Westmoreland notebook: PIAA basketball format expected to change, eliminate repeat matchups

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, March 11, 2018 | 6:24 PM

Much to the chagrin of some coaches, a few first-round matchups in the PIAA boys basketball playoffs over the weekend had section rivals playing each other.

Franklin Regional faced Highlands again, Mars took on Hampton, Fox Chapel met Penn Hills and Central Catholic played Pine-Richland.

The first two matchups, both in Class 5A, were the fourth meetings between the teams this season.

This same thing probably won't happen next year. The teams want the reruns to happen later in the tournament, and the WPIAL is listening.

The PIAA format is expected to change next season with the WPIAL discarding district teams meeting in the first round of states. The brackets are pre-slotted, so all the state has to do is plug in a different district to go against WPIAL teams.

“I'm glad they're changing it,” said Franklin Regional coach Steve Scorpion, whose team played Highlands in the playoffs twice in 10 days. “The issue is that you're seeing (section teams) in your first game back (from the WPIAL playoffs). The second or third round, maybe you'd expect that. But you have us and Highlands, Mars and Hampton and Penn Hills and Fox Chapel — in the first round?”

Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar also wants to see the redundancy reduced in the PIAA tournament, at least in the first round. He said bypassing WPIAL rematches could widen the district's scope in the state playoffs.

“We have four teams that are eliminated right off the bat,” Skrinjar said. “At the end of the day, you want (the WPIAL) to be well-represented. It's the state playoffs. You want to see new teams. It makes it more interesting.”

Jeannette game site

Jeannette (20-4) will play Cambridge Springs (21-5) in the second round of the PIAA Class 2A boys basketball playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Farrell High School.

Farrell, located in the southwest corner of Mercer County, is about 92 miles north of Jeannette.

Cambridge Springs was the runner-up in District 10.

The winner will take on the winner of Sewickley Academy (22-4) and Ridgway (24-1) in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Recruiting

Three Ligonier Valley football players announced college decisions last week.

Senior Aaron Sheeder's is the most intriguing of the bunch: The senior running back is headed to Division III Norwich, a private military school in Northfield, Vt.

Sheeder ran for 974 yards and 12 touchdowns last season for the District 6 champion Rams. He also had 17 receptions, two for scores, and 1,091 total yards. He had 60 tackles and two interceptions on defense.

Senior lineman Jake Neiderhiser (6-foot-2, 325 pounds) decided to play at Geneva. Neiderhiser was picked for the East-West all-star game May 6 in Altoona.

Senior lineman Cole Peters will attend Waynesburg. Peters, who also played tight end, had 91 tackles last season.

• Franklin Regional senior Justin Moser will continue his football career at Marietta. A wide receiver and cornerback, Moser had 22 tackles last season and caught four passes for 41 yards.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Highlands, Ligonier Valley