Football
Scholastic Notebook – 10/25/2013
October 25, 2013
West Allegheny doesn’t have a running back among the WPIAL’s top 40 rushers. The team’s quarterback isn’t among the top 30 in passing yardage.Yet, when you look at the top offenses in Class AAA, West Allegheny is near the top of the list. And when you look at the rankings of the best teams in Class AAA, West Allegheny is right at the top.So how does it work? No big offensive star, but yet a powerful offense? Well, if ever a team was indeed a “team,” it is West Allegheny. And they are the MSA Sports No. 1-ranked Class AAA team heading into the final Friday night of the regular season.WPIAL and City League Football Scores for Friday, October 25th
For several WPIAL teams headed into the final Friday of the 2013 football regular season, it was now or never. As Apollo Creed told Rocky Balboa..."there is no tomorrow' (echo trails off). There weren't many playoff berths up for grabs, but the chase was on for conference titles, home field advantage, playoff seeding and those precious remaining postseason openings for one final night. Here are the Week Nine final scores of games in the WPIAL plus the Pittsburgh City League Semifinals schedule.WPIAL CLASS AAAA Southeastern Conference:Upper St. Clair Panthers 35 - Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 7Woodland Hills Wolverines 19 - Penn Hills Indians 7Washington Back in Football Playoffs After PIAA Overturns Forfeits
October 24, 2013
In again out again in again Washington. The case involving the Washington football team and the eligibility of one of its players is over. Washington wins and now the Little Prexies can start thinking playoffs once again.On Thursday afternoon, the PIAA overturned a previous WPIAL ruling that ordered Washington to forfeit five wins for using a player who is in his fifth year of high school. Under PIAA and WPIAL rules, a student only gets four consecutive years to play sports when the student starts ninth grade. Regardless of whether the student doesn’t play sports for a year, he/she gets only four continuous years.Chicks Picks – Week Nine – 2013
Welcome to Week 9. After nearly a decade of dominating fantasy football leagues, Chick’s Picks decided to throw her hat into fantasy hockey, hoping for at least a bit of a challenge. While her league mates spent weeks researching and preparing for the draft, Chick’s Picks sat back and chuckled, knowing her prized crystal ball was the only research she needed.Draft day was finally here. Chick’s Picks packed up her crystal ball and headed to meet the gang at league headquarters. It was no surprise to see the gaggle of league mates in line awaiting her autograph when she arrived. Chick’s Picks is, after all, kind of a big deal around the WPIAL.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Football – 10/22/2013
October 22, 2013
Each and every Monday during the regular season, the MSA Sports Network will rank the Top Ten football teams in each classification. Here are the latest WPIAL football rankings following Week EIGHT.WPIAL CLASS AAAA TOP TEN:1. PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC VIKINGS (8-0) (Last Week #1) (This Week: host Butler on MSA)2. UPPER ST. CLAIR PANTHERS (8-0) (Last Week #2) (This Week: at Mount Lebanon on MSA)3. McKEESPORT TIGERS (8-0) (Last Week #4) (This Week: at #6 Gateway Thursday on MSA)4. SENECA VALLEY RAIDERS (7-1) (Last Week #6) (This Week: host Fox Chapel)WPIAL Football Playoff Picture Updated
October 20, 2013
The teams that have clinched are now focused on either conference championships, home field advantage or just a better playoff seeding. But there are many teams heading into the final weekend of the regular season with the goal of just getting their ticket punched for a ride on this years Highway to Heinz. So get your pens, your pads or in the case of some, your carbon paper and find out what needs to happen for your favorite team with the latest WPIAL Football Playoff Picture. Class AA's Interstate Conference has been updated after Washington forfeits were overturned and they are back in the postseason.CLASS AAAA Foothills Conference:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 10/20/2013
The 'Stretch Run' of the 2013 high school football regular season concludes this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have a busy final week of the high school football regular season with FORTY ONE WPIAL, District 6, District 9 and District 10 football games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Friday night kicking off with the expanded MSA Sports Pregame Show and concluding with the one and only WPIAL High School Football Scoreboard Show.WPIAL Saturday’s Scholastic Starz for Week Eight
Only three games were on the docket on the third Saturday of October, but all had some sort of playoff implication...one team trying to clinch a spot, one team trying to control its own destiny and a playoff bound team trying to improve seeding. Here are the three players that shined in those games despite the gray, chilly and damp conditions.Jesse Zelonka - Apollo-RidgeWPIAL Football Scores for Saturday, October 19th
October 19, 2013
The second to the last Saturday of high school football in the 2013 regular season focused on Class A with three games on the docket. While the schedule was light, the playoff ramifications were there in two of the games as Western Beaver looked to clinch a postseason berth in the Big 7 Conference and Brentwood hoped to stay in control of their own destiny as they are now one win away from clinching in the Black Hills Conference. Here are the Saturday WPIAL football final scores in Week Eight.WPIAL CLASS A Eastern Conference:Apollo-Ridge Vikings 41 - Riverview Raiders 16WPIAL CLASS A Big 7 Conference:Western Beaver Golden Beavers 28 - Shenango Wildcats 14 (MSA)WPIAL Friday Night HighLights for Week Eight
There was a playoff feel to Week 8 Friday night. Yeah, the weather had a lot to do with it on a crisp, clear evening, however the quality of play and the excitement of the action seemed to be ratchet up a notch or two. In a season drenched with blowouts, there were a lot of tight games that prove the postseason is just around the corner. Here are the players that shined the most on the field while an eclipse was going on over the field.T.J. Holl - Seneca Valley2013 WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League Football Standings & Playoff Clinchings- Week 8
