The Pennsylvania state playoffs are reaching the light at the end of the tunnel here as November turns into December. Although they're a week behind the Ohio playoffs (which I broke down yesterday), Pennsylvania is now in the "Final Four" portion of its bracket at every level. All of the state championship games will be played in Hershey on December 8th through the 10th. This is my breakdown of how the brackets look in regards to Pitt recruiting targets and overall outlook heading into the semi-finals. I'll start with the smallest division, 1A, and work my way up.
1A
There are a few constants we can count on in life: death, taxes, people making "death, taxes, [blank]" jokes, and Clairton winning WPIAL Championships. The Bears, led by five-star cornerback Lamont Wade and his standout teammate Noah Hamlin, have won the WPIAL once again and will take their shot at capturing state once again. Wade and Hamlin defeated Jeannette 26-6 in the WPIAL Championships at Robert Morris, their second time beating the Jayhawks by three scores this season. Now, they'll advance to play Farrell at Slippery Rock on Friday, December 2nd at 7 PM. Clairton will be heavily favored. Farrell does, however, have a standout 2019 LB by the name of Kyi Wright who's going to be somebody that fans will want to know moving forward. No offers yet, but that's only a matter of time.
The other side of the bracket consists of Steel-High and Bishop Guilfoyle. Bishop Guilfoyle is about as dominant in their neck of the woods as Clairton is in the Pittsburgh area and they're the two-time defending state champions. Guilfoyle actually defeated Wade and Clairton in 2014 during his sophomore season, 19-18, to capture the state title. They beat Farrell last year for the win. Guilfoyle is heavily favored in this game as well, and we seem destined for a rematch of the 2014 game.
2A
The sheer dominance of Steel Valley this season has continued unabated, led by Rivals100 Pitt commit Paris Ford and his teammate Dewayne Murray. Neshannock, led by Pitt commit Tyler Sear, was supposed to be the only 2A WPIAL team with a prayer of slowing down Steel Valley, but they just got blown up 49-14 in the WPIAL Finals. Now Wilmington has the unenviable task of trying to slow them down when they play each other at North Allegheny on Friday night. Wilmington has been 14-1 and excellent in their own right, but I just don't see anybody stopping Steel Valley this year.
The other side of the bracket has Ligonier Valley and Southern Columbua playing at Bald Eagle high school on Friday night. Both teams are undefeated with 15-0 records, so something will have to give here heading into the state championship game.
3A
After taking a week off, the 3A WPIAL Champions at Beaver Falls (11-1) will be back in action for the semi-finals. Led by four-star Michigan DL commit Donovan Jeter and three-star athlete Malik Shepherd, a 2018 prospect, Beaver Falls will face Martinsburg (Pa.) Central High (12-1) in the semi-final matchup. That game will be played Friday at 7 PM at Mansion Park in Altoona.
The other side of the bracket will be a match-up between Easton (Pa.) Notre Dame-Green Pond (12-2) and the undefeated Middletown Blue Raiders, played at Hershey Park on Friday at 7 PM. Neither team contains major prospects to my knowledge.
4A
The WPIAL's 4A champion, Thomas Jefferson, fell in the quarterfinals to Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep this past weekend. TJ had a hell of a season, but Cathedral Prep was always going to be an incredibly tough opponent. Cathedral is led by Rivals250 juniors Matthew Bauer, a Notre Dame linebacker commit, and Juice Scruggs, a standout offensive lineman who will likely decide between Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State at the end of the day. Berks Catholic will play Cathedral Prep in the semi-finals, an unenviable task that will likely not end will. Berks is 12-1, but Cathedral is undefeated and has only played two games that they won by one score or less; neither game was against a team from Pennsylvania.
The other side of the bracket features Bethlehem Catholic and Imhotep Charter playing at Northern Lehigh high school. I saw Bethlehem Catholic played Bethlehem Liberty, Darian Street's school, earlier in the season. They have a nice team, but I'm a little surprised they made it this far. They didn't scream championship contender to me. The Imhotep Team they'll play is loaded, featuring a ton of Division I prospects, including 2018 Pitt offers Isheem Young, a Rivals250 safety, and Justin Johnson, a three-star offensive guard.
5A
5A's WPIAL Champion, West Allegheny, has advanced to the semifinals after a strong showing and a 47-20 win over Meadville. West Allegheny is led by standout junior Kenny White and he fueled their huge showing with 144 yards and TD on 19 carries, 16 of them coming in the first half. West A's defense also bottled up star Meadville running back Journey Brown, holding him under 100 yards until the final minute of the game, per the Post-Gazette. He had posted 391 yards the week prior, so that was a huge accomplishment. West A was without senior two-way lineman Kieran Firment, a Colorado State commit, but they'll need him back against Harrisburg.
