It would not be a stretch to call tomorrow night's Thomas Jefferson-West Allegheny WPIAL Class AAA semifinal matchup a golden contest.

Golden for a couple of reasons. First, Thomas Jefferson's Bill Cherpak and West Allegheny's Bob Palko are two of the most respected head coaches in not only the WPIAL but the state. Both have PIAA titles on their resumes.

Second, since 1997 there has been only two WPIAL Class AAA championship games that did not involve either West Allegheny or Thomas Jefferson. And during that span, West Allegheny and Thomas Jefferson have both won four WPIAL crowns with the Jaguars capturing the last three and four of the past five.

If Hopewell, which is playing in the other Class AAA semifinal, were not undefeated, just about everyone would be saying this game is actually for the WPIAL title.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Chartiers Valley High School's stadium.

Thomas Jefferson comes in with an 11-0 record. The closest any team has come to knocking off the Jaguars was Belle Vernon, which lost, 26-20. But in that one, Thomas Jefferson held a 26-7 lead before the Leopards scored two late touchdowns.

West Allegheny is 9-2. The Indians lost, 28-24, to Chartiers Valley in a non-conference game the first week of the season and to Parkway Conference champion Hopewell, 34-26, on Oct. 16.

"I'm going to be here for this one," Chartiers Valley coach Chris Saluga said.

"I wish I could be there for that one," Montour coach Lou Cerro said. "Unfortunately, we have a game at our place and I've got to be here."

Perhaps no coach knows Thomas Jefferson better than Saluga, whose Colts dropped a 20-0 decision to the Jaguars on a Thursday night game in front of a TV audience. So, how does West Allegheny beat Thomas Jefferson?

"You have to play a near perfect game," Saluga said. "I give West Allegheny a chance, but TJ is tough."

This was supposed to be a bit of a down year for the Jaguars. Cherpak lost a lot of star power when quarterback Tyler Wehner, tight end Brock DeCicco, receiver Dan Virgin and running back Brian Baldrige graduated after winning a PIAA crown in Hershey last December. But here Thomas Jefferson is, undefeated and seeking a fourth consecutive WPIAL crown.

Most observers agree this isn't the strongest team the Jaguars have fielded, but it seems to find a way. Part of that comes from the winning tradition and program Cherpak has developed.

"This might be one of [Cherpak's] best coaching jobs," Saluga said. "And I don't just mean him, his whole staff has done a good job this season."

Thomas Jefferson does not have a running back with more than 600 yards. The closest the Jaguars come to a superstar is receiver Jim Giansante, who has caught 45 passes for 1,094 yards. Quarterback Sam Johnston has thrown for 1,766 yards and 21 scores.

Defensively, Thomas Jefferson has been as stingy as ever. It limited a good Franklin Regional team to just 284 yards total offense in beating the Panthers, 27-14, in a quarterfinal.

If there is a team out there capable of playing a perfect game against Thomas Jefferson, it might be West Allegheny. The Indians just don't make many errors.

"I heard somewhere [West Allegheny] has turned the ball over just four times this season," Saluga said. "I don't know if that's true, but if it is ..."

"That wouldn't surprise me," said Cerro, whose Spartans lost to West Allegheny, 35-22, in the final game of the regular season. "It has just worked out that I think we've seen all of West Allegheny's games [on tape] this season and I don't recall them making many errors like that. They are well coached."

Cerro said the key to stopping West Allegheny is containing running back Mike Caputo. who has gained 1,951 yards on 267 carries and scored 27 touchdowns. In last weekend's 31-7 win against New Castle, Caputo, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior, carried 30 times for 174 yards and three touchdowns.

But the West Allegheny player who might be the "X" factor against Thomas Jefferson is quarterback Jared Buck. He doesn't get a lot of headlines but he has thrown for 1,043 yards and 13 touchdowns with just one interception, and has rushed 79 times for another 339 yards.

"Bob's teams always like to possess the ball against you and this one is no different," Cerro said. "We scored some points against them but we had the ball only 11 minutes the whole game. They can grind it out against you and limit your opportunities."

The fact West Allegheny has done so well this season did not come as a surprise to Cerro.

"After not making the playoffs last year, you had to figure they were going to be a bear this season," he said. "And West Allegheny is plenty big enough up front to handle Thomas Jefferson. Now, whether they will or not is something else."

All of which adds up to a playoff game that should be worth the price of admission and then some.

• What: Thomas Jefferson (11-0) vs. West Allegheny (9-2).

• When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.

• Where: Chartiers Valley High School's Colts Stadium.

• The skinny: The Thomas Jefferson and West Allegheny programs are two of the best in Class AAA in the WPIAL. The winner advances to the title game against Hopewell or Hampton.

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