Antonio RossettI stories, Page 2
Penn-Trafford scores twice in final 6 minutes to beat Moon
Penn-Trafford came from behind Friday and tallied 13 unanswered points in the final six minutes to defeat Moon, 25-24. The Warriors forced the Tigers to punt with 53 seconds left, down 24-19. Penn-Trafford then capped a 95-yard drive with a winning Nate Desmond 15-yard touchdown pass to Landyn Stikkel. Desmond...
Moon runs downhill, speeds past Montour
Moon scored 27 unanswered points to charge past Montour, 41-13, picking up a solid road win Friday night. The Tigers were powered by Antoine Arnett, who tallied 161 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns. “It’s all about hard work at practice,” Arnett said. “We go 100% in practice, and...
Robert Morris football team ready for challenges, including West Virginia in opener
Robert Morris returned to the Northeast Conference to reestablish itself amongst rivals. The Colonials were in the conference from 1996 to 2019 and went 4-2 in the NEC last season for a 7-5 overall record after four seasons in the Big South. “That’s where we belong,” coach Bernard Clark said....
Big-play offense, series of 4th-down stops lift Westinghouse past Steel Valley
Sparked by 122 yards on 13 carries from Dameon Hill, including an 80-yard touchdown run, Westinghouse defeated Steel Valley, 22-12, on Saturday at the Wolverena. Hill also tallied a 34-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Zahir Ismaeli. “It felt amazing,” Hill said. “Prior to the game, I said I...
Southmoreland football opens strong, trounces Valley
Southmoreland took no time to get settled into the season, defeating Valley, 40-0, in Week Zero action Friday at Valley. New quarterback, new coach but no problem. Dawson Wolfe completed 8 out of 14 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. He also tallied rushing 28 rushing yards and a...
Burgettstown looking to get back to winning ways
Hard times can shape a team, and the Burgettstown Blue Devils hope last season’s struggles will make them better. They are coming back bigger, faster and stronger. Coach Mark Druga went 43-26 with with six playoff berths in seven seasons at the helm of the Blue Devils before going 1-8...
Avella embraces underdog identity, hunts for playoff spot
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Bentworth and California previews will be published later this week. With 73 boys in grades 10-12 per the latest PIAA...
Jefferson-Morgan putting pieces together for more Tri-County South success
Jefferson-Morgan skyrocketed into the playoffs in 2023, ending an 11-year playoff drought. The Rockets built on that in 2024, completing a 10-0 season and the Tri-County South Conference before a first-round loss to South Side. The Rockets faithful lined the streets for the last regular season game and sent them...
Despite young team, Beth-Center hungry to add to winning culture
Beth-Center reached the playoffs 16 consecutive years from 2003-2018. With an all-time winning percentage of .580 in 657 games and a WPIAL title in 1975, winning has been a standard for the Bulldogs since 1958. Nevertheless, 2018 was their most recent playoff appearance. Having lost only three seniors to graduation,...
South Allegheny driven to reach new heights as turnaround continues
South Allegheny reached the playoffs for the first time since 2021 last season, finishing 9-3 for its first winning season since 2020. After back-to-back 1-9 seasons, the Gladiators were fed up. With a motivated and energized cast of players, South Allegheny found its mojo. “We have to continue to play...
Caliguri’s Academy martial artists earn top finishes at world championships
Competitors from Caliguri’s Academy of Martial Arts in Lower Burrell marched into the USAMA world karate championships looking to add some hardware. Grandmaster Frank Caliguri, Master Nancy Caliguri and their daughter and instructor Kelli Caliguri helped coordinate the tournament, which was held in Chicago. They guided four students to first-place...
With tons of talent returning, Hopewell hungry to end playoff drought
The Hopewell Vikings are hungry to bring winning football back to the community. Hopewell has had eight consecutive seasons under .500 and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2012. Last season, first-year coach Matt Mottes and the Vikings took a step in the right direction. The Vikings went 4-6 and Mottes...
Beaver reloads in pursuit of another winning chapter in program’s storied history
Beaver is the ninth on the WPIAL all-time wins list and is the fourth-oldest football program in the district, starting in 1899. Beaver has a winning culture. Coach Cort Rowse hasn’t missed the playoffs since taking over in 2021. Rowse took home Western Hills Conference coach of the year honors...
