Chris Harlan stories, Page 107
WPIAL Class 6A football finals primer: Central Catholic vs. Pine-Richland
WPIAL Class 6A championship No. 1 Central Catholic (10-1) vs. No. 2 Pine-Richland (10-1) 8 p.m. Saturday, Heinz Field On the air: TribHSSN.triblive.com; 1020 AM, 107.1 FM Coaches: Terry Totten, Central Catholic; Eric Kasperowicz, Pine-Richland Winner plays: District 6 champion State College (11-1) in PIAA quarterfinals Nov. 22-23 WPIAL titles:...
Gateway’s defense uses 4th-down stands to edge McKeesport in WPIAL semifinalsVideo
McKeesport’s Devari Robinson sprinted forward on fourth-and-4, colliding with Gateway linebacker Jay Johnson, who dragged him to the Offutt Field turf. First down? Over on downs? “I was unsure,” Johnson said, “but I knew I had him when I looked to the left and he was short of the sticks.”...
5 things to watch in Week 12 of high school football: TJ’s Cherpak draws Belichick comparisons
Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak chuckles at the comparison, but maybe it’s too not farfetched? Could Cherpak be the Bill Belichick of the WPIAL? While visiting home last weekend, New England Patriots rookie Chase Winovich made that comparison, likening his high school coach with his current NFL coach. “He said...
WPIAL Class 4A football finals primer: Thomas Jefferson vs. Belle Vernon
WPIAL Class 4A championship No. 1 Thomas Jefferson (12-0) vs. No. 3 Belle Vernon (10-1) 5 p.m. Saturday, Heinz Field On the air: TribHSSN.triblive.com; 1020 AM, 107.1 FM, 95.3 FM Coaches: Bill Cherpak, Thomas Jefferson; Matt Humbert, Belle Vernon Winner plays: Winner of Cathedral Prep (10-2) and Bellefonte (9-2) in...
WPIAL championship rematch with fearsome Central Catholic line awaits Pine-Richland
One lineman is the talented nephew of an NFL superstar. One is 6-foot-5 and committed to North Carolina. The two others are gigantic twin brothers with more than 20 scholarship offers. Combined, the Central Catholic defensive linemen have formed a fearsome front four. “This group is special because of their...
Familiar foes Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson to meet for WPIAL Class 4A title
Belle Vernon knocked loudly on the WPIAL championship door two years in a row without an answer, each time losing in the semifinals. This year, for the first time in team history, the Leopards are headed to Heinz Field. “We were finally able to kick in that door and get...
PIAA postpones Tuesday’s state soccer semifinals at Hampton, Slippery Rock
Snow-covered fields forced the PIAA to postpone Tuesday’s soccer semifinals at Hampton and Slippery Rock. The two doubleheaders were rescheduled for Wednesday at the same sites. In Class A, the Shady Side Academy girls play Greensburg Central Catholic at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hampton. The Greensburg Central Catholic boys follow...
Midwestern: New Brighton’s Francona, Western Beaver’s Altenbaugh lead all-conference team
New Brighton receiver Jake Francona and Western Beaver linebacker Zach Altenbaugh earned MVP honors this season in the Midwestern Athletic Conference. The two seniors lead a coaches’ all-conference team announced Monday. Riverside senior Nate Sciarro appeared four times, earning all-conference honors as a wide receiver, defensive back, kicker and punter....
Northern: Penn Hills lands 9 players, coach on 1st-team, all-conference list
Penn Hills had nine players voted first-team all-conference by coaches including eight on the defensive side of the football. The Indians swept the defensive back spots with Dylan Bennett, Dontae Pollard, Aakeem Snell, Noel Roach and Anthony Grimes all making the list. Penn Hills’ Jon LeDonne repeated as conference coach...
Big East: 9 from Penn-Trafford voted 1st-team all-conference, Ruane top coach
bPenn-Trafford went undefeated in the regular season and dominated the Big East once again Monday in the all-conference voting. The Warriors had nine players earn first-team honors and John Ruane was named as the coach of the year. Conference coaches vote on the awards. The results were announced Monday. FIRST-TEAM...
Allegheny 8: Peters Township leads all-conference voting with 8 on 1st team
Moon went from one conference win to a share of the Allegheny Eight title, a turnaround that earned Ryan Linn conference coach of the year honors. Co-champion Peters Township led with eight first-team players in voting conducted by conference coaches. The results were announced Monday. Bethel Park was second with...
Central Catholic leads 6A all-conference team; Canon-Mac’s Evans top coach
Central Catholic, North Allegheny and Pine-Richland finished tied as tri-champions in WPIAL Class 6A, but the Vikings ran away with the all-conference vote. The conference coaches awarded first-team all-conference honors to nine Central Catholic players, including four linemen. North Allegheny placed six players on the first team and Pine-Richland had...
