Is bye week benefit or burden for WPIAL champions?

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, November 20, 2018 | 5:39 PM

Is a bye week in late November a benefit or a burden?

“Never had one before, so I don’t know,” Our Lady of the Sacred Heart coach Dan Bradley said. “If we win, it’s an advantage, I guess. If we lose, we were rusty.”

That’s the dilemma facing OLSH and Aliquippa. After 13 consecutive weeks of games, those two WPIAL champions must sit idle for a week before joining the PIAA playoffs Nov. 30 or Dec. 1.

“It’s different,” Bradley said, “but for us I think it comes at a good time. We have some injuries, we have some guys dinged up a little bit, so we’ll use it to rest up. We’ll give them a couple of days off but still try to stay in shape, run around a couple of days and lift.”

Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield agreed that the chance to recuperate outweighed any drawbacks.

“I do, because we have some players who are still injured,” Warfield said. “And it will be helpful getting some kids mentally a rest because we have been at it for a minute.”

This is the third consecutive year that the Class 3A champion received a bye, but it’s the first for Class A.

The WPIAL created the bye-week quirk by limiting those playoff brackets to three rounds, a move that allowed their finals to be played together at Heinz Field with Class 6A and 4A. The WPIAL champions from 3A and A don’t enter the state playoffs until the semifinal round, so there’s a scheduling gap in the middle.

The WPIAL champions in 6A and 4A (Pine-Richland and South Fayette) enter the state quarterfinals this weekend without delay.

Recent history says the bye week is a boost. The past two years, WPIAL Class 3A champions Beaver Falls and Quaker Valley each won the state title after receiving a bye week.

“I hope that’s how it works,” Bradley said.

If there is a competitive advantage, it’s because OLSH and Aliquippa receive a week off while their next opponents do not.

OLSH draws the winner of Farrell and Coudersport in the Class A semifinals. Aliquippa faces either Bald Eagle Area or Sharon in a Class 3A semifinal. Those four other teams play Saturday.

“We’re going to approach (practice) like we play this week — except we don’t,” Warfield said. “We’ll come back Tuesday and get right back at it. We’ll make sure we’re in shape.”

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

Tags: Aliquippa, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart