Bill Beckner stories, Page 72
With new coach in charge, top playmaker graduated, change comes to Greensburg Salem
Change is a good thing. So believes Ty George, the rookie head football coach at Greensburg Salem. “It’s good in all forms of life,” he said. George took over for Dave Keefer, who guided the Golden Lions for the last decade. He was a member of Keefer’s staff for the...
Senior quarterback takes pride in wearing Jeannette uniform
A family vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina included some beach football. Because of course it did. Payton Molter was there. “You know it,” the Jeannette senior quarterback said. “I love spending time with my family. There was like 20 of us in a beach house. It was...
Westmoreland County high school notes: Latrobe’s Ella Bulava out with torn ACL
Ella Bulava, a senior soccer standout at Latrobe and a Maryland commit, will miss the high school season after having surgery for a torn ACL. The injury happened about a month ago while she was playing for her Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy club team. It follows another setback: She broke her...
Franklin Regional goalkeeper climbs ranks in Olympic Development program
Aris Lamanna has been on a three-month, practically nonstop speed and strength training mission to be the best goalkeeper in the WPIAL, the state and … the country? The Franklin Regional senior hit a benchmark goal Monday as she was named to the United States Youth Soccer East Region Olympic...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Yough grad Dustin Shoaf among PSAC’s top returning players
Back for his graduate season, Dustin Shoaf is primed to be the focal point of the running game this season at Mercyhurst. The running back from Yough is coming off a career season where he rushed for 635 yards and seven touchdowns for the Lakers, who are trying to flip...
Greensburg Salem’s Julian Stevens mixes personality with athletic ability to lead Golden Lions
A mauler with a mean streak, Julian Stevens has a reputation that precedes him. But there is more to the bruising Greensburg Salem senior tight end and linebacker than meets the eye. Last month, when Golden Lions superfan Jean Rowe died, Stevens led the team into the funeral home and...
Latrobe sees uptick in wins, numbers, expectations
Growth in roster numbers is a good gauge of a football program’s stability. Latrobe looks like it’s on firm ground. With 77 players — up from 62 last year and 44 the previous season — the Wildcats are bursting with interest and improvement. “We had some kids who had played...
Speedy, versatile Samir Crosby puts team first for Greensburg Central Catholic
As he is preparing for a quick photo shoot in the bleachers at Centurions Stadium, Samir Crosby flashes a smile, then shifts to a mean mug, turning to face the camera each time with delight and gravitas. “Want me to flex?” Crosby says, playfully clutching a football. The sophomore from...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Official start of football camp right around corner
After weeks of noncontact workouts and five days of heat acclimatization, WPIAL football teams finally will open training camp Monday. The thought of donning full equipment and going full force against teammates gets players’ interest way up. It’s football season again. “Just the excitement of the team and coaches,” Greensburg...
Author Bill Viola Jr. of North Huntingdon urges readers to ‘earn black belt in life’
From inception to completion, Bill Viola Jr.’s latest book, “Common Sensei: How To Earn a Blackbelt in Life” didn’t necessarily have a core audience. Sure, the martial arts crowd was interested because of their vast knowledge of the collective and awareness of influential people in the business, such as Viola....
District golf notebook: Katie Miller Gee wins 2nd WGAWP amateur
Hempfield alum and girls golf coach Katie Miller Gee made sure the fourth time was the charm. After three straight runner-up finishes at the Women’s Golf Association of Western Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, Miller Gee returned to the winner’s circle, capturing her second title at the event Tuesday at Sunnehanna Country...
Derry quarterback is 1 of 11 on football field, 1 of 10 at home
He comes from a big family — we’re talking jumbo package, here — so Mason Beeman is used to being in close quarters with a lot of people. He also is used to earning his keep in a household where he is one of Michael and Trina Beeman’s 10 children....
Fierce competition defines PSAC as season draws near
Coaches in one of the better NCAA Division II football conferences in the country can’t say enough about the competition in their league. Practice began Monday, and teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference will kick up dust against each other this fall as they compete for division titles and...
