Football
This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 11/06/2016
November 6, 2016
We start to make the slow transition from the fall to the winter high school sports season as the Highway to Heinz and the Road to RMU continues this week here on the MSA Sports Network. The 2016 WPIAL football postseason continue with 16 Semifinals and Quarterfinals games starting with the MSA Sports pregame Show Friday at 6pm and concluding with the Scoreboard Show Friday at 9:30pm. We also have District 6 and District 9 high school football playoff games and PIHL high school hockey, plus This Week in the WPIAL ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, November 7th: PIHL High School Hockey - Armstrong vs Upper St. Clair at 7:00pm on MSAsports.net Tuesday, November 8th:City League and Other Western Pa District Football Playoffs
While the Highway to Heinz and the Road to RMU opened up this weekend with the start of the expanded WPIAL football playoffs, high school postseason gridiron action started elsewhere in other districts this weekend. Here is a rundown of ALL the final high school football playoff scores in the Pittsburgh City League (District 8), District 5, District 6, District 9 and District 10. DISTRICT 8: PITTSBURGH CITY LEAGUE Championship Game: University Prep Wildcats 15 - Brashear Bulls 14 (MSA) DISTRICT 5 and 8: CLASS 2-A Semifinals: Berlin-Brothersvalley Mountaineers 21 - Westinghouse Bulldogs 20WPIAL Football Saturday Playoff Summaries
For the first time in years, there was a Saturday game on opening weekend in the WPIAL Football Playoffs. With both Keystone Oaks and Bishop Canevin earning opening round home games at Dormont Stadium, KO joined 62 other teams in action Friday night while BC hosted California for the 32nd and final football postseason game for the first weekend of scholastic gridiron playoff action. A special thanks to Bob Orkwis for this recap. WPIAL CLASS 1-A First Round:
University Prep Dethrones Brashear for City League Football Gold
November 5, 2016
Based on the first meeting between Brashear and University Prep back on Oct. 20, it seemed as if Saturday’s City League Championship between those two teams would result in a similar 13-0 win for USO, despite much more favorable playing conditions, rather than the monsoon and inclement weather that day, which moved up the start time of that game. Instead, it was the battle of who could overcome adversity the best Saturday afternoon at Cupples Stadium on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Penalties and turnovers for both sides piled up, and it came down to the penultimate possession of the game to determine the winner.MSA Sports Friday Night HighLights for Week Ten
Last weekend, all of the ciphering and dissecting of the district tiebreakers determined the 64 teams that would qualify for this years postseason. Then on Monday, the powers that be in the district put together the brackets that mapped the course of the playoff over the next three to four weeks. Finally on Friday, the games kicked off and a few hours later, the playoff field was sliced in half to 32 still alive for one of six golden footballs. Here are the players that came up large in Primetime in leading their teams to either the Semifinals or the Quarterfinals next Friday. Max Devinney - Pine-Richland
WPIAL Football Friday Playoff Summaries – 11/05/2016
Four classifications opened up the Highway to Heinz with Quarterfinals contests while two other classifications kicked off the new Road to RMU with First Round contests. No matter which path was taken, there were some 'eyebrow raisers' on opening night of the 2016 WPIAL Football Playoffs. Here are recaps the the 31 high school football postseason contests heard here on the MSA Sports Network on a clear and comfortable first Friday in November.WPIAL Football Playoffs Friday Scores
November 4, 2016
In a season filled with major changes, one of the biggest was in full view starting Friday night. No long is there one clear path to the district championship game. Now the journey splits into two freshly paved routes. The teams in Class 6-A, Class 5-A, Class 4-A and Class 3-A hopped on the traditional Highway to Heinz in what will be a shorter journey, only taking three weeks instead of four. However teams in Class 2-A and Class 1-A will still take a four week trip, but it is be on the newly constructed Road to RMU. Here are ALL 31 final scores from the opening night of the 2016 WPIAL Football Playoffs. All games were broadcast on the MSA Sports Network. Check out the archives. WPIAL CLASS 6-A Quarterfinals:Scholastic Notebook – 11/04/2016
When Ron Sciarro became Riverside’s coach this year, he changed the playing style of the Panthers. They went from a pass-happy team to one that throws only 13 times a game. But there has been one other drastic change for Riverside. It deals with the number in the wins column. After going 3-6 last year, Riverside is 7-2 this season and headed to the WPIAL Class AA playoffs. They don’t throw nearly as often, but the Panthers win much more often.Chicks Picks for Week Ten
November 3, 2016
Welcome to Week 10 of the high school football season. Chick’s Picks attended the annual Playoff Pairings meeting on Monday night. After witnessing so much joy from the teams that punched their tickets to the postseason, Chick’s Picks couldn’t help but feel bad for those that missed out – especially those with only a few losses on the year. The situation reminded Chick’s Picks of a time when the MSA Sports crew got together for pick-up game of dodgeball. The Boss and world-renowned broadcaster Sam Hall were the team captains. Based on her athletic prowess, Chick’s Picks was sure that she would be drafted in the early rounds.Big Game Hunting for Week Ten
As we embark on the ‘Highway to Heinz’ or the Road to RMU I feel like we should all wear helmet decals in the postseason to honor the Beaver Bobcats, who in one Friday night; go from the number one team in the state of Pennsylvania in 3 A, to not in the playoffs. We need to keep a “Captain’s pick” spot open like they do in golf for the Ryder Cup team. Now we make our way towards the championships on the MSA Sports Network, huge games every week, as always send your complaints about those not included in BGH to @JohnnyLee@msasports.net as he takes over the complaint department for all playoff moaning. So with that out of the way we can get set to go postseason Big Game Hunting.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL FOOTBALL PLAYOFF TEAMS – 10/30/2016
