Just wanted to update things from the initial weekend of playoffs in both Pennsylvania and Ohio. I'll have Under the Lights tomorrow, which tracks the performances and results of games from Pitt commits in-depth, but this is just to look at the lay of the land for all Pitt targets. If you missed it, here was the initial look at the WPIAL playoffs and the Ohio playoffs before they began.
WPIAL 1A
Really, the only school with relevance in 1A for Pitt is Clairton and the Bears performed as they expected. While Lamont Wade was out (and he will be this week as well), Noah Hamlin handled business in a major way as Clairton rolled to a 50-6 win. They'll play Fort Cherry on Peters Township's field on Friday night. If you missed them, here are my recent video interviews with Hamlin, who could be close to an offer, and Wade.
WPIAL 2A
Rivals100 Pitt commit Paris Ford and Steel Valley took care of business as per usual, dominating en route to a 51-14 victory over Beth Center. They'll get Laurel on West Allegheny's field on Friday night. Ford's fellow Pitt commit Tyler Sear also took care of business at Neshannock, as the Lancers crusied to a 60-21 victory over Serra Catholic. The only semi-surprising result was East Allegheny and 2018 Pitt offer TJ Banks, a TE/DE, falling to Freedom in the first round. Freedom has 2019 DL Logan Clark, but he was injured and did not play.
WPIAL 3A
Aliquippa was without 2018 Rivals250 all-everything star Kwantel Raines, but they still won easily by a score of 42-7 over South Park. They'll have a tougher matchup in Derry in the WPIAL semi-finals this week. Derry can't match up athletically with Aliquippa, but they're a disciplined team. That game will be played at Fox Chapel on Friday night. Meanwhile, Beaver Falls, led by four-star 2017 DL Donovan Jeter and three-star 2018 ATH Malik Shepherd, cruised over Mt. Pleasant with a 42-14 victory. They'll face off against Keystone Oaks at Ambridge on Friday night. I would be surprised if we weren't headed for an Aliquippa-Beaver Falls rematch in the WPIAL finals. Last time they played, Raines was active for Aliquippa and Shepherd was not for Beaver Falls, but the Quips put a running clock on Beaver Falls.
WPIAL 4A
Thomas Jefferson, led by 2017 LB Zane Zandier and 2018 DL Devin Danielson, dominated en route to a 35-0 dub over Montour, who were led by 2017 DE Mason Cholewa and 2018 WR Ronnie Stevenson. They'll play West Mifflin at Elizabeth Forward on Friday night. The other side of the bracket saw a pair of upsets. Ringgold went to Mars' field and came away with a 42-31 victory while New Castle showed up at South Fayette and got a 51-43 win. New Castle is led by 2018 Rivals250 ATH Marcus Hooker and 2017 ATH Geno Stone. These teams will play Friday night at Mars. I'm unabashedly rooting for a New Castle-Thomas Jefferson WPIAL final for the sake of my interviews.
WPIAL 5A
The WPIAL 5A bracket pretty much played out as expected, with the exception of one game. Top-seeded West Allegheny (led by 2018 DB Kenny White, a Pitt target, and 2018 ATH Brandon Lipford, a DI prospect) triumphed over North Hills 41-21. Woodland Hills looked like their usual selves and stifled Franklin Regional on the way to a 17-3 victory. Those two teams will play Friday night at Baldwin. McKeesport defeated Upper St. Clair (led by Pitt commit Gabe Houy at OT and DE) for the second time this year, 31-10. They'll face Gateway at Norwin on Friday night, who came away with a 38-20 win over Armstrong after ultra-productive RB Zane Dudek left the game with an abdominal injury on the first series. I'm still an alum so I think I can say this: Go Gators.
WPIAL 6A
Central Catholic showed and played like Central Catholic, which means that they're going to win just about every game when they do that. This time it was a 48-0 disemboweling of Norwin. Business as usual for the Vikings, who should potentially have double-digit Division I players on the roster right now. They'll play Pine Richland, who advanced with a 35-32 road win over Bethel Park, on Friday night at North Allegheny. The good news for Pine Richland is that 2017 Pitt commit Grant Carrigan, a TE and DE, returned from injury, but the bad news is that 2018 Notre Dame QB commit Phil Jurkovec is still out. The other side of the bracket will feature North Allegheny and Notre Dame OT commit Josh Lugg vs Seneca Valley at North Hills on Friday night.
Ohio Division VII
Division VII is small school ball in Ohio, so the system counts the opposite direction of PA. The only school of note here is Canal Winchester's Harvest Prep, featuring 2018 OL/DL Isaiah Mullens, a titan of a kid. They won and will advance to play Danville on Saturday. He's raw and doesn't have a Pitt offer yet, but he's physically intriguing.
Ohio Division VI - Nothing
Ohio Division V - Nothing
Ohio Division IV
I watched Pitt commit Charles Reeves and his teammates cruise to a 34-14 victory over Indian Creek in their home field of Harding Stadium. They play and beat Indian Creek in the playoffs virtually every year. Steubenville is a state title contender this year and senior LB Jalen McGee, a likely D2 prospect, filled a big role too. Reeves is the real deal (Prospect Report coming this afternoon). They play Johnstown-Monroe on Friday night and they'll be a very tough out. The only other team in Division IV that Pitt fans should care about are actually in Steubenville's region. Shelby features 2018 QB Brennan Armstrong, a player I think Pitt could turn to if things fall through with Kevin Doyle. They'll be favored to beat Philo on Friday night and could play Steubenville after that.
