As he makes his playoff picks, The Birdie wonders which Westmoreland County team will keep streak alive

By: The Birdie
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | 7:15 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Last week: 7-5 (58.3%)

Season: 91-32 (73.9%)

While his pedestrian 7-5 final week of the regular season probably would not have earned him wild-card consideration by the WPIAL committee, the Birdie is fired up for the playoffs.

“I make it no matter what my record is,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and grinning like the cat who ate the canary. “I have never missed the playoffs.”

The Birdie is here to remind Westmoreland County teams that there are two important streaks on the line as the postseason begins.

“Coaches hate when I bring up streaks,” Birdie said. “They don’t want to be reminded because they think I will jinx them. One time, a coach told me I only cover his teams when they lose. I told him, ‘Well, you guys haven’t beaten that team in 10 years, you know.’ He didn’t like that too much. He grabbed my pencil and snapped it in two.”

Back to those streaks, which you’ll recall the Birdie presented in his preseason column in the annual coffee-table tabloid.

“There has been a Westmoreland County team in the WPIAL championships for nine straight years,” Birdie said. “And a county team has made the PIAA finals four straight years.

“You lot of 10 playoff teams don’t want to be the ones who break the streaks, do you?”

At least one local team is going to the quarterfinals because Monessen and Greensburg Central Catholic play each other in the first round.

“I didn’t need to take an Arkose Challenge to verify that one,” Birdie said.

The Birdie was glad to see Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Belle Vernon, Jeannette and Monessen get wild-card spots.

“They deserved it,” he said. “Now if we can do something about that tiebreaker system for automatic spots. Teams don’t even know what they need to do going into the last week without a detailed breakdown from one of the five people who actually understand the plus-minus points format. … But that’s for another column.”

Now for the Birdie’s take on playoff openers:

Franklin Regional at North Hills: North Hills has a stingy defense that allowed single digits in five games. The Indians like to bring pressure and can stop the run. The Panthers will need to make an early statement and take care of the football. North Hills, 23-17

South Fayette at Penn-Trafford: South Fayette only won one conference game, but don’t let that fool you. The Lions started 6-0 and have quality wins against Elizabeth Forward and Belle Vernon. They will have trouble slowing the Warriors’ multi-layered rushing attack. Penn-Trafford, 14-10

Latrobe at Bethel Park: With the most points scored in 5A, Bethel Park has a dynamic offense. Latrobe’s defense is strong, but not as strong as it was to start the season. Bethel Park, 28-15

Belle Vernon at McKeesport: Belle Vernon struggled with Trinity, which makes the Birdie think McKeesport will be a chore. This will be physical, even after the whistle, but the Tigers will wear down the Leopards up front. McKeesport, 31-14

Greensburg Salem at Avonworth: If Greensburg Salem plays sound, disciplined football, it can win. But experience matters, and the Antelopes will move the football and finish drives. Avonworth, 28-16

Highlands at Southmoreland: With so many starters banged up or sick, Southmoreland will be relying on inexperienced backups to try to lead them to the program’s first playoff win. A tall task, even for a talented team. Highlands can score in bunches. Highlands, 31-18

Mt. Pleasant at Freeport: A solid run defense and secondary helped get Freeport this far, but can the Yellowjackets get in the way of Mt. Pleasant’s wing-T rushing attack? Freeport has a loss to Derry but beat Hopewell. The more physical team wins. Freeport, 28-24

Monessen at Greensburg Central Catholic: The Greyhounds and Centurions will trade big plays, which will be worth the price of admission, but discipline will be key. Flags and turnovers will ruin someone’s day. Greensburg Central Catholic, 34-28

Jeannette at Neshannock: An odd first-round game if there ever was one, Neshannock will show the Jayhawks the scoring machine it is and move on to the quarterfinals. Neshannock, 42-22

Tags: Avonworth, Belle Vernon, Bethel Park, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Highlands, Jeannette, Latrobe, McKeesport, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Neshannock, North Hills, Penn-Trafford, South Fayette, Southmoreland