WPIAL bracketology: Don Rebel and Chris Harlan predict the 2024 football playoff matchups

From: Chris Harlan


Saturday, October 26, 2024 | 3:26am

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Outside of the wild cards, the 2024 WPIAL playoff field is set.

In the new playoff format, wild card teams will no longer be determined by Gardner points or WPIAL tiebreaker points. So now 16 more teams have to wait until selection Saturday before the district football committee makes its decision about which bubble teams are included and which are not.

Watch the WPIAL Football Playoff Pairings Show on TribLive HSSN Saturday at 3 p.m. to find out which teams qualified and how the brackets were seeded.

Until then, Chris Harlan and Don Rebel update their opinions with one final installment of high school football bracketology.

Class 6A

Four qualifiers

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 4 Seneca Valley at No. 1 Central Catholic

#3. Mt. Lebanon at #2 North Allegheny

Harlan says: Can Seneca Valley or Mt. Lebanon stand in the way of a third straight championship game between Central Catholic and North Allegheny?

Don Rebel’s mount

No. 4 Seneca Valley at No. 1 Central Catholic

#3 Mt. Lebanon at #2 North Allegheny

Rebel says: A strong finish from Mt. Lebanon and a hard-fought first game against North Allegheny make this matchup exciting in two weeks. Central Catholic defeated Seneca Valley by 54 last week.

Class 5A

12 qualifiers (three wildcards)

Chris Harlan’s bracket

#1 Upper St. Clair – bye

No. 9 Franklin Regional at No. 8 North Hills

No. 4 Woodland Hills – bye

#12 Gateway at #5 Bethel Park

No. 2 Pine-Richland – bye

No. 10 Moon at No. 7 Penn-Trafford

No. 3 Peters Township – bye

#11 South Fayette at #6 Penn Hills

Harlan says: Unlike previous years, this time more than one wild card can come from the same conference. That’s likely to happen here in 5A, as Allegheny Six teams Moon and South Fayette both receive wild cards. There could be a debate about the third wildcard. Gateway, Kiski Area and Latrobe are tied for fourth place in the Big East. Tiebreaker formulas would give Gateway an advantage, but the WPIAL committee is not required to use them to select wild cards this year. Another point of criticism, of course, is that Latrobe beat Gateway just two weeks ago.

Don Rebel’s mount

#1 Upper St. Clair – bye

No. 9 Franklin Regional at No. 8 North Hills

No. 4 Woodland Hills – bye

#12 Gateway at #5 Bethel Park

No. 2 Pine-Richland – bye

No. 10 Moon at No. 7 Penn-Trafford

No. 3 Peters Township – bye

#11 South Fayette at #6 Penn Hills

Rebel says: There are no changes here from my original post mid-week. Much deserved love for the Allegheny Six Conference, placing 1st, 3rd and 5th and capturing two of the three 5A wild card spots. Gateway’s win over Plum earlier this year makes the third wild card debate easy for the Gators.

Class 4A

Eight qualifiers (two wildcards)

Chris Harlan’s bracket

#8 Mars at #1 Thomas Jefferson

No. 5 Montour at No. 4 McKeesport

#7 Belle Vernon and #2 Aliquippa

No. 6 Trinity at No. 3 West Allegheny

Harlan says: The three teams in the running for two wild cards are Belle Vernon, Montour and West Mifflin. Montour is a lock to get in. There could be a debate between the other two. Both lost to Thomas Jefferson and McKeesport. Belle Vernon’s best win was over Central Valley 23-17. West Mifflin defeated Elizabeth Forward 17-16. Does the fact that Belle Vernon has won 3A state titles the last two years in a row make a difference to the football committee? It could be.

Don Rebel’s mount

#8 Mars at #1 Thomas Jefferson

#5 Montour at #4 West Allegheny

#7 Belle Vernon and #2 Aliquippa

No. 6 Trinity at No. 3 McKeesport

Rebel says: Wow, West Allegheny’s overtime win over Montour changed a lot. I definitely think Montour gets one of the wild cards, but where do the Spartans stand? I’m planning a rematch between West A and Montour next week. There isn’t much difference between Trinity and Mars, but wildcard Belle Vernon is placed between them to avoid a matchup between BVA and TJ from the same conference.

