ProfessorBriggs.com
THE Sports
Authority in Mercer County!
Note: This does not reflect the opinion of Grove City College, WSAJ-FM, The Herald, or their respective sponsors and supporters.
Professor's Proverbs -- December 5, 2008
It's Western Finals weekend in the PIAA football tournament and as you probably know, we are fortunate enough to have two teams playing for a trip to Hershey. In Class A, Farrell will meet Clairton Friday night in the state semifinals while Wilmington meets Aliquippa in the "AA" state semifinals.
It's pretty amazing that our area produces two state semifinalists again this year. No doubt the WPIAL will get a lot of ink for having teams in the semifinals in all four classes (Clairton, Aliquippa, Thomas Jefferson and Bethel Park). You can't do any better than 4-for-4. Of course, considering the WPIAL has 123 football schools and the other districts (5,6,8,9 and 10) in the western region have 138 football schools, it would make sense that the WPIAL should pretty much always be 4-for-4. You do not need an advanced degree in mathematics (or common sense) to realize that.
That being said, our two local teams face extremely stiff tests this weekend. Clairton and Aliquippa have both been playing great football as of late. Farrell also has been playing great football as the Steelers have been dominant on defense. Wilmington has struggled at times but is still alive, and that is the most important thing this time of year.
This weekend is also the opening weekend for scholastic basketball across the Commonwealth. It is certainly an exciting time of year for local sports fans.
Without further delay, here are Professor Briggs predictions for Friday night.
CLASS A
Friday, December 5
Farrell (12-2) vs. Clairton (14-0),
North Allegheny High School, 12:00 p.m. (WLLF 96.7/WPIC 790 and 790wpic.com)
*Clairton has outscored opponents 572-36 this year. That's an average final
score of 41-3, roughly. Clairton ran roughshod through the WPIAL's Black Hills
Conference this year, going 7-0 and allowing 23 points in conference play. Keep
in mind that the other Black Hills teams went 0-3 in the WPIAL playoffs.
Clairton hasn't had much adversity. Farrell has. That has turned out to be a
positive in the long run for Farrell, which has done a great job defensively
over the past several weeks. Both teams rely on big plays on offense and stout
defense. Farrell has been tested a little bit more than Clairton and that will
prove pivotal in what will be considered a classic.
PREDICTION: Farrell 14, Clairton 12
CLASS AA
Friday, December 5
Aliquippa (12-2) vs. Wilmington (13-1),
Center High School, 7:00 p.m. (WLLF 96.7)
*To see Aliquippa in the western final most seasons is not a surprise. This
year, it is a minor surprise. Most people pointed towards Beaver Falls and
Greensburg Central Catholic as being the favorites in "AA" in southwestern
Pennsylvania. However, Aliquippa defeated both in the District 7 playoffs. Last
week, Aliquippa rolled past Karns City, 42-14, in the state tournament.
Wilmington, of course, pulled out a harrowing 21-19 win over Martinsburg
Central. Most people will immediately say that because Karns City beat
Wilmington in the regular season finale, Aliquippa is going to smoke the
Greyhounds Friday night. Professor Briggs' thinking is contrarian. Wilmington
hasn't played real well over the past few weeks. But now, the pressure is not on
them. The Hounds are the underdog and they're due to play well. Aliquippa may
get caught looking ahead. Which is something you cannot do. Bob Greenburg will
have to pack an extra pair of socks for the weekend in Hershey!
PROFESSOR'S UPSET SPECIAL: Wilmington 28, Aliquippa 26
> While the pads will be popping Friday night, basketball season will also get underway locally Friday afternoon. Action in the area tips off starting at Grove City High School's Kiser Classic at 3:30 p.m. with games throughout the Commonwealth going on all evening and all day Saturday. It's always a great weekend as we get to see if there are any early-season surprises in the area.
