North Allegheny, West A change plans, won’t use running clock to shorten football game

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 15, 2018 | 3:39 PM

Stop the clock.

North Allegheny and West Allegheny have scrapped their plans to shorten Friday’s nonconference football game with a running clock.

After clarifying the rules, the schools discovered that’s not allowed, NA athletic director Bob Bozzuto said Monday night. The coaches could have agreed to shorten the length of the quarters — an option they’ve declined — but they can’t institute a running clock, he said.

Friday’s game at West A will have normal clock stoppages and full 12-minute quarters.

“Both schools agree that since there was a misinterpretation of what was permitted, the bottom line is we’re going to stay with just a true game,” Bozzuto said. “Each coach will decide who they’re playing and when they’re playing.”

Uninterested in playing a nonconference game this late in the season, West Allegheny coach Bob Palko and North Allegheny’s Art Walker had originally decided to shorten Friday’s game with a running clock from the start.

Both teams are vying for separate conference titles in different classifications, so this week’s game has no postseason consequence.

“The WPIAL put us in a bad situation,” Palko said. “We’re getting ready for the playoffs. We’ve got a chance to win a conference championship next week. What if we go in and get three kids hurt?”

Palko’s key concern was the game’s mid-October date.

“Put this game Week 1,” Palko said. “Yeah, let’s play. This does nobody any good. None.”

North Allegheny (8-0, 7-0) has a half-game lead over Pine-Richland (7-1, 6-0) in Class 6A. The two rivals meet next week in the regular-season finale.

West Allegheny (6-1, 5-1) has a half-game lead over Bethel Park, Peters Township and Upper St. Clair, who are tied at 4-1 in the Allegheny Eight. West A faces conference opponent Moon in Week 9.

“We have rivalry games in Week 9 that mean a lot to us and mean a lot to our standings,” Walker said. “We’re just trying to do what’s best for our players as a team.”

Both coaches are expected to substitute abundantly.

The WPIAL traditionally schedules a nine-game regular season for each team with nonconference games included, but that practice could end if schools no longer want them, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. This week’s decision came several weeks after Mapletown strategically forfeited a nonconference game against powerhouse Clairton.

O’Malley called the trend “troubling.”

“If the member schools don’t want nine football games, then maybe they ought to go get their own,” O’Malley said. “We try to do the best we can and we’re criticized about (the schedule). It’s a random thing. Moon had to go play Pine-Richland. They went and played. Bethel Park just played Central Catholic. They went and played.

“If this is the trend that we’re going to, then I don’t know where we’re going.”

There are nine teams in WPIAL Class 6A. With an odd number, one team plays a Class 5A opponent each week.

Other classifications have varying numbers of nonconference games. With 120 football schools, the WPIAL is able to provide each a nine-game schedule.

“I would venture that 99 percent of the people getting schedules want their schedules as they’ve always gotten them,” O’Malley said. “Because if they didn’t, we would have heard from them.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: North Allegheny, West Allegheny