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Mike White's high school sports chat: 09.27.22
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Mike White
10:59
WPIAL football regular season is now half over. So, let's discuss. Anyone have player of the year for half year? Coach of the year for half year? Let's go.
LeboKid
10:59
Good morning, Mike. How topsy-turvy is 6A?! Mt. Lebo comes from behind on the road to beat Central, SV gets off the mat to beat Lebo, and Central is in last place! To quote the late, great Vince Lombardi: "What the hell's going on out there?!" If you had to handicap this race, would NA be your team to beat? Thanks, as always, Mike.
Mike White
11:02
I wrote about 6A in story on our web site two days ago. Parity has hit the largest class. And when was the last time Central started 2-3 and was in last place in the conference? Well, actually it was 1999. Central has big game this week against Canon-Mac. I think C-M can play with Central, but I'd pick Central. Yes, NA has to be the No. 1 team right now. Doesn't mean they are a prohibitive favorite. The next four? Pick them out of a hat. Here is the story: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-football/2022/09/25/wp...
Anon
11:02
who do you think is playing the best football in 4A right now ?
Mike White
11:04
McKeesport and Central Valley. Central Valley hasn't played the schedule that McKeesport has, but CV has breezed. McKeesport has defeated Belle Vernon and Penn-Trafford. But please don't forget about Aliquippa. Yes, they've had a few close games. I think everyone expected Quips to blow out everyone. It's proven they aren't unbeatable, but they are still very good.
5A Fan
11:04
Why did 5A lose a round in the playoffs?  They have the same number of teams as the last cycle.  It's a very strong class as IMO 15 of the 18 teams are competitive.  According to MaxPreps rankings the WPIAL has 12 of the top 26 5A teams in the state (out of 98).
Mike White
11:05
It's because the WPIAL Class 5A champ plugs into PIAA playoffs in quarterfinals - and not semifinals like last year. So they have to be done a week earlier. Thus, playoffs are one week shorter. Eight teams qualify. First two teams in all three conferences, plus two third-place teams.
J from Pitt
11:05
With Seneca Valley's big win on Friday, what do these next few weeks mean for the team? Do you see this as the upstroke for the Raiders? Could this still be their year?
Mike White
11:08
Class 6A is hard to figure. Like I said before, parity has hit 6A. I think NA has to be the No. 1 team. They are still undefeated and just beat Central. As for Seneca, they have had some tough times, but it's not like they lost to tomato cans - Peters Township and Canon-McMillan. C-M is better than people think. I do think many people, including myself, thought Seneca would be a lot better. But I still say, talent-wise, they are as good as anybody in 6A. But can they prove it?
Turk
11:08
Shaler's offense is looking very good.  Are they a playoff team in the Northeast where everything looks wide open?
Mike White
11:11
Ahhh, I'll tell you when Shaler's offense didn't look very good. How about the 48-7 loss to Hempfield? Yes, Shaler is much more competitive than many past years. They have some decent offensive weapons. Kind of smallish up front, though. That's one of the reasons they had trouble with Hempfield. Two and possibly three teams qualify for the playoffs from Shaler's conference. I think they will be in thick of that race. A lot of those teams seem pretty even. Wouldn't surprise me if Shaler made playoffs. Wouldn't surprise me if Shaler did not make playoffs.
Coach O
11:11
Do you think there will be any prohibitive favorites to win a WPIAL basketball championship this season in any class?
Mike White
11:16
OK, a little hoops talk. I like it. A prohibitive favorite? Well, I don't know about that. Aliquippa started three sophomores on team that went to state finals in 3A and now they're in 2A. Of course, there's chance they might get late start because of football. And even though Bishop Canevin lost some starters from last year's 1A state championship team, Crusaders will still be formidable. How will new coach Tim McConnell do? I think you have to look at Imani Christian in 1A. More on them in a second.
11:20
Imani Christian has 6-10 Alier Maluk, ranked among top 25 sophomores in country. They have few other starters back. They have size. And they have suddenly become Transfer High. Had a few last year and now they added a couple more key ones this year. They landed Dame Givner, who averaged 18 points last year as freshman at Obama. Then they got R.J. Sledge, who started at guard last year as a freshman at Canevin. Some may ask why did they go to Imani? I'm not sure. I'll let the WPIAL decide. But it's a great example of why many public school teams don't want to play the likes of Imani and Lincoln Park. I don't know if WPIAL has yet ruled on eligibilities of Imani players. We shall see.
11:21
But one last thing about prohibitive favorites. I mentioned Imani. But don't dare overlook Mark Stanley's Union Scotties. They have all five starters back from last year's WPIAL finalist. And they beat Imani in semis last year.
RScottPro
11:22
Mike now that the season is half over(hard to believe) what are your top three or four teams in 5a? I got the Panthers at 1 and Bethel at 2. Your thoughts. Thanks.
Mike White
11:24
Yes, that's what we have at P-G rankings. We have Hempfield No. 3. The win against Penn-Trafford proved Hempfield. We have Peters Twp. 4 and Penn-Trafford 5. But that could change a lot in last half of season. I still say don't forget Gateway. 5A is the best class in WPIAL, from top to bottom.
