For West Allegheny, it’s business as usual
The man who has won more WPIAL football titles than any other coach has guided his team to the playoffs in his final season.
It’s the swan song for West Allegheny’s Bob Palko, whose legend would only grow if the Indians win the Class 5A championship later this month.
Don’t expect Palko to get sentimental, though. At least not yet. He said he will treat this season’s playoffs like any other, and he hopes his players will do the same.
“We’re going with the same mentality as we did the first time we made the playoffs,” said Palko, who has won eight WPIAL titles and has led the Indians to the playoffs 21 of the past 22 seasons. “We take it one day at a time. We want to keep everything the same for the kids. You don’t want the playoffs to be any different. We try to practice like we have all year. Youwant consistency.”
West Allegheny (7-2) is the No. 5 seed. The co-champions of the Allegheny Eight Conference will host Shaler (4-6) Friday. Should the Indians win that game, they would advance to play the Mars-Woodland Hills winner in the quarterfinals.
It’s hard to call any Palko coached team an underdog, but that’s what the Indians are in a bracket that includes two 10-0 teams — defending champion Gateway and Penn Hills — which are not only the top two seeds, but are also ranked No. 1 and 2 in the state. No. 3 seed Peters Township (8-2) handed West Allegheny its only conference loss. “5A is going to be an interesting tournament,” Palko said. “At the end of the day, Gateway and Penn Hills are by far the most talented. But I keep telling people, ‘Don’t sleep on Peters Township.’ I think Peters is a really good football team that has gotten better.”
Shaler
The head coach standing on the opposite sideline of Palko will be second-year Shaler coach Jim Ryan, who has never coached in a WPIAL playoff game, let alone won a WPIAL title.
The fact that Shaler is even in the playoffs speaks to the impact Ryan has made in a short period of time. The Titans didn’t win a game the past two seasons. When they beat New Castle in the season opener, it snapped a 24-game losing streak. It turned out that win was no fluke. Shaler finished in third place in the Northern Conference and enters the playoffs with its most wins since going 5-5 in 2011, which was the most recent time the Titans reached the playoffs.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team. It’s such a wonderful group of young men,” said Ryan, a 2000 Shaler graduate. “We might have surprised some people, but we expected this.”
Ryan said he is looking forward to coaching against Palko, who did something Ryan would like to do — turn his alma mater into a perennial power.
“I’ve got all the respect in the world for him,” Ryan said. “As a young up-andcoming coach, I look up to him. Being a West Allegheny guy and making his presence known with his football program, it’s an honor to play someone like West Allegheny and Bob Palko. We’re going to show the WPIAL what Shaler is made of.”
Seneca Valley
After losing to Central Catholic, 20-14, Aug. 31, Seneca Valley players hoped they would get another shot at the Vikings. Two months later, they will.
There are only six teams in the Class 6A bracket and only two opening-round games. One of them pits No. 4 seed Central Catholic (7-3) against No. 5 Seneca Valley (7-3) at Fox Chapel. The winner gets No. 1 North Allegheny(10-0) in the semifinals.
If Seneca Valley is to win, coach Ron Butschle said the Raiders can’t afford to turn the ball over and will need to continue to play excellent defense. Another key could be the play of a Mineweaser. That would be Jake Mineweaser, a senior fullback who has seen his role increase the past two weeks. After totaling 18carries for 51 yards the first seven games, Mineweaser has 25 carries for 229 yards the past two. He rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns last week against Norwin.
“He’s a heck of a fullback,” Butschle said. “We had been using him primarily as a blocker, but he’s really proven that he’s a more versatile guy.”
Leading rusher Matt Stanger missed the Norwin game with a hamstring injury, but Butschle said Stanger could play Friday.