Chris Harlan stories, Page 17
5 things to watch in H.S. football: WPIAL finals at Acrisure Stadium bring added excitement and sometimes new shoes
Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne wonders what the grass at Acrisure Stadium might look like when the WPIAL 5A final kicks off Saturday night. He’s not necessarily worried, just curious. The three WPIAL championship games LeDonne coached in previously were all played elsewhere on artificial turf. Peters Township’s T.J. Plack shares...
Fierce defenses square off when Pine-Richland, Peters Township meet in WPIAL title rematch
There are plenty of old football coach sayings that link defense and championships. Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne offered this one ahead of the WPIAL finals: “If they don’t score, they can’t win.” Simple enough. No. 1 Pine-Richland (10-1) plays No. 3 Peters Township (11-1) in a WPIAL Class 5A final...
Kiski Area football coach Sam Albert hangs up head coach’s whistle after 3 decades
Thirty-four years after landing his first head coaching job, Kiski Area football coach Sam Albert has decided those days are over. But he’s not ready to retire. Albert resigned Wednesday at Kiski Area after eight seasons as coach with plans to serve elsewhere next fall as an assistant. A former...
PIAA bumps Thomas Jefferson to Saturday, changes sites for Westinghouse, Central Catholic games
The PIAA has pushed Thomas Jefferson’s state playoff game back a day and changed the location of games involving Westinghouse and Central Catholic. Citing impending weather, the PIAA moved Thomas Jefferson’s Class 4A quarterfinal against District 9 champ Clearfield to 1 p.m. Saturday at Mansion Park in Altoona. It was...
PIAA rules Imani Christian basketball player Kieshaun Demus eligible, reverses WPIAL decision
The PIAA reversed an earlier WPIAL decision and ruled Imani Christian basketball player Kieshaun Demus eligible after an appeal hearing Tuesday. The 6-foot-3 sophomore guard transferred from North Hills. “He is super excited to know he’s back with the team and gets to compete and not lose his sophomore season,”...
Central Catholic avenges WPIAL title game losses with rout of North Allegheny
After three straight losses here in the WPIAL finals, three words summed up Central Catholic’s mood this week: “Enough is enough.” This time, the Vikings were too much. Top-seeded Central Catholic scored on its first five possessions, played stifling defense and enacted the mercy rule early in the third quarter...
Central Catholic hopes to finally solve North Allegheny as teams clash again in WPIAL 6A final
Xxavier Thomas is about to play in his fourth WPIAL championship game, a rather rare feat accomplished by the Central Catholic senior. But he admits he expects more out of this one after three runner-up finishes. “Hopefully, we can come out victorious,” said Thomas, a Penn State-bound cornerback and wide...
Pine-Richland bulldozes Bethel Park to earn return trip to Class 5A finals
Josh Nindl celebrated Friday night with a WWE-style championship belt slung over his shoulder. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder and his big-bodied cohorts on the line proved they were ready for a heavyweight rumble. Top-seeded Pine-Richland used their combined muscle to win at the line of scrimmage and defeat No. 5 Bethel...
Quarterback’s quick return boosts No. 1 Pine-Richland for WPIAL semifinal vs. high-scoring Bethel Park
There were concerns Aaron “Oobi” Strader had broken his collarbone late in the regular season, an injury that would’ve cost top-seeded Pine-Richland its quarterback. The injury was painful but proved less severe than first feared, letting the dual-threat sophomore return for a limited role in last week’s quarterfinal win. Strader...
5 things to watch in H.S. football: Will coaches Cherpak, Walker add to WPIAL trophy collections?
McKeesport’s Matt Miller and Central Catholic’s Ryan Lehmeier will try to win their first WPIAL titles as head coaches this week. It won’t come easy, since their coaching counterparts in Saturday’s finals already have big trophy collections. Among active coaches, Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak and North Allegheny’s Art Walker rank...
Seneca Valley football coach Ron Butschle steps down after ‘difficult year’
Citing a “negativity” around the program, Ron Butschle resigned Tuesday as Seneca Valley’s football coach, saying his exit might give the team a fresh start. This was Butschle’s second stint as the Raiders head coach starting in 2017. The team went 39-42 in the past eight seasons and reached the...
Former Lincoln Park basketball star Meleek Thomas commits to Arkansas
Former Lincoln Park basketball star Meleek Thomas committed Monday to Arkansas. A 6-foot-4 guard, Thomas bypassed what would’ve been his senior season this winter in the WPIAL to join a high-profile league in Atlanta. Thomas had narrowed his college options to the Razorbacks, Pitt or UConn. In a social media...