Harrisburg is a loaded team, led by 2018 Penn State defensive end commit Micah Parsons (perhaps the country's best edge-rusher), 2018 wide receiver Shaquon Anderson-Butts (a target for both Pitt and PSU), and 2017 Penn State defensive end commit Damion Barber. The two schools will meet at Mansion Park in Altoona and it should be a great game. West A is undefeated, but Harrisburg is 10-3. They added some late transfers, Parson being the most notable, and are definitely better than that record indicates.
The other side of the bracket should be a scrimmage for Archbishop Wood to find out which of the two finalists from the other side of the bracket they'll run into when they beat Academy Park. Wood has been dominant all season and they're as loaded as they always are. 2017 Rivals100 WR Mark Webb (a Georgia commit), 2018 TE Kyle Pitts (holds a Pitt offer), and 2018 LB Matt Palmer are the team's most notable prospects.
6A
I don't want to surprise anybody here, but in a shocking turn of events, St. Joe's and Pittsburgh Central Catholic are both still alive. The two titanic private schools from opposite ends of the state seem destined to meet in the state championship game. Standing in Central's way is Wilson West Lawn while North Penn is the obstacle for St. Joseph's Prep.
Central Catholic is led by 2017 Rivals250 LB David Adams (Notre Dame commit), 2017 OG/DT CJ Thorpe (Penn State commit), 2017 DT Kurt Hinish (Notre Dame commit), 2017 LB Tim Terry, 2017 RB JJ Younger, 2018 QB Troy Fisher, 2018 DT David Green, 2019 DE Brian Dallas, and 2019 ATH Corey Thomas Jr., among a host of other top-flight prospects. Wilson West Lawn's Justin Weller is the 2017 prospect of note, an FCS wide receiver target.
St. Joseph's star is Rivals100 running back D'Andre Swift, a Georgia commit in the class of 2017 and one of the best running backs in America. Their junior wide receiver Darryle Simmons is a Rivals250 prospect and a really, really nice player who's going to have lots of interest. They probably have another half-dozen kids on the team accumulating Division I offers, I'm just not as familiar with their program as I am with Central Catholic's. North Penn has a few Division I guys, but their most prominent is 2017 WVU commit Ricky Johns. Both North Penn and St. Joe's are undefeated, while Central and Wilson West Lawn have each suffered one loss.
1A
There are a few constants we can count on in life: death, taxes, people making "death, taxes, [blank]" jokes, and Clairton winning WPIAL Championships. The Bears, led by five-star cornerback Lamont Wade and his standout teammate Noah Hamlin, have won the WPIAL once again and will take their shot at capturing state once again. Wade and Hamlin defeated Jeannette 26-6 in the WPIAL Championships at Robert Morris, their second time beating the Jayhawks by three scores this season. Now, they'll advance to play Farrell at Slippery Rock on Friday, December 2nd at 7 PM. Clairton will be heavily favored. Farrell does, however, have a standout 2019 LB by the name of Kyi Wright who's going to be somebody that fans will want to know moving forward. No offers yet, but that's only a matter of time.
The other side of the bracket consists of Steel-High and Bishop Guilfoyle. Bishop Guilfoyle is about as dominant in their neck of the woods as Clairton is in the Pittsburgh area and they're the two-time defending state champions. Guilfoyle actually defeated Wade and Clairton in 2014 during his sophomore season, 19-18, to capture the state title. They beat Farrell last year for the win. Guilfoyle is heavily favored in this game as well, and we seem destined for a rematch of the 2014 game.
2A
The sheer dominance of Steel Valley this season has continued unabated, led by Rivals100 Pitt commit Paris Ford and his teammate Dewayne Murray. Neshannock, led by Pitt commit Tyler Sear, was supposed to be the only 2A WPIAL team with a prayer of slowing down Steel Valley, but they just got blown up 49-14 in the WPIAL Finals. Now Wilmington has the unenviable task of trying to slow them down when they play each other at North Allegheny on Friday night. Wilmington has been 14-1 and excellent in their own right, but I just don't see anybody stopping Steel Valley this year.
The other side of the bracket has Ligonier Valley and Southern Columbua playing at Bald Eagle high school on Friday night. Both teams are undefeated with 15-0 records, so something will have to give here heading into the state championship game.