New Castle determined to keep resurgence going strong
Last season, coach Fred Mozzocio came into New Castle, where he played in the 1980s, and wanted to deliver awesome football to the community. The Red Hurricanes were 1-9 two seasons ago, but “Coach Mo” got New Castle sailing in the right direction with a 5-4 season last year. The...
Kiski Area’s Mario Hutcherson captures title at Fargo Junior Nationals
Kiski Area wrestler Mario Hutcherson entered the 16U Freestyle U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals last week in Fargo, N.D., wanting to add more hardware to an already impressive collection. Hutcherson won gold last summer in the Pan-Am championships, and he also is a four-time youth state champion, a two-time U.S....
Seneca Valley stings South Fayette in 3OT thriller in Penguins Cup Class 3A final
Seneca Valley’s Marshall Hewitt and his late-game heroics earned the Raiders a 3-2 victory over South Fayette in three overtimes Monday night and the program’s second PIHL Class 3A Penguins Cup title. After 38 minutes and 31 seconds of overtime, Hewitt corralled the puck and skated to the center point,...
Mars, Avonworth knock off top seeds in PIHL Penguins Cup Class A semifinals
Mars defeated Chartiers Valley, 3-2, in a comeback victory to kick off a PIHL Penguins Cup Class A doubleheader at the RMU Island Sports Center on Wednesday night. Mars trailed 2-1 heading into the third period. Before the end of the second, the Planets peppered Matt Colberg on a late...
Plum resident steps into boxing ring at age 46 to fulfill lifelong dream
When Plum resident Dan Borowski stepped into the ring at the 2025 Las Vegas Masters Championships, he was living out a lifelong dream. Borowski never thought he’d be a 46-year-old boxer, but there he was, taking on Maurice F. Comstock Jr. in the Sin City. Borowski, a full-time contractor who...
WPIAL champion Chartiers Valley keeps foot on the gas in PIAA 1st round
The WPIAL Class 5A champion Chartiers Valley Colts throttled the Cocalico Eagles, 62-29, in the first round of the PIAA playoffs Friday night. Chartiers Valley continued its momentum and did not have a championship hangover, running its winning streak to nine games. “We just want to kill every team and...
Oakland Catholic outduels Blackhawk in tense Class 4A championship game
The Oakland Catholic Eagles defeated the Blackhawk Cougars, 52-50, in the Class 4A finals Saturday at Petersen Events Center, taking home their seventh WPIAL title and first since 2006. The Cougars trailed 39-32 halfway through the third quarter. Nevertheless, Blackhawk battled back and took the lead early in the fourth...
Chartiers Valley rallies from double-digit deficit to stun No. 1 Montour in Class 5A semifinals
Chartiers Valley stunned the WPIAL basketball world Tuesday night, downing top-seeded Montour, 47-44, in the Class 5A semifinals. The Spartans controlled the first half, going into halftime up 30-20. That’s when Jayden Davis and the fourth-seeded Colts turned up the intensity on defense. The Colts held the Spartans to 14...
Sharp-shooting Cheswick Christian Academy wins back-to-back SWCAC titles
The Cheswick Christian Academy boys captured their second consecutive Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference basketball title Saturday with a 64-36 victory over Pittsburgh Christian Academy. It was CCA’s third straight trip to the title game and second time in a row playing the River Hawks for the championship. Joseph Rosio and...
Mt. Lebanon makes big plays late to beat Imani Christian in Class 6A quarterfinals
Liam Sheely scored 22 points, including 14 points and a key 3-pointer in the second half, to lead Mt. Lebanon to a 64-61 victory over Imani Christian in the WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinals Thursday night. “There’s never a time in the game where I’m thinking, ‘Oh, we’re gonna lose this...
Lower Burrell’s Nancy Caliguri celebrates 50 years in martial arts
Nancy Caliguri has been training in a dojo for 50 years and racked up a multitude of accomplishments. The Lower Burrell resident is celebrating half a century in martial arts this year. In October 1980, Caliguri became a first-degree black belt and worked her way to becoming a ninth-degree black...
Norwin’s Deacon Shannon takes shot at Pa. Golden Gloves title
Norwin’s Deacon Shannon walks into Boyce Boxing Gym in Plum and trains day in and day out in preparation for the Pennsylvania Golden Gloves finals. Fighting in the Bantamweight Division, he stands 5-foot-11 and fights at 132 pounds. He has a 76-inch reach and wears a size 12 shoe. Despite...
