Bill Beckner stories, Page 43
Some high school soccer coaches in favor of giving overtime the boot
When there was chatter about the PIAA eliminating overtime from regular-season soccer games this offseason, many coaches smiled with optimism. When the proposal never made it past the strategic planning committee, those same coaches sighed. Now, some are fit to be tied. Teams will continue to play a 10-minute period...
Westmoreland girls soccer notes: County well represented on Moe Rosensteel award watch list
Twelve of the 49 players on the Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player Award watch list play for Westmoreland County teams. The award, named after the late Katelyn “Moe” Rosensteel, is in its sixth season and goes to the best player in the WPIAL, according to a committee of voters. Latrobe...
Plum girls thinking Bigger after shutout win over Franklin Regional
Olivia Bigger kicks extra points for the Plum football team. On Monday night, she helped give the girls soccer team an extra goal. The junior set up of an early second-half score to give the Mustangs a two-goal lead on the way to a 2-0 victory over Franklin Regional in...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Area players set for Mercyhurst debut in Division I
Mercyhurst will open its first season as an NCAA Division I football program Thursday at Wheeling. The Lakers are not short on local talent. Eight players from Westmoreland County will suit up in green and white for the team’s D-I debut season. Several are part of the Lakers’ deep linebacker...
Former Franklin Regional standout Hudock recovering nicely after scary motorcycle accident
He doesn’t remember much from the night he almost died, but Ayden Hudock uses words such as “lucky” and “blessed” a lot more since he wrecked his motorcycle. From what those who reconstructed the accident scene have told him, both of those words are appropriate. It was May 25 when...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Baseball, softball teams on move in realignment
Local baseball and softball teams did some shuffling in WPIAL spring sports realignment for 2025. The calibration is for the next two school years. Latrobe continued its recent trend of moving up, with baseball going to Class 5A. Football and girls soccer moved up for this fall season. In addition,...
Chismars put aside sibling rivalry, share QB duties at Greensburg Salem
Sometimes, the Chismar brothers’ car rides home from practice are animated and loud. Other times, post-workout trips back to the crib are quiet. It all depends on the mood. “If we have a good day, we’ll talk about it,” sophomore Brody Chismar said. “If one of us has a bad...
Norwin boys soccer shuts out Franklin Regional to open season
Norwin continues to row in the right direction. After senior forward Daniel Maddock scored the boys soccer team’s first goal of the season, several Knights plopped their backsides on the ground along the sideline, lined up like they were sitting in a boat, and began to row in unison for...
Westmoreland County football notebook: GCC’s Samir Crosby accounts for 6 TDs
Samir Crosby had an impressive performance in a wild opener for Greensburg Central Catholic at Shady Side Academy. The Centurions rallied to win 46-40 as the junior quarterback accounted for six touchdowns. GCC trailed 32-10 in the second quarter before Crosby took command and led a comeback. He scored four...
Late TD pass lifts Jeannette past Mt. Pleasant in comeback victory
Mt. Pleasant appeared to have Jeannette right where it wanted it. A seven-point lead with three minutes and change remaining and a fresh turnover in their hands. But Jeannette wasn’t ready to call it a night. The more chances the Jayhawks got, the hungrier they looked. They came to life...
Watch list announced for Moe Rosensteel girls soccer award
Forty-nine of the top girls soccer players in the district made the Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player Award watch list. The high school season opens Friday. The award, named after the late Katelyn “Moe” Rosensteel, is in its sixth season and goes to the best player in the WPIAL, per...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Small schools make best of bare-bones rosters
Teams in the WPIAL Class A Eastern Conference have something in common on the eve of a new football season: low roster numbers. Injuries will be magnified as teams try to combat depth issues over the course of a 10-game regular season. With the exception of Riverview, which has 49...
Westmoreland County girls soccer preview: Mt. Pleasant motivated to make title run
Mt. Pleasant is going into a new girls soccer season with a mind eraser. A team that has the talent to make a title run like it did two years ago when it finished as the runner-up, the Vikings stewed over a stunning playoff loss. The team was dealt a...
