Pine-Richland/Central Catholic Round 2 part of 3 things to watch Tuesday in WPIAL athletics

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 29, 2018 | 5:06 PM

Last year, Pine-Richland's boys basketball team won Section 1-6A with an 11-1 record en route to claiming the WPIAL championship. Also last season, Central Catholic finished six games behind the Rams and missed the playoffs for one of the few times in Chuck Crummie's illustrious coaching career.

Now the Vikings can take a big step toward a section title Tuesday when they host the defending champion Rams at 7:30 p.m. in a game fans can watch on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Central Catholic is 8-1 and atop the section with three section games left, including home games against the two teams closest in the standings — Butler (7-2) and Pine-Richland (6-2).

The Vikings proved they were for real in the first meeting between these teams Jan. 5, when the Rams lost for the first time this season on their home floor 53-52.

Senior Luke Nedrow had a game-high 19 points to lead Central Catholic, which trailed by nine after the first quarter, only to outscore the Rams, 41-31, the rest of the game.

Stretch run begins

The final two weeks of the 2017-18 WPIAL basketball regular season is here.

Fans can't just gravitate to the top of the standings for key games; there also are games that could prove to be key contests in who makes the Path to the Pete and who is home listening and watching games on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Some important games around the district that will be broadcast on the TribLive High School Sports Network include:

• Derry at Deer Lakes, in a battle for third place in Section 1-4A;

• Uniontown at South Fayette, in a game between two teams tied for second place, one game behind Belle Vernon in Section 3-4A;

• Aliquippa at Lincoln Park, with the Quips needing a win to force a tie for first place in Section 1-3A with the host Leopards;

• East Allegheny at Shady Side Academy, as the host Indians hold a slim one-game lead in Section 3-3A over both the Wildcats and Burrell;

• Fort Cherry at Frazier, as these two teams, along with Bentworth, are separated by one game in the fight for second place in Section 2-2A, behind Chartiers-Houston.

Schedules revealed

The WPIAL on Tuesday will unveil schedules for the 2018 and 2019 field hockey season … oh yeah, and the high school football schedule, as well.

The WPIAL makes the schedule for all section/conference games in every sport, with the exception of football, in which the district schedules all nine regular-season conference and nonconference games for every team.

Whatever a school's home and away schedule is for 2018 is then reversed in 2019, with the two teams playing in the same week but at the opposite venue from the 2018 slate.

The only exception is Week Zero, where teams still can decide to either play a game or participate in a second scrimmage. Those deciding on a game can schedule their own opponent.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Aliquippa, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Fort Cherry, Frazier, Greensburg C.C., Lincoln Park, Pine-Richland, Shady Side Academy, South Fayette, Uniontown