What to watch for in WPIAL sports for March 20, 2021: State quarterfinals roll on

By: Don Rebel
Friday, March 19, 2021 | 11:26 PM

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Quarterfinal weekend in the 2021 PIAA basketball playoffs continues Saturday with 24 more state boys and girls games, including six contests involving WPIAL champions.

The District 7 champs hitting the court Saturday afternoon are Upper St. Clair (6A), Ellwood City (3A) and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (2A) boys along with Chartiers Valley (5A), Beaver (4A) and Rochester (A) girls.

Here is some more Road to Hershey factoids.

Erie at Upper St. Clair, 2 p.m.

• Last year, Upper St. Clair participated in the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 2013. The Panthers beat Allderdice, 63-45, in the first round before falling to Butler in the second round, 77-73.

• USC is 6-10 all-time in the PIAA boys basketball playoffs; however, the Panthers are 0-6 in the state playoffs against District 10 teams.

• This is only the second time Upper St. Clair will play in a PIAA quarterfinals game. The Panthers lost to State College in the 2003 quarterfinals, 44-37.

• Erie was formed from the merger of Central Tech, Erie East and Strong Vincent. Before the merger, Strong Vincent beat four WPIAL teams (South Fayette, Beaver Falls, New Castle, Quaker Valley) to reach the 2017 Class 4A championship game. In Hershey, the Colonels lost by 33 points to Imhotep Charter in the state title game.

Brookville at Ellwood City, 1 p.m.

• This is Ellwood City’s first PIAA boys basketball playoff game since 1998.

• The Wolverines are 9-5 in state playoffs games and 2-0 in quarterfinals contests. EC beat Martinsburg Central, 71-65, in 1986 and knocked off Thomas Jefferson, 64-56, a year later in 1987.

• These programs met in the first round of the state playoffs 25 years ago. Ellwood City defeated Brookville, 64-54, in a Class AAA PIAA opener in 1996.

• This is the 21st PIAA boys basketball playoff game for District 9 champion Brookville. The Raiders are 2-18 overall, but win No. 2 came last year in a 49-34 victory over Neshannock.

• The Raiders have been eliminated by a WPIAL team in each of the last two years, falling in overtime to Deer Lakes, 56-52, in 2019 and then losing in the second round last year to Lincoln Park, 66-46.

Karns City at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 1 p.m.

• Our Lady of the Sacred Heart enters the PIAA boys basketball playoffs on a 37-game winning streak.

• OLSH is 14-10 all-time in PIAA boys basketball playoff games since first qualifying in 1985. The Chargers are 2-1 in quarterfinals with the victories coming in 2018 and 2019.

• The Chargers are 3-2 against District 9 teams in the state playoffs.

• Karns City is 16-17 in PIAA boys basketball postseason games but have lost its last four state playoff games. The last win was a double-overtime triumph over North Star in the 2002 second round.

• The Gremlins are 3-4 in quarterfinals and 4-7 against WPIAL teams in the state playoffs.

Warren at Chartiers Valley, noon

• Chartiers Valley is 19-10 in PIAA girls basketball playoff games and is the defending Class 5A champ after winning its first state crown in 2019.

• The Colts are on a seven-game PIAA playoff winning streak.

• Chartiers Valley is 4-1 in state quarterfinals games and 4-2 against teams from District 10.

• These teams met in the first round of the 2020 Class 5A girls state playoffs with Chartiers Valley cruising past Warren, 72-39.

• The last two times the Dragons won the District 10 title, they were bounced in the first round by WPIAL teams. Warren lost to Pine-Richland, 61-39, in 2016 and fell to Oakland Catholic, 60-45, in the 2019 opener.

Villa Maria Academy at Beaver, 2 p.m.

• Beaver has qualified for the PIAA girls basketball playoffs in each of the last five seasons and six times in the last seven years.

• This is the third straight year the Bobcats are playing in the state quarterfinals. They lost in 2019 and did not play their scheduled game against Tyrone in 2020 when the tournament was suspended, then later cancelled due to the covid-19 outbreak.

• This is the third time Beaver has faced Villa Maria Academy in the state playoffs in the last seven years. The Bobcats eliminated the Victors in the 2015 first round, 34-33, while Villa Maria Academy returned the favor with a 55-40 victory in the second round of the 2018 state playoffs.

• Villa Maria Academy won three straight PIAA girls basketball championships from 2009-2011.

• The Victors are also undefeated at 18-0 after beating Fort LeBoeuf in the District 10 title game, 51-16, then knocking off St. Mary’s, 60-13, in the opening round of the state playoffs on Wednesday.

Kennedy Catholic at Rochester, 2 p.m.

• Rochester is playing in the PIAA playoffs for the third year in a row as WPIAL champion. This run ended a seven-year drought of missing the state playoffs.

• The Rams are 3-1 in the last two years with two wins over Otto-Eldred and one over Tussey Mountain. The Rochester loss was against Shanksville-Stonycreek in the 2019 second round.

• Rochester played Kennedy Catholic 10 years ago in the PIAA postseason. The Golden Eagles beat the Rams, 41-27, in a 2011 first-round Class A contest.

• Kennedy Catholic is a perfect 19-0 after beating Farrell in the District 10 finals and knocking off Shanksville-Stoneycreek in the first round of the state playoffs on Wednesday, 48-28.

• Twenty years ago, then-Kennedy Christian defeated Nativity BVM, 48-46, to win the 2001 PIAA Class A state championship.