***UPDATE*** Class A, AA, AAA, AAAA Brackets complete.
P.I.A.A. Class A Final Clairton Bears vs Riverside Vikings Friday, December 17 @2pm
P.I.A.A. Class AAA Final Bishop McDevitt Crusaders vs Allentown Central Catholic Vikings Friday, December 17 @ 7pm
P.I.A.A. Class AA Final South Fayette Lions vs West Catholic Burrs Saturday, December 18 @ 12pm
P.I.A.A. Class AAAA Final North Allegheny Tigers vs LaSalle Explorers Saturday, December 18 @ 5pm
Note: The following teams will be on the HOME side of HersheyPark Stadium: Clairton, West Catholic, Allentown Central Catholic, North Allegheny
Note: The following teams will be on the AWAY side of HersheyPark Stadium: Riverside, South Fayette, Bishop McDevitt, LaSalle
Stadium Aerial Links have been added for each game. Click on each blue Stadium Aerial for a photo of the host stadium. A special thank you goes out to everyone that has helped with this project. Good luck to all teams in their quest for a PIAA State Championship. Any questions, comments or corrections please email Jeremy
Here are the direct links to each bracket.
480 Responses
Stan W, you need to get your “facts” straight; LaSalle is not an Archdiocesean high school, it never has been.
LaSalle and SJP are private, Catholic college preparatory high schools. They have always charged tuition (even when Archdiocesean high schools were tuition free). They draw children who believe in their child being academically challenged and they have no “geographic boundaries”; never have even again, when Archdiocesean high schools did.
“Open enrollment” has nothing to do with what students LaSalle or SJP draw.
Last year’s LSCH team was special and I totally agree that Drew Lock was simply a winner who should be playing college ball. However, having watch my son’s team play every game last year and every game this year the bottom line this year’s team has a better defense hands down. Bergen scored the most points on them 22 and this Bergen team has 4 D-1 starters and a QB that is being recruited by several major D-1 school. With all this stated I know for a fact that the lsch boys are not taking Easton for granted. They are confident, but they respect the Easton team and expect a battle. Should be a a great high school game. Go lsch!
Imagine if district 11 sweeps the pcl champs well except for easton. i agree la salle is good but wood and west are so overrated it isnt even funny NL will beat west and if wood makes it ACC will beat them
Ed, I’ve been hearing through friends who have kids going to school out at Easton that they are pretty much the same team as last year. Didn’t get much on them and don’t know how I can trust them. None the less, I feel as if the La Salle vs. Easton game last year was greatly affected by all of that snow and a not-too confident La Salle team. La Salle started the game playing scared, not knowing what to expect. But once they got going, they really got going. It seemed as if Easton had on 50 yards on offense after the first five minutes. With that said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a close game. La Salle had a big arm behind center last year, and Magarity hasn’t looked as good as expected after the NP game, and he’s young. Should be a good one, it should be Abdur-Rahman vs. all again for La Salle. It still boggles my mind how he doesn’t have boat loads of D-1 scholarships going his way.
Northern Lehigh is ready to kick some West Catholic butt!!!! West is fast but soft and way overrated!!!!!
My argument against the Catholic Schools has never been one of recruitment. The Catholic Schools do not recruit. My argument is the “open enrollment” of these schools. Archbishop Wood and LaSalle are located in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Any student who lives in this diocese is eligible to attend these schools. Lasalle has a entrance exam as a requirement. I checked the AW website and could find nothing about an entrance exam for this school. The Archdiocese contains Philadelphia proper, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties. The combined population is 3.3 million. Since North Penn’s name keeps popping up I researched their population. The school district lies in Towamencin Township, population 20-30,000. Quite a difference. I called North Penn. They do not accept tuition students. Len’s example of West York is a rare exception. Not all public schools accept tuition paying students All Philadfelphia catholic schools do. The open enrollent gives the catholic schools a distinct statistical advantage. Len quotes the 1988 statistics as a example to prove the Catholic schools do not have a statistical advantage. PCL did not join the PIAA until 2007 These schools have been deep into the state playoffs since then and will continue to do so as long as the Catholic schools are allowed open enrollment.
