Guido: Alle-Kiski Valley football teams hit road for playoffs again

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, October 31, 2017 | 11:05 PM

WPIAL football playoff time is here, and three schools will be representing the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Freeport is in the playoffs for the 27th time, tops in local history. Springdale is in the playoffs for the 17th time, including 15 of the past 16 seasons. Fox Chapel is in the playoffs for the 11th time.

In the first 36 seasons the WPIAL let conference champions and other top teams play at home, at least one A-K school started its postseason at home. Kiski Area started the streak in 1980, hosting Central Catholic.

But no local schools have played at home for the past two seasons.

Let's take a closer look to the first-round opposition, with all games at 7:30 Friday:

• Freeport at Seton La Salle at Dormont Stadium: This is a rematch of the game three weeks ago that the Rebels won, 21-10.

It's also the rematch of an exciting 2002 quarterfinal where Seton LaSalle prevailed 28-21.

Seton LaSalle won a WPIAL Class AAA title in its second season by defeating Knoch, 12-0. The coach of that team was Tom Donohoe, who later became the Steelers director of football operations.

It's strange for a team in these parts to be called the Rebels. But in the early days of South Hills Catholic, a popular teacher frequently gave out a “rebel yell” at sporting events, and a nickname was born.

• Springdale at OLSH at Moon Stadium: The official school name is Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, but nearly everyone says OLSH.

The Chargers play their home games at Moon High School Stadium along University Boulevard. The football program began in 2010 made the playoffs for the first time last year, losing 44-13 to Imani Christian.

OLSH opened in 1932 as an all-girls schools and went co-ed in 1970.

• Fox Chapel at Penn-Trafford at Warriors Stadium: The last time these teams met in the playoffs was the 1997 Class AAAA semifinals, when the Warriors handed Fox Chapel a 21-19 defeat.

The Foxes had a huge statistical advantage, but Penn-Trafford pulled out the win. The week before, Fox Chapel defeated North Allegheny, 35-6 — the last time the Foxes won a playoff game.

Penn-Trafford has made the WPIAL playoffs 26 times, including 21 of the last 23 seasons.

Summit Academy

One team back in the playoffs for the second time is nearby Summit Academy.

The school for court-adjudicated youth finished as the wild card in Class A and will visit three-time defending champion Clairton Friday.

But making the postseason is quite an accomplishment for a school of that nature.

Principal/coach Steve Sherer, athletic director/assistant coach John McCloud and their staff do a tremendous job trying to get their students on track to become productive citizens.

Most years, Summit has just one or two returnees from the previous year, many of whom never played a team sport and have to learn what it is like to be part of an organization.

The Knights had trouble competing against larger schools in the Allegheny Conference such as Highlands and Kittanning. The drop to Class A helped the program.

The academy opened in 2000 and made the playoffs in 2013, losing at Beaver Falls.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Freeport, Springdale