WPIAL high school football first round playoff recaps from Friday, November 5th:

Penn Hills 38 Franklin Regional 6 - Class 5A First Round

No. 12 Franklin Regional hung tough early forcing three turnovers in the first half but eventually No. 5 Penn Hills pulled away as the Indians downed the Panthers 38-6 in a WPIAL Class 5A first round contest at Penn Hills. The Panthers trailed 7-0 after one and 14-0 at halftime as Julian Dugger found Jaden Dugger on a pair of touchdown passes for the Indians. The Dugger brothers connected for two more scores in the second half. The lone touchdown of the game for Franklin Regional came in the fourth quarter as Connor Donnelly tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Roman Sarnic. The Panthers finish the season with a 3-8 overall record while Penn Hills (7-3) will play at Gateway in the quarterfinals next week.

East Allegheny 36 Southmoreland 11 - Class 3A First Round

No. 9 East Allegheny used a big second quarter to earn a 36-11 victory at No. 8 Southmoreland in a WPIAL Class 3A first round match up at Russ Grimm Stadium. The Scotties, playing at home in the post-season for the first time ever, trailed just 3-0 after one but the Wildcats scored three times in the second quarter to go into halftime ahead 24-3. Jake Kaylor's 25-yard field goal was Southmoreland's only points of the first half. Anthony Govern scored on a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter for the Scotties who finish the season 7-4. East Allegheny (5-5) will face top-seeded Central Valley next Friday.

Mount Pleasant 41 Burrell 7 - Class 3A First Round

Sixth-seeded Mount Pleasant took control of the game early and went on to a 41-7 triumph over visiting 11th seeded Burrell in a WPIAL Class 3A first round game at Viking Stadium. The win is the first post-season victory for Vikings head coach Jason Fazekas. Mount Pleasant ran out to a 14-0 lead thanks to touchdown runs by Robbie Labuda of two yards and Aaron Alakson of 21 yards. Burrell struck back on a Caden DiCaprio 9-yard run to make it 14-7 after one quarter but Alakson scored a rushing touchdown and caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter to give Mount Pleasant a 27-7 edge at halftime. In the second half, Jackson Hutter found the endzone from 13 yards out and Dante Giallonardo scored on a 25-yard run to cap off the scoring for the Vikings. Labuda finished with 170 yards on 15 attempts while Alakson rushed for 113 yards on 12 totes. DiCaprio tallied 191 yards rushing on a whopping 47 carries. Mount Pleasant (6-4) heads to No. 3 Avonworth next week.

South Side 34 Ligonier Valley 14 - Class 2A First Round

No. 8 South Side jumped on No. 9 Ligonier Valley early, winning the WPIAL Class 2A first round contest 34-14 at home. Trailing 21-0, LV finally got on the board in the final minute of the first half on a Broderick Schreyer 11-yard strike to Matthew Marinchak. Ligonier Valley had the lead cut to 21-14 after a Schreyer 15-yard touchdown pass to Grant Dowden in the third quarter. But a 63-yard touchdown run by South Side's Parker Statler gave some breathing room, increasing the lead back to 28-14. The game was put out of reach with 7:44 remaining. Ligonier Valley finishes with an 8-3 record while South Side will play Steel Valley on Friday.

OLSH 28 Greensburg Central Catholic 8 - Class 1A First Round

No. 8 Greensburg Central Catholic played with heavy hearts in its WPIAL 1A first round playoff game against No. 9 OLSH at Hempfield. Earlier in the week, two assistant coaches passed away in separate incidents. The Centurions battled hard, trailing just 7-0 at halftime and 14-2 after three, but couldn't generate anything offensively in a 28-8 loss. Central was playing without five two-way starters due to the transfer rule. The lone GCC touchdown came late in the fourth quarter on a 23-yard pass from Tyree Turner to Nate Dlugos. Greensburg Central Catholic posts a 6-5 record in 2021.