I’ve obviously been doing a lot of research around the PIAA playoff history, particularly the early shift from state polls to a state tournament. I tracked down all of the final regular season rankings from 1988-2018 to see a snapshot of what things would have looked like had there been no playoff. I also used it as a landscape/seeds for the playoffs to see what kind of match ups happened. I’ll start with some lists, then post the actual top 10s with results.
State Rankings and State Playoffs
- Thread starter RoverNation05
- Start date
End of Season #1’s
1988: CB West (missed playoffs)
1989: Upper St. Clair
1990: Erie Cathedral Prep (lost in state semis)
1991: CB West
1992: Cumberland Valley
1993: North Hills
1994: CB West (lost in D1 finals)
1995: Penn Hills
1996: Penn Hills (lost in D7 first round)
1997: CB West
1998: CB West
1999: CB West
2000: Erie Cathedral Prep
2001: Woodland Hills (lost in state finals)
2002: Central Dauphin (lost in state quarters)
2003: North Penn
2004: Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2005: Neshaminy (lost in D1 semifinals)
2006: Parkland (lost in D11 semifinals)
2007: Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2008: Gateway (lost in D7 finals)
2009: Bishop McDevitt (lost in D3 finals)
2010: Ridley (lost in D1 first round)
2011: Pittsburgh Central Catholic (lost in D7 semifinals)
2012: North Allegheny
2013: Upper St. Clair (lost in D7 semifinals)
2014: St. Joseph’s Prep
2015: Woodland Hills (lost in D7 semifinals)
2016: St. Joseph’s Prep
2017: St. Joseph’s Prep (lost in state finals)
2018: St. Joseph’s Prep
Bold = won state playoffs
By School
Six Times
CB West: 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999
Four Times
St. Joseph's Prep: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Three Times
Pittsburgh Central Catholic: 2004, 2007, 2011
Two Times
Upper St. Clair: 1989, 2013
Erie Cathedral Prep: 1990, 2000
Penn Hills: 1995, 1996
Woodland Hills: 2001, 2015
One Time
Cumberland Valley: 1992
North Hills: 1993
Central Dauphin: 2002
North Penn: 2003
Neshaminy: 2005
Parkland: 2006
Gateway: 2008
Bishop McDevitt: 2009
Ridley: 2010
North Allegheny: 2012
1988: CB West (missed playoffs)
1989: Upper St. Clair
1990: Erie Cathedral Prep (lost in state semis)
1991: CB West
1992: Cumberland Valley
1993: North Hills
1994: CB West (lost in D1 finals)
1995: Penn Hills
1996: Penn Hills (lost in D7 first round)
1997: CB West
1998: CB West
1999: CB West
2000: Erie Cathedral Prep
2001: Woodland Hills (lost in state finals)
2002: Central Dauphin (lost in state quarters)
2003: North Penn
2004: Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2005: Neshaminy (lost in D1 semifinals)
2006: Parkland (lost in D11 semifinals)
2007: Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2008: Gateway (lost in D7 finals)
2009: Bishop McDevitt (lost in D3 finals)
2010: Ridley (lost in D1 first round)
2011: Pittsburgh Central Catholic (lost in D7 semifinals)
2012: North Allegheny
2013: Upper St. Clair (lost in D7 semifinals)
2014: St. Joseph’s Prep
2015: Woodland Hills (lost in D7 semifinals)
2016: St. Joseph’s Prep
2017: St. Joseph’s Prep (lost in state finals)
2018: St. Joseph’s Prep
Bold = won state playoffs
By School
Six Times
CB West: 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999
Four Times
St. Joseph's Prep: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Three Times
Pittsburgh Central Catholic: 2004, 2007, 2011
Two Times
Upper St. Clair: 1989, 2013
Erie Cathedral Prep: 1990, 2000
Penn Hills: 1995, 1996
Woodland Hills: 2001, 2015
One Time
Cumberland Valley: 1992
North Hills: 1993
Central Dauphin: 2002
North Penn: 2003
Neshaminy: 2005
Parkland: 2006
Gateway: 2008
Bishop McDevitt: 2009
Ridley: 2010
North Allegheny: 2012
We’ve only had the top two teams meet in finals five times, and seven times the top two have hit before the championship game.
