Game of the Week: Upper St. Clair (6-4) at North Hills (6-4)

Data: 7 p.m. Friday at North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium. Game will be televised on WPCW.

Coaches: Mike Junko is 6-4 in one season at Upper St. Clair. Pat Carey is 37-35 in seven seasons at North Hills.

Last meeting: Upper St. Clair won at North Hills, 21-7, in Week 1 of the 2017 season. The Panthers went 2-0 against North Hills when the two shared the same conference from 2016-17.

Mike White

Changing classes: South Fayette, Pine-Richland could be headed to Class 5A football

History: These teams have a long playoff history against one another. This is their seventh playoff meeting since 1980. They split the previous six. The first of those came in 1986 when North Hills beat Upper St. Clair, 41-14, in the WPIAL semifinals. Carey was a running back-defensive back on that North Hills team. The two have met in the championship twice, with Upper St. Clair beating North Hills, 38-14, in 1989, and North Hills returning the favor, 21-13, in 1993. LaVar Arrington was a freshman running back for North Hills in 1993.

Last week: Upper St. Clair failed on a 2-point conversion attempt after scoring a late touchdown in a 14-13 loss to Bethel Park. North Hills lost at Penn Hills, 21-7.

Quick hits: Upper St. Clair’s Ethan Dahlem leads Class 5A in passing yards (2,077) and David Pantelis leads the WPIAL in receiving yards (1,135). Dahlem has also rushed for 762 yards. … North Hills has three players — Curtis Foskey (634), Tom McDonough (576) and Dylan Pawling (512) — who have rushed for more than 500 yards. Pawling, a quarterback, is questionable with an ankle injury. He missed last week’s game. … Upper St. Clair has lost three of its past four games. North Hills has dropped four of its past six.

Others to watch

Seneca Valley at Mt. Lebanon, 7 p.m. — It’s Bob Palko’s first playoff game at Mt. Lebanon. It’s also a rematch of a regular-season meeting won by Mt. Lebanon, 26-20, a game in which the Blue Devils trailed, 14-0, at halftime.

Elizabeth Forward at Aliquippa, 7 p.m. — How will Aliquippa respond after suffering the second-worst home loss in school history (45-6 against Central Valley)? The Quips have won their playoff opener 13 years in a row.

Jeannette at Sto-Rox, 7 p.m. — A matchup of 9-1 teams. So much can change in a week. Jeannette went into its regular-season finale looking like it would be the top seed, but a loss to Clairton dropped the Jayhawks to a sixth seed.

Mike White/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mike White: High school football has come to pass — a lot more

St. Marys at Westinghouse, 7 p.m. — Yes, there are PIAA playoff games this weekend, too. Newly-crowned City League champion Westinghouse will look to keep its momentum going against the District 9 Flying Dutch.

First Published: October 31, 2019, 4:00 a.m.