Bill Beckner stories, Page 30
Westmoreland County girls basketball teams face challenge of step up in class
Yough girls basketball moved up to Class 4A this season and did so with some trepidation and uncertainty. It’s a natural reaction to facing larger schools, and the Cougars were not the first, and won’t be the last, to feel that way. But one thing the Cougars did not take...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Jane Huss fills heart-and-soul role for Derry
When Nathan Keller took over as Derry’s girls basketball coach this season, he knew he had a cornerstone player in senior Jane Huss. Huss quietly has led the Trojans, scoring over 40% of their points as one of WPIAL Class 4A’s unheralded guards. Through nine games, the team captain was...
Latrobe settles in, beats Franklin Regional for 7th straight win
Latrobe did not defend well early in Tuesday’s Section 1-5A boys basketball game against visiting Franklin Regional. The third quarter, though, was a different story. The Wildcats limited the Panthers to one field goal in the quarter and stepped on the gas offensively on the way to a 68-49 victory,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Norwin grad Mike Shanahan honored at Indiana
Indiana football assistant Mike Shanahan (Norwin) was named the FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year after helping the Hoosiers (11-2) reach the College Football Playoff, where they lost to Notre Dame, 27-17, in the first round. Shanahan, who played at Pitt and served as a two-year captain for the Panthers,...
Next week’s clash between rival boys basketball teams from Jeannette, Greensburg CC could be 2A final preview
Their matchup is only a week away, but Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic are growing tired of waiting. It’s about time for old friends to tip again. At least that could mean some real in-class competition for the surging teams. One of the most anticipated matchups in the boys basketball...
Saint Vincent basketball coach D.P. Harris earns 400th career win
Back from a 10-day break, Saint Vincent knocked off the rust and helped longtime men’s basketball coach D.P. Harris to a milestone victory. Harris chalked up win No. 400 in his 19th season leading the Bearcats, who put up 39 second-half points to down visiting Adrian (Mich.), 68-57, on Monday...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Jeannette grad Marcus Barnes declares for NFL draft
Marcus Barnes always had NFL aspirations. When he was in high school, he and his teammates would talk about making it to “the league.” His father, Johnnie Barnes, was a ninth-round draft pick in 1992 and played wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, so he came...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Latrobe’s Holler helps Memphis win bowl game, set to turn pro
Trent Holler and Memphis smashed West Virginia. The result on the football field wasn’t terribly one-sided: Memphis 42, WVU 37. The smashing happened after the game. Following the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, Holler, Memphis’ mammoth redshirt senior center, took a sledge hammer to a block of concrete painted with a...
Latrobe returns to up-tempo roots to get off to solid start
Latrobe basketball players have been channeling teams of the past, maybe moreover, a style of the past, during their fast start to the season. It’s been like the Wildcats circa 2015-18 at times, with rapid-moving play and quick-triggered possessions pushing scores into the 70s and filling the refurbished “Den” with...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Teams set for WCCA Shootout
Sixteen boys basketball teams will play in the sixth Westmoreland County Coaches Association Shootout on Saturday at two locations, Jeannette and Hempfield. The annual event gives local fans a chance to see multiple county teams before the holidays. The schedule is as follows: At Hempfield — Southmoreland vs. Greensburg Salem,...
Senior Kendall Berger steps into starring role for Norwin girls
At times, Kendall Berger had the look of a go-to scorer last season when Norwin became a WPIAL champion for a third time. She looked polished in critical possessions, unafraid of big moments. When the Knights needed a basket, they knew they could trust in Berger, who often drove the...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Elite few teams remain unbeaten
There were only nine undefeated teams in WPIAL girls basketball at the start of the week. Two of them were from Westmoreland County: Penn-Trafford (7-0) and Hempfield (6-0). The others were Woodland Hills (3-0), South Fayette (6-0), Peters Township (5-0), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (5-0), Deer Lakes (6-0),...
