Tim O'Malley, the WPIAL executive director, said the league's football committee had a difficult time determining the top seed in the Class AA bracket.

Two teams finished the season undefeated, and surprised most high school football observers by doing so.

South Fayette (9-0) and Mount Pleasant (9-0) were both qualified to receive the No. 1 seed.

Class AAA also had two teams finish the season undefeated, Thomas Jefferson and Hopewell. Thomas Jefferson got the nod, no doubt partly because it has won the WPIAL title the past three years and four of the past five.

But in Class AA, neither team is a proven powerhouse. The Lions and the Vikings did not make the playoffs last season. In fact, both teams had losing records.

South Fayette earned the No. 1 seed, primarily, O'Malley said, because it prevents potential second-round games that would have pitted conference foes against one another. Had Mount Pleasant been seeded No. 1, the Vikings might have met No. 8-seeded McGuffey, an Interstate Conference foe. And had South Fayette been seeded No. 2, it might have faced Century Conference rival Keystone Oaks, the No. 7 seed, in the second round.

Besides, O'Malley said, there is little difference in opponent difficulty between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. After all, if the bracket goes as planned, the two will duke it out for the WPIAL championship in just a few weeks.

In the weekly rankings, the Post-Gazette put South Fayette No. 1 and Mount Pleasant No. 2.

If the first round goes according to seeding in Class AAAA, there are some potential blockbuster matchups in the second round.

If Central Catholic (7-2, 4-1) beats Seneca Valley (5-4, 3-2) this week, the Vikings could get a rematch against Big East Conference rival Woodland Hills. The Wolverines thumped the Vikings, 27-3, last month, and play host to Baldwin (2-7, 2-3) tomorrow night.

Great Southern Conference champion Bethel Park (8-1, 5-0) and Northern Six runner-up Shaler Area (8-1, 4-1) would meet next week if the Black Hawks dispose of Penn-Trafford (3-6, 3-3) and the Titans top Mt. Lebanon (5-4, 3-2) tomorrow night.

Two of the Post-Gazette's top-five teams -- No. 4 McKeesport and No. 5 North Allegheny -- would meet in the second round if McKeesport beats North Hills (4-5, 2-3) and North Allegheny beats Latrobe (4-5, 3-3).

Makes one wonder how a college football playoff would shake out.

For the past few seasons, the Washington High School football team had about as much bite as its namesake's wooden teeth.

Last season, the Little Prexies were 1-9. Now, they're in the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

The Little Prexies had a slow start -- they were just 1-2 through their first three games -- but turned things around after a 47-0 loss against Greensburg Central Catholic in week three.

Washington (6-3) won its next five games before dropping its regular-season finale to McGuffey, 14-12, last week.

Quarterback Marquis Brown has been a model of efficiency, completing about 60 percent of his throws this season. Brown is also third on the team in total rushing.

Zach Barnes leads a three-man ground game that averages more than 150 yards a night.

Last year, the Little Prexies had fewer than 700 yards rushing all season, and no running back had more than 300 yards.

Barnes alone has more than 700 yards rushing this season.

It has been a season to remember for Washington under first-year coach Mike Bosnic.

When Clairton surrendered a touchdown to Serra in the first quarter of the Bears' 39-7 win last week, it also surrendered an impressive distinction as well.

Clairton entered the game averaging the most points scored and fewest points allowed of all 123 WPIAL teams. But those seven points were enough to bump Clairton from the top defensive perch.

Rochester finished the season with a 28-0 shutout against Monaca, lowering its season average of points allowed to 3.7 points per game. Clairton finished allowing 4.2 points per game -- second best in the WPIAL.

The Bears still finished with the highest-scoring offense, averaging 47.6 points per game.

Two WPIAL teams from the South that made it to the PIAA finals last year begin their WPIAL title defense tomorrow night.

Bethel Park, the No. 3 seed in Class AAAA, will play host to Penn-Trafford and top-seeded Thomas Jefferson will play host to Laurel Highlands.

Last season, the Black Hawks lost in overtime of the PIAA finals, and the Jaguars won the state title.

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.