Bill Beckner stories, Page 134
Norwin grad Gianni Rizzo, other former Westmoreland County standouts make transfer plans
Youngstown State will play Duquesne next football season, but Gianni Rizzo will change his uniform and allegiance long before kickoff. Rizzo, a redshirt freshman linebacker out of Norwin, announced recently he is leaving Youngstown State and will transfer to Duquesne. A want to see the field more and a belief...
Yough girls soccer coach steps down after outstanding 10-year run
Dann Appolonia has four daughters. “But it feels like I have 100,” he said. “What a blessing it has been.” Reflecting back on a decade of memories and the dozens of players he has coached, Appolonia closed the book on a career atop Cougar Mountain. He is stepping down as...
Franklin Regional’s Anthony DiFalco earns 3rd All-America honor; 10 from WPIAL make all-region
Franklin Regional senior Anthony DiFalco was hoping to cap his brilliant high school soccer career with another WPIAL championship and a PIAA title. While he fell short of his expectations, he was lauded just the same with his third All-American nod. DiFalco was named a United States Soccer Coaches Region...
Westmoreland notebook: Franklin Regional grad Lorenz lands at Division I Sacred Heart
Former Franklin Regional soccer standout Zach Lorenz parlayed a year at a prep school into a Division I opportunity. Lorenz played this year as Woodstock Academy (Conn.), a first-year program. Interest began to pick up for Lorenz and he decided to further his career at Sacred Heart of the Northeast...
25 WPIAL soccer players make all-state teams
With the district and state playoffs complete, the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association announced its boys and girls all-state teams. The WPIAL had a number of representatives with 14 boys selections and 10 players picked for the girls list. The girls are Penn-Trafford senior forward Malia Kearns, Plum junior forward Kaitlyn...
Norwin notebook: Knights earn postseason honors
Norwin was recognized for another outstanding season in boys and girls soccer by the Big 5/6 Conference, which follows the top classifications in the WPIAL sports. The websites’ all-section teams recently were announced. Girls’ first-team selections for Section 3-4A included senior Paloma Swankler, junior Reagan Casper and freshman Julia Bursick,...
Franklin Regional notebook: Leopold earns All-OAC honors at John Carroll
Nate Leopold has been a mainstay on the John Carroll football team since he arrived on campus several years ago, a standout prospect out of Franklin Regional with the potential to lead a defensive unit. His calming presence in the secondary allowed the Blue Streaks to contain opposing passing attacks....
Belle Vernon big-play offense runs into Aliquippa roadblock
Belle Vernon made it to the WPIAL championship game with highlight-reel plays that punctuated short scoring drives. It was almost the team’s trademark. The top-seeded Leopards had short drives again in the Class 4A title game against No. 2 Aliquippa, but for the wrong reasons. And that meant a long...
Young Hempfield girls looking for consistency after covid shutdowns a year ago
Consistency is not a word you would associate with last year’s Hempfield girls basketball team. One of the programs truly affected by covid-19, the Spartans endured three shutdowns and went 31 days between their first and second section games. They had 13 postponements. “Just when we would get going again,...
Deep senior class returns to lead Hempfield boys through challenging schedule
Hempfield is not backing down from anyone this season, that much is clear from a quick once-over of the Spartans’ boys basketball schedule. Aside from daunting Section 3-6A home-and-homes against Fox Chapel and Central Catholic, the Spartans will take on North Allegheny, North Hills, Butler, Pine-Richland, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon,...
Penn-Trafford’s Cade Yacamelli shines under bright lights of WPIAL final
Cade Yacamelli is headed to Wisconsin to play defensive back. The Badgers might want to give him some reps at running back. The film doesn’t lie. The senior from Penn-Trafford put on a show Saturday night in the WPIAL Class 5A championship at Heinz Field, rushing for 136 yards and...
Ruane, Humbert build Penn-Trafford, Belle Vernon into consistent contenders
The local coaches who will try to lead their teams to WPIAL football championships on Saturday at Heinz Field have more in common than a desire to break through. John Ruane of Penn-Trafford and Matt Humbert of Belle Vernon have taken competitive programs to the next level, following similar trajectory...
