Bill Beckner stories, Page 188
Westmoreland County basketball playoff capsules: Games for Monday, Feb. 17, 2020
Boys Class 5A First round No. 11 Franklin Regional (11-11) vs. No. 6 South Fayette (15-7) 8 p.m. Monday at Peters Township Winner plays: No. 3 Mars (17-5) Friday in quarterfinals Coaches: Steve Scorpion, Franklin Regional; Dave Mislan, South Fayette Points scored/allowed: Franklin Regional 56.5/53.7; South Fayette 61.9/56.5 Players to...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Lofty goals for new Penn-Trafford boys soccer coach
Sotiri Tsourekis played at a high level of soccer so he expects a high level of performance from the teams he coaches. The new Penn-Trafford boys soccer coach is anxious to evaluate his players even with the fall season months away. “I would like consistency and attention to detail,” Tsourekis...
Derry boys basketball deals with loss, focuses on playoffs
Misfortune has hit the Derry boys basketball team this season in waves. “To say we’ve been through a lot in the past two weeks — (along with) Justin Huss’s injury — is an understatement,” Trojans coach Tom Esposito said. “In 24 seasons of coaching, I’ve never had a season of...
Battle-tested Eden Christian upsets Greensburg Central Catholic boysVideo
Eden Christian coach Todd Aiken kept shouting “five out” to set up a play Saturday afternoon as his boys basketball team clung to the lead against favored Greensburg Central Catholic. By game’s end, the fearless Warriors had knocked four out. Junior guard Elijah Manges tied a career high with 25...
Westmoreland boys basketball playoff capsules: Games for Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020
WPIAL boys basketball playoff preview capsules Class A First round No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic (16-6) vs. No. 13 Eden Christian (13-9) 1 p.m. Saturday at Fox Chapel Winner plays: No. 5 Nazareth Prep (15-7) or No. 12 Clairton (13-9) on Thursday in quarterfinals Coaches: Christian Hyland, Greensburg CC; Todd...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Friday, Feb. 14, 2020
Boys Class 3A First round No. 11 Southmoreland (11-11) vs. No. 6 Beaver Falls (13-7) 6:30 p.m. Friday at Mt. Lebanon Winner plays: No. 3 South Allegheny (21-1) or No. 14 Avonworth (11-11) in quarterfinals Coaches: Frank Muccino, Southmoreland; Carliss Jeter, Beaver Falls Points scored/allowed: Southmoreland 54.1 ppg/55.8; Beaver Falls...
Belle Vernon’s Pohlot takes part in national slam dunk competition
When Mitchell Pohlot rises to meet the rim for slam dunk, his thought process is simple. “I usually don’t think much, but I tell myself to get up there and finish the dunk, regardless of what is happening” said Pohlot, a 6-foot-5 senior forward at Belle Vernon. “The end result...
Penn-Trafford’s Zach Rocco accepted into Army
Zach Rocco has been watching his mailbox with increased anticipation just about every day since he applied to Army West Point months ago. The Penn-Trafford senior point guard knew the application process would be long, and he would have to satisfy all of the necessary requirements to get into the...
Westmoreland County basketball notebook: Terrelle Pryor buys new Nikes for Jeannette boys
Jeannette will have new shoes for the WPIAL playoffs, thanks to an old friend who made good on a promise. A few weeks ago, former Jayhawks star Terrelle Pryor told the team he would buy them shoes if they won the section title. Jeannette obliged by winning 14 of its...
GCC, Ligonier Valley boys press on in playoffs without transfers
Greensburg Central Catholic will be without its leading scorer for the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs. Junior guard Christian McGowan is not injured. In fact, he is perfectly healthy and has started all 22 games for the Centurions (16-6). He played a key role in the team sharing the Section 3-A...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Monessen preps for playoff return
Janine Vertacnik has coached in numerous WPIAL playoff games over the years, including when she led teams at Jeannette and Greensburg Salem. She guided Jeannette to a WPIAL title in 2010. Now the third-year coach at Monessen, who has more than 300 career wins, needs to educate her players on...
Brennan Marion, Greensburg Salem alum, to coach wide receivers at Hawaii
What happens when Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense meets the “High Octane” style of former Pitt coach Todd Graham? We’re about to find out … in Hawaii? Talk about somewhere over the rainbow. Marion, the Greensburg Salem alum whose uptempo scheme has worked at several other places, is leaving William &...
