Bill Beckner stories

Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Jeannette players, coach learning to manage frantic style

Jeannette coach Jenna Lusby has come to terms with her team’s style of play. It is fast paced with erratic moments, but it has been working. Lusby often calls the style “chaotic.” “We celebrated the new year, now we’re moving the ball,” Lusby said, referring to a more stagnant offense...
1st-place Gateway boys hang on to quell Penn-Trafford’s comeback attemptVideo

A sign on the wall at Penn-Trafford read “Warning” in white capital letters with a green background. Maybe it was meant for Gateway. Warned or not, the visiting Gators were ready for a frenzied comeback by the host Warriors. Gateway weathered a big shift in momentum and a 22-point third...
Hempfield receiver Kopas takes preferred walk-on offer from Duquesne

Jack Kopas is going Division I after all. The Hempfield senior football player had D-I hopes, but was just about ready to commit to a Division II program in the PSAC when a new team entered the conversation. All of the sudden, Duquesne is his school of choice. Kopas, a...
Canon-McMillan fends off Norwin charge to clinch share of section crownVideo

Top-ranked Norwin slogged through a two-point third quarter — an uncharacteristically empty output on its home floor — and fell behind by 16 going to the fourth. Somehow, it stemmed the tide of a lengthy run by No. 3 Canon-McMillan, closing a 17-point gap to four late before fading for...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Norwin grad Bilinsky sets career high for UPJ hoops

They call Adam Bilinsky “Bomber.” The former Norwin basketball standout was on full blast for Pitt-Johnstown against Seton Hill. The junior guard erupted for a career-high 35 points in a 97-88 victory over the visiting Griffins. The top number is impressive. But so is how he got to it. Bilinsky...
Derry lineman Dylan Pitzer commits to walk on at Pitt

For a kid who has his college right there in his last name, Pitt seems like a perfect fit. Dylan Pitzer to Pitt sings. The Derry senior football player announced Monday he is accepting a preferred walk-on offer to play at Pitt, the only Division I school to make him...
Jayla Peterson hits milestone in Greensburg Central Catholic’s statement win over Bishop Guilfoyle

Milestones have a way of following high-level basketball teams on their journey through banner seasons. They are organic rewards that come with the territory. Bonus material on a pathway to the prize. The milestones keep coming for the Greensburg Central Catholic girls, who saw senior Jayla Peterson score her 1,000th...
Greensburg Central Catholic rallies in 2nd half to upend Ligonier Valley at Shootout at Saint Vincent

Greensburg Central Catholic’s latest game was like a microcosm of its season. A lot of people wrote off the Centurions because of a wave of turnover and a young, unproven rotation. But, like the 17-point deficit the boys basketball team faced Saturday night, the outside noise didn’t matter much to...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Jeannette’s Kymon’e Brown gets football offer from Robert Morris

Jeannette two-sport senior athlete Kymon’e Brown appears to be leaning toward football over basketball for college. That is because more schools are leaning in on him. Brown, the shifty playmaking quarterback and defensive back, now has three NCAA Division I scholarship offers. Robert Morris reached out last week, following spread-out...
Norwin notebook: Tristyn Tavares taking talents to Cal (Pa.)

Norwin will miss him, but will cherish the high school football career he left behind. Standout quarterback Tristyn Tavares announced he will play at Cal (Pa.). A four-year starter, Tavares was a first-team all-conference selection in Class 6A. He threw for 1,243 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 738...
Latrobe boys use size to claw past Franklin Regional in must-win game

Latrobe had a contest at halftime called “Can the Cats” where children tried to throw small, rubber cats into a trash can. When the second half got underway, Latrobe’s boys basketball team canned Franklin Regional. Latrobe looked like a team playing with desperation, using a dogged defensive effort and its...
GCC’s Erica Gribble, Quaker Valley’s Oumou Thiero nominated for McDonald’s All-American Game

Two of the WPIAL’s premier girls basketball players are nominated for the country’s most prestigious all-star game. Erica Gribble, a senior point guard at Greensburg Central Catholic, and senior swing forward Oumou “Mimi” Thiero of Quaker Valley are nominees from the East for the McDonald’s All-American Game. Both are living...
Derry’s Dylan Pitzer gets preferred walk-on offer from Pitt football team

Coaches who have worked with him say Dylan Pitzer might have only scratched the surface of his capabilities as a football player. The 6-foot-7, 275-pounder at Derry has gained momentum with NCAA Division II offers, with IUP, Clarion and Glenville State extending offers to the two-way lineman. But a Division...
Go mode: Navarah Smith scores 31 for Jeannette in victory over Apollo-Ridge

The switch came on, just when Jeannette needed it. The Jayhawks were dull offensively early in a rematch with visiting Apollo-Ridge and needed somebody to sharpen the blade. Senior guard Navarah Smith has done it many times before, so she was glad to oblige again. “When I look at the...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: 9 games set for Shootout at Saint Vincent

A regular event with a new venue will greet local basketball fans this weekend. The Shootout at Saint Vincent — formerly the Shootout at Seton Hill — will feature four showcase games Saturday and five Sunday. There will be two girls games and seven boys games at Carey Center. Saturday’s...
Penn-Trafford boys beat buzzer to defeat Latrobe

One second led to a second chance for Penn-Trafford. And that snippet of time made for one wild finish in Harrison City. Ethan McDonald made an off-balance, falling-down shot off a lob from Nick Ponko from under the basket to beat the buzzer and lift Penn-Trafford to a 45-43 victory...

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