed since the Foxes last had one. Fox Chapel’s 13-10 victory over Upper St. Clair was the team’s first since 1997.

But that wasn’t even the longest wait between wins on this week’s schedule.

Leechburg on Friday celebrated its first WPIAL playoff victory since 1978. The Blue Devils, playoff qualifiers for the first time since 1988, defeated California, 28-7.

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.