Bill Beckner stories, Page 178
Life is good for former Springdale standout Mike Devine, a rover of independent league baseball
Journeyman sidearmer Mike Devine is still delivering strikes on the independent professional baseball circuit. The former Springdale ace has bounced around obscure winter leagues in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and these days pitches for the St. Paul Saints (Minn.) of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He is...
Westmoreland boys soccer preview: Franklin Regional chasing 3rd straight WPIAL title
Forty-two wins, 33 shutouts, 15 goals allowed. The numbers speak for themselves at Franklin Regional, where the boys soccer program has put together quite a two-year run. The Panthers have all but monopolized the space on stingy defense with a deliberate style of play that, paired with some exceptional homegrown...
Greensburg Central Catholic brings size, skill in Eastern Conference race
Averaging 6-foot-21⁄2 and 255 pounds, Greensburg Central Catholic’s linemen will cast shadows at the line of scrimmage and give the Centurions room to operate on each side of the football. “I’d imagine that has to be one of largest lines in Single-A,” coach Bret Colbert said. “They are all at...
Jeannette superintendent sends letter to Gov. Wolf concerning fan limitation
Jeannette’s fan base is about as loyal as they come in the WPIAL. Devoted fans follow the Jayhawks wherever they go, especially in football. Remember, this is a town that sold chunks of grass from McKee Stadium when the longtime home field went to artificial turf last year. Some people...
Latrobe looks to get back to postseason, take next step
After reaching the WPIAL playoffs two years in a row on the heels of an eight-year drought, Latrobe feels a sense of accomplishment. But don’t expect the Wildcats to be satisfied. Resting on their laurels won’t sit well with the coaching staff. “You can’t just be satisfied with getting there,”...
Penn-Trafford ready to ride Carr toward postseason
Skill, speed, depth and potential. All typical traits of a Penn-Trafford football team heading into a new season. Seemingly, every season. Coach John Ruane rarely has a void to fill as he and his staff groom players each year to replace current standouts — a focus on today with an...
After rare playoff miss, Woodland Hills aims for normalcy
It just doesn’t happen. It’s not supposed to happen, Woodland Hills missing the WPIAL playoffs. But last year, the unthinkable became reality. For the third time in three decades and first time since 1995, the Wolverines were on the outside looking in at the postseason. It was a drag around...
Norwin’s Sydney Gray verbals to VMI for soccer
Norwin is used to churning out NCAA Division I girls soccer talent. It is practically a yearly occurrence for the perennial power. College coaches know where to find high-caliber players who will fit into their system. Sydney Gray became the latest player from the school to choose a D1 program...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Another D1 offer for Penn-Trafford football
A fourth player on the Penn-Trafford football team has an opportunity to play Division I football. Junior Cade Yacamelli, a wide receiver and defensive back, was offered a spot at Penn of the Ivy League. An athletic 6-foot, 190-pounder, Yacamelli could see time as a ball carrier this season for...
3 from WPIAL make volleyball All-American watch list
Pitt recruit Makayla Jackson of Plum leads a talented trio from the WPIAL selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Under Armor All-American Watch list. Jackson, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter, is joined on the lengthy list by Burgettstown libero Avery Havelka and Geibel senior setter Shannon Watkins. Havelka and Watkins...
Standout Izzy Laurita returns to Belle Vernon soccer team
Senior Izzy Laurita has rejoined the girls soccer team at Belle Vernon. Laurita left the Leopards last season after three games, citing injury concerns and the risk of losing her college scholarship. With covid-19 shutting down the spring season she would have had with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy, Laurita grew...
Connellsville readies for ‘year we’ve been waiting for’
Connellsville’s Marko Thomas does not just sound like a coach giving lip service following a down season. His inflection is proof he means what he says. “This is the year we’ve been waiting for,” Thomas said. “I really think you’re going to see a much-improved team. We were extremely young...
Greensburg Salem seeks right chemistry in pursuit of 700th win
Don’t get too used to the starting lineup Greensburg Salem football coach Dave Keefer rolls out in the opening game. Or, the following week. Or, maybe even the one after that. “We are going to try a lot of things and move guys around until we find something that works,”...
