Bill Beckner stories, Page 72
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg wins 3rd straight conference title in girls tennis
Pitt-Greensburg celebrated a three-peat in women’s tennis. The Bobcats (11-2) swept past Penn State Behrend for a 5-0 victory in the final of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament and their third straight title. UPG advances to the NCAA Tournament in May. Senior Abigail Rosman picked up an 8-4 win...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Playoff teams await pairings
The WPIAL will announce playoff pairings Wednesday afternoon, and tournaments could start this weekend. Westmoreland County teams in the postseason are Latrobe (12-2), Franklin Regional (11-5-1), Penn-Trafford (11-6), and Kiski Area (7-9-2) in Class 3A; Mt. Pleasant (14-2), Southmoreland (9-5), Yough (5-13) and Burrell (11-4) in 2A; and Greensburg Central...
Hempfield thrower Peyton Murray commits to Notre Dame
A GIF of actor Charles S. Dutton, who plays the character Fortune in the film “Rudy,” is popular on the internet. It shows Fortune clapping his hands, showing his appreciation for the title’s main character, the undersized underdog football player who defied the odds as a walk-on at Notre Dame....
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Saint Vincent soccer teams post shutouts under the lights
Saint Vincent’s soccer teams should play under the lights more often. The women’s team had six players score goals in an 8-0 victory over Thiel, and the Bearcats men tied Thiel, 0-0, last Tuesday night at UPMC Field. It was a historic doubleheader for SVC, which hosted night soccer for...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: WCCA all-star game returning to Ligonier Valley
After a successful debut last year, the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Volleyball All-Star Game will return next month. The event will be 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at Ligonier Valley. Last year, 16 local teams were represented in the East vs. West matchup that includes top senior players selected by coaches....
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Latrobe’s Robin Reilly and Belle Vernon’s Rogan Maloney
Robin Reilly School: Latrobe Class: Junior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Reilly has been one of the top all-around players in the WPIAL, not only giving the talented Wildcats a go-to goal scorer but also someone who sets up the offense. A West Virginia commit, Reilly assisted on a goal...
Westmoreland high school football notes: Showdown between Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford looms
Second place and a playoff spot will be on the line in the Class 5A Big East Conference, and one game will settle it all. But fans will have to wait a week for Penn-Trafford (4-4, 3-1) to play at Franklin Regional (6-2, 3-1) in the key conference finale. The...
Norwin girls volleyball keeps up the fight
Norwin’s girls volleyball team was fighting for a playoff spot in Section 3-4A as the regular season winded toward a mid-October finish. The postseason outcome, should it not work in the Lady Knights’ favor, won’t have anything to do with fading effort. “The girls have been working hard every day...
Norwin notebook: Knights strive for better starts
While Norwin’s football team has been more resilient and competitive than is has been in a while, the Knights were trying to get off to better starts. Norwin rallied from 22 points down at halftime in a 37-29 loss at Franklin Regional in Week 6. The Knights scored 15 in...
Franklin Regional girls golfers test their mettle in WPIAL postseason
Mark Twain is believed to have said, “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” For Franklin Regional golfers Ali Boyle and Gianna Johnson, a stroll around Diamond Run Golf Club for the WPIAL Class 3A Championship on a perfect, sun-splashed October afternoon was a tune-up for the team postseason. “Obviously we...
Franklin Regional surges past Hempfield for 4th straight victory
The more progressions he goes through and the more repetitions he gets, the more Chase Lemke looks the part of Franklin Regional’s starting quarterback. “I am getting a lot more comfortable in the pocket,” Lemke said Friday night after he led the Panthers to their fourth straight win, 38-15 over...
Yough grad Jim Schaffer named athletic director at alma mater
Longtime volunteer coach and Yough diehard Jim Schaffer is primed to take over as athletic director on Cougar Mountain. Schaffer was hired this week to replace Bill Flow, who resigned in August after just more than a year on the job. An assistant baseball coach in the district for 15...
Latrobe boys get past Franklin Regional in OT in chippy match
A soccer game with as many cards as goals wasn’t settled in regulation, so Franklin Regional and Latrobe played overtime in their touchy Section 4-3A rematch. Ben Bigi scored in close with 8 minutes, 55 seconds left in the second overtime to lift Latrobe to a 2-1 victory and a...
