Chris Harlan stories, Page 109
Central Catholic quarterback Dom Pieto commits to play Division I baseballVideo
A day after quarterbacking Central Catholic’s football team to a win over then-No. 1 Pine-Richland, Dom Pieto announced his college commitment. However, he won’t be throwing footballs in college. Pieto committed Saturday to play baseball at Long Island University, a Division I program that competes in the Northeast Conference. Pieto...
Gateway basketball standout Lexi Jackson commits to Kent State
All-section center Lexi Jackson, who averaged a double-double for Gateway’s girls basketball team, committed Saturday to Kent State. The 6-foot-3 senior averaged 16 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks last season for the Gators, who went 19-4 and reached the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals. Her best performance last winter was...
5 takeaways from Week 5: WPIAL working overtime
Not many WPIAL football teams have worked overtime this season, but regulation wasn’t enough for three games Friday night. That equals the number of WPIAL overtime games in the previous five weeks combined. In maybe the most dramatic, West Allegheny defeated Woodland Hills, 21-20, in an Allegheny Eight matchup decided...
WPIAL football rankings through Week 5
WPIAL Football Class 6A Rk., Team, Rec., Last 1. North Allegheny, 6-0, 2 2. Central Catholic, 5-1, 3 3. Pine-Richland, 5-1, 1 4. Mt. Lebanon, 4-2, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 2-4, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 5-1, 1 2. Peters Township, 6-0, 2 3. Gateway, 5-1, 3 4....
Dramatic win holds special meaning for Ringgold football, Rosensteel familyVideo
Ringgold’s student section rushed onto the field as time expired Friday night, overcome with excitement when a last-second field goal by Clayton Rosensteel gave the football team its first win in two years. That alone made the moment emotional. But for the junior kicker, his family, teammates and coach, there’s...
No. 3 Central Catholic leans on talented line, Eddy Tillman to defeat No. 1 Pine-RichlandVideo
A’meer Allen noticed a troubling trend in recent years. “Every single team that won the coin toss deferred,” the Central Catholic lineman said. “They wanted our offense to get on the field first because they felt they could stop us.” It’s no secret that Central’s offense has at times been...
Will Pine-Richland vs. Central Catholic predict WPIAL champion once again?
Central Catholic and Pine-Richland have a shared history that few recent rivalries can match. In each of the past six seasons, the team that won their regular-season matchup went on to win the WPIAL title. It’s served as a midseason championship barometer for the WPIAL’s largest classification. Pine-Richland won the...
5 things to watch in Week 5 of high school football
Central Valley traveled 13 miles to play its first conference road game this season and only nine miles for its second, matchups with Beaver County rivals Blackhawk and Beaver Falls. This week, they’re road Warriors. A 70-mile drive each way awaits Central Valley on Friday night. The Warriors have reserved...
WPIAL postpones hearing for Allderdice, Connellsville boys soccer teams
A WPIAL hearing scheduled Wednesday for the Allderdice and Connellsville boys soccer teams has been postponed. The hearing was delayed at Allderdice’s request, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. A new date wasn’t immediately set. The WPIAL board voted unanimously last week to investigate allegations that the two boys soccer...
Shady Side Academy will forfeit football game against Apollo-Ridge
Citing a lack of healthy players, Shady Side Academy notified Apollo-Ridge on Monday that it will forfeit this week’s football game. Shady Side athletic director Gene Deal called the decision heartbreaking. The Indians started the season with 23 names on the roster but finished last week’s game with only 14...
Burgettstown lineman Riley Kemper commits to Robert MorrisVideo
Burgettstown lineman Riley Kemper, a reigning WPIAL wrestling champion, committed Sunday to play football at Robert Morris. Kemper announced his decision on Twitter. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound senior earned first-team all-conference honors on the offensive line last season. He’s an anchor up front for a Burgettstown team that’s 4-0 this season...
5 takeaways from Week 4: Northern Conference continues to roil
Is there a WPIAL conference more volatile than the Northern? Even defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A champion Penn Hills has felt its share of close calls this season. The Indians remain undefeated in the conference, but they’ve won the past two weeks by 11 points combined. After rallying to...
WPIAL football rankings through Week 4
WPIAL Football Class 6A 1. Pine-Richland, 5-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 5-0, 2 3. Central Catholic, 4-1, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 3-2, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 2-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 4-1, 1 2. Peters Township, 5-0, 2 3. Gateway, 4-1, 3 4. Penn Hills, 4-1, 4...
