Bill Beckner stories, Page 9
Franklin Regional notebook: Soccer teams looking to bounce back
The Franklin Regional soccer teams were looking to rebound from section losses that bumped both from the Trib HSSN rankings. The boys (11-2, 5-2) moved into the No. 5 spot in Class 3A for the second time this season but dropped a 1-0 decision to Penn-Trafford. The defeat ended a...
Jeannette holds off rally by GCC, Crosby for crucial Eastern Conference win
Two lifelong friends who grew up together in Jeannette had another blast playing backyard football against each other, trading big runs and pass plays in the latest chapter of the Jeannette-Greensburg Central Catholic rivalry. Jeannette and Kymon’e Brown won the first half. Greensburg Central Catholic and Samir Crosby won the...
Tim O’Rourke named new boys basketball coach at Greensburg Central Catholic
Familiarity won’t be a problem for new Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball coach Tim O’Rourke. He’s had maroon in his blood for some time. A former girls assistant and junior high boys and girls coach at the school, O’Rourke is primed to take over after the summer resignation of Christian...
Fiery Franklin Regional boys get revenge against Belle Vernon with resounding win
Franklin Regional had its annual campus bonfire Thursday night. Shortly after the fire department doused the flames, the boys soccer team went out and smoked Belle Vernon. Aidan Alexander and Michael Hillebrand each scored two goals as the fifth-ranked Panthers avenged an earlier loss to the visiting Leopards in dominant...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Injuries could impact Eastern Conference clash
Forget the stat sheet. Take a look at the injury list. The biggest question mark in the 36th football meeting between Jeannette (3-3, 1-2) and Greensburg Central Catholic (3-3, 1-2) is who has more questionable players. Both teams had standout wide receivers sustain injuries last week. For Jeannette, it was...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Injuries could impact Eastern Conference clash
Forget the stat sheet. Take a look at the injury list. The biggest question mark in the 36th football meeting between Jeannette (3-3, 1-2) and Greensburg Central Catholic (3-3, 1-2) is who has more questionable players. Both teams had standout wide receivers sustain injuries last week. For Jeannette, it was...
Norwin girls soccer keeps rolling, shuts out Latrobe
Norwin girls soccer coach Ashley DeVito had a name for her team’s defensive mission before Wednesday night’s Section 1-4A game at Latrobe. “Operation Clean Sheet” was a success. The Lady Knights were met with little resistance as they pinned up their eighth shutout of the season with their 10th consecutive...
Westmoreland County high school football matchups for 2025 Week 6
Here’s a look at the don’t-miss matchups for Week 6 in Westmoreland County: Class 5A Big East Gateway (2-4, 2-1) at No. 5 Penn-Trafford (5-1, 1-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Harrison City Last week: Armstrong 29, Gateway 28; Penn-Trafford 33, Plum 14 Last year’s meeting: Penn-Trafford 32, Gateway 13...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Scrappy Norwin still in title hunt
Don’t count Norwin out of the Section 1-4A boys soccer title race just yet. The Knights, who had dropped back-to-back one-goal games, rebounded with two straight section wins, the second one a dandy against a team it previously tied. Yes, the Knights have learned how to win close games. Tyler...
Mt. Pleasant boys control possession, shut out Yough in key section showdown
Yough and Mt. Pleasant play with contrasting styles. Yough is more direct and physical, while Mt. Pleasant is organized and tactical. The latter approach prevailed in the teams’ second Section 4-2A boys soccer matchup of the season. Playing a near perfect game schematically and tilting the field, Mt. Pleasant blanked...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Quality over quantity works for Latrobe
Soccer teams in the WPIAL’s largest classification generally are not supposed to have problems with depth. Benches are expected to be deep, and fresh lineups are meant to be common. Not at Latrobe. The girls soccer Wildcats are making their way through another season in Class 4A with only 18...
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team continues to roll with 3-0 win over Deer Lakes
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer coach Rich Garland called it his team’s best effort of the season. He will get no argument from Deer Lakes. The fourth-ranked Lady Vikings rang up their 10th shutout of the season and stayed on track for a Section 4-2A title with a 3-0 victory over...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent QB/WR duo among best in NCAA Division III
Saint Vincent is developing one of the top pass-and-catch combinations in NCAA Division III. Junior quarterback Jake Phillips (Hempfield) and junior wide receiver Chris Downs were at it again Saturday in another shootout in the PAC. The Bearcats (1-3) are flat out slinging it around. Phillips completed 35 of 54...