October 18, 2013
Here are the latest WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League football standings through Week Eight of the 2013 high school football season...plus the latest WPIAL football playoff clinchings. Standings are updated after each game on Thursday, Friday and Saturday's scholastic gridiron action each week. Standings can be also seen on each teams football webpage here on the MSA Sports Network.# - Clinched at least a share of the conference title * - Clinched playoff spot x - Eliminated from playoff chase % - Not eligible for WPIAL playoffsWPIAL CLASS AAAA: (14 out of 16 Teams Have Clinched Playoff Spots)Northern Eight Conference:Scholastic Notebook – 10/18/2013
These are the days of spread offenses and pass-happy teams in WPIAL football. It’s not often you see a team average over 300 yards a game on the ground.But in the next two weeks, two of the top games in the WPIAL will match teams that average more than 300 yards a game rushing. It is definitely unusual. And if you think running the football is not important any more, consider that all four of the teams involved in those games enter Week 8 with perfect records.Aliquippa plays at Beaver Falls in a big WPIAL Class AA Midwestern game tonight, matching two teams that average more than 300 yards a game rushing. It will be the same next week when Thomas Jefferson plays at West Mifflin a WPIAL Class AAA Big Nine Conference game.WPIAL and City League Football Scores for Friday, October 18th
Stretch Run football continues as we have hit Week Eight of the 2013 WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League season. Usually this time of year, very little attention is paid to the few non-conference games each week. But even though they have nothing to do with their conference record that will determine their playoff fate, there are three non-conference games on Friday that are tasty nuggets as six playoff bound teams could be playing for overall seeding instead of conference standing. Here is the schedule for the third Friday in October. Check out m.scores.msasports.net on your cell phone for updated scores throughout the night.All games kick off at 7:30pm unless otherwise indicated. Games marked with (MSA) can be heard live and archived here on the MSA Sports Network.Chicks Picks – Week Eight – 2013
October 17, 2013
Welcome to Week 8. Chick’s Picks, like most other Pittsburghers, was honored to witness the success of the Pirates this season. Since she was just a baby prognosticator during the last Pirates postseason appearance, Chick’s Picks cherished every moment this time around, down to the final pitch. When the season came to an end, Chick’s Picks made it her mission to find a way to give back to the city of Pittsburgh, just as the Pirates had done.MSA Sports Big Game Hunting – Week Eight
October 16, 2013
We go eclectic here in the penultimate week of the 2013 WPIAL regular season. A pair of teams battling it out for one of the quickly dwindling spots in AAAA, a pair of teams trying to stave off elimination in AAA, a huge rivalry with a division championship on the line in AA, and a non-conference tilt with heavy, high-seeding implications on the line in A. Something for everyone depending on your pleasure. It is a veritable smorgasbord of high school football. Hey that could be the new slogan for the MSA Sports network! “MSA is a veritable smorgasbord of high school sports”. Get me Don Rebel on the phone, stat!WPIAL Football Playoff Picture 2013
October 15, 2013
Two weeks remain in the 2013 WPIAL football regular season. Two weeks for the boys to frolic around before the men come take over the yard. Here is the latest update on the teams that have clinched their ticket to ride on the Highway to Heinz and the start of the district postseason ONLY here on MSA Sports.CLASS AAAA Foothills Conference:Gateway Gators (6-0) have clinched (If McKeesport and Gateway win in Week 8, the Tigers-Gators winner will be conference champion, the loser will be second place) 10/18: PENN-TRAFFORD – 10/25: McKEESPORTMSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Football – 10/14/2013
October 14, 2013
Each and every Monday during the regular season, the MSA Sports Network will rank the Top Ten football teams in each classification. Here are the latest WPIAL football rankings following Week SEVEN.WPIAL CLASS AAAA TOP TEN:1. PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC VIKINGS (7-0) (Last Week #1) (This Week: At Altoona on MSA)2. UPPER ST. CLAIR PANTHERS (7-0) (Last Week #2) (This Week: at Plum)3. GATEWAY GATORS (7-0) (Last Week #3) (This Week: host Penn-Trafford on MSA)4. McKEESPORT TIGERS (7-0) (Last Week #4) (This Week: host Kiski Area on MSA)This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 10/13/2013
October 13, 2013
The 'Stretch Run' of the 2013 high school football regular season continues with a bang this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have a busy eighth week of the high school football season with FORTY ONE WPIAL, District 6 and District 9 football games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Friday night kicking off with the expanded MSA Sports Pregame Show and concluding with the one and only WPIAL High School Football Scoreboard Show.District College Football Recap for Saturday, October 12th
It was not a good day for ranked teams in either the PSAC and PAC. IUP came into the day ranked number 7 in D-II and gave up more points than the Crimson Hawks had allowed all season. Thomas More came off a 61-0 pounding of Geneva, the 20th ranked Saints were dumped at W & J.Here are recaps of all the games:Slippery Rock 42 – IUP 16 In a battle of bitter rivals, the Rock staked their claim to the PSAC West Division title with a dominating first half performance in the victory over the #7 ranked Crimson Hawks. The Rock led 28-3 at the half and 42-3 after three quarters.WPIAL Saturday’s Scholastic Starz for Week Seven
One of the brightest stars in the WPIAL, a team that is close to making the WPIAL for the first time EVER and two teams who are not playing for the Playoffs, they are more focused on another 'P' word...Pride. That is a taste of what was on display in the three WPIAL football games played on the seventh Saturday of the season. And the stand outs were...Lenny Williams - Sto-Rox