Slick-fielding Hempfield shortstop Allie Cervola picks Ohio
Hempfield doesn’t just have a history of winning WPIAL and PIAA championships in softball. The program also has a track record for producing Division I college talent. The latest player to commit to a high-level program is junior Allie Cervola. A shortstop who has played catcher previously for the Spartans,...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Latrobe senior making impact
There has been plenty of buzz in Latrobe about a promising junior class that includes players such as running back/linebacker Alex Tatsch and quarterback/safety John Wetzel. But a senior might be the glue this promising team needs. Ja’Tawn Williams is having a terrific season in all three phases of the...
Lola Abraham’s 4 goals lift Riverview past GCC in Section 1-A showdown
Greensburg Central Catholic tried everything against Lola Abraham, marking her with multiple girls in 10-minute intervals as it tried to slow her down. But like she has done against so many other opponents throughout her career, Abraham scratched out those plans in impressive fashion. While some teams look like they’re...
Westmoreland County high school football matchups for 2023 Week 7
Class 5A Big East Conference Franklin Regional (5-2, 2-1) at Hempfield (1-6, 0-2) 7 p.m. Friday, Spartan Stadium, Hempfield Last week: Franklin Regional 37, Norwin 29; Seneca Valley 42, Hempfield 13 Last year’s result: Franklin Regional 56, Hempfield 21 Franklin Regional can get a share of the conference title if...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Jeannette’s Jordan Taylor climbs WPIAL all-time goals list
The goal came without any fanfare and it came in a loss, so Jordan Taylor didn’t think much of it. But his score last week in a 4-2 loss at Freeport was a record breaker. Taylor, a Jeannette senior forward, broke the boys’ career goals record for Westmoreland County with...
Mt. Pleasant senior thrives after battling through career-threatening hip problem
The thought of ending his soccer career pervaded Luke Domasky’s mind at the start of the season. Many nights, he soaked in his family’s hot tub and pondered his next move. The Mt. Pleasant senior was not sure if he could be as effective after his junior season fell short...
Trevor Kovatch’s PK goal lifts Belle Vernon to key win over Mt. Pleasant
Mt. Pleasant’s pep band played at halftime Tuesday night at Viking Stadium, a rare occurrence for a high school soccer game, but an addition that was befitting to the ambiance of such a big first-place showdown. What isn’t a rare occurrence is Trevor Kovatch scoring goals against Mt. Pleasant. He...
Norwin grad Declan O’Brien leading nation in receiving for Allegheny College
The nation’s leading pass catcher continues to turn heads — those of defensive backs and casual observers. Declan O’Brien, a senior wide receiver at Allegheny College, had a career game Saturday with a school-record 18 receptions for 233 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 loss to Washington & Jefferson....
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Before knee surgery, GCC senior scores one last goal
Senior night could have been a bummer for Ella Machusko, who has a torn ACL and had written off playing the rest of the season. It could have been a grin-and-bear-it kind of game for the senior defender, who is still supporting a team with low roster numbers. Machusko played...
Despite challenges, Southmoreland girls soccer emerges as perennial playoff program
No matter the roster turnover or how many star players it loses, Southmoreland manages to stay in the thick of the WPIAL girls soccer playoff race. While some programs stall out after a few playoff runs, the Scotties keep on trucking. “This is my fourth year here, and the hope...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Greensburg Salem grad wins 1st cross country title
Cal (Pa.) senior Malia Anderson (Greensburg Salem) picked up her first individual cross country title by winning the Carnegie Mellon Invitational at Schenley Park. Anderson won the 5K in a time of 18 minutes, 36.1 seconds. She had two runner-up finishes in her career before her victory. Women’s cross country...
Sought-after Franklin Regional slugger Toryn Fulton commits to South Florida
Franklin Regional standout junior Toryn Fulton announced Monday she has made a verbal commitment to play college softball at South Florida. Fulton, a power-hitting outfielder who played second base last season for the Panthers, hit .552 with a 1.755 OPS. She had eight home runs, seven doubles and 32 RBIs....
