Bill Beckner stories, Page 101
Veteran trio corrals talented young Mt. Pleasant team
With only two seniors in the starting 11, one might think Mt. Pleasant lacks veteran leadership. That this team is just a bunch of whiz kids running around aimlessly. But that could not be farther from the truth for the Vikings (20-2), who sit two wins away from a trip...
Greensburg C.C. girls soccer gets rival Springdale at Norwin stadium, where Centurions are 9-0 since 2014
As if playing Springdale for a third time this season wasn’t enough to pique their interest, the site for Saturday’s PIAA Class A girls soccer quarterfinal has Greensburg Central Catholic and coach Kara Batey beaming. The WPIAL section rivals will play at Norwin Knights Stadium in North Huntingdon. “I can’t...
Fralic Award finalists to be announced Monday
Finalists for the fourth Bill Fralic Award will be announced Monday at a special press conference. For the first time, the announcement will come from the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center, where William P. Fralic Foundation organizers and WPIAL officials will unveil the top candidates for...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Sophomore QB sparks Latrobe
When Ron Prady took over the Latrobe football program, he already knew many of the players because he teaches in the district. One was John Wetzel, his sophomore quarterback. “We have a lot of faith in Johnny,” Prady said. “We trust him to run the offense. He can take off,...
Latrobe lineman Calabrace wins ‘NFL Way to Play Award’ for excellent technique
Latrobe senior lineman Daniel Calabrace was the NFL Way to Play Award recipient for Week 8. Calabrace’s defensive technique, particularly one play where he rips through a double-team and wraps up a running back near the line of scrimmage against Trinity, was lauded by Playfootball.nfl.com. NFL analyst Brian “Baldy” Baldinger...
After making statement with playoff win, Ligonier Valley runs into powerful Beaver Falls
Ligonier Valley celebrated its first WPIAL playoff win last Friday night — on the bus ride home. It was loud. It was a good time. The bus was rocking as it pulled out of the parking lot at Offutt Field in Greensburg and made its way eastbound on Route 30....
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer tops Bedford to earn 1st PIAA win in school history
JOHNSTOWN — Maddie Barrick could see the ball come to her. She could see the ball go into the net. And she could see her team celebrate its first-ever win in the state playoffs. About a month ago, the Mt. Pleasant sophomore midfielder could barely see at all. She was...
Norwin’s JJ Matijevic to get ring after Astros’ World Series win
The World Series had a nice ring to it for JJ Matijevic. The former Norwin star who had multiple call-ups from Triple-A to the major leagues this season, was a member of the World Champion Houston Astros’ taxi squad. That meant he was in the building during home games and...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: UPG women’s soccer wins AMCC title
Scoring on a trio of set pieces, the Pitt-Greensburg women’s soccer team became conference champions for the second time in three years. UPG defeated Penn State Behrend in overtime, 3-2, to claim the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title. The Bobcats (15-3-1, 7-0) receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division...
Westmoreland PIAA soccer preview capsules: Games on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022
Class 3A First round Latrobe (12-4-2) at Moon (20-0) 7 p.m. Tuesday, Moon Stadium, Moon Winner plays: Winner of Warren (9-9)/Plum (17-2) Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) District seeds: Latrobe 7-4; Moon 7-1 Last year’s PIAA finish: Latrobe DNQ; Moon Class 4A champion Throw-ins: Latrobe will continue its historic...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Franklin Regional soccer alums shine at next level
Colleges have a soccer pipeline going to Franklin Regional and the recruits are producing at the next level. Sophomore Blake Cooper has been one of the top offensive threats in the AMCC for Penn State Behrend. The midfielder had a team-best 10 goals and six assists for 26 points through...
PIAA announces state soccer playoff pairings
The PIAA announced opening-round pairings, times and sites for the state soccer playoffs, which are set to begin Tuesday. The matchups involving WPIAL teams are as follows: Boys First round Class 4A 3-4 Warwick (11-7-2) at 7-1 Pine-Richland (15-4-1), 5:30 p.m. 7-2 Seneca Valley (18-1-1) at 6-1 State College, 6...
Mt. Pleasant, Latrobe girls soccer enter territory very familiar to Greensburg CC: PIAAs
For one local girls soccer team, the PIAA playoffs are old hat. For two others, the experience is new. Perennial state qualifier Greensburg Central Catholic (Class A) will join newcomers Mt. Pleasant (2A) and Latrobe (3A) in the PIAA playoffs beginning Tuesday with first-round games. All three teams will be...
