Bill Beckner stories, Page 29

Raidon Kuroda is a unique name. You remember it after you hear it. His performance Friday night also was pretty memorable, even though Yough lost in the closing seconds to Mt. Pleasant, 22-19, at Cougar Mountain Stadium. Kuroda, the Cougars’ 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior quarterback, accounted for 319 yards of offense...

The Westmoreland County Athletes of the Week is presented by Smail Kia. Look for the tags and look for the savings at Smail Kia in Greensburg. Aubrey Seder School: Southmoreland Sport: Soccer Class: Senior Claim to fame: Seder helped the Scotties to three consecutive wins last week. She had two...

The Norwin boys and girls cross country teams captured championships at the Blue Devil Invitational at Buhl Park in Sharon. The boys blew past second-place Lakeview by 72 points (61 to 133) as Thomas Gaydos took first place with a time of 16 minutes, 12 seconds. Luke Simpson was fifth...

Another week, another Mt. Pleasant squeaker. Mt. Pleasant dispatched of a two-game losing streak and opened Class 3A Interstate Conference play on a high note with another tight finish, rallying late to break Yough’s heart 22-19 on Friday night at Cougar Mountain Stadium. The Vikings (3-3, 1-0) had been involved...

Concerned but not flustered after letting up a goal just before halftime, Franklin Regional rallied for three second-half goals and ripped past Penn-Trafford, 3-1, in Section 3-3A boys soccer Thursday night at Panther Stadium. “We just knew we had to lock in and play better,” said Danny Christafano, who scored...

Anthony Smith’s progression has been fast, his development swift, as the freshman quarterback leads the Southmoreland football team in his first season. Smith, who had the look of a can’t-miss prospect over the summer and in camp, has not disappointed through five weeks. He is leading Westmoreland County in passing...

Almost one year to the day — on the same field, against the same opponent — Alexis Brown had a full-circle experience. It came with nerves and tension, as well as adrenaline and relief. But it also came with a brace, much different than the one on her knee. Brown,...

Connecting on crisp passes is the key to any good build-up at any level of soccer. Franklin Regional can make it look easy at times. Take last week’s game against Allderdice. In an impressive, 2-0 shutout in a key Section 3-3A game, the Panthers moved the ball with purpose, sending...

So much for that difficult transition going from Class 3A to 4A. Penn-Trafford has handled it with relative ease. The Lady Warriors (8-3, 5-0) began the week a game ahead of Latrobe in Section 1. They host Latrobe on Wednesday night. The plan for coach Jimmy Mastroianni was to blend...

An energetic group jogs onto the field as one practice ends and another begins at Russ Grimm Field. Body language is a giveaway that the Southmoreland’s boys soccer players can’t wait to get to work, so the football guys can’t exit soon enough. The Scotties get even more pumped up...

Greensburg Central Catholic only had 11 players for most of the night, but that didn’t stop the Centurions from pushing No. 2-ranked Riverview to the limit in their latest Section 4-A girls soccer matchup. After a scoreless first half, the visiting Raiders had to rally a couple of times to...

Bryce Butler had planned to play professional basketball after college, but an ailing knee made him reconsider playing overseas. Sealing off his career as a player was tough, but it led him to the next best thing: coaching. The former Latrobe star circled back to his college home, West Liberty,...

The WPIAL golf individual postseason gets serious this week with the start of the championship rounds. The tournaments are 36 holes and spread over two days, a week apart, at different courses. The first round for Class 2A boys will be Monday at Youghiogheny Country Club in McKeesport. The final...

The Westmoreland County Athletes of the Week is presented by Smail Kia. Look for the tags and look for the savings at Smail Kia in Greensburg. Morgan Gesinski School: Mt. Pleasant Class: Junior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Gesinski has scored 18 goals, a total that leads the WPIAL. She...

Latrobe’s offense was hitting on all cylinders in the first three games as the Wildcats put up 41, 32 and 42 points in wins over Connellsville, Plum and Norwin. But lately, the Wildcats have not sustained drives, a product of strong defensive play from Franklin Regional and Armstrong, yes, but...

Scoreless for nearly 7 1/2 quarters, Latrobe finally found the end zone. It was a good thing: The Wildcats were growing tired of these three-and-out defensive struggles. Both John Wetzel and Brady Prohovic broke loose for 34-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats finally pried open another stagnant...

With Charleroi decidedly controlling possession in the first half, Mt. Pleasant’s scoring chances were slim at best. The Vikings had one shot before halftime. It went into the net, which is good, but overall the offense was fleeting. Still, the Vikings only trailed by a goal at halftime. Junior Dylan...

A number of Westmoreland County teams are looking for a bounce-back week after losses last Friday, some of whom suffered their first setback of the season. Southmoreland, for instance, was flying high after three straight high-scoring wins. The Scotties won their first three games by an average of 32 points....

His checkered past behind him, Steve Scorpion said faith led him back to the WPIAL head coaching ranks. Woodland Hills hired Scorpion on Wednesday to be its boys head basketball coach, giving the former Franklin Regional coach another shot at doing what he loves. He is clutching the opportunity with...

An uninspired first half meant a stern halftime talk from the coach. And a stern halftime talk meant a much better second half was in the works. Mt. Pleasant looked more like the No. 1-ranked team in WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer after halftime Wednesday night in a 3-0 shutout...

Latrobe coach Jake Rice will take a win any way he can get it, but he thinks his team is capable of more. “Sometimes, you just have to win dirty,” Rice said. By that, the third-year coach was referring to the Wildcats winning despite not playing their best. Their best...

Norwin sent dangerous shot after dangerous shot at Latrobe goalkeeper Gianna Trunzo, but the first-year netminder either made a terrific save or the ball whizzed by the skin of the post. The Knights dropped a 1-0 decision to the host Wildcats in Section 1-4A, but the late barrage of shots...

Woodland Hills will vote Wednesday night to hire Steve Scorpion as its head boys basketball coach, according to the board agenda. Scorpion was as an assistant for the last two seasons, one at Woodland Hills and last year at Kiski Area. Woodland Hills will play next season in Class 6A,...

Winning a championship with bedrock players like midfielder Owen Christopher and goalkeeper Anthony Scalise was invigorating for Norwin last season. The team followed those players’ lead to WPIAL glory. That was the good news. But there also was some bad news: Christopher and Scalise graduated. Franklin Regional’s girls felt the...

A pair of local swimming standouts have made commitments to NCAA Division I programs. Seniors Lauren Bell of Latrobe and Kiersten O’Conner of Mt. Pleasant are primed for the next level. Bell will compete at Marshall, and O’Conner is headed to Connecticut. Other offers for Bell came from James Madison,...