October 30, 2016
What will they do? That is always the question put out about the WPIAL football steering committee this time of year. However in this season of change, there are additional quandaries to ponder. Before they even start putting the SIX playoff brackets together, they must decide if in the top four classes, they should go with a preset cross conference format of 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3, 3 vs 2 and 4 vs 1 across the board (Don says no), or if they should just do what they always do and seed the top eight teams (Don says yes) even if teams from the same conference end up playing each other.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 10/30/2016
The month of October ends on a spooky note, but thinks pick up at the start of November with exclusive coverage of the WPIAL fall sports postseason this week here on the MSA Sports Network. The 2016 district football postseason kicks off with 32 opening round games starting with the MSA Sports pregame Show Friday at 6pm and concluding with the Scoreboard Show Friday at 9:30pm.MSA Sports Friday Night HighLights for Week Nine
October 29, 2016
Various things were at stake around the WPIAL gridirons on the final Friday of October and the regular season. There were conference championships to be won, home field advantage in the opening round to be signed, sealed and delivered, and of course there were teams just trying to clinch a ride on The Highway to Heinz OR The Road to RMU. Whatever was on the line, these players performed at a high level and helped their team to victory and proving they are ready for some Postseason Primetime. David Harvey - Mount LebanonWPIAL Football Scores for Sat 10/29
The 2016 WPIAL regular season in football came to a beautiful, yet quiet end on Saturday with three games including one with playoff implications. On a Day that felt more like Week Three than Week Nine, three contests closed out the regular season and set the table for the postseason. Here are ALL three final scores from Saturday afternoon. WPIAL CLASS 2-A Three Rivers Conference: Avonworth Antelopes 35 - Vincentian Academy Royals 16 WPIAL CLASS 1-A Big 7 Conference: Rochester Rams 50 - Western Beaver Golden Beavers 6 (MSA) WPIAL CLASS 1-A Non-Conference: Summit Academy Knights 50 - Avella Eagles 02016 WPIAL Football Playoff Picture – 10/29
The 2016 WPIAL football playoff field is now set...well, almost. Five classifications are ready to go for the brackets on Monday night, with only one team still to be determined in Class 1-A. While all of these playoff teams will share the spotlight leading up to Friday. November 4th and kickoff of the opening round, there will be a lot of discussion prior to Monday of one team that did not make the field of 64. Beaver came into the final Friday of the regular season ranked #1 in Class 3-A and after all the kings horses and all the kings men figured out the tiebreakers in the Beaver Valley Conference, they could not put the Bobcats and the district playoff together again. Here is the latest WPIAL Playoff Picture heading into Saturday, October 29th.2016 WPIAL Football Standings – 10/29
Here are the latest WPIAL football standings through Friday of Week Nine of the 2016 high school football season...INCLUDING THE LATEST PLAYOFF PICTURE WITH POSTSEASON CLINCHINGS AND ELIMINATIONS. Once again this year, we have added points for and points against as well as the updated WPIAL tiebreaker points for all 122 WPIAL teams. Standings are updated after Friday and Saturday's scholastic gridiron action each week. Click on each team to see all of their results along with their remaining schedule for the 2016 season.Scholastic Notebook – 10/28/2016
October 28, 2016
It was a first-time occurrence earlier this season when Armstrong’s Zane Dudek, Clairton’s Lamont Wade and Steel Valley’s DeWayne Murray all surpassed 5,000 career yards rushing. Of the 19 running backs in WPIAL history who ran for 5,000, Dudek, Wade and Murray were the first trio to do it in the same year. But that trio isn’t just settling at 5,000. They could be the three amigos for 6,000.WPIAL and City League Football Scores for Friday 10/28
It is a scary time of the year. No, I’m not talking about all of those ghosts and goblins that will invade in a few days on Halloween night; I’m talking about looking in the standings and not seeing an asterisk next to your favorite team’s name. The end is near for all playoff hopes. You either get your ticket punched for a ride on The Highway to Heinz or starting this year…The Road to RMU, or you wonder ‘what if’ as you listen to exclusive coverage of the WPIAL football playoffs. The complete puzzle is nearly in place after tonight, but like a good jig-saw, sit back and enjoy as we put the final WPIAL Playoff Picture pieces together on Friday night of Week Nine. Here are ALL the finals scores from the final Friday of the regular season.Chicks Picks for Week Nine
October 27, 2016
Welcome to Week 9 of the high school football season. As regular season play wraps up, Chick’s Picks knew that she needed to check in on The Boss at MSA Sports World Headquarters. For quite some time, Chick’s Picks had been aware of the overtime put in by The Boss this time of year. However, what she witnessed when she walked into World Headquarters was still a shock. There he was, The Boss, pecking away at his keyboard relentlessly with his two index fingers. Moments later, when The Boss finally realized that he had a visitor, Chick’s Picks noticed his tired, bloodshot eyes, unkempt hair, and disorder throughout his office.Big Game Hunting for Week Nine 2016
The final week of the regular season arrives and things are still a bit murky around the WPIAL, but as always the “Boss” has made it clear and precise, if you have questions about your team and their post season needs or desires, it is laid out here, http://www.msasports.net/articles/2016-wpial-football-playoff-picture. That amount of work can only be a labor of love, and when the boss is doing a labor of love, the worker-bees will almost always do the same. Like the famous line in Remember the Titans, “Attitude reflects leadership”. So, this opening paragraph is dedicated to my colleagues, each of them I know, doing this job because they love it.