Norwin softball standout Snowberger commits to Holy Cross
Bailey Snowberger likes to work in silence. Take a random week night at Norwin High School. There is an event going on at Knights Stadium, and Snowberger is running hill sprints up to the middle school, hustling up and down the stadium bleachers and cooling off around the parking lot....
Westmoreland high school notebook: Girls soccer talent abounds in area
Girls soccer talent is bubbling over in Westmoreland County, as evidenced by postseason playoff runs, career scoring milestones and Division I commitments. The proof also lies in the All-WPIAL list, which was released last week. Mt. Pleasant, which made the WPIAL Class 2A final for the first time, had five...
Norwin focuses on youth football players to build program’s foundation
On a cold February night, the high school cafeteria at Norwin buzzed with voices of youngsters who represented the future of varsity football at the school. Dozens of bright-eyed players who one day will carry the football, block and tackle and sacrifice for one another as members of the Knights,...
Norwin notebook: Youth football teams play in championship games
Norwin had two teams playing for titles at the Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League championships Oct. 30 at Norwin Knights Stadium. Norwin defeated Trinity, 19-13, in the Division 3 (K-second grade) game to finish with a 10-0 record. Santino Gorski ran for a touchdown and finished with more than 2,000...
Westmoreland high school athletes of the week for the week ending Nov. 6, 2022
Ava Hershberger School: Penn-Trafford Sport: Field hockey Class: Junior Claim to fame: Hershberger helped lead the Warriors to their seventh straight WPIAL Class 2A championship. The Lady Warriors claimed the title with a 4-1 win over Latrobe. Hershberger, an Ohio State commit, scored her 40th goal in the victory, breaking...
College basketball preview: Latrobe grad Butler has high hopes for basketball season
Bryce Butler took the Mountain East Conference and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region by storm last season. What will the former Latrobe standout do for an encore? A West Liberty junior swingman who is as surefire a bet to get a double-double as anyone in the country, Butler was the...
Latrobe, Ligonier Valley celebrate long-awaited WPIAL playoff victories
As he walked off the practice field one day last week, Latrobe football coach Ron Prady was asked if he thought his team had a chance against higher-seeded Highlands in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. “I do,” he said with a sly smile. “Our kids have...
Fiona Mahan’s 2 goals help Avonworth defend WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer title
For Mt. Pleasant girls soccer, the thrill of the hunt was invigorating. And while the team’s first trip to the WPIAL championship was met with disappointment, it could be the start of something special for a budding program. “There was no intimidation on this field,” Vikings coach Rich Garland said....
Ligonier Valley beats Western Beaver for 1st WPIAL playoff win in school history
Ligonier Valley drove two-and-a-half hours to its playoff game last year. Playing a little closer to home Friday night, the Rams were more focused on long drives to the end zone. Behind a power rushing attack that wore down their opponent and chipped away at the clock, the seventh-seeded Rams...
WPIAL athletes Kreis, Smith earn HS Heisman scholarships
A pair of of WPIAL student-athletes are striking the Heisman pose today. Belle Vernon’s Viva Kreis and Grady Smith of Ellwood City are Pennsylvania’s winners of the annual High School Heisman Scholarship, given to a senior male and female from each state “who understand that the most important victories happen...
WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer championship breakdown: Avonworth vs. Mt. Pleasant
WPIAL girls soccer preview Class 2A championship 5-Avonworth (18-3) vs. 2-Mt. Pleasant (19-1) 11 a.m. Saturday, Highmark Stadium Video livestream: TribHSSN.triblive.com Tickets: $10 (general admission); Parking $10 (cash only) Coaches: JC Mahan, Avonworth; Rich Garland, Mt. Pleasant Players to watch: Fiona Mahan, MF, Avonworth; Morgan Gesinski, F, Mt. Pleasant WPIAL...
Defense to provide backbone for high-scoring Mt. Pleasant in WPIAL girls soccer finals vs. Avonworth
To some people, a scoreless soccer game that goes into overtime might be a yawner. But to coaches like Mt. Pleasant’s Rich Garland, a soccer purest who appreciates sound, structured play, games like that can be glorious. “It was an extremely fun game to watch,” Garland said of his team’s...
