WPIAL football finals to be played over 2 days at Heinz Field

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, August 23, 2021 | 5:42 PM

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For the first time, the WPIAL football championships will be a two-day event at Heinz Field this fall.

The WPIAL board on Monday officially approved plans to hold five of the six championship games at the North Shore stadium Nov. 26-27.

The Class 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and A finals will be decided there. The 6A champion must be crowned a week earlier to enter the state playoff bracket correctly, so that game will be elsewhere.

The Heinz Field games were tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Nov. 26 and noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Nov. 27, said WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman.

The order of games is undecided.

Traditionally, the WPIAL has used Heinz Field — and before that, Three Rivers Stadium — to host four championships on one day. The two-day schedule became an option this time because both the Steelers and Pitt play on the road Thanksgiving weekend.

“It was the perfect storm of us having five games all on the same weekend and Heinz Field being open those two days,” Scheuneman said.

“The fact that we didn’t have championships there last year, this allowed us to do something good for the student-athletes.”

Scheuneman said there are too many unknown variables to say whether this is a one-time opportunity.

Along with needing Pitt and the Steelers to be off or out of town, the two-day arrangement works this year because five of the six WPIAL champions enter the PIAA playoffs together in the state semifinal round. That’s not always the case.

Also, there’s the question of ticket sales vs. cost.

“We’ll see financially how much of a difference it is to be there two days,” Scheuneman said.

The WPIAL used high school stadiums for all six championships last fall because the governor imposed tight limits on gathering sizes to mitigate covid-19 spread. The WPIAL hasn’t chosen a host site for this year’s Class 6A game but intends to use a high school venue.

Hearing for basketball standout

The WPIAL will require an eligibility hearing for Central Catholic transfer Debaba Tshiebwe, a basketball standout whose older brother, Oscar, plays basketball for Kentucky.

The younger Tshiebwe is a 6-foot-6, 265-pound junior who transferred from Grand River Academy in Austinburg, Ohio. He also intends to play football for the Vikings this year. His older brother, who transferred from West Virginia to Kentucky, won a PIAA basketball title at Kennedy Catholic in 2019.

Shady Side Academy sophomore Griffin Lynch, a lacrosse player who transferred from North Allegheny, also will require an eligibility hearing, Scheuneman said.

The WPIAL granted eligibility to more than 70 transfers, including Central Catholic sophomore Peter Gonzalez, the son of a former Pitt quarterback. Gonzalez is eligible for both the regular season and postseason.

The WPIAL granted regular season eligibility to New Castle junior Dajaun Young, a double-digit scorer for Kennedy Catholic boys basketball whose status was in doubt last month.

Forfeit or no contest?

Covid-related cancellations seem likely as fall sports teams start their seasons this week. If so, will those cancellations count as “no contest” or a forfeit? The WPIAL would prefer neither and will encourage schools to reschedule any missed section contest later.

“Right now, the board’s sentiment is still that we don’t want to punish a kid for something that was out of their control,” Scheuneman said. “But we want the schools to reschedule anything that might be canceled because of covid. The only ones who are unable to do that effectively are football, so we will adjust those as they arrive.”

If cancellations become a widespread issue, the WPIAL will call together its sport-specific steering committees to reevaluate current playoff qualifications, Scheuneman said.

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.