Uniontown zones in, deals 1st loss of season to Latrobe
You might say Uniontown was zoned in. Zoned in on a big section game and now zoned in on a trip to the beach. The Red Raiders went to a 3-2 zone in the second half and slowed down uptempo Latrobe, forcing the Wildcats into mistakes. Their offense complemented the...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill women’s basketball team continues to rise in rankings
The unbeaten Seton Hill women’s basketball team (10-0) jumped seven spots to No. 7 in the D2CSC poll, while remaining No. 1 in the Atlantic Region rankings. In addition, and perhaps more significantly, the Griffins vaulted seven spots to No. 14 in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll. The 10-0...
Deer Lakes’ Chuck Bellisario named WPIAL’s athletic director of the year
With a wide smile framing his face, Chuck Bellisario proudly placed gold medals around the necks of Deer Lakes boys basketball players last winter at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. It was a ceremonious cap to back-to-back Class 3A titles. On Monday, Bellisario received some praise of his own. The conductor...
Shelly Thropp, Wayne Capra to be enshrined in state soccer hall of fame
South Park’s Shelly Thropp next month will be just the second woman to be inducted into the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame, joining Jodie Chmielewski of Pine-Richland. Another longtime WPIAL girls soccer coach, Wayne Capra, also will be inducted Jan. 25 during the PSCA awards banquet at the...
Latrobe runner Skatell chooses Lehigh
Named after a band called “Emerson Drive,” Latrobe senior Emerson Skatell is in perfect rhythm with her college choice. Skatell signed a national letter of intent to run track and cross country at NCAA Division I Lehigh of the Patriot League. “When I went on my official visit, the team...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic volleyball stars named all-state
Greensburg Central Catholic junior Ashlyn Black was named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class A All-State Team for the second time in her prep career. Black, a right-side hitter, powered the Centurions to their fourth WPIAL championship and third PIAA title. She wasn’t the only player from Westmoreland County...
Norwin wrestlers working toward successful season on, off mat
Proof that his wrestlers measure up does not always come in the form of pins or lofty spots on the medal stand. No, coach Kyle Martin and his staff have raised a different type of bar at Norwin as they raise young men and women. Ask him to project how...
Norwin notebook: Girls basketball team shakes off loss, picks up impressive wins
Defending WPIAL champion Norwin rebounded from a tough 51-50 season-opening loss to Penn-Trafford with two wins at the State College tournament and another over District 9 power Kennedy Catholic. After a 49-40 win over Abington Heights, Norwin pushed past State College, 48-42, as Kendall Berger scored 17 points. In their...
Franklin Regional notebook: After early wins, Panthers hit bump in road
After winning its first two games of the season at the Mike Rettger Tournament, the Franklin Regional boys basketball team dropped two straight at the 20th Hempfield tipoff tournament. Coach Jesse Reed was looking for better starts from his team, which has fallen behind early in games and had to...
Latrobe boys stay unbeaten with ‘gritty, gutsy’ comeback win over Gateway
The fourth quarter greeted Latrobe with less than ideal circumstances. Three starters had four fouls, another had three and Gateway had a seven-point lead in the Section 1-5A boys basketball opener. Mass disqualifications seemed inevitable. “A lot of teams would have packed it in there. They wouldn’t think they had...
Depth, relentless defense carry Penn-Trafford girls past Greensburg Salem for 7-0 start
With a rotation that serves up more reinforcements than the Christmas help at the mall, Penn-Trafford and its long bench are becoming more of a challenge for teams every time they take the court. And, so far, every game has been a win. The third-ranked Lady Warriors broke away from...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Greensburg Salem coach Paul Sapotichne gets back in saddle
Paul Sapotichne said he didn’t sleep a wink the night before Friday’s opening game at the Hempfield tipoff tournament. Back for a second stint at Greensburg Salem, Sapotichne had coached in over 40 season openers, but this one felt different. “I wasn’t sure what to expect,” said Sapotichne, 71, who...
Soccer standouts Robin Reilly, Tyler Prex receive All-America recognition
Offensive stalwarts who scored goals as effectively as they created them, a pair of WPIAL soccer standouts received elite recognition Wednesday. Latrobe’s Robin Reilly and Tyler Prex of Seneca Valley, both senior midfielders, were named High School All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches. Reilly, a West Virginia commit who has...