Awards roll in for Belle Vernon grad Viva Kreis
Like a pair of new socks, two more honors rolled in for Belle Vernon alum Viva Kreis. And they are a perfect fit. The 2023 graduate, who bagged the $10,000 Heisman High School Scholarship Award last December and was an honorable mention for the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award...
With new coach at helm, Norwin hungry to return to playoffs
If there is a difference between a Norwin kid and a Hempfield kid, Mike Brown is out to find it. After two years at Hempfield, Brown left to become the coach at Norwin. Some saw it as a lateral move — one 5A school to another, one toiling program for...
2023 WPIAL golf preview: Graduation losses leave boys, girls titles up for grabs
The WPIAL boys and girls golf season opens Thursday. Here is a breakdown of the top teams and players to follow this fall. Boys Defending champions Class 3A team: Central Catholic Class 2A team: Sewickley Academy Class 3A individual: Rocco Salvitti, Central Catholic Class 2A individual: Hunter Jurica, Derry Top...
Latrobe’s Maddy Petruzzi commits to Valparaiso
Another Latrobe athlete is set to continue her career at college soccer’s highest level. Junior Maddy Petruzzi announced a verbal commitment to play at Valparaiso of the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. “Valparaiso has a variety of majors that I’m interested in pursuing, which was my No. 1 focus...
Ross Township’s Nathan Smith to captain 2025 U.S. Walker Cup team
An exemplary amateur golfer in the Pittsburgh area for decades, Nathan Smith can cross another accomplishment off his career bucket list. And this is a big one. Smith, a Brookville native who lives in Ross Township, was selected by the United States Golf Association to captain the 2025 U.S. Walker...
Norwin’s Max McDowell promoted to Triple-A with Phillies
For the third straight season, Max McDowell will be on the doorstep of a major league call-up. A Norwin alum and eighth-year minor leaguer, McDowell received a promotion Monday when he was elevated to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The 29-year-old catcher played...
Former WPIAL golf standouts from Fox Chapel, Plum set to play U.S. Amateur
A pair of former WPIAL golf standouts will play in a USGA event for the first time. Fox Chapel graduate Gregor Meyer and Plum alum Andrew Reynolds finished 1-2 to advance out of a recent qualifier for the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship set for Aug. 14-20 in Colorado. Meyer, who...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Justin Johns, Justin Huss among PAC players to watch
Justin Johns and Justin Huss — one on defense and the other on offense and special teams — could play critical roles this season for the Washington & Jefferson football team, which will open the season No. 2 in the Presidents’ Athletic Association preseason rankings. A senior linebacker out of...
After productive summer, Franklin Regional itching to put on pads
Third-year Franklin Regional football coach Lance Getsy was in a walking boot at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial Passing Tournament at Latrobe. He suffered a fractured left foot while demonstrating a play during a summer workout. “Scout-team quarterback. I rolled left and felt it,” Getsy said, shaking...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Football practice about to heat up
Starting Monday, high school football teams will take part in “heat week,” the customary lead-up to training camp. Yes, football is here again. The required five-day period of heat acclimatization was instituted in 2013 by the PIAA. The idea is for players, who are not permitted to have full contact...
Florida high school coaching legend Vince Zappone, a Greensburg native, dies at 93
Chaminade-Madonna Prep is known for having an elite high school football program in Florida. It has the state championships and high-level talent to prove it. It’s even based in a city called Hollywood, which only adds to the glitz. But the Lions weren’t always King Football in the Sunshine State....
Westmoreland County college football notes: Hempfield grad Justin Sliwoski trades in cleats for scrubs
With the transfer portal calling his name again, Justin Sliwoski had to reluctantly plug up his ears. He decided it was time to put everything into his career. No, not his football career. The former standout quarterback at Hempfield and St. Francis (Pa.) is hanging up his cleats and stepping...
