By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

Less than a week from today, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, the final regular season games that will count toward District 6 playoff rankings will be played.

Conference playoffs began earlier this week with the Heritage Conference and will continue with those championship games tonight, and the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference and Inter-County Conference semifinals and championships next week.

The first District 6 playoff games will come the week of Feb. 17, and the first championship game will be held either Feb. 21 or 22.

The following is a look at where things stand going into tonight’s action as the area thaws out from Thursday’s ice storm that wiped out most of the scheduled games off the schedule.

Heritage title games

Tonight in Indiana at IUP’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, the Heritage Conference will hold its championship games.

The girls game will feature Penns Manor and River Valley. River Valley is undefeated and will be the top seed in the District 6 Class 3A playoff field with one of the better players in the state, Ava Persichetti. Penns Manor is the No. 2 seed in Class 2A currently and has a very good senior class that will help the Lady Comets be among the favorites to win a district title.

On the boys side, Portage takes on West Shamokin. The Mustangs beat the Wolves, 54-48, on the road on Jan. 21. Portage is currently the No. 2 seed in District 6 2A, and West Shamokin is the fifth seed in a loaded Class 3A field.

LHAC matchups

The LHAC matchups, which begin with the semifinals Thursday, Feb. 13 should be must-watch basketball.

On the boys side from the West Division, undefeated Johnstown, the current No. 1 seed in District 6 Class 5A, and Forest Hills, the current No. 2 seed in Class 3A will be in the field. From the East Division will be Class 3A top seed Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and most likely Hollidaysburg, the No. 2 ranked Class 5A school in District 6.

Hollidaysburg’s only losses are to Forest Hills and BG; Forest Hills’ only loss is to Johnstown, and BG and Johnstown are both unbeaten in LHAC play — though the Marauders haven’t played the Trojans or Rangers.

The girls bracket is still in flux but will include Hollidaysburg, which hasn’t lost in LHAC play, and Bishop McCort. If Bishop Guilfoyle Academy beats Clearfield tonight at home, that should lock up a spot for the Lady Marauders.

The final spot out of the West Division will come down to several teams including Central Cambria, Bishop Carroll and Johnstown.

Hollidaysburg defeated BG soundly on the road earlier this year but has not played Bishop McCort.

ICC playoffs

The ICC semifinals and championship games will take place at Claysburg-Kimmel next Friday and Saturday, and for the first time — the Bulldogs have a chance to be involved.

Coach Mike Harris’ team won the school’s first PIAA playoff game a year ago and enters tonight’s game against Northern Bedford on an eight-game winning streak. If C-K can take care of business in that game and in Monday’s makeup game against Moshannon Valley, it should be enough to edge Southern Huntingdon to win the ICC East.

West Branch will be the representative from the ICC North in the boys division after a dominant campaign that will earn the Warriors the top seed in District 6 Class 2A. The same dominance was shown in the ICC South by McConnellsburg, who will compete in the District 5 postseason.

The ICC West’s representative is still in doubt with District 5’s North Star and Windber competing to represent their schools in the semifinals.

On the girls side, Williamsburg will be back in the semifinals after winning the ICC North. The Lady Blue Pirates just completed a regular-season sweep of ICC East Division winner Southern Huntingdon but did lose a regular season game at ICC West winner Berlin Brothersvalley. Everett, which has had an up-and-down season, seems to be the likely entry from the ICC South.

Mid-Penn girls

Finally, on Tuesday the Mid-Penn Conference semifinals will begin with the champions from each division.

The Altoona girls will represent the Commonwealth Division with the Lady Lions’ only conference loss coming against State College — which they avenged on the road. Trinity, which has lost games to both Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and Berlin Brothersvalley this year, will represent the Capital Division, and Mechanicsburg won the Keystone Division.

The winner of the Colonial Division will be either Middletown or Northern.

Altoona will take on Mechanicsburg at 6 p.m. at Central Dauphin East, and Trinity will play Middletown or Northern in the other semifinal. The championship will be Thursday at Milton Hershey High School at 6 p.m.

Of course, these conference tournaments will mean a lot to all the teams involved but should also provide some insight to what should be a very interesting month and a half ahead of District 6 and PIAA playoff action.

Michael Boytim can be reached at mboytim@altoonamirror.com or 814-946-7521. Follow him on X @BoytimMichael.