Western PA quarterbacks among nominees for National High School Football Hall of Fame
The ballot for the fourth class of the National High School Football Hall of Fame again will have Western Pennsylvania flavor. Of course, it has its share of quarterbacks. The 52 nominees for the Class of 2026 include Pittsburgh Steelers greats Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw; former WPIAL...
Norwin girls cross country team racing toward what it hopes is a state-title season
Norwin is lining up wins like it lines up runners at the starting line. Methodically, the Lady Knights are pulling away from the pack with landslide victories. The state’s No. 1-ranked girls cross country team in the preseason is building momentum to go for its first WPIAL title since 2009...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Golfers set to vie for WPIAL titles
The local field is set for the final rounds of the WPIAL golf championships. Senior Jack Sacriponte of Latrobe, Max Mottura of Kiski Area and senior Jack Edwards of Belle Vernon will play the final 18 holes in Class 3A on Monday at Butler Country Club. Sacriponte is four shots...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Norwin’s Annie Czajkowski, Hempfield’s Jonathan Stetchock
Annie Czajkowski School: Norwin Class: Senior Sport: Cross country Claim to fame: Czajkowski, a Division I prospect, has emerged as a WPIAL and PIAA 3A title contender and is one of the top runners for championship favorite Norwin. She won the PIAA Foundation Class 3A race in Hershey with a...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Southmoreland off to historically good start
Dustin Shoaf, Southmoreland’s 24-year-old first year football coach, said he didn’t think many people expected the Scotties to win their first six games. He’d heard the faint praise. But here are the Scotties, unblemished and the talk of Westmoreland County football. Despite 13 penalties — Shoaf vowed to correct the...
Clairton routs Jeannette, brings to mind dominant Bears teams of past
“Bout Dat” might be making a comeback at Clairton. Maybe it never left. The saying made famous by the great Bears teams of the 2010s still shows up on fans’ orange-and-black T-shirts. They still remember that epic 66-game winning streak. “You look at what we have, this is one of...
Penn-Trafford boys soccer team topples 1st-place Belle Vernon
Penn-Trafford is getting big goals after halftime and has an early handle on the back half of section play. The Warriors are starting to look like a second-half soccer team, and that is just fine with senior midfielder Cooper Geyer. He, well, seconds that notion. “We can be a second-half...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Jeannette understands assignment vs. powerful Clairton
Jeannette wants nothing more than to shake off a 36-27 loss to Leechburg, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier this week with vaunted Clairton invading McKee Stadium. In fact, it gets much harder. The second-ranked Bears (3-1, 2-0) are averaging 51.5 points. They beat Serra Catholic, 79-0, Greensburg Central...
Latrobe girls soccer forges tie for 2nd by beating Penn-Trafford
Latrobe needed one shining moment. Somehow, Emerson Shine delivered it. The junior midfielder made something out of nothing with 3 minutes, 54 seconds to play in overtime, taking on three defenders and rocketing a shot past Penn-Trafford goalkeeper Alannah Hall to give the Wildcats a 1-0 victory Wednesday night at...
Norwin athletic director Mike Burrell heading overseas to work Steelers game in Ireland
Mike Burrell wears a lot of hats as the athletic director at Norwin, a PIAA official and a co-chairman for the WPIAL football steering committee. But he also works Pittsburgh Steelers home games as part of the game-in-progress crew. Since this week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Young Norwin roster ‘learning how to win close games’
With seven seniors, 16 juniors and 13 sophomores, Norwin often rolls out a young lineup. When the Knights played Plum last week, nine players who are playing varsity soccer for the first time were on the field. Only one senior started that game: midfielder Ian Natale. “We do have a...
Penn-Trafford strikes for upset over No. 5 Franklin Regional
Penn-Trafford has taken on a sneaky personality competing in boys soccer Section 3-3A. The Warriors play a physical style and rely on sound, exacting defense to create opportunities. Despite their slightly above .500 record and a high number of unlucky bounces that have stunted them some offensively, they can creep...
