Bill Hartlep stories, Page 13

Fans will again swarm a racetrack to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. Though he won’t be returning to racing, the 26-time NASCAR Cup Series winner will likely draw quite a crowd Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway. He will attend the $50,000-to-win Commonwealth Clash as part of the High Limit Sprint Car...

Lillie Snow Class: Senior School: Freeport Sport: Golf Report card: Snow shot a 92 and finished fifth at the Section 2-2A qualifier Tuesday at Fox Chapel Golf Club, beating the target score of 95 to qualify for the WPIAL championships for the third straight season. The senior golfer, who has...

Class 5A Big East Conference Gateway (1-3, 1-0) at Plum (2-2, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Mustangs Stadium, Plum Borough Last week: Gateway 44, Franklin Regional 24; Norwin 30, Plum 23 Last year’s result: Gateway 28, Plum 26 These neighborhood rivals are looking for a boost in the Big East standings,...

Class 5A Big East Conference Plum (2-1, 0-0) at Norwin (1-2, 0-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Last week: Shaler 28, Plum 14; Norwin 33, Fox Chapel 18 Last year’s result: Plum 42, Norwin 13 A power running attack meets a go-and-throw approach in a Big East...

Molly Hurley Class: Junior School: Springdale Sport: Soccer Report card: Hurley had two goals and an assist in helping Springdale’s girls soccer team defeat Seton LaSalle, 3-1, on Wednesday. The week before, she had a key goal and assist as Springdale (3-0, 2-0) shut out rival Greensburg Central Catholic, 3-0,...

Nonconference Chartiers Valley (0-2) at Highlands (2-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Golden Rams Stadium, Natrona Heights Last week: Highlands 33, Blackhawk 20; Trinity 38, Chartiers Valley 0 Last year’s meeting: Highlands 28, Chartiers Valley 20 Highlands carries plenty of momentum into its home-opener after dominant wins over Ambridge and Blackhawk. …...

Camryn Woods Class: Freshman School: Freeport Sport: Soccer Report card: Woods made quite a debut for the Yellowjackets on Thursday, scoring twice to help Freeport (2-0, 1-0) earn a 3-1 Section 2-2A victory over Deer Lakes. She also scored twice Saturday in a 6-0 win over Steel Valley. The freshman...

Friday Apollo-Ridge (1-0) at Valley (0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, New Kensington Last week: Apollo-Ridge 18, Leechburg 16; Armstrong 49, Valley 16 Last year’s meeting: Apollo-Ridge 34, Valley 19 These longtime rivals each would like to gain some nonconference momentum before conference play begins. … The big story for...

A once-prized Pitt basketball recruit who ran into legal trouble and redshirted last season, Dior Johnson is “no longer attending the University of Pittsburgh,” a team spokesman said in a statement Friday evening. The move comes as a surprise after the 6-foot-3 guard joined the Panthers on their preseason trip...

There’s a theme of change surrounding the Carrick football program. Dennis “Shor D” Wolford, who was the Raiders’ offensive coordinator last season, has moved into the head coach position, replacing Greg Johnston, who was 2-14 in two seasons at the helm. And he is focusing on making changes, starting in...

Nonconference Apollo-Ridge at Leechburg 7 p.m. Friday, Veterans Stadium, Leechburg Last year’s meeting: Apollo-Ridge 34, Leechburg 28 Apollo-Ridge gained bragging rights last season when the rivalry renewed after a two-year hiatus. Can the Vikings collect 530 yards of offense this time around? … Apollo-Ridge has a young roster, but senior...

Summit Academy’s football team took its share of lumps last season, but there were plenty of learning moments for the players and coaches. The group is hoping to use that experience from a year ago to find more success this fall, with an all new team. “The goal is to...

It was mid-March when Ron Balog took the reins of the Freedom football team. It’s been full-speed ahead since. The former Quaker Valley head coach who spent last season as an offensive coordinator at North Catholic wanted to make sure his team was prepared despite the late start to the...

Ellwood City got rid of a losing stigma last season, and now the Wolverines are aiming to take the next step in the program’s turnaround. They snapped a 27-game losing streak in Week 2 last season with a 46-6 victory at Carlynton. It was the longest skid among WPIAL teams,...

Aaran Randolph had quite an introduction to A-K Valley football fans. When they opened their newspaper Saturday morning Oct. 1, 2022, the Game of the Week headline read: “RUNNING RAM: Randolph’s 5 scores lead Highlands past Mars.” What the Golden Rams faithful already knew, many across Western Pennsylvania then discovered...

It’s unlikely Isaac “Ickey” Woods will score a touchdown this season. The Freeport lineman doesn’t get carries in the backfield, won’t catch any passes and isn’t going to take snaps at quarterback. He doesn’t return punts or kicks and probably isn’t going to be deep enough in the secondary to...

Freeport doesn’t have the largest linemen in Class 3A. The Yellowjackets don’t have a bevy of skill players committed to Power 5 programs. With 39 players, they also don’t have the biggest roster in the Allegheny 6 Conference. None of that matters to veteran coach John Gaillot as long as...

Luke Bombalski had a simple response when asked about goals for the Highlands football team this season. “Win that first playoff game,” he said. There was no mention of rushing yards, a number of touchdowns or how many tackles or interceptions the senior running back/linebacker wants to accumulate. Nothing about...

Paul Skenes made his professional baseball debut Thursday afternoon, and it was a quick one. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ No. 1 overall pick out of LSU, Skenes started for the FCL Pirates in their game against the FCL Twins at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. He tossed a 1-2-3 inning with...

There’s one giant benefit when a high school football team has a small senior class — experience for the underclassmen. Peters Township’s youngsters got plenty of it last season, and the Indians’ coaching staff is hoping those reps pay dividends this season. “We’re a lot more experienced than we were...

The Robert Morris football team is looking to bounce back from a winless 2022 season, and the Colonials will face several new opponents in their quest for improvement. The new-look Big South-OVC Football Association released its inaugural preseason poll for the 2023 season Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn. The league’s head...

The Pittsburgh Maulers will try to complete their quest to go from worst to first when they meet the the Birmingham Stallions at 8 p.m. Saturday in the 2023 USFL Championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game will be broadcast on NBC. Here’s...

The Pittsburgh Maulers’ stingy defense held its own for much of Saturday’s USFL contest against the Houston Gamblers. But one of the league’s top running backs proved too much to deny. Mark Thompson scored on a 33-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 51 seconds to play to give the Gamblers...