Wpial guy
11:24
Good morning mike, what are your thoughts on pine Richlands chances this year after their quarterback went down against Seneca Valley?
Best regards.
Mike White
11:25
I did not know he was hurt. I think they have used two QBs at times this year, too. And Ryan Palmieri could even play QB. I think Pine is decent, but certainly not great. They will still be in the hunt for a playoff spot in that conference. Lot of parity in that conference.
RScottPro
11:25
Junko as coach of the year! Go Panthers.
Mike White
11:25
Right now he would be one of the candidates. But there would be a number of others.
USC alum
11:25
Who wins the game on Friday between USC and Lower St Clair (its original name...look it up) ? If Lower St Clair wins I they obviously cheated (kidding....mostly)
Mike White
11:26
I'm not laughing.
Zap
11:26
Been curious on this, why does the WPIAL schedule non-conference opponents for the schools?  Why doesn't the A/D have to get those scheduled?  In WV and OH the A/D's have to do the work to get opponents scheduled.  Is this a PIAA/PA thing, or just a WPIAL thing?
Mike White
11:28
Because that's the way it's done. That's just what WPIAL does. One of the main reasons is so that everyone can get enough games. Because here is what happens: The top teams, the real good teams, have trouble getting teams to voluntarily play them. So if you have to fill 3-4 weeks of non-conference games, it could be tough. I have no problem with the system, especially now that the WPIAL is matching teams up in non-conference games that might be similar in strength. Not all of the time. But non-conference games are no longer by luck of the draw.
Weird Stuff
11:28
Watching the Miami Buffalo game where the punter literally kicked his own teammates butt. Whats the weirdest play you ever saw in a HS game ?
Mike White
11:29
Hmmm. I'd have to think about that. One that comes to mind right away is when LaVar Arrington played at North Hills against Shaler. He was the punter. A snap went over his head. He picked up the ball about 7 yards deep in the end zone - and ran it for a touchdown.
11:31
One of the others I remember was probably about 25 years ago. It involved Greensburg Salem. I forget the other team. Anyway, on the final play of the game, a player took a handoff I believe, ran a few yards and then stopped because the scoreboard horn went off. He thought the game was over. He simply stopped and held the ball at his side. A player from opposing team, knowing the play had to finish, came from behind, stole the ball and ran for the winning touchdown.
Brad Everett’s burner
11:31
with the results of the peters usc game what do you think each team needs to improve upon to continue having great seasons? And a deep playoff run?
Mike White
11:33
USC's defense is very good. I don't think they will give up a ton of points to anyone. They obviously would like to get their starting QB back. I think USC needs to have a successful running game to win big. Brown needs to be good. Peters must run the ball well also. Peters coach even said Friday that they lost because they couldn't run the ball.
Brad Everett’s burner
11:33
what teams half way through the year disappointed you so far?
Mike White
11:34
I'm not going to get into that. These are high school teams. We don't need to be negative about them, like doing "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" on teams.
4A Hey
11:35
How many teams in each conference make the postseason ? Does Southmoreland have a chance ? It would be a great story
Mike White
11:38
It varies by classification. In Southmoreland's case, the top four teams qualify. There are only six teams in Southmoreland's conference and they only have to beat out two. Southmoreland is 3-2. They have a chance. You know Elizabeth Forward and Belle Vernon are going to get two of the spots. They'll have to contend with Greensburg Salem, Mount Pleasant and South Allegheny for the other two spots. I'd rate it as a 50-50 chance for Southmoreland.
Zap
11:38
In Class 3A, it appears the big 3 are EF, Avonworth, and BVA. Have you had a chance to watch EF or Avonworth?  BVA seems to get all of the attention, but these two are putting together strong seasons to date.
Mike White
11:39
I have not seen EF or Avonworth. Honestly, you could make a point for EF being No. 1. You should try to come up with five teams worthy of ranking every week in 3A. Not easy. Don't sleep on Avonworth. I think they're pretty good.
SingleA
11:39
You may touch on this, but rumor has it Imani has gotten a number of transfers in, including RJ Sledge, a starter on BC's team last year. Of course they did. How are any of these guys eligible? Or are hearings pending? Union is going to have a GREAT team and it may not matter because of this garbage.
Mike White
11:42
Yes, already touched on it above. Look at what I said. Transfers have become one of the building blocks for Imani. I don't think WPIAL has ruled on Sledge and Givner eligibility left. I don't know the reasons given for their transfers. The WPIAL will have to decide. Wouldn't be surprised if there were hearings for those two. But even if there are hearings, I would doubt Imani would let them open to media. Very few schools let the media in on hearings, so we never get to hear what the stated reasons are for transfer. But as I said, Imani is a prime example of why many public schools don't want to play likes of Imani and Lincoln Park.
Char Val Pal
11:43
Our football team is awful, we lost our legendary Basketball coach and the girls team graduated all its great players. What do we poor suffering Chartiers Valley people have to look forward to ? The marching band is good at least I guess
Mike White
11:44
Boy, you're a positive guy.
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