Working overtime for question of the week

 Mike White | 1:45 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16

The WPIAL had an overtime football game in the quarterfinals (Highlands vs. Montour). In overtime in Pennsylvania, each team gets a possession at the 10-yard line. If the game is still tied, the process is repeated.

This is different than college overtimes, where teams get the ball at the 25-yard line. That brings us to the Varsity Xtra Question of the Week. Do you prefer the high school overtime rule, or the college overtime?

To vote, go to http://www.post-gazette.com/highschoolsports/ and look for "Poll: Question of the Week." The results will be printed in Friday's Varsity Xtra section, but also are available on the Post-Gazette web site.

What's interesting about the overtime stuff is the WPIAL did not have overtime in championship games until the late 1980s. So if a title game ended in a tie, both teams were declared co-champs. When the league started playoffs in the early 1970s, it did not even have an overtime format in place to decide playoff games. And the league looked foolish in 1972 when Jeannette and Monessen tied, 14-14, in a WPIAL Class AA semifinal at Three Rivers Stadium. No one knew what to do because there was no overtime. So, get this: Jeannette was awarded the win because it had more total yards of offense.