I’m a little late to this website but I must say very good job. Without giving too much information away I went to a PCL school in the late 1990’s and this school indeed did pay students tuition to go there for athletics. It would be funny because every September when school started you would see a new student who was either 6’8 Center or 6’4 240lbs DE brickhouse and snicker because you knew this guy was getting to go to school free. I think the people who are hating on LaSalle right now would’ve went crazy on how SJP recruited kids in the late 90’s and early 2000’s before the PCL was accepted in the PIAA. Unless there have been changes in the last 5-7 years in regards making ALL students pay their tution, I am fairly certain kids with exceptional athletic prowless are still getting to go to school for free.
I concede LaSalle played 2 good teams in their non PIAA playoff schedule, I wonder what their record would be playing teams like Easton, Whitehall, Nazareth, ACC, Liberty every week? Kinda like playing a state playoff game week in and week out
I think at game’s end, LaSalle will be bloodied and battered…trying to figure out how a team that they “were sooo much better than (on paper)” is celebrating on the 50yd line!
I really enjoy reading all the LaSalle love on this site, just keep assuming that they (LaSalle) will have a cake walk to the state finals. Don’t worry about Easton, just look forward to North Penn!
I failed to mention either team by name but I was referring to the LaSalle vs Easton reach and it just seems they are missing something that they had last year and I think it comes in that “special player” department.
I agree that the Gordons and their staff are great coaches and get the most out of their players but if because of this ridiculous bye week they come out stale and fall behind early it may not end the same as last years game. Remember they don’t have Sam Feliccia or Loughlin this go around. That Loughlin was and is a winner and that is an intangible that will be missed. It is hard to believe that no colleges really wanted him. Does anyone know if he ended up playing anywhere?
Buddy
You might be correct. ACC is very good and should be favored over Wood. I am a Wood supporter but Wood will need to be on their A+ game to win.
…..but they won’t get by ACC
Chris
after Wood wins Friday I’m sure you will be hiding and we will never hear from u again. Wood would lose to LaSalle but beat NP for sure. Wood will beat SH by at least 14 and they will be playing shorthanded.
Haven’t seen much from the Easton folks on this site. Curious to hear how the Easton fane think their team matches up with last year’s team. Easton certainly gave La Salle all they wanted last year and it was a much tougher game than the Ridley or State College game. In my opinion this year’s La Salle team is not as strong as last year’s team, although as others have said the coaching is excellent, the defense has been very good, and Abdul Rahman has been awesome. Wondering what Easton has at QB and the skill positions. Thanks. Have a safe trip down to Philadelphia.
I am surprised with how slow this site is moderating comments considering we are in the thick of things with the playoffs. This a great site otherwise but could be out of this world if it was more immediate for people to go back and forth.
Dog – I have not seen Wood play this year which is why I asked the question. Wood destroyed CB West in their scrimmage? You’re talking about a scrimmage!? Really, a SCRIMMAGE!? I know Wood is obviously a very good team but I don’t think they are better than LaSalle or North Penn as this site has indicated in the big school rankings. In fact, I don’t think they are better than Strath Haven which why I see them losing on Friday night.
I know nothing about Clearfield ( I see they are undefeated ), but ACC has too much fire power.
Strath Haven & Wood could be good ( especially without Peoples), but I’ll go with Wood. LaSalle has too much talent on both sides of the ball for Easton. Here’s the potential barn-burner: NP / Neshaminy. If NP has no turnovers, they will win. But if they do, they could be in trouble.
@ # 209: Man, you are diggin’ up bones. Us NP fans are long past that game. Give it a rest.
@ Varner: Can we start a new posting? This is getting a bit too crowded to take in.
AAAA-Lasalle over Easton
AAA-ACC over N.allegeny
AA-Northern Lehigh over South Fayette
A-Riverside over Farrel
EAST TAKES EVERYTHING BABBYYY
Szam, never said I was an attorney; shows you don’t really pay attention to the written word.
Fact is, you, not me, came on here spouting off that you “know” LaSalle recruits. You didn’t expect anyone to ask you how you “know”? Most people deal in fact; if they say they know something, they can prove it.
You didn’t; you can’t! You’re just hot air; a windbag is what they used to call it! Today, it’s just you have no “cred”. Call it what you want; in the end it’s all the same!
agreed …. “because if it doesn’t fit you must acquit” lol
Football fan P&S – My sentiments exactly..:
well spoken