On Saturday, the 2024 WPIAL football playoff brackets were revealed to determine seedings of brackets across the WPIAL’s six classifications.
While many teams across the Beaver Valley knew their fate after claiming section titles and capturing automatic bids, there were several teams across the area whose fates were in the hands of the WPIAL Football Steering Committee as it would select a total of 16 wild card teams across five classifications.
Let’s take a look at the field across the five classifications that Beaver Valley teams have qualified with first-round matchups taking place on Friday, Nov. 1.
Higher seeds host first-round matchups unless noted otherwise. Bold denotes Beaver Valley matchups.
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Class 5A
No. 1 Pine-Richland (First round bye)
No. 8 North Hills Vs. No. 9 Franklin Regional
No. 4 Woodland Hills (First round bye)
No. 5 Bethel Park Vs. No. 12 Greater Latrobe
No. 2 Upper St. Clair (First round bye)
No. 7 Penn Hills Vs. No. 10 Moon Area
No. 3 Peters Township (First round bye)
No. 6 Penn Trafford Vs. No. 11 South Fayette
Outlook
Pine Richland secured the No. 1 overall seed in Class 5A after posting a record 8-1 record. The lone area team out of Class 5A is Moon Area and it was awarded one of the three wild card spots in the classification after finishing fourth in the Allegheny Six Conference posting a record of 5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The Tigers will take on a Penn Hills team that finished in second in the Northeast Conference posting a record of 6-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play with its lone loss coming against top-seeded Pine Richland on Oct. 4.
Class 4A
No. 1 Thomas Jefferson Vs. No. 8 West Allegheny
No. 4 Aliquippa Vs. No. 5 Trinity
No. 2 Montour Vs. No. 7 Mars
No. 3 McKeesport Vs. No. 6 Belle Vernon
Outlook
After a major shake-up in the Parkway Conference Friday night after West Allegheny upset unbeaten Montour to force a three-way tie for the top spot in the conference, West Allegheny will take on the top-seeded team in Class 4A in Thomas Jefferson. The Jaguars went unbeaten throughout the regular season going 10-0 and 5-0 in the Big Six Conference. West Allegheny had two games canceled against Chartiers Valley and McGuffey early in the season but went 4-1 in the Parkway with its lone loss coming to Aliquippa.
The Quips take home the Parkway Conference Championship for the fifth year in a row due to the tiebreaker. They will face a Trinity team that finished in second place in the Big Six Conference after posting a 5-5 overall record and a 4-1 record in conference play with its lone loss coming in a 27-7 loss to Thomas Jefferson on Oct. 4.
Class 3A
No. 1 Imani Christian (First round bye)
No. 8 Southmoreland Vs. No. 9 Highlands
No. 4 Beaver Area (First round bye)
No. 5 Avonworth Vs. No. 12 Greensburg Salem
No. 2 Central Valley (First round bye)
No. 7 Freeport Vs. No. 10 Mt. Pleasant
No. 3 Elizabeth Forward (First round bye)
No. 6 Deer Lakes Vs. No. 11 North Catholic
Outlook
Two Beaver County teams from the Western Hills Conference qualified for the Class 3A playoffs with each receiving a first-round bye after Beaver Area upset Avonworth Friday night.
Beaver Area comes into the playoffs red hot after winning its final four games of the regular season after falling to Central Valley back on Sept. 20. The Bobcats will face either No. 5 Avonworth or No. 12 Greensburg Salem on Nov. 8.
Central Valley finished their 2024 season with a 5-5 overall record and 5-1 record in conference play. The Warriors played a daunting non-conference schedule facing three Class 4A opponents in No. 2 Montour, No. 1 Thomas Jefferson and No. 6 Belle Vernon and one Class 5A opponent No. 8 North Hills. Central Valley rolled through its conference schedule posting a record of 5-1 with its lone loss coming to No. 5 Avonworth back on Sept. 27. The Warriors will face either No. 7 Freeport or No. 10 Mt. Pleasant at Sarge Alberts Stadium in the quarterfinals.
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Class 2A
No. 1 Seton LaSalle (First round bye)
No. 8 OLSH Vs. No. 9 Riverside (Location TBD)
No. 4 Steel Valley Vs. No. 13 Washington
No. 5 Western Beaver Vs. No. 12 Carlynton (Sat. Nov. 2 at. 1 p.m.)
No. 2 South Park (First round bye)
No. 7 Mohawk Vs. No. 10 Keystone Oaks
No. 3 Ellwood City (First round bye)
No. 6 South Allegheny Vs. No. 11 Waynesburg Central
Outlook
With its 52-0 win over Beaver Falls on Friday, the Wolverines capped off its first unbeaten season since World War II finishing with a 9-0 record overall and 7-0 record in Midwestern Conference play claiming its first MAC title since 1997. The Wolverines will host the winner of the South Allegheny Waynesburg Central first-round matchup which will mark Ellwood City’s first home playoff game at Helling Stadium since 2000.
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Western Beaver heads into the playoffs winning their last three matchups of the regular season against Mohawk, New Brighton and Freedom Area to finish second in the MAC. The Golden Beavers suffered just two losses on the year falling to Class 4A Ambridge and No. 3 Ellwood City back on Oct. 5 at home. Western Beaver will host Carlynton in a Saturday afternoon matinee matchup at Western Beaver High School. The Cougars are one of the the three wild card teams coming out of the Century conference where they finished with a record of 6-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
OLSH and Riverside feature the lone first-round matchups between two Beaver Valley programs. The Chargers finished play in the Allegheny conference with a 3-3 record and knocked off No. 10 Keystone Oaks who finished third in the Century Conference. As for Riverside, Rob Magnifico guides the Panthers to the postseason in his first year at the helm turning around the program after a one-win season in 2023.
Class 1A
No. 1 Fort Cherry Vs. No. 16 Brentwood
No. 8 Leechburg Vs. No. 9 Cornell
No. 4 Neshannock Vs. No. 13 Jeannette
No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic Vs. No. 12 Monessen
No. 2 Clairton Vs. No. 15 Rochester
No. 7 Laurel Vs. No. 10 California
No. 3 Bishop Canevin Vs. No. 14 Bentworth (Dormont Memorial Stadium)
No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan Vs. No. 11 South Side Beaver
Outlook
Cornell is the Beaver Valley’s highest-seeded team in the Class 1A playoffs after posting a third-place finish in the Black Hills Conference with its lone two losses coming to No. 1 seeded Fort Cherry and No. 3 Bishop Canevin. The Raiders will face a Leechburg team that finished third in the Eastern Conference posting an 8-2 record overall and a 5-2 record in conference play.
Rochester comes into the playoffs as a wild card team after finishing fourth in the Big 7 Conference after falling to South Side 14-12 Friday night at Rochester Stadium. The Rams will face a Clairton team that rolled through its schedule with a perfect record of 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the Eastern Conference. The Bears outscored their opponents 540-21 in those games.
South Side finished in third place in the Big 7 Conference which gave them an automatic bid to the postseason. The Rams will face a tough test in the first round taking on a Jefferson-Morgan program who posted a perfect record of 10-0 overall and 7-0 in Tri-County South play.
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