Scholastic notebook news ...
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THE CHOPS
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Scholastic notebook news ...
Scholastic Notebook...
10/28/2005 -
Starting next year, there is a possibility W.P.I.A.L. football teams might be feeling more at home in the playoffs. Under the current W.P.I.A.L. playoff system, teams get to play at home in the first round. But games are moved to neutral sites starting in the Quarterfinals.
The W.P.I.A.L. recently has considered playing Quarterfinal games at home sites. It seems more than just faint talk.
“We put it on the back burner this year because we didn’t want to do it in the middle of the two-year cycle,” said W.P.I.A.L. Executive Director Larry Hanley. “But we’ll consider it again in the future.”
The P.I.A.A. and W.P.I.A.L. realigns every two years. You can bet the W.P.I.A.L. will give serious consideration to playing next year’s Quarterfinal games at home sites, probably to the higher seeds.
“First of all, we think it would be a reward for teams to some degree,” Hanley said. “Quite frankly, attendance is a little better at a home site than a neutral site. While we have a lot of turf fields available nowadays, they’re not necessarily at the geographic midpoint of the two teams, and the tournament has suffered some over the years because of that.”
But money is the other main reason the W.P.I.A.L. will consider home games for the quarterfinals.
“Quite frankly, when we play at neutral sites for the "16" games [in the quarterfinals], it costs us about the same as it does for the "32" first-round games,” Hanley said.
About the Seedings ????
Many people look at the W.P.I.A.L. football playoff brackets and get the wrong impression. They think all "16" teams in each classification are seeded from 1-16. That’s not true.
One newspaper this week said it was “a farce” that Mount Pleasant is seeded seventh in Class (AAA). To be blunt, Mount Pleasant isn’t the No. #7 seed. It just appears that way.
Because first-place and second-place teams in each conference play at home in the first round, it makes it impossible for the W.P.I.A.L. to seed the teams from 1-16.
Mount Pleasant finished second in the Keystone Conference and plays at home against Pine-Richland in the first round. There is no way in the world the W.P.I.A.L. would seed Mount Pleasant ahead of Pine-Richland, which tied for the Greater Allegheny Conference championship. But because Pine-Richland finished third in the Greater Allegheny in tiebreaker points, it must play on the road. So it only appears that Mount Pleasant is seeded higher.
“You can’t do this like a basketball bracket where you seed everyone,” Hanley said. “You’re kind of locked into some things and pushed into some positions. Then we have a policy that you don’t play someone from your own conference in the first round. So if you’re trying to make this a classic, competitive bracket, your hands are tied in some ways.”
Usually, the W.P.I.A.L. can seed teams 1 through 5 or 6, and 12-16. But in between is where the seedings sometimes aren’t true.
As Good as Last Year?
No one is ready to say this Pittsburgh Central Catholic team is as good as last year’s. The 2004 Vikings are one of the W.P.I.A.L.’s best teams in the past few decades. But going by statistics in the regular season, this year’s team is comparable to last year’s.
Central Catholic averaged "31" points a game in the 2004 regular season. This year, the Vikings are averaging 27. Last year, Central Catholic gave up 115 points in the regular season. This year, the Vikings have allowed only 75.
Last year, though, Central Catholic’s team went up a level in the playoffs. We’ll see if the Vikings can do that this year.
One thing isn’t as good as last year and that’s the passing game. Shane Murray was an accomplished quarterback last year and ended up with a scholarship to Pitt. Nothing against Andy Vaughan, this year’s quarterback, but the Vikings’ passing game has been non-existent in many games. Vaughan has attempted only 57 passes and thrown for 354 yards. He’s thrown for only 66 yards the past four games.
But the main question is can anyone force Central Catholic to pass in the playoffs?
Elite Company...
Rochester is trying to win its fifth W.P.I.A.L. Class (A) title in the past six years. If the Rams go on to win the championship, you might have to call them a dynasty.
Only two other schools have ever won five W.P.I.A.L. championships in six years. Aliquippa won five in Class (AAA) from 1984-89. Braddock won six in a row from 1954-59.
Basketball Recruiting ?????