WPIAL 1A
Really, the only school with relevance in 1A for Pitt is Clairton and the Bears performed as they expected. While Lamont Wade was out (and he will be this week as well), Noah Hamlin handled business in a major way as Clairton rolled to a 50-6 win. They'll play Fort Cherry on Peters Township's field on Friday night. If you missed them, here are my recent video interviews with Hamlin, who could be close to an offer, and Wade.
WPIAL 2A
Rivals100 Pitt commit Paris Ford and Steel Valley took care of business as per usual, dominating en route to a 51-14 victory over Beth Center. They'll get Laurel on West Allegheny's field on Friday night. Ford's fellow Pitt commit Tyler Sear also took care of business at Neshannock, as the Lancers crusied to a 60-21 victory over Serra Catholic. The only semi-surprising result was East Allegheny and 2018 Pitt offer TJ Banks, a TE/DE, falling to Freedom in the first round. Freedom has 2019 DL Logan Clark, but he was injured and did not play.
WPIAL 3A
Aliquippa was without 2018 Rivals250 all-everything star Kwantel Raines, but they still won easily by a score of 42-7 over South Park. They'll have a tougher matchup in Derry in the WPIAL semi-finals this week. Derry can't match up athletically with Aliquippa, but they're a disciplined team. That game will be played at Fox Chapel on Friday night. Meanwhile, Beaver Falls, led by four-star 2017 DL Donovan Jeter and three-star 2018 ATH Malik Shepherd, cruised over Mt. Pleasant with a 42-14 victory. They'll face off against Keystone Oaks at Ambridge on Friday night. I would be surprised if we weren't headed for an Aliquippa-Beaver Falls rematch in the WPIAL finals. Last time they played, Raines was active for Aliquippa and Shepherd was not for Beaver Falls, but the Quips put a running clock on Beaver Falls.
WPIAL 4A
Thomas Jefferson, led by 2017 LB Zane Zandier and 2018 DL Devin Danielson, dominated en route to a 35-0 dub over Montour, who were led by 2017 DE Mason Cholewa and 2018 WR Ronnie Stevenson. They'll play West Mifflin at Elizabeth Forward on Friday night. The other side of the bracket saw a pair of upsets. Ringgold went to Mars' field and came away with a 42-31 victory while New Castle showed up at South Fayette and got a 51-43 win. New Castle is led by 2018 Rivals250 ATH Marcus Hooker and 2017 ATH Geno Stone. These teams will play Friday night at Mars. I'm unabashedly rooting for a New Castle-Thomas Jefferson WPIAL final for the sake of my interviews.
WPIAL 5A
The WPIAL 5A bracket pretty much played out as expected, with the exception of one game. Top-seeded West Allegheny (led by 2018 DB Kenny White, a Pitt target, and 2018 ATH Brandon Lipford, a DI prospect) triumphed over North Hills 41-21. Woodland Hills looked like their usual selves and stifled Franklin Regional on the way to a 17-3 victory. Those two teams will play Friday night at Baldwin. McKeesport defeated Upper St. Clair (led by Pitt commit Gabe Houy at OT and DE) for the second time this year, 31-10. They'll face Gateway at Norwin on Friday night, who came away with a 38-20 win over Armstrong after ultra-productive RB Zane Dudek left the game with an abdominal injury on the first series. I'm still an alum so I think I can say this: Go Gators.
WPIAL 6A
Central Catholic showed and played like Central Catholic, which means that they're going to win just about every game when they do that. This time it was a 48-0 disemboweling of Norwin. Business as usual for the Vikings, who should potentially have double-digit Division I players on the roster right now. They'll play Pine Richland, who advanced with a 35-32 road win over Bethel Park, on Friday night at North Allegheny. The good news for Pine Richland is that 2017 Pitt commit Grant Carrigan, a TE and DE, returned from injury, but the bad news is that 2018 Notre Dame QB commit Phil Jurkovec is still out. The other side of the bracket will feature North Allegheny and Notre Dame OT commit Josh Lugg vs Seneca Valley at North Hills on Friday night.
Ohio Division VII
Division VII is small school ball in Ohio, so the system counts the opposite direction of PA. The only school of note here is Canal Winchester's Harvest Prep, featuring 2018 OL/DL Isaiah Mullens, a titan of a kid. They won and will advance to play Danville on Saturday. He's raw and doesn't have a Pitt offer yet, but he's physically intriguing.
Ohio Division VI - Nothing
Ohio Division V - Nothing
Ohio Division IV
I watched Pitt commit Charles Reeves and his teammates cruise to a 34-14 victory over Indian Creek in their home field of Harding Stadium. They play and beat Indian Creek in the playoffs virtually every year. Steubenville is a state title contender this year and senior LB Jalen McGee, a likely D2 prospect, filled a big role too. Reeves is the real deal (Prospect Report coming this afternoon). They play Johnstown-Monroe on Friday night and they'll be a very tough out. The only other team in Division IV that Pitt fans should care about are actually in Steubenville's region. Shelby features 2018 QB Brennan Armstrong, a player I think Pitt could turn to if things fall through with Kevin Doyle. They'll be favored to beat Philo on Friday night and could play Steubenville after that.