Westmoreland boys soccer preview: Belle Vernon ready for challenge of jump to 3A
A jump in classification can be less daunting if a team has a lot coming back. Belle Vernon boys soccer is a prime example. The Leopards have a number of key players returning as they go from Class 2A to 3A. That includes standout goal scorer Trevor Kovatch, who has...
Westmoreland County high school football matchups for 2024 Week Zero
Here’s a look at the don’t-miss matchups for Westmoreland County in Week Zero of the 2024 season: Nonconference Albert Gallatin at Greensburg Salem 7 p.m. Friday, Offutt Field, Greensburg Last year’s result: Did not play Greensburg Salem will kick off its new season in Class 3A with a matchup against...
Westmoreland County standouts dot D-1 college football rosters this fall
Gianni Rizzo and Trent Holler are close friends and always have supported one another in sports despite going to different high schools. The pair has something more in common on the eve of another college football season. Both are set to play a grad season at the Division I level,...
Tackling machine Ethan Shawley brings snarl to Southmoreland defense
Southmoreland’s senior tackling savant makes backyards look nicer in the summer as a landscaper. Come the fall, he demolishes backfields. Disruptive, elusive and violent, Ethan Shawley is a senior middle linebacker whose motivation grows out of being undersized and wanting to be a play ahead of everybody else on the...
WPIAL girls soccer preview: Defending state champ Moon again among teams to beat
WPIAL girls soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: Fox Chapel Runner-up: North Allegheny PIAA champion: Pennridge Team to beat: North Allegheny, which went on to reach the PIAA semifinals after a loss in the WPIAL final, is coming off a 22-win season. Junior Emma Shupansky and senior Madison Miller will...
Southmoreland’s Tim Bukowski to coach opener with late father in mind
Third-year Southmoreland football coach Tim Bukowski will lead the Scotties in their season opener Friday night with a heavy heart after the death of his father. Ron Bukowski, 81, died Monday morning in hospice at his home in Fayette County after an extended bout with cancer. Nicknamed “Arch,” the late...
WPIAL boys soccer preview: Norwin, South Fayette, South Park, Bentworth out to defend titles
WPIAL boys soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: Norwin Runner-up: North Allegheny PIAA champion: Conestoga Team to beat: Norwin won its first WPIAL title in dramatic fashion, posting three shootout wins in six playoff games. Senior Daniel Maddock will be a key scorer with the graduation of all-state leader Owen...
Lineman Colin Bruno wants to put signature on final season at Norwin
His football card collection means a lot to him, as does his assortment of professional sports autographs. But what Norwin’s Colin Bruno might value more is the opportunity to give an autograph seeker, an admirer of his blocking and tackling, his own personal inscription. He can smell the Sharpie pen...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Former Seton Hill basketball player headed to Greece
From Seton Hill to Alabama to Greece, basketball is taking Samuel Tabe around the globe. Tabe, a former go-to scorer at Seton Hill, signed to play professionally with AE Psychiko Athens of the Greek Elite League. The 6-foot-5 guard played his last college season at South Alabama, a Division I...
Greensburg Central Catholic primed to follow Samir Crosby’s lead
Reaching the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A playoffs was a highlight for Greensburg Central Catholic coach JT Thompson in his first season. The experience his team gained from a first-round win over West Greene and a loss to South Side could yield benefits this fall. GCC had not made...
Thanks to program’s revival, ‘People are talking about Latrobe football’
Mention Latrobe and football in the same breath and, to most people, Pittsburgh Steelers training camp comes to mind. While the crowded summer staple where fans can get up close and personal with the pros was in full force again at Saint Vincent, the Latrobe Wildcats also were ramping up...
Belle Vernon pitcher wowed by Kent State baseball program
Parker Lind was on a campus visit when the magic happened. When he saw his baseball future flash before his eyes. Belle Vernon’s hard-throwing southpaw said he was close to committing to one of the top Division II programs in the country in Seton Hill, but the awe he felt...
