Maybe the players on the four western teams in the PIAA Class AA and A semifinals should wear name tags Friday night. Or maybe they should order a DJ and get together in a banquet hall.

Isn't that what you do for reunions?

Aliquippa (12-2) plays Wilmington (13-1) in a Class AA semifinal Friday at Center, while Clairton (14-0) meets Farrell (12-2) in a Class A semifinal at North Allegheny. These games are like a mini WPIAL reunion.

Aliquippa and Clairton are representing the WPIAL, champions of their respective classes. Wilmington and Farrell used to be in the WPIAL (District 7) before dropping out and joining District 10. Wilmington, in Lawrence County, dropped out after the 1993 season. Farrell, a Mercer County school, left the WPIAL after the 2005 season.

Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli is familiar with Aliquippa football because Wilmington played with Aliquippa in the Midwestern Conference for a few years in the 1990s.

Farrell and Clairton also met in a few WPIAL playoff games over the years. In 1990, Farrell beat Clairton in the WPIAL Class A championship.

"When I was a junior [in 1988], we beat Clairton on their field in the first round of the playoffs, and they were ranked No. 1 at the time," said Jarrett Samuels, Farrell's second-year coach. "I remember everything about Clairton. This is kind of like a rivalry renewed."

Farrell and Wilmington won a few WPIAL championships before leaving the league. Farrell won back-to-back Class A championships in 1995-96. Wilmington won two in a row in 1987-88, led by running back Blair Sweet, who rushed for 4,451 career yards.

Samuels is a cousin of former Farrell star running back Bob Samuels, a Parade All-American who went on to play at Penn State.

"To be honest, I'm a WPIAL guy. I miss playing in the WPIAL," Samuels said. "We moved to District 10 before I took over. If I had my way, we would've stayed in the WPIAL.

"But playing in District 10 is better from our fans' standpoint. We can get a lot more fans to travel to games in District 10. That was a major factor in us going to District 10. But as a player and the guys I coach with, we loved the WPIAL."

Verrelli has been Wilmington's coach for 30 years and has a record of 231-101-1. He enjoyed the competition in the WPIAL, but said "it really doesn't do any good to think about the WPIAL anymore. We miss playing some of the local teams in the WPIAL, like Neshannock, Shenango and Laurel.

"But we've built up rivalries up here, too."

Wilmington made it to the PIAA semifinals the past two seasons but lost to Jeannette and star quarterback Terrelle Pryor both times.

Wilmington relies on a fairly strong running game, led by junior Derrick Burns. The younger brother of Pitt freshman running back Chris Burns, Derrick has 1,314 yards on 151 carries. Sutton Whiting has 774 on 95 attempts.

Wilmington battled to win its past two games, defeating Martinsburg Central, 21-19, and Slippery Rock, 21-14.

Could this be a sign of what to expect in the Wilmington-Aliquippa game? Wilmington's only loss was to Karns City, 22-21. Aliquippa beat Karns City last week, 42-14.

"We've been shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers," Verrelli said. "Aliquippa is difficult to run against -- or pass -- because they have that speed. They line up, play man-to-man and let everyone else stop the run."

Farrell is a team that seems to be peaking, winning 12 in a row since losing its first two. It has shut out five of its past six opponents and has allowed only 34 points the past nine games.

"Our defense has been our mainstay, even when we had troubles at the beginning of the year," Samuels said. "But Clairton is the real deal. They're the best team we've faced all season -- and they're like a mirror image of us."