Freshmen on Thomas Jefferson's football team were fifth-graders the last time the Jaguars lost to a WPIAL opponent.

"When you think about it that way, it's like 'whoa,' " said Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak.

The Class AAA Jaguars have won 48 consecutive games against WPIAL teams dating to the 2005 WPIAL championship game.

The Jaguars have advanced to the title game every year since 2002 -- a run that has produced four WPIAL titles and three PIAA championships.

"It's an amazing thing what they've got rolling right now," said West Allegheny coach Bob Palko.

Now, Palko is another in a long line of coaches who gets to try to stop the Jaguars.

Thomas Jefferson (11-0), the top-seeded team in the Class AAA WPIAL playoffs and the Post-Gazette's top-ranked Class AAA team in the PIAA, will play fourth-seeded West Allegheny (9-2) tonight at Chartiers Valley Stadium in a WPIAL semifinal. The survivor will play the winner of the Hopewell-Hampton game in the WPIAL championship game next week.

Palko said he thinks the streak is a huge motivation for Thomas Jefferson players -- not necessarily because they want to extend it; they just do not want to be the ones to end it.

"They don't want to be the group that lets down the group before them," Palko said.

That might be the case, Cherpak said. But like a pitcher in the midst of a perfect game who is left alone in the dugout, the streak rarely is discussed among the players.

"It's not talked about," he said.

"Nobody talks about the streak or what goes on with it."

Thomas Jefferson is led by its passing game. Quarterback Sam Johnston has completed 81 of 145 passes this season (55.9 percent) for 1,896 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. His main target, Jim Giansante, has 50 catches for 1,196 yards. Giansante's 1,041 regular-season receiving yards was the best in the WPIAL by more than 250.

On the other end, the Indians have one of the best players in the WPIAL in running back Mike Caputo. A junior, Caputo finished the regular season as the second-leading rusher in the WPIAL (1,565 yards) and he was fifth in the WPIAL in scoring.

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.