5 things we learned from 2nd week of WPIAL football playoffs: Remarkable Aliquippa streak ends
It took a big win by another elite program to snap Aliquippa’s amazing WPIAL championship streak. Aliquippa had reached the WPIAL finals 16 years in a row, but that incredible run ended Friday night with a 38-21 loss to fellow titan Thomas Jefferson in the Class 4A semifinals. This will...
WPIAL announces semifinal sites for next round of football playoffs
The WPIAL on Saturday released sites for the next round of football playoff games. Class 5A, 3A, 2A and A have semifinals Friday at various sites. The 6A and 4A finals are Saturday at Norwin as previously announced. WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Final 1-Central Catholic (9-2) vs. 2-North Allegheny (10-1)...
‘Streaks are meant to be broken’: No. 1 Thomas Jefferson ends Aliquippa’s run of 16 straight finals appearances
The streak is over. Sixteen years in a row, Aliquippa had remarkably reached the WPIAL finals, often by exploiting any mistake an opponent made. This time, the Quips were on the other side. Top-seeded Thomas Jefferson blocked two punts, scored the first 28 points and played mostly mistake-free football Friday...
5 things to watch in WPIAL football: Rematches galore in 2nd week of playoffs
Rarely does a WPIAL football team play the same opponent in back-to-back games, but that’s the situation facing Beaver. Two weeks after beating Avonworth in the regular-season finale, Beaver opens the WPIAL playoffs Friday night with another matchup against the Antelopes. The fourth-seeded Bobcats (8-2) earned a first-round bye, so...
Class 4A heavyweights to collide when Aliquippa meets Thomas Jefferson
Go back in time four years to when Thomas Jefferson and Aliquippa met in the 2020 WPIAL finals. It seemed then that a new rivalry was blossoming with the Quips’ arrival in Class 4A. Yet, they haven’t met since. “It’s been kind of surprising that we haven’t,” TJ coach Bill...
‘Focus, eyes forward’: After rule change snafu, Allderdice boys soccer set for PIAA tournament
When the WPIAL released its brackets for the boys soccer playoffs, Allderdice wasn’t included. The Dragons had learned weeks earlier that they weren’t eligible, but it still stung. Their motivation was to compete for a WPIAL title, until that was taken away with a few games left in the regular...
5 things we learned from 1st round of WPIAL football playoffs: South Allegheny returns to the party
The last time South Allegheny won a WPIAL playoff game, fans might have skipped a Friday night episode of the “A-Team” or “Dallas” to instead watch the Gladiators. That was 1986. The football program endured some tough times since, but second-year coach Brian Hanson said some die-hard fans in Glassport,...
Fort Cherry junior Matt Sieg commits to Penn State
Penn State was the first of nearly two dozen schools to offer Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg a scholarship, but ultimately the Nittany Lions’ offer was all he needed. Sieg, one of the WPIAL’s top recruits, announced his commitment Saturday. The 6-foot, 180-pound junior plays quarterback and defensive back for the...
WPIAL announces sites for Friday’s football playoff games
The WPIAL on Saturday announced sites for the next round of football playoff games. Teams that earned a bye in the previous round will host a game this week. All other matchups are played on a neutral field. The WPIAL chose Chartiers Valley to host a Class 4A semifinal between...
Tyler Eber runs for 238 yards, 2 TDs as No. 1 Thomas Jefferson rolls past West Allegheny
Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Eber wasn’t counting his carries, and neither was his coach, so they were a little surprised to hear he’d run the ball nearly 50 times. Forty-eight to be exact. “Forty-eight?” said TJ coach Bill Chepak. “Holy … .” “I had no idea,” said Eber, who rushed for...
5 things to watch in WPIAL opening round: Wild card decisions under scrutiny
Did the WPIAL football committee get the wild cards right? Opinions surely vary, but teams that narrowly missed the playoffs are surely left with some questions. Rather than use tiebreaking formulas, the WPIAL broke with tradition this year and let its 10-person committee choose qualifiers. That leaves their picks open...
Thomas Jefferson finds ‘true identity’ ahead of WPIAL playoff test vs. West Allegheny
It’s tough to win in November as a WPIAL football team with an identity crisis. “That’s when they’re trying to do everything and they’re average at everything,” said Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak, whose Jaguars don’t have that problem. They’ve got a talented passer, but they’ve also long established themselves...
Trib HSSN WPIAL football rankings: Week ending Oct. 27, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Central Catholic, 8-2, 1 2. North Allegheny, 9-1, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 4-7, 5 4. Seneca Valley, 3-6, 3 5. Hempfield, 4-6, NR Out: Canon-McMillan (3-7, 4) Class 5A 1. Upper St. Clair, 10-0, 1 2. Pine-Richland, 8-1, 2 3. Peters Township, 9-1,...
