Bill Beckner stories, Page 4
Westmoreland County high school basketball notebook: Penn-Trafford girls winning with democracy
Calling out plays like “Tornado” and “Cyclops,” Chuck Fontana directed his Penn-Trafford girls basketball team to a 50-39 WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal win over Indiana on Wednesday night. The sixth-seeded Warriors (19-5) are semifinal-bound for the first time in 12 years and will face No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (21-2) at...
Penn Hills’ Amon Hawthorne pours in 44 points, including 30 in 4th quarter, in loss to Thomas Jefferson
Penn Hills senior guard Amon Hawthorne didn’t know how many points he had, but he knew his team was coming back. That’s all that mattered to him on an epic night. Hawthorne poured in 30 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter but No. 6 Penn Hills fell...
Norwin girls, behind career night from Lenyn Brozeski, race past Hempfield and into girls semifinals
Norwin watched the movie “Secretariat” this week for inspiration. Then the host Lady Knights went out and turned their quarterfinal game into a one-horse race. A monster second quarter Friday night propelled No. 2 seeded Norwin to a 57-42 victory over No. 7 Hempfield and its fourth straight semifinal appearance....
Westmoreland high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 21, 2026
Girls Class 5A Semifinals 6-Penn-Trafford (19-5) vs. 2-Thomas Jefferson (21-2) Noon Saturday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 12-Peters Township (15-9)/1-South Fayette (23-1) in championship 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at Petersen Events Center Players to watch: Torrie DeStefano, Penn-Trafford; Maggie Spell, Thomas Jefferson Layup lines: Penn-Trafford is back in the...
‘We’re still looking for gold’: Hempfield grad Jasmine Jones in 3rd after 2 bobsled heats at Olympics
Watching her daughter sprint and push a bobsled 50 meters, jump inside, tuck under and bullet down a winding ice track — at the Olympics — is enough to make Christine Vincent Graves clutch her pearls. She watched from the bleachers Friday at the Cortina Sliding Centre and could feel...
High school basketball referee still running the floor at age 80
Once an avid runner, Bob Saxman went from full speed to a jog before finally slowing down. “Knees got creaky,” Saxman said. But he can still get up and down the basketball court. Being a referee is something he just can’t give up. Who’s to say he has to? Saxman,...
Jeannette boys push past Eden Christian, advance to WPIAL Class 2A semifinals
Jeannette didn’t see Eden Christian as an obstacle. It saw the Warriors as an opportunity. Although their WPIAL 2A boys basketball quarterfinal opponent was more of the former than the latter for the better part of three quarters Thursday night. There wasn’t much that came easy for the Jayhawks, who...
Westmoreland County high school basketball notebook: Southmoreland, Ligonier Valley out to make more history
Southmoreland has checked off a number of benchmarks during recent postseason runs. The boys basketball team won its first section title since 1992 last year and doubled down with its first playoff win since 2017. This year, the Scotties (15-8) captured back-to-back section titles for the first time since 1988....
Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 20, 2026
Girls Class 6A Quarterfinals 7-Hempfield (13-9) at 2-Norwin (17-4) 6 p.m. Friday Winner plays: Winner of 6-North Allegheny (10-11)/3-Upper St. Clair (11-11) Tuesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Aubrey Graney, Norwin; Ava Shipman, Hempfield Layup lines: This is the rubber match between Section 2 opponents who have...
Penn-Trafford ‘ready for anything’ in Class 5A quarterfinal win over Indiana
Having played Indiana twice this year, Penn-Trafford knew the Indians about as well as any team could know an opponent. The Warriors scoured film and replicated what they planned to see in their third meeting. When the Section 2-5A co-champs met in the WPIAL girls basketball quarterfinals, the Warriors were...
Franklin Regional promotes OL/strength coach Brian Johnson to head coaching job
As director of facilities at Franklin Regional, Brian Johnson’s duties range from overseeing maintenance and repairs to coordinating with contractors for building projects. He even has to make occasional proposals at school board meetings. As head football coach of the Panthers, he wants to make sure the program, and its...
Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 19, 2026
Boys Class 6A Quarterfinals 5-Hempfield (15-7) at 4-Seneca Valley (13-9) 7 p.m. Thursday Winner plays: Winner of 8-Fox Chapel (14-9)/1-Upper St. Clair (21-2) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Danny Husenits, Hempfield; Andrew Omasits, Seneca Valley Layup lines: Hempfield is back in the playoffs for the...
