As soon as the PIAA quarterfinals began, 24 hours later, they will be in the books.
The Road to Hershey sees the end of the third round coming up Saturday afternoon as teams from boys Class 6A, 3A and 2A and girls Class 5A, 4A and A take center stage.
This could end up being a historic journey for the WPIAL in boys Class 6A hoops.
In the first year after expansion to six classifications, Pine-Richland defeated Carlisle in the state semifinals to advance to the inaugural PIAA Class 6A boys basketball championship game.
The Rams lost to Reading out of District 3 in the 2017 state title game, 64-60.
It marked the first and only time a WPIAL boys 6A team reached the finals at the Giant Center in Hershey.
In fact, it’s been a dozen years since a WPIAL team last won boys hoops gold in the highest classification. That occurred when New Castle defeated LaSalle College to win the 2014 PIAA Class 4A title.
Speaking of New Castle, it can guarantee a spot in the boys 6A finals for a District 7 team when it takes on District 3 champion Central Dauphin at Pitt-Johnstown at 5 p.m.
Since losing a heartbreaker to Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL 6A finals, the Red Hurricanes have improved to 25-2 with state playoff wins over Wilson West Lawn and Methacton.
Kai Cox has led the way for the ‘Canes with a combined 45 points in the two victories.
Central Dauphin is 24-3 after knocking off a pair of District 1 teams in the PIAA postseason.
The Rams defeated Pennsbury by 19 points and Souderton by 13 points.
The WPIAL will definitely have a team in the state semifinals because of the rubber game of the season between the district Section 2-6A co-champs when Central Catholic battles Upper St. Clair at Peters Township at 2 p.m.
The Vikings and Panthers both finished 13-1 atop the section. Central is 24-3 this season while USC checks in with a record of 26-1.
That lone loss for the three-time WPIAL champions came Dec. 12 when Central Catholic nipped Upper St. Clair in overtime, 48-46.
Owen Campfield scored a game-high 17 points for the Vikings and Danny Haller added 10 points.
The Panthers were paced by 16 points by Ryan Robbins and 15 points for Jake Foster.
The rematch also went down to the wire as USC won at home over Central Catholic, 48-47.
Foster had a game-high 20 points for the Panthers while Enzo Khalil led the Vikings with 15 points and Campfield chipped in 11 points.
Central Catholic has eliminated Allderdice by 14 points in the opening round and Chambersburg by 16 points in the second round with Khalil scoring a combined 27 points.
Upper St. Clair has state playoffs wins over two District 3 teams in Cedar Crest by 14 points and Red Lion by 17 points. Robbins has a combined 44 points on the Road to Hershey.
In the other two PIAA Class 6A basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon:
• District 1 champion Plymouth-Whitemarsh (24-4) take on District 12 runner-up Father Judge (17-11) at Cardinal O’Hara at 2 p.m.
• District 12 champ Imhotep Charter (23-6) goes up against District 11 winner Parkland (24-6) at Pottstown at 2:30 p.m.
Rematch on hold
Following the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship game, members of the Jeannette basketball team made it perfectly clear they wanted another shot at newly crowned champion Sewickley Academy.
For that to become a reality in the state semifinals, though, both the Jayhawks and Panthers have to take care of business in the quarterfinals against other district champions.
On Saturday, Sewickley Academy will play District 5 winner McConnellsburg at Pitt-Johnstown at 2 p.m., while Jeannette (24-2) goes up against District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep (21-6) at Sharon at 2 p.m.
The WPIAL champion Panthers are now 27-1 and have yet to be tested in the state playoffs, first crushing Saegertown by 40 points, and then destroying Port Alleghany by 47 points.
Lucas Grimsley had 14 points to lead SA in the opener while Mamadou Kane scored 16 in the second-round win.
McConnellsburg is also 27-1 this season and has two wins over WPIAL opponents in the state playoffs.
The Spartans have knocked out Eden Christian Academy by only two points and Clairton by 31 points.
Jeannette is now 24-2 and is still searching for its first test on the Road to Hershey.
Markus McGowan has been a model of consistency for the Jayhawks in the PIAA playoffs, scoring 26 points each in a first-round rout of Northern Cambria by 38 points and in a second-round 32-point triumph over Jefferson-Morgan.
Like McConnellsburg, Mercyhurst Prep owns two wins over District 7 teams in the state playoffs thus far.
The Lakers, now 21-6, own a 23-point win over Winchester Thurston and a thrilling overtime victory over OLSH, 47-46.
In the other two PIAA Class 2A basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon:
• District 1 champion Delone Catholic (25-1) goes up against District 2 winner Old Forge (20-6) at Martz Hall in Pottsville at 1 p.m.
• District 12 runner-up Paul Robeson (22-6) battles District 6 champ United (29-0) at Mechanicsburg at 1 p.m.
Purple Power vs. Mean Green
A WPIAL team is guaranteed a spot in the PIAA girls Class 5A semifinals Tuesday thanks to a pair of District 7 teams duking it out Saturday afternoon at AHN Arena in Peters Township.
Current WPIAL and defending PIAA 5A champion South Fayette squares off against Baldwin at 3:30 p.m.
The last time these two teams met in the postseason was in the district playoffs a year ago when the Lions crushed the Highlanders in the quarterfinals, 67-31.
Haylie Lamonde led SF that night with 21 points.
South Fayette is 27-1 and has won both of its state playoff games by a combined 59 points, beating Milton Hershey by 29 and Penn-Trafford by 30.
The Lions scored 64 points in the first round and have given up a combined 63 points in the two victories.
