The WPIAL Class 5A semifinals have a familiar ring to them.
Three of the four teams set to lock up Friday were part of the 2024 district Class 5A semifinals.
The top two seeds, Pine-Richland and Peters Township, look to win and meet for a third time for WPIAL gold.
Here is a look at the two Class 5A games on Final Four Friday.
No. 5 Moon (9-3) vs. No. 1 Pine-Richland (10-1)
7 p.m. Friday at Chartiers Valley Stadium
Coaches: Ryan Linn, Moon, Jon LeDonne, Pine-Richland
On air: Video streamed on NFHS
How they got here: Moon finished in second place in the Allegheny Six Conference and followed with a first-round win over Armstrong and a quarterfinals victory over Penn-Trafford. Pine-Richland won the Northeast Conference title, had a first-round bye and defeated Shaler in the quarterfinals.
Last week: Moon 20, Penn-Trafford 13; Pine-Richland 42, Shaler 10
Winner plays: The winner will play the Upper St. Clair/Peters Township winner in the Class 5A championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium
Players to watch: Andrew Cross, Moon (Sr., 6-0, 190, QB/P); Khalil Taylor, Pine-Richland (Jr., 6-0, 185, WR/DB)
Team notes
Moon: The Tigers aren’t fancy, but they grind it out on both sides of the ball as evidenced by their quarterfinals win last week at Penn-Trafford. Moon senior quarterback Andrew Cross, a Penn State baseball commit, connected on 8 of 11 passes for 121 yards and two touchdown tosses of 38 yards to Jayden Revis and the game-winning 15-yard scoring strike to Sevi Vandetti late in the fourth quarter. Tigers kicker Evan Senkevich booted two field goals of 41 and 43 yards.
Pine-Richland: Following a first-round bye, the Rams had no problems with rust thanks in large part to junior wide receiver Khalil Taylor. Taylor returned the opening kickoff 90 yards to put Pine-Richland up for good. Taylor went on to score three more touchdowns, on a 30-yard scoring pass from Aaron Strader, a 9-yard pick six and finally a 87-yard punt return. Strader ended up throwing for 107 yards on only four completions, three of which went for Rams touchdowns.
Historic factoids
• This is the fifth meeting between Moon and Pine-Richland. The Rams lead the series against the Tigers, 3-1.
• These teams met in nonconference contests in 2018 and 2019. Pine-Richland defeated Moon both years by a combined score of 88-23.
• The first meeting between the Tigers and the Rams was in the 2001 Class 3A first round. Moon defeated visiting Pine-Richland, 21-6.
• The teams met a year later in the 2002 Class 3A semifinals played at Elizabeth Forward with then-undefeated Pine-Richland edging Moon in an overtime thriller, 21-20. The Rams lost to Hopewell in the 3A title game, 20-15.
No. 6 Upper St. Clair (10-2) vs. No. 2 Peters Township (11-0)
7 p.m. Friday, AHN Field at Big Mac Stadium in Canonsburg
Coaches: Mike Junko, Upper St. Clair; T.J. Plack, Peters Township
On air: Video streamed on NFHS with audio on Trib HSSN
How they got here: Upper St. Clair finished in third place in the Allegheny Six Conference, rolled past Plum in the first round and knocked off host Woodland Hills in the quarters. Peters Township won the Allegheny Six Conference title, had a first-round bye, then eliminated Bethel Park in the quarterfinals.
Last week: Upper St. Clair 36, Woodland Hills 26; Peters Township 42, Bethel Park 14
Winner plays: The winner will play the Moon/Pine-Richland winner in the Class 5A championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium
Players to watch: John Banbury, Upper St. Clair (Jr., 6-0, 215, RB/LB); Cole Neupaver, Peters Township (Sr., 5-10, 185, RB/DB)
Team notes
Upper St. Clair: The Panthers had the tall task of trying to keep Woodland Hills star senior Scoop Smith in check. He returned the opening kick for a score and added a fourth-quarter TD, but Upper St. Clair had the last laugh. Junior running back John Banbury was not kept in check as he rushed for 142 yards and scored three touchdowns while fellow USC running back Dante Coury ran for 101 yards and a score as the Panthers went old school with a strong ground game to once again advance to the semifinals.
Peters Township: The Indians had a week off after shutting out Bethel Park to conclude the regular season. In the rematch, the Black Hawks scored twice in the second quarter to take a brief lead before Peters Township scored the final 35 points of the game. Senior running back Cole Neupaver rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns for PT, while quarterback Nolan DiLucia threw for 124 yards and a touchdown plus rushed for 76 yards and a score.
Historic factoids
• This is the 23rd meeting between the South Hills neighbors. Upper St. Clair leads the all-time series, 17-5, but Peters Township has been victorious in the last two games.
• This the second time Peters Township and Upper St. Clair have met in the WPIAL playoffs. The first time was in this exact same spot last year with the Indians knocking off the Panthers, 7-3. After Jacobo Echeverria put USC up with a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter, Nick McCullough returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for the games only TD.
• In the first meeting between the teams in Week 5, Peters Township knocked off visiting Upper St. Clair, 24-20. Nolan DiLucia threw a pair of touchdown passes and Cole Neupaver had the winning Indians score on a 4-yard fourth-quarter run. Ethen Hellmann had a pair of scoring passes for the Panthers.
• The first time the Indians and Panthers ever played was 61 years ago. USC won that game 41-6 in 1964. Upper St. Clair won the first 13 meetings between the programs.