Here's the regional breakdown for our
local teams in winter sports play:
BOYS BASKETBALL
Class A -- Region 1: Commodore Perry, Jamestown, Kennedy Catholic, Rocky Grove
(welcome back to District 10), Vision Quest, West Middlesex
Class AA -- Region 2: Greenville, Lakeview, Mercer, Reynolds, Sharpsville,
Wilmington
Class AAA -- Region 5: Farrell, Franklin, Grove City, Hickory, Meadville, Oil
City, Sharon, Slippery Rock
Class AAAA -- Region 7: Cathedral Prep, George Junior, McDowell, Strong Vincent
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class A -- Region 1: Commodore Perry, Farrell, Jamestown, Kennedy Catholic,
Rocky Grove
Class AA -- Region 2: Greenville, Lakeview, Mercer, Sharpsville, West Middlesex,
Wilmington
Class AAA -- Region 5: Franklin, Grove City, Hickory, Meadville, Oil City,
Sharon, Slippery Rock, Titusville
WRESTLING
Class AA -- Region 1: Grove City, Hickory, Lakeview, Mercer, Reynolds, Sharon,
Sharpsville, Slippery Rock, West Middlesex
Class AA -- Region 2: Cambridge Springs, Cochranton, Commodore Perry, Fairview,
Girard, Greenville, Jamestown, Maplewood, Northwestern, Oil City
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Class AA -- Region 1: Farrell, Franklin, Grove City, Hickory, Oil City, Rocky
Grove, Sharon, Slippery Rock, Titusville
If you want to see all of the regions, click here.
> Several weeks back, I began an examination of the Helmet Project where I expressed my opinion on various football helmet designs throughout the years. In that first installment, I looked at the conferences geographically closest to us here in Mercer County in each NCAA division. Last time, I looked at the BIG EAST (1-A), Northeast Conference (1-AA), Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (Division II) and the Presidents' Athletic Conference (Division III).
This time, Professor Briggs will look at the Big 10, the Missouri Valley Conference (formerly known as the Gateway Conference), the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Ohio Athletic Conference.
BIG 10
Best Current Helmet:
Penn State
-- There are a lot of quality helmets in this group (Ohio State, Michigan,
Iowa). But it's hard for me to go against the simple, yet classy Penn State
look.
Worst Current Helmet:
Minnesota
-- When I said there were a lot of quality helmets, I was not thinking of this
dandy. I have never cared for that "M". It looks like an upside-down "W".
Best Historical Helmet:
Iowa
(1977-78) -- The Hawkeyes wore this under the direction of head coach
Bob Commings in 1977 and
1978. It's kind of a neat look. So many of the Big 10 schools have had just one
or two designs, it's hard to pick a Historical one.
Worst Historical Helmet:
Indiana
(1983) -- I have a pretty good vocabulary but I can't think of anything to
describe this train wreck. It was one-and-done, like their
head coach that year.
Yes, HE was the Indiana coach in '83!
MISSOURI VALLEY
Best Current Helmet:
Youngstown State -- Clean, simple look.
Worst Current Helmet:
Western Illinois -- The quadruped under the diminishing "WIU" looks like a
tan version of
Hector the
Bulldog who used to chase after Sylvester in the "Looney Toons" series.
Best Historical Helmet:
Indiana State (1978-89) -- This is what the football team wore when Larry
Bird became famous for the Sycamores. This is the first time that the star
appears on the state of Indiana on the ISU helmet.
Worst Historical Helmet:
Southwest Missouri State (1994-95) -- Designed with WordPerfect 5.0.
GREAT LAKES
INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Best Current Helmet:
Hillsdale
-- Well, it doesn't earn any points for originality. But it's the best of the
bunch.
Worst Current Helmet:
Wayne
State -- That helmet logo looks like an early 1980s video game bird of prey
or a bat.
Best Historical Helmet:
Ashland
(2003) -- I've always been a big fan of the wings on the helmet like that.
Worst Current Helmet:
Grand Valley State (2002-07) -- Cartoonish human faces do not rate high in
my book. But GVSU sure won a lot of football games while wearing those lids.
OHIO ATHLETIC
CONFERENCE
Best Current Helmet:
Mount
Union -- None of the current helmets are particularly overwhelming. By the
same token, none of them are really that bad, either. Simple, classic looks for
the Purple Raiders.
Worst Current Helmet:
Heidelberg -- Again, not an awful design, but I'd rather see the Old English
font on the Detroit Tigers' uniforms.
Best Historical Helmet:
Marietta (2003-05, 2007) -- Gotta love a guy wearing a coonskin cap and a
wielding a musket.
Worst Historical Helmet:
Heidelberg (2002-04, 2006) -- I can handle Old English. Lower-case on the
helmet? Not a fan at all. It's kind of hard to distinguish the letter. Is it a
capital K? A lower-case B?
> Keep the cards and letters coming at at ryanbriggs@zoominternet.net
