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Mike White's high school sports chat: 11.07.23
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Mike White
10:53
We've got two classes playing in semifinals this week and four playing in quarterfinals. Some old faces still let, and some new ones trying to make an impact. You wanna talk? Let's go.
Jeff
10:53
5 A Mike Penn Hills - Pine Richland if the first meeting was indication this should be another classic ? I still like Pine Richland to move on to face Peters who should beat Moon ........thoughts ?
Mike White
10:55
It's our Game of the Week. I will be there. I was also at the first one, won by Penn Hills. Big plays were the difference, especially from QB Julain Dugger, a Pitt recruit. I know Pine-Richland is different than that first meeting, using Ethan Pillar to take direct snaps. But he ran 32 times in the first game for 127. Everyone knows what's coming. But can you stop it? Pine-Richland's has also been very good. I think key is whether Pine's defense can stop big plays. As for other game, Moon gave Peters a good game for a half or so. But I like Peters.
Soccer mom
10:55
Your coverage of the soccer championships was definitely not up to what other championships are. No preview done with starting lineups etc. and very little in depth on the games afterward. You may not like soccer as much as football or basketball but those kids deserve acknowledgement too and coverage for their wpial championship games.
Mike White
10:58
Well soccer mom, sorry you feel the way you do. First off, you are wrong. We did run a separate boys preview and a separate girls preview last Thursday. Secondly, we have NEVER, EVER run starting lineups for soccer. Thirdly, we had a person at all eight championships covering them. We put two matches in one story, but everything was covered, with comments. But, as usual, nothing is ever good enough for some people. I can send links to every story if you want.
Jeff
10:58
4A TJ - Montour .................Montour is the real deal ? Will Bill Cherpak pick a QB and stay with whoever they pick, I understand the TJ Team has not jelled and I think its too late as this is a chemistry killer in the locker room and will result in exit from the playoffs for the Jags. Doe Trinity have an upset in the making? I like McKeesport to run the table
Mike White
11:01
TJ-Montour is an excellent quarterfinal game. Hard to beat against TJ in quarterfinals. Cherpak has gotten his team to the semis in all but three of his 28 years as coach. I don't know if two QB system has hurt. It seems they have good amount of passing yardage. What I see that might be lacking for TJ is a strong running game. No one even has 500 yards rushing. Jake "Big Bad" Wolfe could be the X factor in this one for Montour.
HsFan
11:01
Will the PG bring back the records for teams in previous seasons like there were in old.postgazette?
Mike White
11:02
We hope to have them back up soon. This question has been asked before. I'm not IT person, but those past years were on a very old system and server that crashed this summer. Our IT people had to rebuild a system from scratch. That takes time. They've said they might have it back soon.
Stang gang
11:02
I know the wpial got paid for the rights to stream the playoffs but what a terrible decision. People still won’t go to the games as we saw this week and it’s too hard to figure out the new streaming plus you have to pay for it. Apathy is the killer of all killers. If you make your product hard to find and people cannot watch they will forget about it.
Mike White
11:04
Yes, many complaints about the NFHS system. The WPIAL thought it was better for them. I know some people feel that all the live video streaming of playoff games was hurting attendance. They may have been right. But attendance at WPIAL playoff games has been going down for a while. Its hard to figure. Big regular season games seem to draw much better than a playoff game. Heck, there were only a little over 9,000 fans at Acrisure for four championships last year. Lowest total ever. Granted, 6A and 5A weren't there, but 9,000 is pretty low.
Giant Eagle
11:05
How about South Park?! Won a playoff game and favorite son Jason Vrable (former QB 02’) is bringing his Green Bay Packers to town. Boy are the eagles flying high!
Mike White
11:06
Woooo hoooo! I'm pumped.
Vinny from 3rd street
11:06
Does the WPIAL selection committee actually go out and watch games on Friday nights to determine playoff seeding or do they just read Mike White articles on Saturday and use their best guess?  One example: Knoch and East Allegheny ranked higher than West Mifflin is mind boggling.
Mike White
11:10
Ha ha, Vinny. I think the WPIAL football committee did a pretty good job this year. Two things I didn't agree with was Union getting seeded ahead of Cornell when Cornell beat them handily and they had the same records. Also, I don't have that much of a problem with East Allegheny getting 4 seed. But I agree that Knoch shouldn't have been seeded ahead of West Mifflin, especially way they have been playing. WPIAL COO Vince Sortino said there were some injuries in the Union-Cornell game and the committee felt Union was just better. OK, well Knoch lost their leading rusher in the middle of the season. Did that factor into anything?
Gatorade
11:10
What’s your take on Don Holl’s comments after the game about holding/officiating? You were there for it right?
Mike White
11:12
Yes, I was there and posted video on Twitter of play. I've seen opinions both ways on call. I don't know. Tough to say. I don't have any problem with Holl's calls. He said he had no comment on holding call and then put his tongue in cheek and said give credit to Moon because they ran 60 times and didn't have one holding call. Amazing. Very nice job of getting a point across without directly dumping on officials. I liked it.