Southmoreland girls nab No. 2 seed in WPIAL Class 4A postseason
Southmoreland cut down the nets Monday night. On Tuesday night, the upstart Scotties climbed another ladder — to respect and, perhaps, some due regard. Southmoreland (22-0), fresh off its first section title in girls basketball since 2007, was awarded the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. Some...
Breaking down the 2020 WPIAL girls basketball playoffs
Here is a breakdown of the 2019-20 WPIAL girls basketball playoffs: Class 6A Favorite: Bethel Park (19-2) looked like it might be the top seed, but the Black Hawks lost to Class 4A North Catholic Monday. Bethel Park allows just 37.7 points per game and has a pair of formidable...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Ligonier Valley grad Miller earns field MVP
Olivia Miller didn’t go to the River States Conference indoor track and field championships to finish second. Not in her top event, at least. The Carlow junior and Ligonier Valley graduate won her second title in the triple jump, soaring 10.8 meters to reach the medal stand for the third...
Coaching changes in Penn-Trafford soccer programs
Penn-Trafford’s soccer teams will be under new leadership next season. The school district Monday night accepted the resignation of girls coach and new mother Jackie Bartko, who guided the Warriors to their second WPIAL championship in 2017. The boys team, meanwhile, has a new coach in Sotiri Tsourekis, who coached...
Registration open for 2021 Drive, Chip and Putt competition
Youth golfers from across the country will once again get to compete in the annual Drive, Chip and Putt competition, set to begin at hundreds of golf courses in the spring. The 2021 competition is for golfers ages 7-15, who are broken up into four divisions. Players take part in...
Geneva introduces men’s golf team
Two years after Geneva College introduced a women’s golf program, the school in Beaver Falls announced it will add men’s golf as a varsity sport in the fall of 2021. The addition will bring Geneva’s number of varsity sports to 19. Andrew Fee, who coaches the women’s golf team, also...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Latrobe grad Austin Butler eclipses 1,000 points
It took Austin Butler less than four years to reach 1,000 points when he played at Latrobe. The basketball standout hit the fast track to the milestone in college, too. Butler, a junior point guard at Holy Cross, scored his 1,000th career point for the Crusaders in a 74-60 loss...
Former Penn-Trafford athletic trainer Larry Cooper heading to national hall of fame
Despite retiring from his position as a long-time athletic trainer at Penn-Trafford at the end of the 2017-18 school year, Glen “Larry” Cooper has remained quite active in his profession. He has fanned out on a national level as the secretary of the National Athletic Trainers Association. While he may...
Unbeaten Southmoreland girls highlights WPIAL playoff field from Westmoreland County
Twenty-one up, 21 down. Southmoreland has pieced together a perfect regular season — with one game to go — for the finest pre-playoff run in the history of its girls basketball program. Now, the Scotties will put their playoff path in the hands on the WPIAL. “This is something that...
High school notebook: Southmoreland’s Comforti settles on sport, college
While challenging and often debatable, Riley Comforti finally found comfort in his college decision. The two-sport standout from Southmoreland opted to play football at the next level, signing a letter-of-intent Wednesday to play wide receiver at Alderson Broaddus in Philippi, W. Va. Comforti was one of the WPIAL’s top pass-catching...
Gaffney, playoff-bound Hempfield keep rival Latrobe from WPIAL postseason
Mikey Gaffney thought Hempfield had a playoff team last year, but the Spartans fell short of reaching the WPIAL boys basketball postseason. A 25-point loss on the final night of the season to rival Latrobe, a perennial playoff team, only rubbed salt in the wound. “I feel like I let...
Demetrious Cox, Jeannette alum, set to begin next phase of football career in revived XFL
Demetrious Cox has not played in a football game since this past NFL preseason, just before the Cincinnati Bengals released the former Jeannette star. Which explains why he can’t wait to suit up and sprint onto the field Sunday to begin his XFL career. “It’s an amazing feeling,” Cox said....
Inspired effort from Maura Suman helps Penn-Trafford top Latrobe, clinch playoff spotVideo
Play for pap. It was Maura Suman’s mission statement heading into a must-win girls basketball game Thursday night at Latrobe. He would have wanted her to play, the proud Penn-Trafford sophomore guard said. Suman decided to suit up for the Warriors in their biggest game of the season, on the...
