Bill Beckner stories, Page 165

Chase Vecchio plays a hybrid, outside linebacker-cornerback position for Penn-Trafford. But the Warriors senior does not overstep his bounds when the opponent is driving. He covers his assigned area. “Everyone does their job on our defense,” said Vecchio, who has 34 tackles and two interceptions. “Nobody tries to do too...

Boys Class 3A Championship 2-Franklin Regional (16-2) vs. 1-Mars (17-0) 8 p.m. Thursday, Newman Stadium, North Allegheny, McCandless Coaches: Rand Hudson, Franklin Regional; Chris Knauff, Mars How they got here: Franklin Regional defeated Knoch, 7-0; Indiana, 4-0; and West Allegheny, 2-1 (OT); Mars defeated Laurel Highlands, 5-1; Hampton, 1-0; and...

Devin Whitlock’s importance to the Belle Vernon football team cannot be understated. The junior star who moved from receiver to quarterback is having a special season. As in, WPIAL player of the year-caliber stuff. He has led the Leopards (6-1) to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals Friday night at Aliquippa...

Boys Class 4A Semifinals 4-Fox Chapel (11-3) at 1-Peters Township (12-1-1) 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, ClearEdge Stadium, McMurray Winner plays: Winner of 3-Norwin (11-0-2) at No. 2 Seneca Valley (12-1-1) in championship, 3 p.m. Saturday at North Allegheny Hat tricks: After earning a first-round bye, the Foxes scored six goals to...

File Yough under teams peaking at the right time for the WPIAL girls soccer postseason. The ninth-seeded Cougars (11-4) gradually are returning to full strength as they get set to play at No. 5 Avonworth (13-1-1) on Wednesday night in the semifinals. The Class 2A runner-up last year, Yough brought...

The Norwin boys soccer team is back in the WPIAL semifinals for the second time in three years. If the third-seeded Knights (11-0-2) were going to play for a WPIAL Class 4A championship like they did in 2018, coach Scotty Schuchert knew one team would stand in their way: the...

With the Highmark Stadium experience a been-there-done-that kind of thing for the Franklin Regional boys soccer team, the Panthers are just focused on winning another game. Their next game, though, happens to be the WPIAL Class 3A championship, and a win would mean a third straight title for the Panthers....

With teams as evenly matched as West Allegheny and Franklin Regional, differences in high-stakes playoff games against one another usually are subtle to the casual observer. It can be a miscue here or a bad bounce there that decides a winner. But other game-changing plays can be more glaring —...

The All-WPIAL girls soccer selections are out for the 2020 season. All-state picks for the girls, as well as All-WPIAL boys players, are expected to come out next week. Here is the list of honorees by schools: Class 4A Butler Gabby Boden, Sr., F Sam Miller, Sr., F Chloe Weiland,...

WPIAL soccer playoff previews Boys Class AAA Semifinals 3-West Allegheny (15-1) at 2-Franklin Regional (15-2) 6:30 p.m. Monday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 13-South Fayette (11-4-1) at 1-Mars (16-0) in WPIAL championship, 8 p.m. Thursday (site TBD) Hat tricks: West Allegheny and Franklin Regional met in the last...

So they meet again. Franklin Regional (15-2) and West Allegheny (15-1) have become quite familiar with one another in the boys soccer postseason, and the teams will clash again at 6:30 p.m. Monday in a semifinal game in Murrysville. The playoff rivals played each other in the past two WPIAL...

Penn-Trafford at Pine-Richland is an intriguing matchup in next week’s WPIAL Class 5A semifinal. Two well-structured, well-coached programs with a winning tradition. “We’re both like the New England Patriots because everything is so in order,” Warriors quarterback Ethan Carr said. “Things don’t change much.” But similarities aside, there isn’t much...

North Allegheny and Gateway will be host sites for the WPIAL boys and girls soccer championships. The WPIAL announced the locations Saturday for eight title games set for Thursday and Saturday. The championship games usually are played at Highmark Stadium at Station Square, but the venue was not used this...

Norwin qualified for the WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs but did not compete because it had to quarantine for 14 days because of possible covid-19 exposure. The quarantine lasted until Nov. 2, after the playoffs began, so the Knights had to give up their spot, coach Mary Ellen Ferragonio said. Hempfield...

Franklin Regional arranged some objectives early in the boys soccer season like it was laying out a new outfit for the first day of school. Winning the section was first on the list. Bringing home a third consecutive WPIAL title was there, too, a little farther down. Only it wasn’t...

With two high-scoring offenses meeting Friday night at Warrior Stadium, some expected a shootout. Penn-Trafford shot down that notion. The fourth-seeded Warriors took the air out of No. 5 Upper St. Clair and produced a pair of 100-yard rushers in a relatively painless 35-7 victory in a WPIAL Class 5A...

Boys Class 4A Quarterfinals 6-North Allegheny (13-3-1) at 3-Norwin (10-0-2) Noon Saturday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: Winner of 10-Butler (11-5-1) at 2-Seneca Valley (11-1-1), 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (site TBD) in semifinals Hat tricks: Norwin has been off since Oct. 19 with a first-round bye. The Knights are...

The WPIAL boys soccer postseason is winding into the semifinals and a number of title contenders feature some of the best players in the state. Fourteen WPIAL players made the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State list, announced Friday morning. Among the selections is Franklin Regional junior forward Anthony DiFalco,...

Rain can create rust on untreated metal. Too much down time can have the same effect on soccer teams. The sharper team after considerable time away from live action was going to win Thursday night when Norwin and North Allegheny met in the WPIAL Class 4A girls quarterfinals. Fifth-seeded North...

At a time when most people are talking about the presidential election, Indiana coach Todd Myers might have cast his vote for boys soccer player of the year. Franklin Regional junior Anthony DiFalco continues to showcase his talent for the No. 2-seeded Panthers, not only as a goal scorer but...

Today’s games Girls Class 4A Quarterfinals 5-North Allegheny (8-2) at 4-Norwin (9-2-1) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: Winner of 1-Peters Township (10-1-1) vs. 8-Seneca Valley (8-3) in semifinals 6:30 p.m. Monday (site TBD). Hat tricks: Norwin, seeking a sixth consecutive appearance in the semifinals, is...

The way Tyler Solis sees it, what happened Tuesday night was a win-win-win situation for his Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer team. For one, the Centurions won their first-round playoff game to advance in the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Secondly, Solis got to empty his bench and give younger players...