Quaker Valley point guard Amir Johnson has a few scholarship offers from mid-major Division I schools, but doesn’t know if he will sign with a school during the N.C.A.A.’s week-long early signing period.
North Allegheny point guard Ryan Tiesi recently made a verbal commitment to Bellarmine University in Kentucky. It’s significant because Bellarmine is trying to have a top N.C.A.A. Division II program. The team’s first-year coach is Scott Davenport, who was an assistant under Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville last season.
“They treated [Tiesi] real well,” North Allegheny coach Dave DeGregorio said of Bellarmine. “They flew him in for a visit, offered him a scholarship and he took it. … They saw him play in A.A.U. this summer and really liked him.”
Headed for Heinz !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Pittsburgh City League championship was played on a Friday last year at Heinz Field, but it will be played on Thursday, November 10th this season.
One of the reasons it won’t be played on a Friday is because City schools are off November 11th.
Also, Pitt plays at Heinz Field Saturday, November 12th and the Steelers play Cleveland at Heinz Sunday, November 13th.
The Steelers obviously wouldn’t want a game to be played on the field three days in a row. But it will be interesting to see what that field will look like by the Steelers game that Sunday.
Where Are They Now??????????????
*Word out of Happy Valley is that Brianne O’Rourke, a freshman from Oakland Catholic High School, is working as Penn State’s starting point guard in preseason practices. That’s a nice achievement, but consider this: There are only nine girls on Penn State’s roster – four freshman, two sophomores and three juniors. It could be a long year for Penn State.
*Former Greensburg Central Catholic quarterback Jeff Mroz is having a nice season – and career – at Yale in the Ivy League. He was the Ivy Player of the Week once in September. He is now third on the school’s all-time career list in touchdown passes (31), fifth in completions (270) and fifth in passing yards (3,142).
*Former Valley football-basketball player Baron Flenory Jr. is a starting defensive back for New Hampshire, the No. 5-ranked NCAA Division I-AA team in the country. Flenory, son of former Duquesne University basketball player B.B. Flenory, leads the team in interceptions with three. He was recently named the Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
"THE CHOPS".
10/28/2005 -
Starting next year, there is a possibility W.P.I.A.L. football teams might be feeling more at home in the playoffs. Under the current W.P.I.A.L. playoff system, teams get to play at home in the first round. But games are moved to neutral sites starting in the Quarterfinals.
The W.P.I.A.L. recently has considered playing Quarterfinal games at home sites. It seems more than just faint talk.
“We put it on the back burner this year because we didn’t want to do it in the middle of the two-year cycle,” said W.P.I.A.L. Executive Director Larry Hanley. “But we’ll consider it again in the future.”
The P.I.A.A. and W.P.I.A.L. realigns every two years. You can bet the W.P.I.A.L. will give serious consideration to playing next year’s Quarterfinal games at home sites, probably to the higher seeds.
“First of all, we think it would be a reward for teams to some degree,” Hanley said. “Quite frankly, attendance is a little better at a home site than a neutral site. While we have a lot of turf fields available nowadays, they’re not necessarily at the geographic midpoint of the two teams, and the tournament has suffered some over the years because of that.”
But money is the other main reason the W.P.I.A.L. will consider home games for the quarterfinals.
“Quite frankly, when we play at neutral sites for the "16" games [in the quarterfinals], it costs us about the same as it does for the "32" first-round games,” Hanley said.
About the Seedings ????
Many people look at the W.P.I.A.L. football playoff brackets and get the wrong impression. They think all "16" teams in each classification are seeded from 1-16. That’s not true.
One newspaper this week said it was “a farce” that Mount Pleasant is seeded seventh in Class (AAA). To be blunt, Mount Pleasant isn’t the No. #7 seed. It just appears that way.
Because first-place and second-place teams in each conference play at home in the first round, it makes it impossible for the W.P.I.A.L. to seed the teams from 1-16.
Mount Pleasant finished second in the Keystone Conference and plays at home against Pine-Richland in the first round. There is no way in the world the W.P.I.A.L. would seed Mount Pleasant ahead of Pine-Richland, which tied for the Greater Allegheny Conference championship. But because Pine-Richland finished third in the Greater Allegheny in tiebreaker points, it must play on the road. So it only appears that Mount Pleasant is seeded higher.