North Allegheny’s Percise Colon draws big comparisons after victory over Mt. LebanonVideo
Art Walker has a small-but-sensational running back who’s undersized and maybe underestimated, but one that could lead the team to a championship. Sound familiar? Fifteen years after Eugene Jarvis slashed through WPIAL defenses, Percise Colon is doing the same. The 5-foot-6, 165-pound senior rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns...
WPIAL sets hearing date for Connellsville, Allderdice to address racial, anti-gay slurs
Representatives from Connellsville and Allderdice will meet next week to address allegations that the schools’ boys soccer teams used racial and anti-gay slurs. The WPIAL scheduled the hearing for Wednesday afternoon in a meeting room at the Pittsburgh Plaza Hotel, executive director Tim O’Malley said. The WPIAL board voted unanimously...
Mt. Lebanon isn’t ‘well-oiled machine,’ but will battle North Allegheny for 1st place
Bob Palko wants to build Mt. Lebanon into the “well-oiled machine” that his West Allegheny program was, but first, all of the parts have to be assembled correctly. “We’re trying to put the right pegs in the right holes,” Palko said. “We’re just trying to find out what our personality...
5 things to watch in Week 4 of high school football
Clairton will try to do something that Mohawk, Rochester, Bishop Canevin and California couldn’t. The Bears will attempt to score against Laurel’s so-far perfect defense. The Spartans have shut out their first four opponents this season by a combined score of 135-0. In this era of high-scoring offenses, a dominant...
Injuries force Bishop Canevin to forfeit football game against OLSH
Citing a lack of healthy players, Bishop Canevin announced that it will forfeit this week’s football game against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. The Class A Big Seven Conference teams were scheduled to play Saturday night at Dormont Stadium. “Several of our players have been diagnosed with concussions and...
WPIAL wants 2 football coaches suspended for violating heat acclimatization rules
The WPIAL wants two football coaches suspended for a scrimmage next season for violating preseason heat acclimatization rules. Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta and Aliquippa’s Mike Warfield violated PIAA rules when their teams worked out in full equipment in early August, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. The only equipment...
Seton LaSalle football player among 2 ruled eligible after WPIAL hearings
The WPIAL ruled Seton LaSalle transfer Tyler Buzalka eligible for football season following a hearing Monday in Green Tree. The WPIAL board initially had concerns that the sophomore might have followed former Ringgold football coach Mike Zmijanac, who was hired at Seton LaSalle last December. But in a split vote,...
WPIAL calls in Connellsville, Allderdice after more racial slur allegations
The WPIAL is calling in Connellsville administrators for the second time in two years to face allegations that the school’s boys soccer team targeted an opponent with racial slurs. A year ago, it was Penn Hills that made those accusations. This time, Allderdice parents are accusing Connellsville soccer players of...
North Allegheny freshman Jasmine Timmerson adds Robert Morris offer
A couple of weeks after adding a Michigan State basketball offer, North Allegheny freshman Jasmine Timmerson received one from a school much closer to home. Timmerson announced a Robert Morris offer this week, raising her Division I total to four. She won’t play her first high school game for a...
Rochester sophomore Corynne Hauser adds 3rd Division I basketball offer
Rochester sophomore Corynne Hauser, who helped the Rams win a WPIAL girls basketball title last winter, received her third Division I offer this week. The 5-foot-7 point guard announced an offer from Duquesne, which joined Robert Morris and Youngstown state on her list. Hauser averaged 14 points as a freshman...
Brian Eyerman, Alex Papson among North Allegheny hall of fame class
Football standouts Brian Eyerman and Alex Papson are among 11 former North Allegheny athletes who’ll be inducted next month into the school’s sports hall of fame. Joining them are Bill Brown (cross country, track), Matthew Buerger (swimming), Kristin Huysman-Grabill (field hockey, softball), Brian Levey (soccer, basketball), Briana Pittman (rowing), Andrew...
5 takeaways from Week 3: Quarterback’s 485 yards among all-time WPIAL bestVideo
Gaudy statistics by WPIAL quarterbacks aren’t unusual anymore, but occasionally there’s a number that stands out among the rest. Upper St. Clair’s Ethan Dahlem posted one of those eye-popping numbers Friday night. The junior passed for 485 yards in the Panthers’ 45-41 victory over Woodland Hills. Dahlem completed 22 of...