Class 3A

12 qualifiers (three wildcards)

Chris Harlan’s bracket

#1 Imani Christian – bye

#9 Mt. Pleasant at #8 Freeport

#4 Elizabeth Forward – bye

No. 12 Greensburg Salem and No. 5 Avonworth

No. 2 Central Valley – bye

No. 10 Highlands at No. 7 Southmoreland

#3 Beaver – bye

No. 11 North Catholic at No. 6 Deer Lakes

Harlan says: Undefeated Imani Christian (10-0) is the No. 1 seed. Teams from the strong Western Hills receive seeds of second (Central Valley), third (Beaver) and fifth (Avonworth) – but they are in a new order after Beaver beat Avonworth on Friday. Hopewell could end up on the outside looking in after losing to North Catholic on Friday. A Greensburg Salem win over Southmoreland on Friday likely hurts Hopewell’s chances.

Don Rebel’s mount

#1 Imani Christian – bye

#9 Mt. Pleasant at #8 Freeport

#4 Elizabeth Forward – bye

No. 12 Greensburg Salem and No. 5 Avonworth

No. 2 Central Valley – bye

No. 10 Highlands at No. 7 Southmoreland

#3 Beaver – bye

No. 11 North Catholic at No. 6 Deer Lakes

Rebel says: In this category, I give a lot of love to Western Hills Conference tri-champions Central Valley, Beaver and Avonworth with finishes of 2nd, 3rd and 5th. Imani Christian’s convincing win over Freeport on Friday makes them the clear No. 1. Each of the fourth-place winners in the three conferences received a wild card.

Class 2A

13 qualifiers (four wildcards)

Chris Harlan’s bracket

No. 1 Seton LaSalle – bye

No. 9 Waynesburg at No. 8 Keystone Oaks

No. 13 Washington at No. 4 Steel Valley

No. 12 Carlynton and No. 5 Western Beaver

No. 2 Ellwood City – bye

No. 10 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at No. 7 Mohawk

#3 South Park – bye

No. 11 Riverside at No. 6 South Allegheny

Harlan says: Seton LaSalle and Ellwood City draw the top two seeds as undefeated conference champions. South Park is also conference champions, so the Eagles get the third bye. Steel Valley bolstered its stock with a 45-7 win over South Allegheny on Friday. Carlyton appears locked into a wild-card spot, which means the Cougars will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

Don Rebel’s mount

No. 1 Seton LaSalle – bye

No. 9 Waynesburg Central at No. 8 South Allegheny

No. 13 Washington at No. 4 Steel Valley

No. 12 Carlynton and No. 5 Western Beaver

No. 2 Ellwood City – bye

#10 Riverside at #7 Keystone Oaks

#3 South Park – bye

No. 11 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at No. 6 Mohawk

Rebel says: This is the only round where there is no clear top seed with undefeated Seton LaSalle and Ellwood City. Kudos to Coach Storino with the Rebels and Coach Bradley with the Wolverines, who have done a great job turning struggling programs into true championship contenders in a short amount of time. These brackets are the same ones I had earlier in the week. Each conference received a wild card, with Century Conference receiving the second bonus overall.

Class A

16 qualifiers (four wildcards)

Chris Harlan’s bracket

#16 Carmichaels at #1 Fort Cherry

#9 Leechburg and #8 Laurel

#13 Jeannette and #4 Neshannock

#12 South Side at #5 Cornell

No. 15 Bentworth at No. 2 Clairton

No. 10 California at No. 7 Greensburg Central Catholic

No. 14 Rochester at No. 3 Bishop Canevin

No. 11 Monessen at No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan

Harlan says: Wins by Neshannock, Jefferson-Morgan, Cornell, South Side and Greensburg Central Catholic in Week 9 rounded out this group significantly. Jefferson-Morgan is undefeated and won the Tri-County South title, but I put the Rockets behind second-place teams Bishop Canevin and Cornell.

Don Rebel’s mount

#16 Carmichaels at #1 Fort Cherry

No. 9 south side at No. 8 Leechburg

No. 13 California at No. 4 Bishop Canevin

No. 12 Rochester and No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic

No. 15 Bentworth at No. 2 Clairton

#10 Cornell and #7 Laurel

#14 Jeannette at #3 Neshannock

No. 11 Monessen at No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan

Rebel says: This is a deep Class A playoff field. Fort Cherry and Clairton are the teams to beat, but the group below them is good, with narrow margins between No. 3 and No. 13. I’m with the award went from two wild cards for the Eastern Conference to one wild card for each conference, due in part to a three-way tie for second place in the Tri-County South — sorry, West Greene.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after working as a reporter at the Beaver County Times for seven years. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.