What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Dec. 2, 2024: Top teams to compete at Franklin Regional’s Mike Rettger tournament

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, December 1, 2024 | 8:47 PM

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Welcome to the start of the first full week of the winter sports season.

With the high school basketball season starting earlier than usual this season, the various tip-off tournaments have been spread out. Several of them opened this past weekend while others will take place this upcoming weekend.

One boys basketball tournament has become a tradition at Franklin Regional with the annual Mike Rettger Memorial tip-off tournament taking place Monday and Tuesday.

Rettger was a member of the 1997 Panthers boys basketball team that lost in both the WPIAL and PIAA basketball finals.

Rettger passed away six years later after complications from a rare brain illness.

This year’s round-robin contests include top teams from Class 6A, 5A, 4A and A.

On Monday, Avonworth battles Aquinas Academy at 6 p.m. followed by host Franklin Regional taking on Seneca Valley.

On Tuesday, Avonworth goes up against Seneca Valley at 6 p.m. with Quaker Valley visiting Franklin Regional at 7:30 p.m.

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Realignment and section shuffling has made for some new rivals over the next two-year cycle.

It also has made for old foes to square off because they want to, not because they have to.

There are four WPIAL girls basketball games slated for Monday that are nonsection matchups this season, after being section clashes the previous two years.

• Mohawk visits Laurel in a battle of old Section 1-3A foes. The Warriors swept their season series with the Spartans last year.

• Shenango hosts South Side in a contest between former Section 1-2A residents. The Rams swept the Wildcats a year ago.

• Washington is home to Frazier in a clash of former Section 4-2A schools. The Little Prexies swept their season series against the Commodores last winter.

• Jeannette travels to Leechburg in a game pitting former teams from Section 3-A. The two teams split their two games against each other last season as they both ended up tied for third place in the section.

Perfect ice showdown

Two undefeated teams nearly two months into the season will square off in high school hockey Monday.

The top two teams in the PIHL Class A Gold Division meet at the Mt. Lebanon Ice Center at 9:10 p.m. when Chartiers Valley hosts Quaker Valley.

The Colts are a perfect 8-0, yet they trail the Quakers by six points thanks to a 10-0 start for QV.

Each regulation win in the PIHL is worth three points, so a CV victory Monday will still have the Colts in second place, but only three points out of first with a game in hand.

Another key PIHL hockey game Monday has the second and third place teams in Class 3A colliding when Central Catholic (5-3-0-2) battles Seneca Valley (4-0-2-0) at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale at 7 p.m.

The Vikings are in second place with 17 points, one point ahead of the third-place Raiders.

Both are looking up in the standings at Mt. Lebanon (7-1) which leads with 21 points.

Tags: Aquinas Academy, Avonworth, Central Catholic, Chartiers Valley, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Jeannette, Laurel, Leechburg, Mohawk, Quaker Valley, Seneca Valley, Shenango, South Side, Washington