#1 vs. #2 in Finals
1992: #1 Cumberland Valley vs. #2 Upper St. Clair
2000: #1 Erie Cathedral Prep beat #2 CB West
2001: #2 Neshaminy beat #1 Woodland Hills
2016: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep beat #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2017: #2 Pine-Richland beat #1 St. Joseph’s Prep
#1 vs. #2 Before State Finals
1989: #1 Upper St. Clair beat #2 North Hills - WPIAL Finals
1990: #2 North Allegheny beat #1 Erie Cathedral Prep - western final
1991: #1 CB West beat #2 Easton 35-13 - eastern final
1993: #1 North Hills beat #2 Upper St. Clair - WPIAL finals
2004: #1 Pittsburgh Central Catholic beat #2 Gateway - WPIAL finals
2014: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep beat #2 LaSalle - PCL finals
2015: #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic beat #1 Woodland Hills - WPIAL semifinals
#1 vs. #2 in Finals
1992: #1 Cumberland Valley vs. #2 Upper St. Clair
2000: #1 Erie Cathedral Prep beat #2 CB West
2001: #2 Neshaminy beat #1 Woodland Hills
2016: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep beat #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2017: #2 Pine-Richland beat #1 St. Joseph’s Prep
#1 vs. #2 Before State Finals
1989: #1 Upper St. Clair beat #2 North Hills - WPIAL Finals
1990: #2 North Allegheny beat #1 Erie Cathedral Prep - western final
1991: #1 CB West beat #2 Easton 35-13 - eastern final
1993: #1 North Hills beat #2 Upper St. Clair - WPIAL finals
2004: #1 Pittsburgh Central Catholic beat #2 Gateway - WPIAL finals
2014: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep beat #2 LaSalle - PCL finals
2015: #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic beat #1 Woodland Hills - WPIAL semifinals
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State Finals with End of Regular Season Rankings (winner listed first)
1988: #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. #2 Cedar Cliff
1989: #1 Upper St. Clair vs. #4 Wilson West Lawn
1990: #2 North Allegheny vs. #7 Ridley
1991: #1 CB West vs. #7 Erie Cathedral Prep
1992: #1 Cumberland Valley vs. #2 Upper St. Clair
1993: #1 North Hills vs. #5 CB West
1994: #2 McKeesport vs. #3 Downingtown
1995: #1 Penn Hills vs. UR Lower Dauphin
1996: #4 Downingtown vs. UR Woodland Hills
1997: #1 CB West vs. #9 Upper St. Clair
1998: #1 CB West vs. UR New Castle
1999: #1 CB West vs. #3 Erie Cathedral Prep
2000: #1 Erie Cathedral Prep vs. #2 CB West
2001: #2 Neshaminy vs. #1 Woodland Hills
2002: #5 Parkland vs. #3 Woodland Hills
2003: #1 North Penn vs. #4 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2004: #1 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. #8 Neshaminy
2005: #4 McKeesport vs. #10 Liberty
2006: #2 Upper St. Clair vs. #4 Liberty
2007: #1 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. #4 Parkland
2008: #5 Liberty vs. #6 Bethel Park
2009: #5 LaSalle vs. UR State College
2010: #7 North Allegheny vs. #2 LaSalle
2011: #10 Central Dauphin vs. #5 North Penn
2012: #1 North Allegheny vs. UR Coatesville
2013: #4 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2014: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #4 Pine-Richland
2015: #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. UR Parkland
2016: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2017: #2 Pine-Richland vs. #1 St. Joseph’s Prep
2018: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #4 Harrisburg
1988: #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. #2 Cedar Cliff
1989: #1 Upper St. Clair vs. #4 Wilson West Lawn
1990: #2 North Allegheny vs. #7 Ridley
1991: #1 CB West vs. #7 Erie Cathedral Prep
1992: #1 Cumberland Valley vs. #2 Upper St. Clair
1993: #1 North Hills vs. #5 CB West
1994: #2 McKeesport vs. #3 Downingtown
1995: #1 Penn Hills vs. UR Lower Dauphin
1996: #4 Downingtown vs. UR Woodland Hills
1997: #1 CB West vs. #9 Upper St. Clair
1998: #1 CB West vs. UR New Castle
1999: #1 CB West vs. #3 Erie Cathedral Prep
2000: #1 Erie Cathedral Prep vs. #2 CB West
2001: #2 Neshaminy vs. #1 Woodland Hills
2002: #5 Parkland vs. #3 Woodland Hills
2003: #1 North Penn vs. #4 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2004: #1 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. #8 Neshaminy
2005: #4 McKeesport vs. #10 Liberty
2006: #2 Upper St. Clair vs. #4 Liberty
2007: #1 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. #4 Parkland
2008: #5 Liberty vs. #6 Bethel Park
2009: #5 LaSalle vs. UR State College
2010: #7 North Allegheny vs. #2 LaSalle
2011: #10 Central Dauphin vs. #5 North Penn
2012: #1 North Allegheny vs. UR Coatesville
2013: #4 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2014: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #4 Pine-Richland
2015: #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. UR Parkland
2016: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic
2017: #2 Pine-Richland vs. #1 St. Joseph’s Prep
2018: #1 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. #4 Harrisburg
There have been a couple weird years and surprise finalists. 2009 and 2011 were wild all the way around, with upsets galore, while the mid 1990s saw a run of Cinderella finalists (where midnight struck hard in finals).