Westmoreland County football notebook: Penn-Trafford making special plans for Moon matchup
A WPIAL championship would be special to Penn-Trafford. Special teams might play a key role in the Warriors’ quest to win their first title. The Warriors (10-2) have been exceptional at times on special teams this season, particularly in the playoffs. Last week, senior Nathan Schlessinger, one of the WPIAL’s...
With 5 starters returning, Greensburg Central Catholic girls in position to contend
Chris Skatell is a practicing attorney. The new Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball coach hopes his defense doesn’t rest. “We want to mix it up on defense and never give teams the same look,” said Skatell, a former assistant under recent coaches Sam Salih and Joe Eisaman. “If you play...
Tall, talented roster has Greensburg Central Catholic boys talking title
Good luck getting rebounds against Greensburg Central Catholic this season. The Centurions will be one of the tallest boys basketball teams in WPIAL Class 2A with the return of 6-foot-3 swingmen Brevan Williams and Ryan Appleby, both seniors and returning starters from a WPIAL runner-up team that finished 16-4 and...
Franklin Regional girls basketball team’s young roster to sport new look on defense
Bernie Pucka used to be an assistant football coach at Franklin Regional, but now he is the school’s new girls basketball coach. He may still have some football tendencies as he settles into his new surroundings. “I’m the defensive coordinator and (assistant) Krista Pietropola is the offensive coordinator,” Pucka said....
New coach brings energy boost to Franklin Regional boys basketball
The more time Jesse Reed spends around his Franklin Regional boys basketball team, the more enlivened he gets. “It’s been better than I ever imagined,” Reed said. “I love this.” Reed, a former standout at Greensburg Central Catholic, Saltsburg and The Kiski School who played collegiately at American and professionally...
Mix-and-match approach carries Belle Vernon to brink of WPIAL championship
Championship teams usually have it all sorted out by now. They know who is starting on both sides of the ball, where they’ll play and who will be their backups. But Belle Vernon, set to play for a WPIAL football title Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field, still has moving pieces....
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Big-school soccer standouts honored
A number of area soccer players were recognized by the Big 5/6 Conference, which follows the top classifications in WPIAL sports. The website’s all-section teams were announced for boys and girls soccer. Girls’ first-team selections for Section 3-4A include senior Paloma Swankler, junior Reagan Casper and freshman Julia Bursick of...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Hempfield grad Tara Zollinger guides Shippensburg to 5th national title
Tara Zollinger is a national champion — again. The Hempfield alum guided Shippensburg to its fifth national title, the third since she took over the program in 2017, as the Raiders topped West Chester, 3-0, on Sunday in the title match. Shippensburg (20-0) was the No. 1 seed in the...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Derry grad Justin Huss earns All-PAC honors
Justin Huss did some things on the football field at Derry you might call “special.” A tightrope-run down the far sideline for a huge gain. A defense-defying cutback for a touchdown. A breakaway run up the middle for six. His field vision was one of his best attributes and it...
Westmoreland notebook: Greensburg Salem’s McChesney ideal Fralic Award candidate
Greensburg Salem senior Billy McChesney is a standout football player and heavyweight wrestler. So was the great Bill Fralic. Which makes McChesney a perfect fit as a candidate for the 3rd annual Bill Fralic Award, which recognizes the top senior interior lineman in the WPIAL. McChesney is the Class 4A...
Kelsey Salopek of Steel Valley wins Moe Rosensteel Award
Kelsey Salopek led Steel Valley to its first WPIAL girls soccer championship this season. The Ironmen midfielder was one of the league’s top goal scorers. Now, the senior has distinguished herself even more as one of the premier players in District 7 and the PIAA. Salopek on Sunday was named...
Baseball, girls soccer players among Norwin standouts making college commitments
Signing day once again was good to Norwin. Or was it the other way around? Prospective student-athletes for all college sports except football could make their commitments official Nov. 10, and Norwin had 19 signees. Baseball had the most with seven, while girls soccer was next with five. The baseball players...
Norwin Star notebook: Hockey team gets back on track
The Norwin hockey team rebounded nicely from its first loss of the 2021-22 season. After a 5-4 setback against North Hills, the Knights scored a 6-3 win over Westmont Hilltop to move to 4-1 on the season. Joey Vecchio scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Jake Meier...
