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I'm new here with a question: I thought the PIAA final was a western team vs an eastern team but BG and Berlin could be a possibility and they are both on the western side of PA (as was BG & Clairton last year). Why do we say so and so from the east vs so and so from the west if it's not always like that? 

You have to split the state by districts. Unfortunately, the west side has more 1A schools than the traditional Eastern bracket, such as District 3 in 4A being in the West.

Unfortunately, putting D5 and D6 in the East is too much, but D5 by themselves would be too few. So, D6 goes East and D5 stays west.

Didn't have a problem last year with Bishop Guifoyle and Clairton playing.

Yep, essentially you have to balance the bracket. More big schools in the East, more small schools in the West.

So you can have an all West A final like BG and Berlin and an all East AAAA final like Cumberland Valley and Parkland.

Even stranger in basketball when you've had all D1 state championship games like Chester vs. Lower Merion. They have to do what they have to do as far as balancing out the brackets year in year out. In most years I think we do actually see the best teams make it though. That being said, it's rough for that 5-6-8-9 subregion and D4 teams in AAA to have to make those long treks for the first round of the PIAA each year!

Makes sense. Thanks!