Unranked Finalists
1995: Lower Dauphin
1996: Woodland Hills
1997: New Castle
2009: State College
2012: Coatesville
2015: Parkland
No #1 or #2 in Finals
1996: #4 Downingtown vs. UR Woodland Hills
2002: #5 Parkland vs. #3 Woodland Hills
2005: #4 McKeesport vs. #10 Liberty
2008: #5 Liberty vs. #6 Bethel Park
2009: #5 LaSalle vs. UR State College
2011: #10 Central Dauphin vs. #5 North Penn
There also have been favorites who have fallen hard. Three times, the top team in the state have not won a playoff game and another two times, the top team was bounced by an unranked foe in districts.
1988: CB West - did not qualify for four team playoff
1996: Penn Hills - lost to UR Plum in D7 first round
2009: Bishop McDevitt - lost to UR Cumberland Valley in D3 finals
2010: Ridley - lost to UR West Chester Rustin in D1 first round
2013: Upper St. Clair - lost to UR Woodland Hills in D7 semifinals
Only one team outside of the top 2 has beaten the #1 team on the way to a title. In 2002, #5 Parkland beat the #’s 1, 2, and 3 team on their way to a championship.
#5 Parkland beat #2 Bethlehem Catholic - D11 finals
#5 Parkland beat #1 Central Dauphin - state quarterfinals
#5 Parkland beat #3 Woodland Hills - state finals
In 1994, #3 Downingtown nearly matched the feat, beating #1 CB West and #4 Cumberland Valley, but lost to #2 McKeesport in state finals.
Unranked Finalists
1995: Lower Dauphin
1996: Woodland Hills
1997: New Castle
2009: State College
2012: Coatesville
2015: Parkland
No #1 or #2 in Finals
1996: #4 Downingtown vs. UR Woodland Hills
2002: #5 Parkland vs. #3 Woodland Hills
2005: #4 McKeesport vs. #10 Liberty
2008: #5 Liberty vs. #6 Bethel Park
2009: #5 LaSalle vs. UR State College
2011: #10 Central Dauphin vs. #5 North Penn
There also have been favorites who have fallen hard. Three times, the top team in the state have not won a playoff game and another two times, the top team was bounced by an unranked foe in districts.
1988: CB West - did not qualify for four team playoff
1996: Penn Hills - lost to UR Plum in D7 first round
2009: Bishop McDevitt - lost to UR Cumberland Valley in D3 finals
2010: Ridley - lost to UR West Chester Rustin in D1 first round
2013: Upper St. Clair - lost to UR Woodland Hills in D7 semifinals
Only one team outside of the top 2 has beaten the #1 team on the way to a title. In 2002, #5 Parkland beat the #’s 1, 2, and 3 team on their way to a championship.
#5 Parkland beat #2 Bethlehem Catholic - D11 finals
#5 Parkland beat #1 Central Dauphin - state quarterfinals
#5 Parkland beat #3 Woodland Hills - state finals
In 1994, #3 Downingtown nearly matched the feat, beating #1 CB West and #4 Cumberland Valley, but lost to #2 McKeesport in state finals.
I think that Easton team was the closest to winning a state title of any of our squads. They were #10 in the state heading in to districts, but the way the playoffs played out that season - McDevitt losing to Cumberland Valley, Gateway losing to Woodland Hills then Woodland Hills losing to State College, and North Penn losing to Ridley - really set up the winner of Easton-LaSalle to win that title. (I'll also note, it was the Gateway team the year before that was the monster with Dorian Bell and Corey Brown, the '09 Gateway team was Brandon Felder and Donte Kirby, good, but not the slam dunk they should have been in '08).
