Carmichaels-JM winner in, loser out
The WPIAL playoffs are starting a week early for a few teams in the Herald-Standard coverage area.
At least that’s how the coaches are treating Friday night’s win-and-you’re-in Carmichaels at Jefferson-Morgan football game.
This match-up of 4-4 teams, who are both 4-3 in Tri-County South Conference games, became an easy and early choice as the Herald-Standard Game of the Week simply because of it’s playoff implications.
Four teams from the TCS and all other Class A conferences will make the WPIAL’s 16-team bracket and these teams enter tonight’s 7 p.m. kickoff tied for fourth place behind Frazier, Bentworth and Beth-Center.
Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull, who believes that all games are must-win propositions, sees the added importance of this Greene County rivalry.
“As a rule, we don’t talk about one game being more important than any other,” Krull said. “But I told the kids that if we want to keep playing, we have to win this game. But that was it, we brought it up, talked about it, then moved on.
“Between school work and their personal lives, these kids have plenty going on. We try to keep it as simple as possible.”
And it doesn’t get any simpler than win-and-you’re-in, as Jefferson-Morgan coach Aaron Giorgi agreed.
“It kind of is a playoff game,” Giorgi said. “The winner moves on and the loser goes home.”
“This is a typical rivalry game, just based on proximity,” Krull said. “There is a long history to this rivalry and our kids know when it’s Jefferson Week.”
Giorgi has seen this rivalry from both sides. He teaches at Carmichaels Middle School and coached the Mikes before moving over to Jefferson-Morgan four years ago. He was an assistant to Liam Ryan before taking over this season.
“I’ve taught most of their players coming up through the middle school,” Giorgi said. “So I know they are all good kids, just like our kids are good kids.”
Fans can expect a good, hard-hitting football game when these two rivals get together, but they really shouldn’t expect many surprises.
“Their kids are similar to our kids,” Krull said. “Offensively, they like to run the ball and they’ll throw some heavy sets at you to help them run it better. They also play an aggressive on defense and will send linebackers and sometimes cornerbacks on blitzes off the edge.”
Just like Carmichaels does.
“It’s going to be a smashmouth football game,” Giorgi said. “It will come down to who can run the best, who can tackle the best and who comes up with the most big plays.”
Elsewhere in the Class A Tri-County South, Beth-Center (6-1, 6-2) hosts Bentworth (6-1, 6-2) with the winner earning a home playoff game, California (2-5, 2-6) visits Frazier (7-0, 8-0) and West Greene (0-7, 0-8) hosting Avella (0-7, 1-7). Mapletown (3-5) hosts Monessen (4-4) in a non-conference game.
In the Class AA Interstate Conference, Southmoreland (3-4, 3-5) hosts Mount Pleasant (6-1, 6-2), Brownsville (2-5, 2-6) hosts Burgettstown (4-3, 4-4) and Waynesburg Central (1-6, 1-7) travels to Derry Area (4-3, 4-4).
In the Class AAA Big 10 Conference, which features 7:30 p.m. kickoffs (all other games begin at 7 p.m.), Laurel Highlands (4-4) hosts Albert Gallatin (0-8) needing a win to reach the playoffs, Uniontown (1-7) travels to Yough (1-7) and Belle Vernon (8-0) can wrap up the conference championship with a win at Elizabeth-Forward (3-5).
In the Class AAAA Foothills Conference, Connellsville (1-6, 1-7) plays host to Altoona (2-5, 3-5).