Bob Orkwis stories, Page 4
North Allegheny girls, Seneca Valley boys get off the blocks quick at WPIAL swim meet
The North Allegheny girls swimming team’s quest for a 14th straight WPIAL championship got off to a great start Thursday, as the Tigers netted 212 team points to lead after the first session. On the boys side, Seneca Valley is the first-day leader with 219.5 points. The totals for both...
Battle-tested Pine-Richland boys basketball better than record suggests
An initial glance at the overall record for the Pine-Richland boys basketball team might not look impressive, but diving into the details can change the perspective. Consider: After a season-opening victory, the Rams’ first three losses were in overtime by a combined eight points. Pine-Richland also went toe-to-toe in early...
North Allegheny’s Shi, Schenk sweep WPIAL Class 3A diving titles
Diving in her home pool and winning gold medals has become quite the habit for North Allegheny junior Christina Shi, as she captured her third straight gold medal with a score of 481.45 in the WPIAL Class 3A girls championship Saturday. Unlike the previous two championship meets in which Shi...
North Catholic’s Foley, Ligonier Valley’s Roddy win gold at WPIAL Class 2A diving championships
Coming in as the two-time defending champion, North Catholic junior Maggie Foley was the obvious favorite at the WPIAL Class 2A diving championships at North Allegheny. Foley did not disappoint, posting her highest finals score (470.70) to win her third-straight WPIAL title. “Overall, it went smoothly today, so that’s very...
Deontae Williams moves chains, leads Woodland Hills to 5A win over Bethel Park
Woodland Hills’ Deontae Williams rarely leaves the field for the Wolverines. So it was fitting that the senior quarterback was able to convert several fourth-down conversions in leading Woodland Hills to a 27-23 win on the road over Bethel Park in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs...
Pine-Richland completes WPIAL Class 3A field hockey 3-peat
The Pine-Richland Rams proved once again to be the dominant force in WPIAL Class 3A field hockey, as they defeated North Allegheny, 3-1, to capture a third straight title Saturday night at Washington & Jefferson. “It’s been a hunger to do it again, but it wasn’t necessarily pressure to do...
Shady Side Academy captures 4th straight WPIAL field hockey title
Betsy Gorse returned to Shady Side Academy for her second stint as head coach four seasons ago, and the move turned out in the best way for both her and the school, as the Bulldogs won their fourth consecutive WPIAL Class A championship Saturday by defeating Aquinas Academy, 1-0, at...
Penn-Trafford gets past Fox Chapel to win 6th straight WPIAL field hockey crown
Since WPIAL field hockey moved to three classifications in 2016, Penn-Trafford has had a stranglehold on the 2A championship. That story didn’t change tonight at W&J’s Cameron Stadium on Saturday, as the Warriors defeated Fox Chapel 1-0 to capture their sixth consecutive title. Penn-Trafford’s sensational sophomore Ava Hershberger scored the...
Hiester’s late-game heroics lead Upper St. Clair past Bethel Park
Upper St. Clair’s abbreviation is USC. Maybe the C should stand for cardiac, because for the second straight week, the “cardiac kids” used some late-game heroics and 14 fourth-quarter points to pull out a victory, this time 21-14 over Bethel Park to secure second place in the Class 5A Allegheny...
DiFalco’s hat trick leads Franklin Regional past Trinity in 1st round of WPIAL 3A playoffs
Franklin Regional appeared in the past three WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer championships and has its sights set on making it four straight. The third-seeded Panthers got off on the right foot for that quest, shutting out No. 14 Trinity, 8-0, at home in the first round Saturday. “I thought...
Bethel Park defeats Peters Township to remain perfect in conference
Coming off a winless season and getting off to a slow 1-3 start this year, Bethel Park might have had the gnawing feeling of “here we go again.” But the Black Hawks have righted ths ship in a big way. Bethel Park improved to 5-3 overall and, more importantly, 3-0...
Dugger brothers lead Penn Hills to win at Upper St. Clair
After starting the season with two straight losses, Penn Hills traveled to Upper St. Clair in hopes of its second consecutive nonconference victory. The Indians scored on three straight possessions at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half and then held on to defeat...