I think they could have hung with a team like Gateway on defense . They were undersized but had speed in the front seven, then had a big secondary with three kids who had FBS attention (Frost-Dixon played at Middle Tennessee State, Pacchioli picked baseball over football and was a 10th round MLB draft pick as a centerfielder, and Gaddy was the best prospect of the three but was an academic non-qualifer and fizzled at Lackawanna JC). They could really stop the run (ask future NFL players Andre Williams and Kyshoen Jarrett), but also had the tools to shut down the emerging spread offenses.
The question would be, could they gain enough yards. They lost the LaSalle game because they couldn't use their speed advantage in the snow and got pushed around up front. Frankly, the offensive line wasn't very big (looking it up, looks like left to right it was 240-225-210-195-220) and they got a lot of their yards in the running game when they could pull interior guys and get people moving rather than just maul straight ahead. Quran Hughes (who also played at Lackawanna) and Gaddy combined for 2,000 yards, but it was more speed than power stuff on the ground. It also was a lot of sprint out stuff in the passing game with Pacchioli, who was scary with his legs, but also had big receivers (Kadeem Pankey, who caught the first TD in the LaSalle game, was a 6'2 basketball player who dominated down the stretch that season). But straight drop back, they struggled in pass protection against better and more physically imposing defensive fronts. I don't think of Easton teams as "finesse", but they had to do a lot of finesse stuff in scheme to move the football.
That's a long way of saying, against a team like Gateway or North Penn that year, they would have had a puncher's chance because of the defense, but it would come down to if they could get a score in a one score game. I think they beat Ridley and State College in a similar manner to what LaSalle did if they had won that game. But, if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.
End of Season Top 10's - 1988-1993 (four team playoff era)
Bold = State Champ
Italics - State Playoff Qualifier
1988
#1 CB West - no playoffs
#2 Cedar Cliff - lost to #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic in state finals
#3 Ridley - no playoffs
#4 Neshaminy - lost to #2 Cedar Cliff in state semifinals
#5 North Hills - lost to #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic in WPIAL first round
#6 Erie Cathedral Prep - no playoffs
#7 Upper St. Clair - opted out of playoffs, WPIAL champions
#8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic - state champs
#9 Brashear - lost to #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic in state semifinals
#10 JP McCaskey - lost to #2 Cedar Cliff in D3 finals
1989
#1 Upper St. Clair - state champs
#2 North Hills - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in D7 finals
#3 Chambersburg - lost to #5 Cedar Cliff in D3 semifinals
#4 Wilson West Lawn - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in state finals
#5 Cedar Cliff - lost to #4 Wilson West Lawn in D3 finals
#6 Coatesville - lost to #4 Wilson West Lawn in state semifinals
#7 Woodland Hills - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#8 Erie Cathedral Prep - no playoffs
#9 Hollidaysburg - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in state semifinals
#10 Cumberland Valley - did not qualify for postseason
1990
#1 Erie Cathedral Prep - lost to #2 North Allegheny in state semifinals
#2 North Allegheny - state champs
#3 Wilson West Lawn - lost to #7 Ridley in state semifinals
#4 Cumberland Valley - lost to #4 Wilson West Lawn in D3 finals
#5 Butler - lost to #2 North Allegheny in D7 finals
#6 Connellsville - lost to #5 Butler in D7 semifinals
#7 Ridley - lost to #2 North Allegheny in state finals
#8 Upper St. Clair - lost to #5 Butler in D7 first round
#9 CB West - no playoffs
#10 East Stroudsburg - opted out of playoffs; would not have qualified
1991
#1 CB West - state champs
#2 Easton - lost to #2 CB West in state semifinals
#3 North Allegheny - lost to #6 Mount Lebanon in D7 semifinals
#4 Upper St. Clair - lost to #8 Connellsville in D7 finals
#5 Cedar Cliff - lost to UR Cumberland Valley in D3 semifinals
#6 Mount Lebanon - lost to #8 Connellsville in D7 semifinals
#7 Erie Cathedral Prep - lost to #1 CB West in state finals
#8 Connellsville - lost to #7 Erie Cathedral Prep in state semifinals
#9 McKeesport - lost to #4 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#10 Glen Mills - no playoffs
1992
#1 Cumberland Valley - state champs
