Bill Beckner stories, Page 3

With each completion and big gain, Dom Detruf could picture his dad smiling. He could feel it. Hempfield’s senior quarterback played with poise and purpose in Friday night’s season opener at Spartan Stadium, a 28-23 win over North Hills. Detruf completed 14 of 17 passes for 206 yards and three...

Norwin returned to the WPIAL girls soccer playoffs last season and nearly advanced out of the first round, falling to No. 12 seed Mt. Lebanon, 1-0, on penalty kicks (4-3). The fifth-seeded Knights finished 10-8-1, winning seven of their final 10 games to return to the Class 4A postseason after...

A stunning, last-second goal by North Hills sent Norwin reeling – and packing – last season, bringing an end to a potential WPIAL title repeat. Norwin players still can’t bear to watch the film. But the Knights have moved on from a 3-2 first-round loss, just like they moved on...

Graduation is a wonderful accomplishment, but it can cause problems for soccer teams. For the Franklin Regional girls, it is creating competition. “Last season, we had a large and successful senior class,” coach Scott Arnold said. “Great leaders, fantastic players and wonderful people. A lot of them were starters and...

If Franklin Regional doesn’t outscore opponents, the next best thing will be to outwork them. That could be the Panthers’ M.O. this boys soccer season. “We’ve had very productive summer workouts, which have been very well attended,” coach Nick White said. “The boys are hungry and desire to repeat the...

Norwin was that close to another second-half comeback, but Penn-Trafford held on this time — barely. Tristyn Tavares pushed forward on first-and-goal from th 2-yard line with 1 minute, 22 seconds left and appeared to cross the goal line. But the ball came out, and Lucah Butler recovered for the...

Wisconsin running backs coach Devon Spalding trumpeted the praises of Cade Yacamelli during training camp, saying the former Penn-Trafford star had the ability to “take charge of the room.” Wisconsin opens the season Aug. 28 against Miami (Ohio), and Yacamelli could end up taking charge of the Badgers’ backfield as...

With nine returning starters, Mt. Pleasant boys soccer has its sights on a sixth straight WPIAL playoff berth. The season opens Friday, and the Vikings are primed to make their mark in Class 2A. They lost only two starters from a team that took second place in Section 4. “We...

Four players who likely would have had an impact for Norwin are nonfactors — at least for this season. Junior Chase Molinaro, sophomore Turner Raibel, and freshmen Christian Wilson and Mateo Yezovich are playing for the MLS Next, a youth developmental league that does not permit players to dual roster...

Ligonier Valley is the latest Westmoreland County school to enter the school spirit-driven T-Mobile 5G Friday Night Lights competition. Latrobe and Derry took part in the season-long contest, which recognizes small towns and their fondness for high school football. Top schools are awarded each week, starting with $5,000 in the...

Here’s a look at the don’t-miss matchups for Week Zero in Westmoreland County: Nonconference Connellsville at Latrobe 7 p.m. Friday, Latrobe Memorial Stadium, Latrobe Last year’s meeting: Latrobe 41, Connellsville 0 Connellsville, which plays an independent schedule outside the WPIAL, finished 3-6 last season. Senior quarterback Caden Matthews leads the...

Deadpan and focused, Stanley Chapman would just as soon crack a helmet than a smile. With that in mind, you can imagine what picture day was like. Forced grins, squinting at the sun and getting pulled in all directions, while waiting as patiently as he could for practice to start....

The new WPIAL girls soccer season begins Friday, but the first big event to watch will be Saturday at Ringgold. The fourth annual Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic will feature four games at Joe Montana Stadium. The schedule is as follows: Franklin Regional vs. Thomas Jefferson (girls) at 10 a.m.,...

The question returns each year like the girls soccer season itself. Is this Mt. Pleasant’s year? Last season ended with another look of disappointment on the faces of Vikings players, who lost to playoff nemesis Burrell, 4-0, in the WPIAL 2A quarterfinals, another promising team left stifled. Mt. Pleasant was...

Lucas Altier’s goals for his senior season are larger than he is. Unproven and hefty, the Norwin football player stands 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 315 pounds. He naturally stands out. “He’s the biggest kid I have coached,” Knights coach Mike Brown said of the right tackle. “This is the...

Seton Hill running back Ky’Ron Craggette made a national preseason watch list. Craggette, a redshirt senior, was named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 preseason watch list. The list aims to begin the process of identifying All-­American-caliber players. There are first, second and “squad,” or honorable mention, teams. Craggette made the...

Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Frazier preview will be published later this week. Players in this year’s senior class have been with Tommy Paulone from...

With Samir Crosby eyeing a possible move to receiver and Jerry Davis lined up wide opposite him, Greensburg Central Catholic could have big-play ability downfield. The senior pass-catching duo brings a blend of hands and speed few teams will have this football season. Both can go deep or create in...

Samir Crosby and Kymon’e Brown have been exchanging jabs since they began playing Madden against each other in grade school. They are the ultimate friends and foes. They’ve shared dustups and daps, stories of big games and college visits, and a bitter dislike for one another that lasts a few...

The watch list for the Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player Award — the top girls soccer player in the WPIAL — came out last week. Local players to make the list are Addison Ayres of Franklin Regional, Annalyse Bauer of Latrobe, Morgan Gesinski of Mt. Pleasant, Jiana Patterson of Hempfield...

Latrobe alum Chris Fite played professional basketball for more than a decade in Europe. Before that, he was a dominant post player at Rochester and won an NCAA Division III championship in 1990. His college exploits are getting recognized over three decades later. Fite, the men’s basketball coach at Shippensburg,...

Hempfield rising senior softball player Claire Mitchell has flipped her college commitment following a coaching change. Mitchell, a standout outfielder, announced she is no longer committed to Maryland Baltimore County and instead will play at Marist of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. She decided to leave UMBC after the resignation...

Christian Hyland is stepping down as boys basketball coach at Greensburg Central Catholic after six successful seasons. Hyland, a former GCC point guard who took the job at age 23 after three years as an assistant to Greg Bisignani, said his decision was multifaceted but did not want to get...

Football wasn’t for Lucas Kolenc in the beginning. It was hard. A chore. About as fun as roofing or pouring concrete in extreme heat. He tried the game as a middle schooler and, by all accounts and with no sugar coating, he hated it. “I didn’t feel like I belonged,”...

Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Elizabeth Forward preview will be published later this month. There is a new car smell to the Southmoreland football program....