“You can’t do this like a basketball bracket where you seed everyone,” Hanley said. “You’re kind of locked into some things and pushed into some positions. Then we have a policy that you don’t play someone from your own conference in the first round. So if you’re trying to make this a classic, competitive bracket, your hands are tied in some ways.”
Usually, the W.P.I.A.L. can seed teams 1 through 5 or 6, and 12-16. But in between is where the seedings sometimes aren’t true.
As Good as Last Year?
No one is ready to say this Pittsburgh Central Catholic team is as good as last year’s. The 2004 Vikings are one of the W.P.I.A.L.’s best teams in the past few decades. But going by statistics in the regular season, this year’s team is comparable to last year’s.
Central Catholic averaged "31" points a game in the 2004 regular season. This year, the Vikings are averaging 27. Last year, Central Catholic gave up 115 points in the regular season. This year, the Vikings have allowed only 75.
Last year, though, Central Catholic’s team went up a level in the playoffs. We’ll see if the Vikings can do that this year.
One thing isn’t as good as last year and that’s the passing game. Shane Murray was an accomplished quarterback last year and ended up with a scholarship to Pitt. Nothing against Andy Vaughan, this year’s quarterback, but the Vikings’ passing game has been non-existent in many games. Vaughan has attempted only 57 passes and thrown for 354 yards. He’s thrown for only 66 yards the past four games.
But the main question is can anyone force Central Catholic to pass in the playoffs?
Elite Company...
Rochester is trying to win its fifth W.P.I.A.L. Class (A) title in the past six years. If the Rams go on to win the championship, you might have to call them a dynasty.
Only two other schools have ever won five W.P.I.A.L. championships in six years. Aliquippa won five in Class (AAA) from 1984-89. Braddock won six in a row from 1954-59.
Basketball Recruiting ?????
Quaker Valley point guard Amir Johnson has a few scholarship offers from mid-major Division I schools, but doesn’t know if he will sign with a school during the N.C.A.A.’s week-long early signing period.
North Allegheny point guard Ryan Tiesi recently made a verbal commitment to Bellarmine University in Kentucky. It’s significant because Bellarmine is trying to have a top N.C.A.A. Division II program. The team’s first-year coach is Scott Davenport, who was an assistant under Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville last season.
“They treated [Tiesi] real well,” North Allegheny coach Dave DeGregorio said of Bellarmine. “They flew him in for a visit, offered him a scholarship and he took it. … They saw him play in A.A.U. this summer and really liked him.”
Headed for Heinz !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Pittsburgh City League championship was played on a Friday last year at Heinz Field, but it will be played on Thursday, November 10th this season.
One of the reasons it won’t be played on a Friday is because City schools are off November 11th.
Also, Pitt plays at Heinz Field Saturday, November 12th and the Steelers play Cleveland at Heinz Sunday, November 13th.
The Steelers obviously wouldn’t want a game to be played on the field three days in a row. But it will be interesting to see what that field will look like by the Steelers game that Sunday.
Where Are They Now??????????????
*Word out of Happy Valley is that Brianne O’Rourke, a freshman from Oakland Catholic High School, is working as Penn State’s starting point guard in preseason practices. That’s a nice achievement, but consider this: There are only nine girls on Penn State’s roster – four freshman, two sophomores and three juniors. It could be a long year for Penn State.
*Former Greensburg Central Catholic quarterback Jeff Mroz is having a nice season – and career – at Yale in the Ivy League. He was the Ivy Player of the Week once in September. He is now third on the school’s all-time career list in touchdown passes (31), fifth in completions (270) and fifth in passing yards (3,142).
*Former Valley football-basketball player Baron Flenory Jr. is a starting defensive back for New Hampshire, the No. 5-ranked NCAA Division I-AA team in the country. Flenory, son of former Duquesne University basketball player B.B. Flenory, leads the team in interceptions with three. He was recently named the Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
"THE CHOPS".