3A
After taking a week off, the 3A WPIAL Champions at Beaver Falls (11-1) will be back in action for the semi-finals. Led by four-star Michigan DL commit Donovan Jeter and three-star athlete Malik Shepherd, a 2018 prospect, Beaver Falls will face Martinsburg (Pa.) Central High (12-1) in the semi-final matchup. That game will be played Friday at 7 PM at Mansion Park in Altoona.
The other side of the bracket will be a match-up between Easton (Pa.) Notre Dame-Green Pond (12-2) and the undefeated Middletown Blue Raiders, played at Hershey Park on Friday at 7 PM. Neither team contains major prospects to my knowledge.
4A
The WPIAL's 4A champion, Thomas Jefferson, fell in the quarterfinals to Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep this past weekend. TJ had a hell of a season, but Cathedral Prep was always going to be an incredibly tough opponent. Cathedral is led by Rivals250 juniors Matthew Bauer, a Notre Dame linebacker commit, and Juice Scruggs, a standout offensive lineman who will likely decide between Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State at the end of the day. Berks Catholic will play Cathedral Prep in the semi-finals, an unenviable task that will likely not end will. Berks is 12-1, but Cathedral is undefeated and has only played two games that they won by one score or less; neither game was against a team from Pennsylvania.
The other side of the bracket features Bethlehem Catholic and Imhotep Charter playing at Northern Lehigh high school. I saw Bethlehem Catholic played Bethlehem Liberty, Darian Street's school, earlier in the season. They have a nice team, but I'm a little surprised they made it this far. They didn't scream championship contender to me. The Imhotep Team they'll play is loaded, featuring a ton of Division I prospects, including 2018 Pitt offers Isheem Young, a Rivals250 safety, and Justin Johnson, a three-star offensive guard.
5A
5A's WPIAL Champion, West Allegheny, has advanced to the semifinals after a strong showing and a 47-20 win over Meadville. West Allegheny is led by standout junior Kenny White and he fueled their huge showing with 144 yards and TD on 19 carries, 16 of them coming in the first half. West A's defense also bottled up star Meadville running back Journey Brown, holding him under 100 yards until the final minute of the game, per the Post-Gazette. He had posted 391 yards the week prior, so that was a huge accomplishment. West A was without senior two-way lineman Kieran Firment, a Colorado State commit, but they'll need him back against Harrisburg.
Harrisburg is a loaded team, led by 2018 Penn State defensive end commit Micah Parsons (perhaps the country's best edge-rusher), 2018 wide receiver Shaquon Anderson-Butts (a target for both Pitt and PSU), and 2017 Penn State defensive end commit Damion Barber. The two schools will meet at Mansion Park in Altoona and it should be a great game. West A is undefeated, but Harrisburg is 10-3. They added some late transfers, Parson being the most notable, and are definitely better than that record indicates.
The other side of the bracket should be a scrimmage for Archbishop Wood to find out which of the two finalists from the other side of the bracket they'll run into when they beat Academy Park. Wood has been dominant all season and they're as loaded as they always are. 2017 Rivals100 WR Mark Webb (a Georgia commit), 2018 TE Kyle Pitts (holds a Pitt offer), and 2018 LB Matt Palmer are the team's most notable prospects.
6A
I don't want to surprise anybody here, but in a shocking turn of events, St. Joe's and Pittsburgh Central Catholic are both still alive. The two titanic private schools from opposite ends of the state seem destined to meet in the state championship game. Standing in Central's way is Wilson West Lawn while North Penn is the obstacle for St. Joseph's Prep.
Central Catholic is led by 2017 Rivals250 LB David Adams (Notre Dame commit), 2017 OG/DT CJ Thorpe (Penn State commit), 2017 DT Kurt Hinish (Notre Dame commit), 2017 LB Tim Terry, 2017 RB JJ Younger, 2018 QB Troy Fisher, 2018 DT David Green, 2019 DE Brian Dallas, and 2019 ATH Corey Thomas Jr., among a host of other top-flight prospects. Wilson West Lawn's Justin Weller is the 2017 prospect of note, an FCS wide receiver target.
St. Joseph's star is Rivals100 running back D'Andre Swift, a Georgia commit in the class of 2017 and one of the best running backs in America. Their junior wide receiver Darryle Simmons is a Rivals250 prospect and a really, really nice player who's going to have lots of interest. They probably have another half-dozen kids on the team accumulating Division I offers, I'm just not as familiar with their program as I am with Central Catholic's. North Penn has a few Division I guys, but their most prominent is 2017 WVU commit Ricky Johns. Both North Penn and St. Joe's are undefeated, while Central and Wilson West Lawn have each suffered one loss.
