Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Playoff berths on the line in Week 9

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 23, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The WPIAL will release football playoff brackets about 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon, but not before the playoff field is filled out Friday night.

Qualifiers from Westmoreland County so far are Penn-Trafford (8-1) in Class 5A, Southmoreland (8-1) in 3A and Jeannette (6-3) in A.

Several others are on the bubble.

• In Class 6A, the top four teams qualify.

Norwin (6-3) can clinch a Class 6A berth with a win over Mt. Lebanon or a Canon-McMillan loss to Central Catholic.

The Knights have not tasted postseason football since 2017.

If Canon-McMillan and Mt. Lebanon win, Norwin will be eliminated.

• In Class 5A, the top three teams in each conference and three wild-card teams selected by the WPIAL advance.

Kiski Area (4-5) can clinch with an upset over Woodland Hills. The Cavaliers could lose and still be alive for a wild-card spot.

• Class 4A takes eight teams, the top two in each conference plus two wild cards. Belle Vernon (3-5) is in contention for a wild card.

• Class 3A also takes 12 teams, the top three in each conference and three wild cards.

Derry (5-4) clinches with a win over Yough (2-7), whereas Mt. Pleasant (5-4) can secure a berth with a win over Elizabeth Forward and a Derry loss.

Burrell (3-6) could secure a wild card with a win over Deer Lakes.

• In Class 2A, 13 teams will advance: the top three in each conference and four wild cards.

• And in Class A, there will be 16 teams in the bracket: the top three in each conference and four wild cards.

Greensburg Central Catholic (4-5) is in the wild-card hunt but will need to beat Leechburg to have its best chance.

Monessen (5-4) needs to beat Cornell to have a shot at a wild card.

Sowing seeds

Penn-Trafford could end up with the best seed among local teams. If the Warriors win Friday, they have a case for the No. 3 or No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the 5A bracket.

The Warriors have played a strong schedule. They have wins over Moon, Norwin and Mt. Lebanon, and their loss is to Big East champion Woodland Hills.

Southmoreland also is in line for a top-five seed in Class 3A and a home opener, assuming the Scotties win Friday.

A top-eight seed also could land Jeannette a home game in Class A. The Jayhawks are in the WPIAL playoffs for the 46th time, the second-most appearances behind Aliquippa (48).

Record breaker

Greensburg Salem quarterback Brody Chismar not only took the reins of the offense this season, but he also took over the record book.

Chismar last week broke the program record for career passing yards and tied the mark for career touchdown passes.

He went 15 of 27 for 213 yards and three touchdowns, moving past Hayden Teska for career yards (2,762) and tying Josh Falatovich’s record of 35 TDs.

Chismar now has 2,963 yards.

“He’s done a great job of making explosive plays for us offensively,” Greensburg Salem coach Ty George said. “Being a dual-threat QB, he’s had some impressive runs and some incredible throws. We’re lucky to have him and proud of the job he’s done.”

Thousand Island

Greensburg Central Catholic standout Samir Crosby has reached a milestone few have achieved in WPIAL history. He is believed to be the first to do it in Westmoreland County.

Crosby for his career has more than 1,000 yards passing, rushing and receiving. Amazingly, he flirted with being the first 2,000-2,000-2,000 guy the WPIAL has seen.

The versatile senior, who has nearly a dozen Division I scholarship offers, now has 2,201 passing yards, 2,714 rushing yards, and 1,421 receiving yards.

Rush hour

Junior running backs Max Doherty of Derry and Giovanni Rothrauff of Norwin surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season.

Doherty was an all-conference linebacker last season but made the move to tailback this fall and has shined. He now has 1,075 yards and 15 touchdowns on 187 carries for the Trojans (5-4), who can clinch a playoff spot with a win Friday night at home against Yough (2-7).

“It’s nice to get 1,000,” Doherty said, “but it’s a team sport. It’s better to get a team win.”

Rothrauff is up to 1,025 yards and eight touchdowns. He is the first Knights player to top 1,000 yards in more than a decade.

Remember me?

Penn-Trafford assistant coach Ron Prady will see a lot of familiar faces Friday night when Latrobe invades Warrior Stadium.

Prady was the head coach at Latrobe for the last three years.

New Wildcats coach Tom McIntyre was his offensive coordinator.

Pickle ball

If you see a bunch of pickle balloons in the Derry student section Friday night, you’ll know why.

Derry lineman Dylan Pitzer could have a number of nicknames. “Bruiser.” “The Hulk.” “Pitz.”

But the 6-foot-7, 273-pound senior, who also wrestles for the Trojans, goes by “Pickle.”

As the story goes, the family was at a restaurant years ago, and they gave young Dylan lemons, which he liked. His older brother, Dayton, suggested giving him a pickle. He liked that, too, and a nickname was born in brine.

Extra points

Hempfield quarterback Dom Detruf needs 125 yards to reach 2,000 for the season. … Hempfield receiver Jack Kopas has 52 receptions this season. The team record is 57 by Braden Brose. Kopas also needs three catches to break Nick DiAndreth’s career program mark of 102. … Greensburg Salem has 721 wins. It is tied with Frankford for 18th in state history. The Golden Lions are seventh all time in the WPIAL. … Southmoreland allowed 49 points in its first eight games but gave up 42 last week to Elizabeth Forward.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Jeannette, Latrobe, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Penn-Trafford