Tale of the Tape: Opposing coaches break down some of the best WPIAL playoff matchups

Here’s a breakdown of three of Friday’s top WPIAL football playoff matchups, including comments on both teams and a prediction from an anonymous opposing coach.

WPIAL CLASS 6A SEMIFINALS

Central Catholic (6-4) at Mt. Lebanon (5-5), 7 p.m.

Head coaches: Terry Totten (Central Catholic); Bob Palko (Mt. Lebanon).

Leading passers: Payton Wehner (Central Catholic) 152 of 245, 2,171 yards, 14 touchdowns; David Shields (Mt. Lebanon) 85 of 143, 969 yards, 7 touchdowns.

Leading rushers: Amari Shields (Central Catholic) 102 carries, 417 yards, 2 touchdowns; Nathan Sala (Mt. Lebanon) 59 carries, 327 yards, 3 touchdowns.

Leading receivers: Vernon Settles (Central Catholic) 47 catches, 599 yards; Michael Beiersdorf (Mt. Lebanon) 27 catches, 328 yards, 7 touchdowns.

Noteworthy: Mt. Lebanon defeated Central Catholic, 17-16, on Sept. 16.

An opposing coach says …

Size up Central Catholic: It was just the talent level. They were young, but they had so much talent over the field.

Size up Mt. Lebanon: They’re physical. That was one of the biggest things. We came out of the game banged up because that was a very physical defense. Offensively they were running a lot of Wildcat. I think they were kind of still figuring out the QB position.

Central Catholic player that impressed you the most? Payton Wehner jumps out at you. When he’s having a good night, they seem to do pretty well. He’s an athletic kid who can run and throw. And he’s a coach’s kid, so he’s really smart.

Mt. Lebanon player that impressed you the most? Grayson Dee. [Kade] Capristo was out. We had played Kade the year before and he was good. Grayson was just an animal.

How do you see this game playing out? I think you’re going to see a close game, probably like last game. It will come down to very late in the fourth quarter, and someone is going to make the play in the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Mt. Lebanon 20-17.

WPIAL CLASS 5A SEMIFINALS

Upper St. Clair (9-2) vs. Bethel Park (10-1) at Canon-McMillan, 7 p.m.

Head coaches: Mike Junko (Upper St. Clair); Brian DeLallo (Bethel Park).

Leading passers: Julian Dahlem (Upper St. Clair) 62 of 98, 980 yards, 16 touchdowns; Tanner Pfeuffer (Bethel Park) 105 of 157, 1,418 yards, 14 touchdowns.

Leading rushers: Jamaal Brown (Upper St. Clair) 164 carries, 1,336 yards, 14 touchdowns; Austin Caye (Bethel Park) 172 carries, 707 yards, 6 touchdowns.

Leading receivers: Aidan Besselman (Upper St. Clair) 37 catches, 743 yards, 9 touchdowns; Ryan Petras (Bethel Park) 44 catches, 578 yards, 17 touchdowns.

Noteworthy: Bethel Park defeated Upper St. Clair, 27-14, on Oct. 7.

An opposing coach says …

Size up Upper St. Clair: Realistically, they have two of the better athletes on the field with Jamaal and Aidan. Aidan is a kid who can get the ball and score every time he touches the ball. Same with Jamaal. And Mike really fed Jamaal the ball last game. 

Size up Bethel Park: They’re physical. They’re just a tough team. It’s a senior group, a physical group. They’re not messing around. They’re coming at you.

Upper St. Clair player that impressed you the most? I think the [Mark] Banbury kid is good. It feels like he’s been there forever. They’re so solid. I think their linebackers are one of the strongest points of defense. They’re all big and can run.

Bethel Park player that impressed you the most? Ryan Petras. Gavin [Moul] is the heart and soul of the team. It’s been that way for three years. But I think Ryan did everything for them. He lined up all over the place. He’s their difference maker.

How do you see this game playing out? From watching the last game, I think Bethel Park has the edge. I just think they’ve been more consistent throughout the season, especially the last couple of weeks.

Prediction: Bethel Park 24-17.

WPIAL CLASS 2A QUARTERFINALS

Keystone Oaks (9-2) at Sto-Rox (8-2), 7 p.m.

Head coaches: Steve McCormick (Keystone Oaks); Marvin Mills (Sto-Rox).

Leading passers: Nick Buckley (Keystone Oaks) 116 of 168, 1,436 yards, 12 touchdowns; Josh Jenkins (Sto-Rox) 118 of 193, 2,128 yards, 28 touchdowns.

Leading rushers: Shawn Reick (Keystone Oaks) 180 carries, 1,150 yards, 14 touchdowns; Amere Hibbler (Sto-Rox) 75 carries, 578 yards, 10 touchdowns.

Leading receivers: Clinton Robinson (Keystone Oaks) 42 catches, 511 yards, 11 touchdowns; Zay Davis (Sto-Rox) 36 catches, 548 yards, 8 touchdowns.

Noteworthy: Sto-Rox defeated Keystone Oaks, 52-0, on Sept. 23.

An opposing coach says …

Size up Keystone Oaks: They have a nice scheme. They have linemen. I think what separates them from a lot of teams in Double-A is they have some really good linemen. In Double-A, some teams don’t have a single good lineman. But KO has linemen. They run a counter scheme, which can be a handful. 

Size up Sto-Rox: They’re fierce. They’re fierce every snap on both sides of the ball. They were by far, and no disrespect to anyone, the best team that we played all year. They have a couple of linemen that are really good. The back half of the defense is really good. The QB is really good. The footspeed was really good. They really stretch you horizontally.

Keystone Oaks player that impressed you the most? The [Christian] Flaherty kid is really good. The QB can throw it, and they have an explosive receiver.

Sto-Rox player that impressed you the most? Obviously, I think the QB is really good. I’d say that No. 11 [Drevon Miller-Ross] is probably the best football player on the team. And No. 55 [Amare Harper] is really good. I think that’s the best lineman we’ve played.

How do you see it playing out? I don’t know if it will be competitive. And that doesn’t diminish anything about KO’s season. This has been like a breakout season. They have a lot of kids coming back and the future is bright. But they’re not comparable to Sto-Rox. Sto-Rox is like a pressing basketball team. They come at you. The weather Friday is going to be bad. I’ll say Sto by three touchdowns.

Prediction: Sto-Rox 28-7.