Defending champions Gateway, TJ, Jeannette draw top seeds for WPIAL football playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 29, 2018 | 7:36 PM

Three defending champions earned a No. 1 seed Monday night when the WPIAL released pairings for its postseason football playoffs at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree.

Gateway (10-0) in Class 5A, Thomas Jefferson (9-0) in Class 4A and Jeannette (10-0) in Class A received the top seeds in their respective classifications after claiming WPIAL titles last season.

Jeannette also captured the PIAA championship, while Gateway was a state runner-up.

The other top seeds were awarded to North Allegheny (10-0) in Class 6A, Aliquippa (9-1) in Class 3A and Shady Side Academy (9-0) in Class 2A.

All 62 teams in the WPIAL playoffs will play opening-round games Friday night.

There are 16-team tournaments in Class 5A and Class 2A. There are 8-team brackets in Class 6A, 4A, 3A and A.

The quarterfinals for Class 5A and 2A and semifinals for the other four tournaments will be held Nov. 9.

Semifinals for Class 5A and 2A are scheduled for Nov. 16.

The WPIAL championships for Class 6A, 4A, 3A and A will be Nov. 17, at Heinz Field.

The Class 5A title game is Nov. 23, at Norwin Knights Stadium.

The Class 2A final is Nov. 24, at Robert Morris’ Joe Walton Stadium.

Here’s a look at the opening-round pairings in each class:

Football

WPIAL playoffs

First round

Friday’s schedule

All games start at 7:30 p.m.

Class 6A

(6) Canon-McMillan (4-5) at (3) Mt. Lebanon (5-5); (5) Seneca Valley (7-3) vs. (4) Central Catholic (7-3) at Fox Chapel

Byes: (1) North Allegheny (10-0), (2) Pine-Richland (8-2)

Class 5A

(16) Kiski Area (3-7) at (1) Gateway (10-0); (9) Franklin Regional (6-3) at (8) Bethel Park (6-3); (13) Woodland Hills (4-6) at (4) Mars (9-1); (12) Shaler (4-6) at (5) West Allegheny (7-2); (15) Latrobe (4-6) at (2) Penn Hills (10-0); (10) Upper St. Clair (8-2) at (7) McKeesport (8-2); (14) Armstrong (5-5) at (3) Peters Township (8-2); (11) North Hills (6-4) at (6) Penn-Trafford (8-2)

Class 4A

(8) New Castle (5-5) at (1) Thomas Jefferson (9-0); (5) West Mifflin (5-5) at (4) Blackhawk (9-1); (7) Greensburg Salem (4-6) at (2) South Fayette (9-1); (6) Beaver (7-3) at (3) Belle Vernon (8-1)

Class 3A

(8) Freeport (5-4) vs. (1) Aliquippa (9-1) at Ambridge; (5) Elizabeth Forward (8-1) vs. (4) Beaver Falls (8-2) at Geneva College; (7) Central Valley (5-5) at (2) Derry (9-1); (6) Quaker Valley (5-4) vs. (3) North Catholic (9-1) at J.C. Stone Field

Class 2A

(16) Serra Catholic (6-4) at (1) Shady Side Academy (9-0); (9) McGuffey (8-2) at (8) South Side (7-3); (13) Riverside (6-3) at (4) Charleroi (8-1); (12) Seton LaSalle (5-5) at (5) Mohawk (8-2); (15) East Allegheny (6-4) at (2) Burgettstown (9-0); (10) Avonworth (7-3) at (7) Freedom (9-1); (14) Beth-Center (7-3) at (3) Steel Valley (8-1); (11) New Brighton (5-5) at (6) Washington (9-1)

Class A

(8) Monessen (7-2) vs. (1) Jeannette (10-0) at Hempfield; (5) Rochester (9-1) vs. (4) West Greene (7-3) at Waynesburg; (7) California (6-4) vs. (2) Clairton (8-1) at Elizabeth Forward; (6) Imani Christian (7-3) vs. (3) OLSH (9-1) at Moon

Bill Hartlep is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bhartlep@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribHSInsider.

Tags: Aliquippa, Gateway, Jeannette, North Allegheny, Shady Side Academy, Thomas Jefferson