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Chris Harlan 412-380-5666
Sports Reporter
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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Top high school sports

•  Athletes in the spotlight: Nikki Matz, Robbie Miller
•  Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy advance to PIAA tennis semifinals
•  Thursday’s high school softball photos
•  WPIAL track and field championships
•  West Mifflin tops Mt. Pleasant for 1st playoff win in 15 years

High School Photo Galleries

WPIAL track and field championships
2013-05-16

Thursday’s high school softball photos
2013-05-16

Wednesday’s high school photos
2013-05-15

Daily Gallery

Friday - May 17, 2013

When a maintenance worker reported standing water at the stadium, Sto-Rox athletic director Bill Minear knew the outlook was bleak.

The football team had hoped there would be a playoff game this weekend in McKees Rocks, but finally abandoned those plans Wednesday. Instead, the Vikings will make North Hills' Martorelli Stadium their home Friday night for a WPIAL Class A first-round game with Carmichaels.

“Yesterday, it was draining OK,” Minear said, “but with the amount of rain we got, there was a half-inch of water on each sideline.”

During Monday's pairings meeting, the WPIAL advised the 12 Class A and AA playoff hosts with grass fields to “find a suitable artificial surface” for Friday's games if their stadium was unplayable. The teams had until 9 a.m. Thursday to decide, but all 12 finalized those plans by Wednesday.

In Class AA, Aliquippa will host Steel Valley at Moon, Burrell will host Mt. Pleasant at Valley, Freeport will host Beaver Falls at Highlands, Jeannette will host South Allegheny at Norwin, and Washington will host Shady Side Academy at Washington & Jefferson College.

In Class A, Clairton will host Frazier at Belle Vernon, Beth-Center will host Union at California, Jefferson-Morgan will host Neshannock at Waynesburg, Monessen will host Apollo-Ridge at Charleroi, Rochester will host Avonworth at Ambridge, and Springdale will host Brentwood at Fox Chapel.

All playoff games will start at 7:30 p.m.

Missing pieces

Central Valley, seeded third in Class AAA, will play Friday without quarterback Nate Climo, running back Jordan Whitehead and wideout Robert Foster, said coach Mark Lyons. Climo (head) and Whitehead (shoulder) were injured last week. Foster, who was ejected from the loss, must serve a one-game suspension.

TV schedule

Root Sports will televise a WPIAL football playoff game each week, beginning with Friday's Class AAA game between West Mifflin and Knoch at 7:30 p.m. The WPIAL championship games Nov. 23 also will be televised.

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