‘You’re older than our coach:’ 32-year-old stars on Westmoreland County Community College court
Julian Thompson calls himself “Unc,” as in uncle. As in, ahem, the elder statesman of the locker room. “I figured I’d get that out of the way and beat them all to it,” the Westmoreland County Community College basketball player said with a laugh. “I knew they’d want to call...
Shaler boys take over 4th quarter, pull away vs. Franklin Regional in WPIAL 5A 1st roundVideo
Franklin Regional led the entire third quarter and was primed to close out Shaler with a strong fourth. But when the final quarter started, the Panthers quickly realized the Titans wanted to win, too. Ninth-seeded Shaler roared back and flattened the No. 8 Panthers in the final eight minutes, scoring...
Westmoreland County high school basketball notebook: Penn-Trafford facing familiar foe
Familiarity won’t be a problem for Penn-Trafford in the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball quarterfinals. The Warriors know Indiana well, which could be very beneficial as they go for their first semifinal trip since 2013-14, the year they won their only WPIAL championship. The Section 2 co-champs will tip at...
Westmoreland County high school basketball preview capsules for Feb. 18, 2026
Girls Class 5A Quarterfinals 6-Penn-Trafford (18-5) vs. 3-Indiana (20-3) 7 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 7-Fox Chapel (15-8)/2-Thomas Jefferson (20-2) Saturday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Torrie DeStefano, Penn-Trafford; Julia Antonacci, Indiana Layup lines: This is the third meeting of the season between teams...
Top-seeded Jeannette wears down pesky Brentwood to reach 2A quarterfinals
Eight days off can cause even the best basketball teams to get a little stale. Teams can scrimmage during the playoffs, but that hardly matches the intensity of the WPIAL tournament. Top-seeded Jeannette had to knock off some early rust in its playoff opener, but the defending champions are moving...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Saint Vincent crowns 4 champs, wins PAC wrestling title
With four individual champions and 118.5 points, the Saint Vincent wrestling team captured its second Presidents’ Athletic Conference title in three years over the weekend in Hiram, Ohio. Freshman Logan Connelly (133 pounds), junior Tyler Debnar (141), sophomore Anthony Orlandini (149) and junior Logan Bechtold (165) secured titles to fuel...
Westmoreland high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 17, 2026
Girls Class 2A First round 10-Jeannette (15-6) at 7-Burgettstown (15-6) 7 p.m. Tuesday Winner plays: Winner of 15-Bentworth (9-13)/2-Winchester Thurston (18-3) on Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Navarah Smith, Jeannette; Paige Klodowski, Burgettstown Layup lines: Jeannette is having its best season in years. The Jayhawks have...
PIHL names January players of the month
The PIHL announced its players of the month for January. All three are forwards. The Class 2A selection is Hempfield senior forward Nino DiPietro, who had eight goals – two on the power play — and three assists across three games. DiPietro is a Saint Vincent commit. Hempfield (15-3-0-0) is...
Brian Johnson primed to be next Franklin Regional football coach
Franklin Regional will vote this week to hire Brian Johnson as head football coach, according to the agenda for Wednesday night’s board meeting. Johnson, 43, was the offensive line coach on Lance Getsy’s staff for the past three seasons. Getsy resigned in November after five seasons as head coach. The...
Norwin notebook: Another football recruit makes college choice
The NCAA’s National Signing Day came and went Feb. 4, and another Norwin football player made his commitment official. The Knights had one of their most attractive overall classes to college programs in years. Senior Michael DeFazio, a tight end and linebacker, had nine college offers and decided to go...
Norwin boys, girls gear up for WPIAL basketball playoffs
The Norwin girls and boys basketball teams were primed to enter the WPIAL playoffs. The Norwin girls (16-4) are strong candidates to make a run at another title in Class 6A after reaching the finals the last two years. A late-season loss to Canon-McMillan, the top seed, likely took Norwin...
Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff capsules for Feb. 16, 2026
Girls Class 4A First round 13-Lincoln Park (10-12) at 4-Belle Vernon (19-3) 7 p.m. Monday Winner plays: Winner of 12-Hopewell (6-14)/5-Elizabeth Forward (16-6) Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Patty Wesolowski, Lincoln Park; Isis Almyty, Belle Vernon Layup lines: It is the battle of Leopards in the...
Patient Franklin Regional pass rusher finds college fit at West Liberty
Lochlan Bresnahan led his team in quarterback hurries, but that didn’t mean he was in a hurry to commit to a college. The Franklin Regional senior tight end and linebacker — he also played some defensive end — waited until late in the game to choose a side. A late-arriving...