Baldwin enters the game with a record of 23-5. Its two wins on the Road to Hershey have been a tad closer, beating Middletown by seven and Indiana by six points.
Lynsey Bernotas has led the Highlanders in both wins with a combined 43 points.
Another WPIAL team is in action Saturday when Peters Township plays District 3 champion York Suburban at Pitt-Johnstown at 3 p.m.
The Indians are now 17-11 and have carried over their hot district playoff play in the state postseason.
Peters edged Susquehannock in overtime in the first round, 46-41, and then bounced Manheim Township from the PIAA playoffs with a convincing win, 54-32.
They face a York Suburban team that has already bounced two WPIAL teams on the Road to Hershey.
The Trojans crushed Fox Chapel, 61-30, and then battled past Trinity in the second round, 35-30.
In the other two PIAA Class 5A girls basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon:
• District 1 champion Lampeter-Strasburg (20-8) battles District 2 winner Crestwood (25-3) at Martz Hall in Pottsville at 2:30 p.m.
• District 11 winner Bethlehem Catholic (25-4) square off against District 12 champ Archbishop Wood (14-12) at Pottstown at 1 p.m.
Cougars hunting
North Catholic is 22-6 and has had another strong season.
It has only one loss to a District 7 team not named Oakland Catholic this season.
So since the Trojans are 0-3 this year against the WPIAL champion Eagles, they will now try to hunt for a state semifinal spot against the Cougars at North Allegheny on Saturday at 2 p.m.
WPIAL runner-up Blackhawk is 24-1 with that lone loss coming in the WPIAL 4A title game against Oakland Catholic.
Since then, it has defeated Fairview by 11 points and Belle Vernon by 13 points.
One of the top district players is senior Aubree Hupp for Blackhawk. In two state playoff games, she has 41 points and she went over 1,000 career rebounds in the second-round win over the Leopards.
On the Road to Hershey, North Catholic owns a 13-point triumph over Forest Hills and a 12-point win over Hickory.
Brady Wehner has led the Trojans in both wins with a combined 40 points.
So we’ve establish that Blackhawk-North Catholic winner really wants another crack at Oakland Catholic.
The Eagles are 23-2 and haven’t lost since the end of December.
Oakland Catholic will match up against District 6 champion Penn Cambria at Armstrong at 3 p.m.
The Eagles have soared over their two PIAA opponents, beating Corry by 38 points and Slippery Rock by 27 points.
Josie Fontana has 29 points in a balanced attack for the two-time District 7 champions.
Penn Cambria has improved to 21-5 this season with its two PIAA wins.
The Panthers won by 11 points over Lewisburg and six points over Delone Catholic.
In the other two PIAA Class 4A girls basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon:
• District 3 champion Susquehanna Township (22-4) battles District 2 winner Scranton Prep (22-5) at Martz Hall in Pottsville at 4 p.m.
• Undefeated District 4 winner Central Columbia (29-0) faces District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti (17-10) at Bethlehem Liberty at 1 p.m.
If a tree falls in the woods…
Yes, if there is a classification is without WPIAL representation, the game still go on.
There are two classes in which District 7 team got wiped out in the first two rounds, boys 3A and girls A.
Here are the eight quarterfinals games in those two classes:
In the boys Class 3A third round:
• District 6 runner-up Forest Hills (25-4) battles District 3 champion Camp Hill Trinity (22-2) at Penn Valley at 2 p.m.
• District 6 No. 3 Westmont-Hilltop (21-6) takes on District 6 winner Bishop Guilfoyle (25-4) at Claysburg-Kimmel at 2:30 p.m.
• District 12 champ West Catholic (14-12) goes up against District 2 winner Taylor Riverside (25-1) at Bethlehem Liberty at 2:30 p.m.
• District 11 champion Notre Dame-Green Pond (26-3) squares off against District 4 winner Warrior Run (25-2) at Hazleton at 2:30 p.m.
It’s an all-District 6 “western semifinals” in girls Class A:
• D-6 No. 4 Williamsburg (24-5) faces D-6 runner-up Bishop Carroll (25-4) at Altoona at 1 p.m.
• D-6 No. 3 St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy (26-3) plays D-6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle Academy (20-4) at Claysburg-Kimmel at 1 p.m.
• District 1 champion Delco Christian (27-2) goes up against District 4 runner-up Benton (19-8) at Hazleton at 4 p.m.
• District 4 champ Lourdes Regional (27-2) battles District 3 runner-up Linville Hill Academy (17-6) at Hazleton at 1 p.m.
Play ball!
The sun will be out and there will be a chill in the air when district baseball and softball teams hit the field Saturday.
In softball, Hempfield, South Fayette, Trinity and Franklin Regional are all playing in the south, while West Mifflin hosts Mt. Lebanon in a nonsection game on the turf at high noon.
In baseball, Plum, Moon, Deer Lakes and Mt. Pleasant are playing early season games in the south.
Serra Catholic will be hosting its 10th annual season opening tournament Saturday at newly renovated Boston Field in Elizabeth.
Four games will be played at the new turf facility under the Little Boston bridge.
• Our Lady of the Sacred Heart vs. Jeannette at 10 a.m.
• Rochester at Serra Catholic at 12:30 p.m.
• Two losers play at 3 p.m.
• Two winners play at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday on Trib HSSN
There are two broadcasts you can watch or listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the 14th day of March.
PIAA Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 4A Quarterfinals: New Castle vs. Central Dauphin at 5 p.m. on Lawrence County Sports Net at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
PIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A Quarterfinals: Peters Township vs. York Suburban at 3 p.m. on WJPA-FM 95.3 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com