The 2023 Pittsburgh City League football regular season has come to an end, with the Westinghouse Bulldogs named champions for the second consecutive year. Now, eyes turn to the state playoffs.
Despite their location in the heart of Western Pennsylvania, the City League teams don’t take part in the WPIAL Championship bracket on their quest for a state title. Instead, they join the wider state playoff bracket from the jump.
The Bulldogs, who look to continue their run of dominance, will play in a subregional against the winner of the District 5 Class-2A championship game between Chestnut Ridge and Berlin Brothersvalley, which will take place this Friday. Westinghouse faced Berlin in their run to the state championship game last year, claiming a lopsided 59-7 win. The subregional game is slated to take place next week at Somerset. The winner will take on the District 9 champion.
The University Prep Wildcats will also sit out this week before taking on the winner of the District 10 Class-4A championship game between Meadville and Corry. Whoever wins the D-10 game will host the following week’s contest against the Wildcats. Once again, familiar faces could be a storyline in that eventual game, as University Prep’s season ended at the hands of Meadville last year. The winner of that subregional will face the winner of a subregional between the District 6 and District 9 champions.
Players to watch in both games include a pair of underclassmen. Sophomore Westinghouse athlete Kyshawn Robinson has picked up a host of Power 5 offers since a breakout performance in the state championship game last season, while University Prep athlete Xair Stevenson has an offer from Temple and looks to continue to build his stock.
Elsewhere in the City League, Brashear (2-7) and Allderdice (1-8) both would’ve qualified for the state playoffs based on being the top City League finishers in their classifications. Instead, they elected to opt out of the tournament.