Mt. Lebanon’s Patrick Anderson leads PTFCA all-state cross country team
Two-time state cross country champion Patrick Anderson was named as the sport’s male athlete of the year by the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association. The Mt. Lebanon senior was among 10 WPIAL runners who earned all-state honors this week. North Allegheny’s John Neff was named as the girls coach...
Washington leads all-conference selections in Class 2A Century
Washington quarterback Zack Swartz, lineman Zakhi Marshall and coach Mike Bosnic won individual awards in the Class 2A Century. The Prexies led with seven first-team all-conference selections in a vote of coaches. Swartz was named as the conference’s top offensive player, Marshall was the top lineman and Bosnic earned coach...
Five things we learned in high school football Week 11
With another celebration at Heinz Field, Central Catholic or Pine-Richland can call itself the team of the decade in the WPIAL’s largest classification. For now, both could make that claim. Each team has won the WPIAL’s largest classification three times since 2010, tying them with North Allegheny (2010-12) during that...
Peters Township wins rematch with Moon in WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinalVideo
When Peters Township lost to Moon in the regular season, Josh Casilli’s stat line read: one catch, six yards. His role changed dramatically in the rematch. The Penn recruit totaled 183 yards from scrimmage and scored twice Friday night as No. 5 Peters Township defeated No. 4 Moon, 33-7, in...
Allegheny 8 co-champions Moon, Peters Township rematch in WPIAL quarterfinals
The WPIAL football playoffs often bring together unfamiliar teams, so their coaches spend hours studying one another on film. But that’s not always the case. Allegheny Eight co-champions Peters Township and Moon meet for the second time in six weeks Friday night in a Class 5A quarterfinal at West Allegheny,...
After 2 winless seasons, Butler football might leave WPIAL for independent schedule
Mired in a 20-game losing streak, Butler’s football team might leave the WPIAL for an independent schedule next season. “We are considering it,” athletic director Bill Mylan said Thursday, “but we haven’t made any kind of decision one way or the other.” The school district’s administration will meet later this...
5 things to watch in Week 11 of high school football: North Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon looking to flip script
How much can change in 14 days? That’s what North Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon want to find out Friday night. Their WPIAL Class 6A semifinals are rematches from Week 9, with North Allegheny facing Pine-Richland for the second time in three weeks, and Mt. Lebanon facing Central Catholic. Neither was...
PIAA football realignment: What classification will teams call home in 2020, 2021?
PIAA football teams learned Thursday which classification they’ll call home next season. Among those switching classes are defending WPIAL champions Pine-Richland and South Fayette, who both appear headed to Class 5A, while Baldwin will jump to the largest classification, according to information released by the PIAA. Updated class parameters —...
Former WPIAL basketball star Donovan ‘Puff’ Johnson commits to North Carolina
Former WPIAL basketball star Donovan “Puff” Johnson committed Tuesday night to North Carolina, choosing a school where older brother Cameron played. The 6-foot-7 standout watched closely as his brother became a Tar Heels star over the past two seasons, and that familiarity ultimately led him to Chapel Hill. “He enjoyed...
WPIAL announces football playoff sites for Week 11: Class 5A rematch at West A
Peters Township and Moon, co-champions in the Allegheny Eight, will play for the second time in six weeks when they meet Friday night in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal at West Allegheny. The WPIAL revealed Week 11 playoff sites Monday. Moon won 21-13 at home in Week 6. But that’s...
Pine-Richland lineman Miguel Jackson adds 3rd Division I offerVideo
Pine-Richland’s Miguel Jackson, one of the WPIAL’s top pass rushers, added his third Division I offer this week. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound junior announced an offer Friday from Toledo, his thirdMid-American Conference school. The guard and defensive end already holds offers from Akron and Bowling Green. Jackson has 8½ sacks, 47...
2 WPIAL seniors receive 1st Division I offers from Rhode IslandVideo
Two WPIAL football players received their first Division I offers this week from the same FCS school. Rhode Island extended offers to Mt. Lebanon senior Mason Ventrone and Moon senior Brenden Luffey, the players announced on Twitter. Leading the Rams’ recruiting efforts around the WPIAL is first-year assistant coach Josh...
5 things we learned in Week 10: McGuffey, West Greene celebrate 1st WPIAL playoff win in decades
McGuffey waited 25 years for Friday night’s celebration. West Greene waited 26. New Brighton waited 18. Cornell had waited forever. Sometimes, a WPIAL playoff win arrives only once in a generation, a fact McGuffey junior Evan Wright and a few of his teammates understand well. McGuffey’s wait ended when the...
