Mike White’s high school sports chat: 10.06.26
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40_Stripes_Retired
11:40
Mike, I just heard that Coach Hamilton of Blackhawk passed away.  What a true gentleman of the game he was.  My condolences to his family.  May he rest in God's eternal peace.
Mike White
11:41
Yes, I have a little story posted on our Post-Gazette web site that will be updated later. https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-football/2026/10/06/jo...
MIKE
11:41
What games will the PG staff be covering on Friday?
Mike White
11:42
I know one will be Thomas Jefferson and West Allegheny. Cherpak vs. Palko. Wow. I think those two should go on the field and do an Oklahoma drill against each other. Cherp might hit him hard, but maybe Palko jukes by him.
Wiscoken
11:44
Hey Mike - I can remember that 1978 Penn Hills vs. Blackhawk champion game at Pitt Stadium.  A very close game, Penn Hills was a big favorite, and Joe's team kept it very close.  I was from PHHS, and that was a great team, but it barely won that game.
Mike White
11:46
Yep, you are correct, Wiscoken. It was at Pitt Stadium. Penn Hills won, 7-0, when Dan Biondi scored on a 2-yard run with 41 seconds left. Tom Flynn was Penn Hills' QB. Bill Fralic was a sophomore lineman. Blackhawk's Mike Engle ran for more than 100 yards. Went on to WVU.
Home Games
11:48
Is the Wpial Still giving teams home games for the 1st round and then bye round?
Mike White
11:49
The byes are different, depending on the classification. But yes, conference champs or the higher seeded team will play at home in their first game.
Hoops
11:50
Mike, I need your early season hoops favorites
Mike White
11:52
6A easy. Upper St. Clair. 5A I'd say probably New Castle and Chartiers Valley (although CV is young). 4A easy. Sewickley and then Lincoln Park -- both way ahead of pack. 3A not sure. Looks fairly balanced. Maybe Neighborhood Academy in 2A. 1A I'm not sure.
JimmyTheFish77
11:52
Mike, as always, you are one of my favorite sports guys! Just wanted to say you’re a great guy and thanks for all that you do for HS sports!  Ok, so what is your prediction on the TJ vs West A game this week? The riverboat gambler Bob Palko and Billy Cherpak, doesn’t get much better than this!
Mike White
11:53
Why thank you JimmyTheFish. Were you in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh? That coaching matchup is something else, isn't it. As for the game, I think I'll take TJ, although West A's defense will keep them in it.
Sad
11:53
George C is so right!!! There has to be a better way because each week are basically blowouts. Kudos to the WPIAL for trying better match ups but that’s not the answer. I for one want to see good games not blow outs. Sometimes it’s unavoidable but man if I’m a casual fan I’m not going to HS FB much anymore. Sort of sad!
Mike White
11:55
Well then go to a game that won't be a blowout. It's obvious every week which games might be blowouts. And it's obvious which games might not be. What do you want the WPIAL to do? There isn't parity in the league. You know blowouts were happening many, many years ago also. Just not as many. And there weren't as many points scored because teams didn't throw as much. But please don't tell me you can't find a game that you know won't be a blowout. That's hogwash.
hsfan
11:55
Why does the WPIAL schedule games for football? In other sports teams pick their non conference games. Is it so everyone has teams to play? A team like Central should be able to play multiple out of area games if they want to.
Mike White
11:57
First off, if you're in a conference, you have to play the other teams in your conference. Secondly, years ago many teams asked the WPIAL to schedule non-conference games because the teams that are good, no one wants to play
5 star concerns
11:57
I am not going to knock a HS kid - I'll wait until next year when he is a paid professional but if K Spell can't make it through a game without coming out repeatedly, let alone a season without missing games - he is in for a rude awakening when he gets to Georgia - great player no doubt - but sometimes the best ability is availability
Mike White
11:58
But you don't know if he's hurt that badly, or if McKeesport is saving him.
Respect
11:58
Hey Mike Love, the Chat every week.! I have to say the football across Western Pennsylvania, especially in class one through three is terrible. The margin of victory I would venture a guess as well ever 50% of three touchdown games. Most of the time the gap is closed at the end of the game when the JV kids are in and somebody scores. The WPIAL has tried to make some adjustments, but I don’t think it’s really helped in totality the way they thought it would! Thoughts?
Mike White
12:00
Of course what the WPIAL has done is helped. But what is the WPIAL supposed to do in conference games? Yes, there are blowouts in conference games. There are good teams and bad teams in conferences every year. I agree that there are too many blowouts, but non-conference is much better and there's not much you can do with haves and have nots in conferences.
Dougeefresh
12:00
Hi Mike PCC 271-46 vs wpial this  year Do there fans enjoy this? Does anybody enjoy this? What can be done can they play in there own catholic league with Ohio and Maryland schools like a tri state league?
Mike White
12:02
Where have you been? Many call for separation of public and private/Catholic. But private/Catholic schools don't want it. There's a bill in state legislature right now that would let the PIAA have separate championships. But again, private/Catholic/charter schools don't want separation. And you're tri-state league will never happen.
X
12:02
We may not see another player of Rushel Shell's caliber with that many high school carries again.   It's understandable to me given the NIL money, but selfishly as a fan, I want to see the kids play.    It's still early in the post NIL world, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.   For now, it sounds like Boo Boo is business as usual.  My hats off to him.
Mike White
12:04
Well, Tyler Eber will probably go over 1,000 carries in 3-4 games. He has 911. Would be only second runner in WPIAL history to have 1,000 carries. But Shell had 1,107. That's almost 200 more carries. TJ would have to go far in playoffs to catch Shell. But is that really a record you should be striving for?
1976
12:05
They honored the 1976 USC WPIAL championship team last week. Any memories of that team ?
Mike White
12:05
Well, the 76 team didn't even make it to WPIAL finals. USC made it in 1974 ad 1975 and get this: They tied in the championship both times. No overtime back then.
X
12:05
I see Ama Sow is now at IUP.  I didn't see him play in high school, but I did see some film of him.  I thought he moved very well for a kid that size.  How do you think he will do at the d2 level?
Mike White
12:06
You're talking about 6-11 Ama Sow from Montour. I saw him play. Was raw but colleges will take 6-11 players with some athletic ability. Didn't work out for him at low D-1. Maybe DII is the best for him.
12:07
Well, that's it for today. We'll do it again next Tuesday at 11. Take care, everyone. And RIP, Joe Hamilton.
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