Forget what the calendar says, if you need to know what season we are in, just look out a window.
While the mercury screams winter, it is still officially autumn, which for high school sports fans ends this weekend in Mechanicsburg.
The first of three straight days of PIAA football championship action takes place on Thursday at Cumberland Valley High School with the Class A and Class 4A state title games.
Here is a breakdown of the Class A title game:
No. 2 Bishop Guilfoyle Academy (13-2) vs. No. 1 Clairton (14-1)
1 p.m. Friday, Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley in Mechanicsburg
Coaches: Justin Wheeler, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy; Wayne Wade, Clairton
How they got here: Bishop Guilfoyle won the District 6 championship with wins over Purchase Line, Homer-Center and Juniata Valley by a combined score of 142-6 before eliminating Westinghouse in the state quarterfinals and Belmont Charter School in the semifinals. Clairton captured the school’s 15th WPIAL championship and first since 2019 by defeating Monessen, Jeannette, Bishop Canevin and Laurel before crushing District 10 champion Greenville last week.
Last week: Bishop Guilfoyle Academy 35, Belmont Charter School 0; Clairton 57, Greenville 0
Players to watch: Justin Wheeler, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy (Soph., 6-0, 180, QB/DB); Jeff Thompson III, Clairton (Sr., 6-1, 170, QB/FS)
Team notes
Bishop Guilfoyle Academy: The Marauders have won five straight since ending the regular season with a loss to District 6 rival Bishop McCort. Their other loss this season also came against a D-6 Class 2A power in Richland in Week 1. Points might be tough to come by since Clairton has 10 shutouts this season and Bishop Guilfoyle Academy has allowed only 12 points in five playoff wins. In the blanking of Belmont Charter School last week, Marauders sophomore QB Justin Wheeler rushed for 116 yards and a score.
Clairton: Following tough, competitive wins in the WPIAL playoffs over Jeannette, Bishop Canevin and Laurel, the Bears enjoyed a laugher in the PIAA semifinals by mauling District 10 winner Greenville by eight touchdowns. Senior quarterback Jeff Thompson III threw for 170 yards and a touchdown plus ran for a score, Deon Lovelace-Pompey ran for 109 yards and two TDs and Brandon Murphy returned two punts for touchdowns.
Historic factoids
• This is the third meeting between Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and Clairton with the two previous contests also coming in the PIAA Class A finals.
• In the PIAA 2014 championship game, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy edged Clairton, 19-18. Sam McCloskey scored the go-ahead touchdown, then the Marauders defense stopped the Bears on a fourth-and-goal late in the game. Lamont Wade rushed for 212 yards in a losing effort for the WPIAL champs.
• Two years later, the same teams met in the state finals again, but this one was not as dramatic. Wade was limited to 70 yards in his final high school football game as the Bears were shut out for the first time in 13 years. Four Clairton turnovers did not help as Bishop Guilfoyle won state gold for the third year in a row.
• This is 12th appearance for Clairton in the PIAA playoffs. The Bears are 19-7. In the state championship game, the Bears are 4-3 with wins over Bishop McCort in 2009, Taylor Riverside in 2010, Southern Columbia in 2011 and Dunmore in 2012. Beside the two loses to Bishop Guilfoyle Academy in 2014 and 2016, Clairton also lost in the finals to Steelton–Highspire in 2008.
• This is the ninth appearance in the PIAA postseason for Bishop Guilfoyle Academy. The Marauders are 16-3 overall and 5-1 in PIAA championship games with victories over Farrell in 2015, Redbank Valley in 2021, Port Allegany in 2024 and two wins over Clairton in 2014 and 2016. Their only title game loss was to Farrell in overtime in the 2019 finals.
You can listen to the Class A title game on Trib HSSN at 1 p.m.
In the Class 4A finals, two first-time participants collide when District 3 champion Twin Valley (14-0) takes on District 11 winner Southern Lehigh (14-1) at Chapman Field at 7 p.m.
Southern Lehigh had only played in one PIAA semifinal before this season, and that was last year when it lost to eventual state champion Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast.
Prior to last season, the only other year the Spartans reached the PIAA postseason was in 2019.
This year marks the first time in the 30-year history of the Twin Valley program that it is playing in the state football playoffs.
The Raiders captured their first District 3 crown this season before beating Aliquippa in their first PIAA playoff game, 28-24.
Fayette County tipoff
While dozens of WPIAL boys and girls tipoff basketball tournaments are set for Friday and Saturday in the second weekend of the season, the Laurel Highlands Tournament gets the jump start with two games Thursday.
The tournament features three Fayette County schools and one City League team.
On Thursday, host Laurel Highlands (0-1) takes on Allderdice (1-1) at 6 p.m. followed by Albert Gallatin (0-0) battling Connellsville (1-0) at 7:40 p.m.
The tournament continues Friday with Connellsville playing Allderdice at 6:15 p.m., then the tourney concludes with Laurel Highlands hosting Albert Gallatin.
Battle of blue on the mat
Two of the top WPIAL Class 3A wrestling programs collide in a nonsection match Thursday when Canon-McMillan visits Connellsville.
The Big Macs have won the most WPIAL team titles with 22 while the Falcons are sixth on that championship list with eight crowns.
In fact, they won back-to-back titles a few seasons ago when Canon-McMillan captured gold in 2023 and Connellsville won the 3A district team title a year later in 2024.
The Big Macs lost in the first round of the 2025 WPIAL team playoffs to Norwin while the Falcons reached the finals for the third time in four years but lost to Franklin Regional, 32-25.
The last time they met, Canon-McMillan defeated Connellsville in January of 2023, 40-31.
You can watch the match courtesy of the Connellsville Sports Network on Trib HSSN at 7 p.m.