Bill Beckner stories, Page 62
High-scoring Avonworth forward headlines PIHL players of month for November
Conner Ralston returned from a broken collarbone as if nothing ever happened. The junior forward on the Avonworth hockey team led the Antelopes to four wins in five games in November and was named the PIHL Class A Player of the Month. Ralston had 10 goals and five assists last...
Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin caps brilliant career with state title, TribLive Westmoreland player of the year honors
Player of the year Quinton Martin Sr., RB/DB, Belle Vernon As running back Quinton Martin bounced outside and ripped into the secondary for what would end up his final touchdown for Belle Vernon — a 92-yard run in the PIAA championship at Cumberland Valley — the star-studded senior began to...
Former Jeannette standout Johnson commits to Illinois
High-energy defensive lineman Anthony Johnson, who played briefly at Jeannette where he spearheaded a championship defense, committed to Illinois. He is a transfer from Youngstown State. Johnson (6-3, 300) entered the transfer portal after a strong junior season at YSU where he had 25 tackles, 6.5 for loss, and five...
Norwin graduate Gianni Rizzo has breakout season on Duquesne’s defense
Gianni Rizzo has been playing college football since 2019 and still has a year to go. But the Duquesne junior linebacker out of Norwin will be hard pressed to top this season. Saving his best for late in the year when the Dukes made a push into the NCAA FCS...
Norwin notebook: Dylan McCullough sparks Knights
Dylan McCullough sank a career-high five 3-pointers for a personal-best 19 points as the Norwin boys basketball team evened its record at 2-2 with a 63-58 win over Latrobe at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Showcase on Dec. 9 at Jeannette. The Knights blew a 12-point lead but managed to...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Rival QBs earn conference honors
A pair of Westmoreland County senior quarterbacks were honored by the coaches of the WPIAL Class A Eastern Conference, one for his play on defense. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Tyree Turner was voted the conference’s offensive player of the year, while Jeannette’s Payton Molter received top honors as the best defensive...
Brown leads Jeannette boys to win against Serra Catholic
Kymone Brown didn’t score in the first quarter Friday night, so coach Adrian Batts pulled the Jeannette sophomore guard aside. “I wasn’t playing how I can play,” Brown said. “Coach had a talk with me. Everything he said made sense. He said, ‘Go get yours.’ ” Brown got his, and...
Mt. Pleasant basketball games to benefit Dom Giallonardo scholarships
Mt. Pleasant is hosting a basketball tripleheader Friday night to raise money for a scholarship in the name of late Vikings’ baseball and basketball player Dom Giallonardo. The Vikings will host Southmoreland. The junior varsity boys will play at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity teams — girls at 6:30...
Recruiting heating up for Latrobe junior John Wetzel
College coaches are turning up the volume to hear the cracking of pads on junior John Wetzel’s highlight film. “It’s similar to what you see with (Alex) Tatsch,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said. “It’s violent. They hit, and guys go backwards.” Tatsch and Wetzel have been pillars in the Wildcats’...
Iuzzolinos collide in unique father-son college basketball matchup
Mike Iuzzolino remembers using the floor of coach D.P. Harris’ office as a pretend highway. “When I was 8, I used to play with my toy trucks under his desk,” the Saint Vincent junior guard said. “I grew up here.” Iuzzolino spent four years as a curious tag-a-long with a...
Defensive-minded Greensburg Salem dominates Derry in section opener
Greensburg Salem continued to show how much defense is wired into its grid by smothering another opponent in the Section 1-4A girls basketball opener. With full-court defensive pressure as the catalyst, the long-armed Golden Lions won going away 64-29 on Thursday night at Derry. Greensburg Salem (4-1, 1-0) came in...
