Conference play in WPIAL football begins this weekend, so it’s a good time to try and explain the league’s playoff system for this year.
The playoffs for 2021 will be different than last year, when COVID-19 caused the WPIAL to come up with a new system. The WPIAL football playoff committee actually chose a few playoff teams based on their opinions.
This year, it’s back to the old system, where opinions don’t matter and conference records will decide all playoff spots. Ties will be broken by head-to-head competition. If that doesn’t break the tie, then Gardner Points and WPIAL tiebreaker points will be used — and no need to try and explain those complicated things at this time.
But the playoff format this year is even different than two years ago or 2018. What’s also different this season is five title games will be played over two days (Nov. 26-27) at Heinz Field. The WPIAL did not use Heinz for any championship games last year, and this is the first time the WPIAL will use Heinz for two days of championship games. In the past, four games were played in one day, either at Heinz Field or Three Rivers Stadium.
Only the Class 6A championship will not be played at Heinz. That’s because the 6A champ plugs into the PIAA playoffs a week earlier in the quarterfinals (Nov. 26-27), while the champs of the other five classifications move directly to the PIAA semifinals (Dec. 3-4).
Here is what the WPIAL format looks like in each classification.
CLASS 6A
• Number of qualifiers: 5
• Format: Three rounds. Class 6A has only one conference with eight teams and the top five will qualify for the playoffs. The first-, second- and third-place teams will receive a bye in the first round while the fourth- and fifth-place teams will play. In the semifinals, the first-place team will play host to the 4-5 winner while the second-place team hosts the third-place squad.
• Championship: Either Nov. 19 or 20 at a high school stadium.
CLASS 5A
• Number of qualifiers: 12
• Format: Four rounds. The top four teams from each of the three conferences make the playoffs. The top four seeds, as chosen by the WPIAL, will receive a first-round bye. The conference champs will all play their first playoff game at home. In all other opening games, the higher-seeded team will play at home.
• Championship: Either Nov. 26 or 27 at Heinz Field.
CLASS 4A
• Number of qualifiers: 13
• Format: Four rounds. The top four teams from the Parkway and Big Eight conferences will qualify, as well as the top five from the Greater Allegheny. The top three seeded teams, chosen by the WPIAL, will receive a first-round bye. The three conference champions will play at home in their first playoff game. In all other opening games, the higher-seeded team will play at home.
• Championship: Either Nov. 26 or 27 at Heinz Field.
CLASS 3A
• Number of qualifiers: 12
• Format: Four rounds. The top four teams from each of the three conferences make the playoffs. The top four seeds, as chosen by the WPIAL, will receive a first-round bye. The conference champs will all play their first playoff game at home. In all other opening games, the higher-seeded team will play at home.
• Championship: Either Nov. 26 or 27 at Heinz Field.
CLASS 2A
• Number of qualifiers: 16
• Format: Four rounds. The top five teams in the Midwestern, the top four from the Century and the top three from the Allegheny and Three Rivers all qualify for the playoffs. That accounts for 15 playoff teams. The final playoff spot will be the fourth-place team from the Allegheny or Three Rivers that has the highest amount of Gardner Points. The four conference champions and higher-seeded teams, determined by the WPIAL, will play at home in the first round of the playoffs.
• Championship: Either Nov. 26 or 27 at Heinz Field.
CLASS 1A
• Number of qualifiers: 15
• Format: The top five teams in each of the three conferences qualify. The No. 1 seed for the playoffs, determined by the WPIAL, will receive a first-round bye. All three conference champs will play at home in their opening game. Plus, the higher-seeded team will also play at home in all other opening games.
• Championship: Either Nov. 26 or 27 at Heinz Field.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: September 16, 2021, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: September 17, 2021, 3:57 p.m.
