Bill Beckner stories, Page 70
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Key injury tests Franklin Regional
Franklin Regional is adopting a next-girl-up mentality after losing a key starter to an injury. Freshman defender Grace Copeland suffered a broken leg in a 1-0 win over Penn-Trafford last week. She is wearing a full leg cast and will miss the remainder of the season. “It’s tough losing a...
Increasing number of top girls soccer players opting out of high school competition
When a few Westmoreland County girls soccer players came to a Y in the road — to play or not to play this season — they all chose the same direction. Now, they’re off the map. Three talented players decided to take a year off from high school soccer to...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Greensburg Salem grad Cody Rubrecht scores in debut
It didn’t take Cody Rubrecht long to score his first college touchdown. In his first start, in his first college game, the freshman from Greensburg Salem grabbed a 45-yard touchdown pass from Jake Cruz as Seton Hill dropped a 35-24 decision to Wheeling in Thursday’s season opener. He caught the...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Ligonier Valley’s McIntosh pockets hole in one
Ligonier Valley golfer Brody McIntosh had quite a surprise waiting for him at the sixth hole during last Monday’s match at Norvelt Golf Club. A hole-in-one. Fuming red after making a triple-bogey 7 on No. 5, the senior stomped to the sixth tee, dropped his ball on the teebox without...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Penn-Trafford’s Ava Hershberger, Nick Turowski
Ava Hershberger Class: Senior School: Penn-Trafford Sport: Field hockey Claim to fame: Hershberger, a standout who will play collegiately at Ohio State, scored her 100th career goal when the Warriors defeated Norwin, 5-1. She had a hat trick in the victory. The midfielder has nine goals this season and 105...
Westmoreland high school football notes: Derry finally shakes long losing streak
Derry did something Friday night it had not done since the disruptive, covid-plagued season of 2020: It won a football game. The Trojans finally knocked down a losing streak that had bedeviled them for nearly three years, defeating Greensburg Salem, 26-21, to end a 20-game skid. The longest active losing...
Norwin volleyball looks to take ‘baby’ steps forward coming off playoff season
“Don’t drop the baby” has become one of Norwin’s favorite games to play at volleyball practice. The Lady Knights hope the multi-tasking game makes them sharper this season. Basically, two extra volleyballs are put in play, with teams playing normally with a regular ball, while passing to each other two...
Norwin notebook: Knights show potential in football opener
Norwin showed some fight in its first football game of the season. The Knights fell behind early and rallied to tie it at halftime, but ultimately fell to host Upper St. Clair, 24-21. Sophomore quarterback Tristyn Tavares completed 12 of 27 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns, two of...
Franklin Regional notebook: Panthers pay tribute to late teammate at opener
Franklin Regional will never forget Joe Purdue. The Panthers are wearing helmet decals with the initials “J.P.” this season to remember their late and beloved teammate. A somber moment of silence was held in the Week Zero opener at Panthers Stadium for Purdue, who died in March from pediatric brain...
Reilly has big return as Latrobe beats Norwin at Moe Rosensteel memorial
Four goals. It wasn’t so much about how they happened, but that they happened. Then again, Latrobe players and coaches have come to expect such a performance from Robin Reilly. The junior midfielder had not played a competitive game in two months when she took the field for the first...
Bishop Canevin revs up in victory against Greensburg Central Catholic
Greensburg Central Catholic was hoping Bishop Canevin would be rusty because the highly touted Crusaders did not play a game or scrimmage last week. The Crusaders were, especially early. But they recovered from the groggy start and a slew of penalties, using a huge push up front and some GCC...
Plum shuts out rival Franklin Regional in early season section showdown
Plum is finding different ways to score goals this soccer season. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It can even be boring, as long as the ball goes in the net. The fourth-ranked Mustangs did enough to claim a 1-0 shutout in a chippy Section 3-3A matchup against neighboring Franklin...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Top runners clash when Ligonier Valley, Southmoreland meet
John Jablunovsky and Da’sjon Craggette ran wild in their season openers, each rushing for more than 200 yards as their teams won. The speedsters will square off this week as Ligonier Valley (1-0) hosts Southmoreland (1-0) in nonconference action. You want track speed? You’ll get it with these two. This...