Stang gang
11:13
I talked to some coaches the past couple weeks and most seem to hate the byes in the first round. Even from a couple of the teams that received byes. Worries about rust etc. reminds me of basketball. Would rather see 8 or 16 in all playoffs. Your thoughts?
Mike White
11:15
Well I know some coaches who welcomed bye. Gave chance to rest up and get healthy. I used to back and forth on too many playoff teams. Two from each conference is not good. Is four too many? In some cases, yes. But I don't have a problem with it any more. For some schools, it is a big deal to make the playoffs. Yes, some of the No. 14-16 seeds get destroyed. But for some kids, it is such a big deal to make the playoffs. And there aren't some bad fourth-place teams. I think 12 might be the optimum number. But I don't have a real problem with 16, either.
Sam Bloom
11:15
I truly think this years Allderdice boys group has the potential to be one of the finest team in recent pgh memory. Arguably the best coach in the state, great players. Thought?
Mike White
11:19
Wait, did you put this on this chat a week or two ago? Who are you? Mr. Allderdice. And we are talking basketball. Yes, Allderdice should be good this year. I've seen them in the fall. Very nice team. But they have been good for a number of years. But one of the finest in recent Pittsburgh memory? Easy there, fella. Good, lord. Let's let them get out of the PIAA sub-regional first. As for their coach Devin Crummie. Yes, undoubtedly best coach in the state. One of the best in the country. Might be one of the best in the world, at any level. People don't realize Gregg Popovich has nothing on Devin Crummie.
North2South
11:19
What school's basketball teams will suffer most from a deep football run in your opinion?
Mike White
11:20
Aliquippa, as usual. But it won't matter. They'll still get it together after New Year and be good in basketball. Belle Vernon maybe also, but Quinton Martin isn't playing basketball this year. He's enrolling early at Penn State, although he did say he is hoping to maybe play a game or two to get 1,000 points. He is very close. If I'm the Belle Vernon coach, I'm all for it. The kid has done a lot for that school.
VInny, Vidi, Vici
11:20
When do individual school numbers get released for the 2024/2025 seasons?
Mike White
11:20
Some time in December.
Parkway
11:20
Do you have any information regarding the health of Central Valley's running backs? I believe three of them went down with injuries last week. That will play a huge part in their success or lack thereof against Mars.
Mike White
11:20
Sorry, I do not.
Parkway
11:20
Just an observation - brutal travel schedule for Latrobe. West Allegheny and Aliquippa in back to back weeks on the road. Tough commute for the team and parents.
Mike White
11:21
Look, if you want the WPIAL to truly seed teams, then you can't complain about travel. If the WPIAL made pairings on geography, people would complain about that.
North2South
11:21
What factors go into choosing semifinal sites?  I thought it was surprising to see Moon/Peters at South Fayette since they only have bleachers on one side.
Mike White
11:22
Well, they want them on turf, No. 1. I think they try to make it at least geographically friendly. But I admit that some of them make you scratch your head. This week, Union vs. Clairton in 1A quarterfinal at Armstrong? Now that's a head scratcher.
Tw
11:22
Where you headed Friday night to catch this week’s fray?
Mike White
11:24
Ahhhhh, it's Fray-day the 10th (Deuce, can you see this?), and I'll be at that facility on Perrysville Ave. for Penn and Pine.
VInny, Vidi, Vici
11:24
Mike, I am selling bracelets in support of banning stadiums with bleacher's on only one side.  Can we count on your support? How many would you like?
Mike White
11:24
One for every silly school that didn't put bleachers on both sides. Except Aliquippa. I give them a pass on their new stadium.
Peters
11:24
Where does this Peters township team rank in best wpial football teams you’ve seen?
Mike White
11:26
Ahhhh, let's wait until the season is over and see what they've done. And I haven't seen them in person yet. But you don't rank any teams until they finish a season.
Heart in Pittsburgh
11:27
Hi Mike. I'm a Shady Side Academy alum from a long time ago. I was on scholarship from 7th grade until graduation. Our football team was primarily made up with scholarship kids; a lot from the Morningside Bulldogs if you remember them. We weren't in the WPIAL but we had one big game against the WPIAL every year. We usually won. We were a part of the IPSL (Interstate Prep School league). I just heard Shady Side now has kids on the team who don't attend the school. How does that work and did having those kids make a difference?
Mike White
11:31
Yep, Shady Side has kids who don't attend the school. How many? Not sure. But they have a cooperative sponsorship with Neighborhood Academy in Stanton Heights. Neighborhood Academy doesn't have football. That's why they can do this. But cooperative sponsorships with a private school are starting to become a not-so-favorite thing with some schools and coaches. And I don't blame them. It just adds more fuel to the private-public thing. Western Beaver has more than 10 students from Lincoln Park because of a cooperative sponsorship. Western Beaver's QB and all top receivers are from Lincoln Park.
WPIAL Lifer
11:31
While I still think SS Beaver and Ft. Cherry are on a collision course in 1A, overall, I can't remember a quarterfinal round with so many legit title contenders. I wouldn't describe an eventual title by Canevin, Clairton or Union to be shocking, in addition to SS & FC. I think it speaks to the parity that comes with so many schools dropping to lowest classification.
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