The National Weather Service reports October rainfall in Pittsburgh has been pretty much average.

Just don't tell that to water-logged Western Pennsylvania high school football fans.

Rain has soaked football fields for the past four Fridays, creating sloppy playing conditions for high school teams all month long.

But as of early this week, precipitation totals in Pittsburgh were on pace for an average October.

"It just so happens that we've had our systems come on Fridays," said Alicia Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "It looks like we've had a lot of rain, but it's actually normal for this time of year."

Take last week for instance -- Monday through Thursday were beautiful fall days. But, just like the sun rises in the east, storm clouds rolled in Friday morning.

Early predictions call for a 40 percent chance of rain at kickoff tomorrow night.

"As far as having a dry game," Smith said, "I'm not sure when that's going to happen."

With one game remaining in the regular season, the playoff pictures for several south teams is wilder than a group of kids on a Halloween sugar rush.

? Few things are certain in the Class AA Interstate Conference: undefeated Mount Pleasant is the top-seeded team, and McGuffey will join the Vikings in postseason play. Where the Highlanders are seeded, and who will join them in the playoffs, is still to be determined.

Three teams -- McGuffey, Greensburg Central Catholic and Washington -- are tied for second with 6-2 conference records. Two other teams -- Jeannette and Charleroi -- are tied with 5-3 conference record.

Charleroi cannot qualify for postseason play, even if it beats Mount Pleasant tomorrow night.

Washington and Greensburg Central Catholic control their own destinies -- both teams are in if they win. But if Washington loses to McGuffey and/or Greensburg Central Catholic loses to Jeannette, things get a little tricky.

Jeannette needs Charleroi to lose to Mount Pleasant, even though the Cougars cannot qualify for the playoffs, if the Jayhawks want to squeak into the playoffs.

? One spot is up for grabs in the Class AAAA Great Southern Conference, and two teams -- Baldwin (2-6, 2-2) and Canon-McMillan (3-5, 1-3) -- are fighting for that spot.

Canon-McMillan holds the advantage in head-to-head competition, having beaten the Highlanders, 41-26, in week six. That means Baldwin can make the playoffs only with a win or a Canon-McMillan loss tomorrow night.

That might be a tall task. Baldwin will play Bethel Park (7-1, 4-0), the only undefeated team in the conference. The Big Macs will play Peters Township (4-4, 0-4), the only winless team in the conference.

Canon-McMillan can clinch with a win and a Baldwin loss.

? All seven Class AAA Big Seven teams can still qualify for a playoff spot. Thomas Jefferson (8-0, 5-0) and Chartiers Valley (7-1, 5-1) have clinched. The rest is up in the air. One scenario creates a five-way tie for the final two spots.

Sound complicated? It's probably better for the teams to figure things out on the field and save us all the arithmetic.

Class A Tri-County South teams California (4-4, 3-3) and Carmichaels (3-5, 3-3) have made the playoffs every year since 1998.

But if either team wants to keep its streak alive, it will have to do so at the expense of the other.

The two are tied for fourth in the conference. If Carmichaels beats West Greene (0-8, 0-6) or if Monessen (6-2, 6-0) beats California, the Mighty Mikes advance to the playoffs.

California needs a win and a Carmichaels loss to advance.

Given the record of the respective opponents, it could be a sad November for California.

The Clairton Bears are the best times two.

Clairton, the Post-Gazette's third-ranked Class A team, scores an average 48.6 points per game, the highest total of any WPIAL team.

Its defense allows an average of 3.9 points per game, the lowest total of any WPIAL team. That means, based on scoring, Clairon has the best offense and best defense in the league.

The Bears offense has scored more than 50 points in each of its past three games. Only once, Clairton's season-opening 15-8 loss to Laurel, did the Bears score fewer than 40 points or allow more than seven.

Clairton has shut out six opponents this season.

The Bears will face a stiff test tomorrow against Serra Catholic, which has an identical 7-1 overall record.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.