#2 Upper St. Clair - lost to #1 Cumberland Valley in state finals
#3 CB West - lost to #4 Coatesville in D1 finals
#4 Coatesville - lost to #1 Cumberland Valley in state semifinals
#5 North Allegheny - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in D7 finals
#6 Connellsville - lost to #5 North Allegheny in D7 semifinals
#7 State College - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in state semifinals
#8 North Hills - no playoffs
#9 Butler - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#10 Penn Hills - lost to #9 Butler in D7 quarterfinals
1993
#1 North Hills - state champs
#2 Upper St. Clair - lost to #1 North Hills in D7 finals
#3 Coatesville - lost to #5 CB West in D1 finals
#4 Easton - lost to #5 CB West in state semifinals
#5 CB West - lost to #1 North Hills in state finals
#6 Pottsville - lost to #4 Easton in D11 finals
#7 Cumberland Valley - D3 champs; no playoffs
#8 Erie Central - lost to #1 North Hills in state semifinals
#9 McKeesport - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#10 Penn-Trafford - lost to UR Woodland Hills in D7 quarterfinals
Bold = State Champ
Italics - State Playoff Qualifier
1988
#1 CB West - no playoffs
#2 Cedar Cliff - lost to #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic in state finals
#3 Ridley - no playoffs
#4 Neshaminy - lost to #2 Cedar Cliff in state semifinals
#5 North Hills - lost to #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic in WPIAL first round
#6 Erie Cathedral Prep - no playoffs
#7 Upper St. Clair - opted out of playoffs, WPIAL champions
#8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic - state champs
#9 Brashear - lost to #8 Pittsburgh Central Catholic in state semifinals
#10 JP McCaskey - lost to #2 Cedar Cliff in D3 finals
1989
#1 Upper St. Clair - state champs
#2 North Hills - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in D7 finals
#3 Chambersburg - lost to #5 Cedar Cliff in D3 semifinals
#4 Wilson West Lawn - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in state finals
#5 Cedar Cliff - lost to #4 Wilson West Lawn in D3 finals
#6 Coatesville - lost to #4 Wilson West Lawn in state semifinals
#7 Woodland Hills - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#8 Erie Cathedral Prep - no playoffs
#9 Hollidaysburg - lost to #1 Upper St. Clair in state semifinals
#10 Cumberland Valley - did not qualify for postseason
1990
#1 Erie Cathedral Prep - lost to #2 North Allegheny in state semifinals
#2 North Allegheny - state champs
#3 Wilson West Lawn - lost to #7 Ridley in state semifinals
#4 Cumberland Valley - lost to #4 Wilson West Lawn in D3 finals
#5 Butler - lost to #2 North Allegheny in D7 finals
#6 Connellsville - lost to #5 Butler in D7 semifinals
#7 Ridley - lost to #2 North Allegheny in state finals
#8 Upper St. Clair - lost to #5 Butler in D7 first round
#9 CB West - no playoffs
#10 East Stroudsburg - opted out of playoffs; would not have qualified
1991
#1 CB West - state champs
#2 Easton - lost to #2 CB West in state semifinals
#3 North Allegheny - lost to #6 Mount Lebanon in D7 semifinals
#4 Upper St. Clair - lost to #8 Connellsville in D7 finals
#5 Cedar Cliff - lost to UR Cumberland Valley in D3 semifinals
#6 Mount Lebanon - lost to #8 Connellsville in D7 semifinals
#7 Erie Cathedral Prep - lost to #1 CB West in state finals
#8 Connellsville - lost to #7 Erie Cathedral Prep in state semifinals
#9 McKeesport - lost to #4 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#10 Glen Mills - no playoffs
1992
#1 Cumberland Valley - state champs
#2 Upper St. Clair - lost to #1 Cumberland Valley in state finals
#3 CB West - lost to #4 Coatesville in D1 finals
#4 Coatesville - lost to #1 Cumberland Valley in state semifinals
#5 North Allegheny - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in D7 finals
#6 Connellsville - lost to #5 North Allegheny in D7 semifinals
#7 State College - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in state semifinals
#8 North Hills - no playoffs
#9 Butler - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#10 Penn Hills - lost to #9 Butler in D7 quarterfinals
1993
#1 North Hills - state champs
#2 Upper St. Clair - lost to #1 North Hills in D7 finals
#3 Coatesville - lost to #5 CB West in D1 finals
#4 Easton - lost to #5 CB West in state semifinals
#5 CB West - lost to #1 North Hills in state finals
#6 Pottsville - lost to #4 Easton in D11 finals
#7 Cumberland Valley - D3 champs; no playoffs
#8 Erie Central - lost to #1 North Hills in state semifinals
#9 McKeesport - lost to #2 Upper St. Clair in D7 semifinals
#10 Penn-Trafford - lost to UR Woodland Hills in D7 quarterfinals