Franklin Regional softball’s Ciara Camacho has baseball past, Division I future
A college softball career at Kent State awaits Ciara Camacho, who two years ago was new to the game. She didn’t know a slap hitter from a designated hitter, a courtesy runner from a pinch runner. The Franklin Regional junior played baseball for most of her youth sports career, mixing...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Derry senior filling nets
With four 30-point games this season, Derry’s Nate Papuga is one of the top scorers in the WPIAL. The senior guard had 27 points, and the game-winning shot, in a 56-55 win over Laurel Highlands, then added 31 in a 66-55 win over Connellsville, went for 33 as the Trojans...
Franklin Regional boys off to blockbuster start
Franklin Regional’s boys basketball coaches like to take a game film and pick it apart. They dissect it into dozens of short clips for instructional purposes. Some are examples of perfect execution. Others are used to emphasize what might have worked better. Either way, it gives the players something to...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Matthews makes a good point for Yough
One of the first things new Yough girls coach Brian Znavor did when he joined the team was move senior Autumn Matthews to point guard. Matthews had played two-guard and forward in the past, so the switch was big. The 5-foot-10 Matthews played AAU in the past, but even at...
Girls basketball teams facing crisis of dwindling rosters
She calls them her “Fab 5.” Jeannette girls basketball coach Anna Leonard began the season with five girls on the roster. The issue has been a curse and a blessing to the second-year coach, who has had to adjust the way she manages fouls, timeouts and rest. Cracking the starting...
Franklin Regional uses a little R&R to beat Hempfield
Franklin Regional needed a little R&R. No, not rest and relaxation. If there is a tired boys basketball team out there, it is not this one. The Panthers went to Rowell and Rankin to keep their record perfect. Seniors Cam Rowell and Cooper Rankin each scored 21 points as the...
Norwin girls overcome slow start, pull away from Latrobe in 2nd half
Kendall Berger said Norwin allowed Latrobe to dictate the tempo early in Monday night’s nonsection girls basketball matchup. Berger and Norwin, though, quickly changed the pace and flipped a close game in their favor. The Lady Knights, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, picked up their defensive pressure, imposed their...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Former Jeannette standout Anthony Johnson draws offers in portal
Remember Anthony Johnson? He was only at Jeannette for a short time after transferring from Allderdice and left for Cleveland Heights (Ohio) before his senior season. Johnson, enticed by friends to play football when he came to Jeannette after not playing since middle school, ended up playing at Youngstown State....
Norwin’s Gianni Rizzo enjoys breakout season with Duquesne
Gianni Rizzo has been playing college football since 2019 and still has a year to go. But the Duquesne junior linebacker out of Norwin will be hard pressed to top this season. Saving his best for late in the year when the Dukes made a push into the NCAA FCS...
Westmoreland high school notebook: GCC’s Kerr chooses college
The recruiting process ended just as quickly as it began for Riley Kerr. After the WPIAL girls soccer season concluded with a rare first-round loss for Greensburg Central Catholic, the junior forward began to get a feel for the lay of the land. She gauged interest and looked for the...
Basketball teams adjust to new free-throw rule in early part of season
One-and-one free throws always have been a gamble. Make the first one, and you get a chance to make another. Miss, and you’re out of luck. The jury still is out on whether a new free-throw rule is a make or miss. A key change in the rulebook this season...
Norwin boys take the measure of Latrobe at WCCA Showcase
He rears back for a corner 3-pointer, stretching his arms high and behind his head, the basketball slightly tilted to the right. He lets it go and grins slightly to greet the swish. “Yes, it’s unorthodox and jenky,” Norwin senior guard Dylan McCullough said of his shooting motion. “I didn’t...
Kiski Area beats host Hempfield at WCCA Showcase
Corey Smith stepped out of the locker room, took a deep breath and came to the realization his team was fortunate to leave Hempfield with a victory. Fortunate to escape, even. A collective swipe across the brow was in line for Kiski Area after this one. “We went 1-0 today,”...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Yough’s Autumn Matthews, Southmoreland’s Ty Keffer
Autumn Matthews School: Yough Class: Senior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Matthews helped lead Yough (3-1) to a fast start, which included a pair of wins and a championship at the Deer Lakes tip-off tournament. She had 13 points in a 53-13 win over Valley, and chipped in eight in...