Nijhay Burt’s 5 touchdowns lead Steel Valley past Keystone Oaks
NiJhay Burt was one of the WPIAL’s leading rushers in Class 2A last season, so Steel Valley knew what it had in the returning senior running back. Burt entered Friday’s game with 294 rushing yards in the season’s first two games, both wins for the Ironmen. He nearly matched that...
Thomas Jefferson controls line of scrimmage, blanks South Fayette
In his 26 years as coach at Thomas Jefferson, it always seems the one constant under Bill Cherpak is dominant play on the interior line. The 2021 edition of the Jaguars is no different, as they held an opponent to negative yards rushing for the second consecutive week and more...
Alex Tecza, Mt. Lebanon teammates jump on Upper St. Clair to improve to 2-0
So far, so good for the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils in 2021 as they took care of their second straight South Hills rival, defeating Upper St. Clair, 36-13, Friday night at Mt. Lebanon Stadium. For the second straight game, it was a quick start for Mt. Lebanon, which scored 20...
Mt. Lebanon delivers complete performance, shuts out Bethel Park
It didn’t take the Mt. Lebanon offense long to get on track in 2021. And the defense did its job, too, during a season-opening 28-0 win Friday night at Bethel Park in a nonconference game. After holding Bethel Park to a three and out on the opening first series, Mt....
Led by a natural hat trick from Tanner Agnello, Indiana captures 1st Penguins Cup crown
If the waiting is indeed the hardest part, consider the hard part over for the Indiana Little Indians. Paced by a second-period hat trick from Tanner Agnello, Indiana won its first Penguins Cup title, capturing the PIHL Class A championship with a 3-2 victory over Chartiers Valley at the Robert...
North Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon move on to Penguins Cup finals in Class AAA
Connor Chi’s second goal of the game 30 seconds into overtime gave No. 4 North Allegheny a 4-3 win over Peters Township in the first of two PIHL Class AAA semifinal matchups at the RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island on Monday night. Chi, who also connected on a...
Neshannock stops undefeated Serra Catholic, wins 2nd WPIAL title in 3 years
Serra Catholic finished the regular season at 16-0 as undefeated section champions, so there was some sentiment that the Eagles should have been the top seed in the WPIAL Class 2A tournament. Neshannock posted a 16-2 record and shared its section championship, but received the No. 1 seed. The best...
Upper St. Clair wins WPIAL boys swimming championship at home pool
Because of covid-19 protocols, Pitt’s Trees Pool was unable to host the WPIAL swimming championships as usual. Upper St. Clair High School stepped in and hosted the two-day event this weekend. Maybe it was fitting the weekend ended with the Panthers boys swim team capturing their first team championship since...
North Allegheny captures 13th straight WPIAL girls swimming championship
For some it is an unlucky number, but for the North Allegheny girls swimmers, the number 13 was special at Upper St. Clair High School on Sunday as the Tigers captured their 13th straight WPIAL team championship. After building a large lead by sweeping the top three spots the Class...
Hampton boys win school’s first WPIAL team swimming title in 22 years
Everyone knew what to expect from Belle Vernon senior Ian Shahan coming into the WPIAL Class AA swimming championships Saturday. After all, he had previously won five gold medals in his high school career. But the fact that Hampton won the team title, something the Talbots hadn’t done since the...
Northgate wins 2nd WPIAL girls swimming championship in 3 years
Sparked by two second-place finishes in three relay races at Upper St. Clair High School, Northgate captured its second WPIAL Class 2A girls swimming championship in the past three years. The Flames, who won with a score of 254 points, were also team champions in 2019. Elizabeth Forward was crowned...
Mt. Lebanon shows grit, rallies to beat Central Catholic
The night might not have started the way Mt. Lebanon wanted, but it sure did finish the way they liked, as the Blue Devils rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to beat Central Catholic, 37-30, on Friday night in a Class 6A game at Graham Field in Wilkinsburg. “These are...
Special teams, defense lead Peters Township past South Fayette
When the wins are tallied at the end of the night, style points do not come into play. Peters Township would not want them anyway as it won its Class 5A Allegheny Conference opener 17-3 over South Fayette in a game that was postponed from the opening week. “I think...
