Chris Harlan stories, Page 124
WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball preview: New Castle vs. Quaker Valley
Class 4A boys New Castle (20-4) vs. Quaker Valley (20-3) 1 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center Starting lineups No. 1 New Castle (20-4) Coach: Ralph Blundo No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr. 3 Michael Wells, G, 5-9, Fr. 5 Payne Prowell, G, 5-11, Sr. 10 Donte Burnett, G, 6-0, Sr. 11...
Recchia’s late 3-pointer helps Mars defend WPIAL Class 5A championship
Andrew Recchia was the only person at Petersen Events Center who already knew how this WPIAL championship would end. “I dreamt about it last night, actually,” he said. The Mars senior saw the ball in his hands, the clock running down and him making the winning shot. “Call me a...
WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball preview: Mars vs. Moon
Class 5A boys Mars (23-1) vs. Moon (23-1) 9 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center Starting lineups No. 1 Mars (23-1) Coach: Rob Carmody No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr. 2 Khori Fusco, F, 6-3, Sr. 3 Michael Carmody, F, 6-6, Jr. 13 Andrew Recchia, G, 5-11, Sr. 21 Joseph Craska, G,...
WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball preview: OLSH vs. Serra Catholic
Class 2A boys Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-2) vs. Serra Catholic (20-3) 5 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center Starting lineups No. 1 OLSH (21-2) Coach: Mike Rodriguez No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr. 1 Ricco Tate, F, 6-3, Sr. 11 Dante Spadafora, G, 5-11, So. 13 Daren DiMichele, G,...
Butler boys advance to WPIAL finals after emotional win over rival Pine-Richland
The final minute was so emotional, so unbelievable, that it seemed like an eternity to Ethan Morton and his Butler teammates. “It felt like forever,” he said. “I couldn’t even look.” With 60 seconds left Wednesday night, Butler held a 14-point lead over Pine-Richland in a sold-out semifinal at Fox...
WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball finals preview: Lincoln Park vs. North Catholic
Class 3A boys Lincoln Park (21-4) vs. North Catholic (21-4) 9 p.m. Thursday, Petersen Events Center Starting lineups No. 1 Lincoln Park (21-4) Coach: Mike Bariski No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr. 2 Johnnie Bryant, G, 6-0, Jr. 5 Isaiah Smith, G, 6-0, Jr. 10 Andre Wilder, F, 6-3, Jr. 11...
Johnson’s double-double guides No. 3 Moon past Penn Hills in Class 5A semifinals
Two years ago, a star basketball player transferred home to Moon, reunited with his childhood friends and led the Tigers’ run to the WPIAL finals. Now comes the sequel. Seven months after switching schools, Donovan Johnson is following the same script. The 6-foot-6 junior scored 20 points and grabbed 14...
Longtime coach Chuck Crummie ‘hurt’ after Central Catholic fires him
Chuck Crummie will no longer coach on Chuck Crummie Court. The longtime Central Catholic boys basketball coach said he was fired on Monday, an unexpected exit for one of the WPIAL’s winningest coaches after more than four decades at the school. Last February, Central Catholic named its basketball court after...
Five things to watch in the WPIAL boys basketball semifinals
As the old saying goes, it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. But is that true in WPIAL boys basketball? Ambridge, Pine-Richland, Mt. Lebanon and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart certainly hope not. Those four boys basketball teams have WPIAL semifinal matchups against section rivals...
Peters Township’s Casilli adds Ivy League football offer from Penn
Penn calls the other side of the state home, but the Quakers football coaches know their way around Western Pennsylvania. Peters Township junior Josh Casilli is the latest WPIAL standout to draw an Ivy League offer from Penn. The 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver announced his offer Sunday after attending the...
Central Catholic’s Beatty adds 8 offers including Pitt in busy recruiting week
Recruiting-wise, this was a busy week for Central Catholic junior A.J. Beatty. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end announced eight more Division 1 offers this week including his first from Power 5 schools. Beatty started his week with Pitt, added Purdue on Wednesday and finished with Rutgers and Boston College on...
North Allegheny’s Kinne, Hempfield’s Orie celebrate state indoor track titles
North Allegheny’s Zach Kinne and Hempfield’s Mackenna Orie celebrated state track titles Sunday at the PTFCA indoor championship at Penn State. Kinne and North Allegheny teammate Dan McGoey placed first and second in the boys 3,000-meter run. A Duke recruit, Kinne won in 8:33.83, a time that ranks fourth-best nationally...