Franklin Regional beats Penn-Trafford in OT in defensive struggle
When two defensive-minded girls soccer teams get together, you don’t expect to see much offense. Maybe none at all. At least not in the run of play. Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford didn’t take many chances, or shots, as they battled deep into the second half and into overtime Wednesday night,...
Westmoreland County high school football matchups for 2023 Week 1
Class A No. 2 Bishop Canevin (0-0) at Greensburg Central Catholic (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Centurions Stadium, Carbon Last week: Bishop Canevin did not play; Greensburg Central Catholic 37, Mt. Pleasant 24 Last year’s meeting: Bishop Canevin 30, Greensburg Central Catholic 14 Two Class A playoff contenders meet in a...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Belle Vernon to host annual kickoff classic
It would not be the start of boys soccer season in the Mon Valley without the Paul Sasko Kickoff Classic at Belle Vernon. The annual Labor Day weekend event, which began under a different name in 2005, is named after Sasko, the former Leopards coach who died in 2016. This...
Face of Jeannette boys soccer program sets big-time goals
Jordan Taylor doesn’t just have one goal in mind for soccer season; he has about 100. All right, so maybe that is a stretch for the senior who seems like he has been playing at Jeannette for a decade. Four-year starters tend to become the face of a team, and...
Comeback from injury helps Latrobe’s Yurko appreciate soccer
When she took the field for the first time in seven months, the feeling was indescribable for Ava Yurko. Butterflies. Chills. Pure goose flesh. The rising junior at Latrobe last played a soccer game in September, when she tore the ACL, LCL and meniscus in her right knee, ending her...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Schedule set for Moe Rosensteel Kickoff Classic
The 2nd annual Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic will be Saturday at Norwin Knights Stadium. The three-game girls soccer showcase has the same schedule as last year with Franklin Regional vs. Thomas Jefferson at 10 a.m., Hickory vs. Ringgold at 11:30, and Latrobe vs. Norwin at 1 p.m. Money raised...
Greensburg Salem golfer’s swing is sweeter with new prosthetic armVideo
As soon as he arrived home from the Hanger Clinic in Greensburg, Ian Smith grabbed a golf club and headed for his backyard. The anticipation was too pressing. The butterflies were swarming in his stomach. He wanted to hug somebody. Now, he could. A few slides and a couple clicks...
Belle Vernon girls golf team finally tees off for its inaugural season
As Vittoria Scaramucci pushed a tee into the ground, set her golf ball on it and took aim down the fairway, the intensity of the moment began to set in. This wasn’t any ordinary tee shot Aug. 18 at Cedarbrook Golf Course’s Red Course. It was the first one in...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Malia Kearns off to fast start at RMU
After earning Horizon League all-freshmen accolades last season, it should not come as a surprise that Penn-Trafford graduate Malia Kearns is making an impact already as a sophomore at Robert Morris. She scored a goal and registered an assist in the team’s first three games, all wins. Her assist came...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: WCCA boys golf championship coming this week
The first event on the Westmoreland County Coaches Association’s fall calendar will take place later this week with the boys golf championship. The 18-hole event begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at Latrobe Elks Golf Course. An individual champion will be crowned, along with Class 3A and 2A team winners. There...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Soccer recruit delivers in clutch for Jeannette
Jeannette football coach Tommy Paulone and his staff were on the lookout for a kicker this offseason. So they cast a line into a pond where desperate coaches hope to get a bite: the soccer team. There they found senior Austin Emery, an accomplished soccer player who had not kicked...
Hempfield girls soccer snaps 46-game losing streak
The streak is over. There aren’t four more refreshing words for the Hempfield girls soccer team to hear. There couldn’t be. Not for a team that hadn’t won a game in almost four years. Not for a team that had not scored a goal in two years. The Spartans were...