Belle Vernon linebacker’s name starting to carry weight with college recruiters
Cole Weightman sees himself playing on a big college stage some day, maybe digging in behind the defensive line, his speed gauge set to downhill, with an eye toward ruining Saturdays for opposing quarterbacks. But the emerging linebacker at Belle Vernon also might have a career as a salesman. Watch...
Norwin honored for unified sports programs
Unified sports allow students with and without disabilities to compete in an inclusive environment. Norwin has one of the top unified programs in the state with its track and field and indoor bocce teams, and the district has been recognized for its efforts. Add Special Olympics Unified Champion Banner School...
Kittanning alum Kate Costanzo nominated for new NCAA LGBTQ award
Allegheny women’s basketball coach Kate Costanzo is nominated for a new award in NCAA Division III. Also a senior administrator at Allegheny, Costanzo, a Manorville native and Kittanning graduate, is up for the inaugural LGBTQ Administrator/Coach/Staff of the Year Award. The award “honors the service, leadership and promotion of LGBTQ...
Terrelle Pryor, Rodney Gallagher sit down and chat on YouTube show
Picture this. WPIAL generational talent Terrelle Pryor and young Rodney Gallagher, a fast-rising athlete of growing reputation, eye-to-eye in a barber shop setting, discussing the nuances of being dual-sport athletes, the pressures of staying at their hometown schools, what it’s like to lose a parent and how to maintain focus...
Dan Boring takes over as Southmoreland’s athletic director
Dan Boring knew Charlie Swink had been hinting about stepping down as athletic director at Southmoreland for some time. As the Scotties wrestling coach, Boring had many conversations with Swink around the athletic department water cooler. He even inquired about what Swink’s position entailed — the schedule-making, the meetings, the...
Franklin Regional’s Zach Lorenz added to national all-star watchlist
Add midfielder Zach Lorenz of Franklin Regional to the watchlist for the 10th High School All-American soccer games. He was a late addition to the list, which came out last week. That makes 16 WPIAL players in line to make the country’s premier soccer all-star games. Eleven of the 30...
Running game, defense take precedence at Norwin
With a nonexistent running game, a problem that was compounded by a multitude of injuries to its offensive line, Norwin struggled to move the football last season. Rifle-armed quarterback Jack Salopek threw it 303 times but often had to scramble to avoid a rush. Salopek is off to Western Michigan,...
Hempfield looks to stay healthy in 2020
Ninth-year coach Rich Bowen wonders what might have been last year had his Hempfield Spartans not been ravaged by injuries early in the season. An exciting offense, powered by star running back Nathan Roby, and a hold-it-together defense still allowed the Spartans to finish 4-6. But a 2-6 mark in...
Increased roster numbers boost Avella
Low roster numbers have plagued Avella before, but coach Ryan Cecchini can assure you, he’s shaken all he can from the bushes in the school district. He has exhausted his recruiting in the school halls options. The football team had between 12 and 16 players for summer workouts and, “We’ll...
Uptick in numbers helps Bentworth’s confidence
J.J. Knabb, a teacher at Bentworth who doubles as the football coach, took over lunch duty last year so he could get the word out about his team’s sparse roster. If there were football players camouflaged into the student body, his goal was to find them. “It gave me a...
Numbers up at Monessen, but Greyhounds are young
Rumblings about Monessen possibly folding its proud football program because of low roster numbers were quickly stamped out when Shane Swope was hired during the winter to lead the Greyhounds. Numbers actually began to grow over a coronavirus-disrupted spring and summer as Swope, a former Yough assistant, began his mission...
Westmoreland notebook: 5 soccer players on All-American game watchlist
Fifteen WPIAL players are up for the country’s premier soccer all-star game. Five hail from Westmoreland County. The watchlist for the 10th High School All-American Game was announced last week, and the WPIAL is well-represented, particularly on the girls side with 11 of the 30 nominees picked from Pennsylvania coming...