Multi-sport McKeesport standout Diggs draws 1st football offer
Deamontae Diggs averaged a double-double for McKeesport’s basketball team this winter, but now college football coaches are starting to take an interest in him. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Diggs announced his first Division 1 football offer this week from Youngstown State. He played wide receiver for the Tigers last fall and...
Chartiers Valley slows WPIAL’s top scorer in quarterfinal win over Woodland HillsVideo
Chartiers Valley threw an ever-changing zone defense at Woodland Hills star Keandre Bowles, hoping to hold the WPIAL’s leading scorer well below his 29-point average. After three quarters, the senior had four points. “He’s a great player, hats off to him, but we had to take care of business,” said...
West Allegheny hires WPIAL champion to replace Bob Palko as track coach
West Allegheny lost one WPIAL champion coach but quickly added another. Laura Montecalvo, who led Chartiers-Houston to a WPIAL girls basketball title in 2017, was hired to coach West Allegheny’s track team, athletic director Dave McBain said. Montecalvo replaces Bob Palko, who was West A’s football coach for 24 seasons...
No. 1 Lincoln Park scores first 14 points in victory over Beaver Falls
Lincoln Park’s Keeno Holmes made a 3-pointer on the opening possession and Isaiah Smith added another seconds later as the Leopards scored the first 14 points in Thursday night’s 82-54 victory over Beaver Falls in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal at New Castle. Holmes scored a game-high 30 points for...
No. 2 Aliquippa erases 14-point second-half deficit to defeat Neshannock
M.J. Devonshire was taking his official recruiting visit to Kentucky when Aliquippa lost to Neshannock in January, a loss that bothered him hundreds of miles away. “I started calling people on Facetime to watch the game while I’m out to eat,” he said. “My coach from Kentucky was like, ‘Are...
NFL, NBA and MLB represented in 2019 WPIAL Hall of Fame classVideo
As an NFL quarterback, when Charlie Batch studied scouting reports, he would take note whether there were any Western Pennsylvania natives on the other sideline. “I always made an effort to go out and say hello at some point, whether that was before or after the game,” said Batch, who...
WPIAL Hall of Fame to announce 13th induction class
For some all-time WPIAL greats, 13 will be their lucky number. The 13th WPIAL Hall of Fame induction class will be revealed at 10:30 a.m. Thursday during a press conference at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum inside the Heinz History Center. The WPIAL Hall formed in 2007 to honor athletes,...
WPIAL adds 2 boys basketball teams for 2019-20 season
One WPIAL boys basketball section will have a new look next season. Aquinas Academy and Propel Montour are joining Section 3-A where they’ll compete with Clairton, Greensburg Central Catholic, Imani Christian, Leechburg, Propel Andrew Street and St. Joseph next winter. Trinity Christian was in that section last season but decided...
Carlynton hires former Peters Township football coach Piccinini
Carlynton has hired Rich Piccinini as football coach, the school announced Wednesday. Piccinini previously was head coach at Peters Township from 2011-15 and North Catholic from 2003-05. He replaces Scott Yoder, who led Carlyton for four and a half years after taking over midseason in 2014. Carlynton went 2-8 overall...
Fox Chapel feels it after 1st quarter, beats Seneca Valley
Fox Chapel missed 10 of its first 11 shots Tuesday night, a dismal start that could have doomed the team’s playoff hopes, but then suddenly, they almost couldn’t miss. Even a 3-pointer to take the lead banked in. Eli Yofan made a 3, Ryan Kerr followed with a 3 and...
WPIAL schedules Aliquippa/Lincoln Park doubleheader at New Castle
Lincoln Park and Aliquippa, the WPIAL’s top seeds in Class 3A boys basketball, can’t meet until the finals. But the Beaver County rivals will share a gym this week. The WPIAL posted sites and times for Thursday’s quarterfinal games, a playoff schedule that includes an Aliquippa/Lincoln Park doubleheader at New...
Shaler defeats McKeesport, celebrates 1st playoff win since ’12
It’s been awhile since this kind of celebration was heard inside Shaler’s locker room. Seven years, to be exact. “There was a lot of jumping, dancing and singing,” said junior Mekhi Reynolds, who scored a game-high 25 points Monday night as No. 8 seed Shaler defeated No. 9 McKeesport, 76-60,...
No. 6 Union tops No. 11 Clairton with barrage of third-quarter 3-pointers
Union followed a nine-point second quarter with a 29-point third, and the difference was a few well-timed 3-pointers. “When one guy hits a 3, we all feel that momentum boost — and it’s a good feeling,” said Scotties senior Seth Pinkerton, who combined with Nathan Meeks and Michael Flowers for...
