Chris Harlan stories, Page 29
Deer Lakes boys defeat Neshannock in OT, advance to WPIAL Class 3A title game
The path wasn’t easy, but defending champion Deer Lakes is headed back to the WPIAL boys basketball finals after a second straight overtime win. Nathaniel Moore made a game-tying layup with 2.9 seconds left in regulation, and No. 1 seed Deer Lakes ignored its earlier misses at the foul line...
WPIAL sets schedule for basketball finals at Petersen Events Center
The WPIAL has finalized the championship schedule for the boys and girls basketball playoffs with dates and times for each of the 12 finals. There are three games Thursday, four on Friday and five on Saturday at Petersen Events Center. The first day’s schedule is set with Imani Christian and...
Hampton cools off Avonworth’s red-hot scorer for spot in WPIAL 4A final
Hampton’s Peter Kramer has faced his share of unorthodox defenses over the years, schemes designed specifically to shut him down as a scorer. Some work, some don’t. That makes Kramer the perfect person to critique the efforts of teammate A.J. Prodente, whose job Saturday was to shadow Avonworth scorer Rowan...
Defending champion Lincoln Park holds off Uniontown for return trip to WPIAL finals
Uniontown had a couple of good looks at a go-ahead 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter and had possession of the ball down three with only a minute left. The Red Raiders certainly had chances to maybe knock off the reigning champion in a WPIAL semifinal Saturday, but against a...
Nearly a national record holder, Butler’s Drew Griffith running the best he ever has
Drew Griffith ran two miles in a historic time, faster than the all-time indoor best for high school boys, but the Butler senior’s name won’t appear in any national record book. While running last weekend at an invitational meet hosted by Notre Dame, Griffith won the 2-mile race in 8...
Baldwin celebrates 1st WPIAL playoff win in 21 years with victory over North Allegheny
Baldwin boys basketball coach Jeff Ackermann took his team to look at the school’s trophy case before Friday night’s playoff game. There wasn’t much to see, which was why he wanted them to look. “It’s barren,” Ackermann said. “There was James Wesling’s ball for 1,000 points and nothing much else....
PSFCA announces rosters for 2024 East-West all-star football games
Forty WPIAL and City League football players were selected Friday to take part in a pair of East-West all-star games organized by the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association. The two games — one for small-school athletes and one for large schools — are May 19 at Cumberland Valley High School...
WPIAL sets playoff sites, times for Monday’s basketball semifinals
The WPIAL has scheduled four semifinal doubleheaders in the basketball playoffs on Monday. The games are for Class 6A girls, 5A boys, 3A boys and A girls. The schedule includes a rematch between Franklin Regional and Shaler in the Class 5A boys bracket. The teams met in January for a...
Shaler pulls out low-scoring win over Bethel Park with 1 basket in 4th quarter
The numbers on the scoreboard sure seemed to be stuck. A few days after scoring more than 70 in its playoff opener, Shaler finished the third quarter Thursday tied at 24 in a grinding game that was playing right into its opponent’s plans. The Titans then made only one basket...
WPIAL sets playoff sites, times for Saturday’s basketball semifinals
The WPIAL has scheduled four basketball semifinal doubleheaders Saturday at Montour, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny and Peters Township. The classifications in action are Class 4A boys, 3A girls, 2A girls and A boys. WPIAL basketball playoffs Saturday’s semifinals Class 4A boys 1-Lincoln Park (21-3) vs. 4-Uniontown (21-3) at Peters Township,...
Short-handed Uniontown gets defensive in WPIAL quarterfinal win over North Catholic
Uniontown was missing its big man in the middle, but against a small, speedy opponent, was that a blessing in disguise? Maybe so, said coach Rob Kezmarsky, but he sure hopes center K’Adrian McLee gets back in the lineup soon. Playing without the Ivy League football recruit, No. 4 seed...
8 WPIAL all-stars selected for 67th annual Big 33 Football Classic
Eight WPIAL football players were among the 38 high school all-stars selected Wednesday to represent Pennsylvania in the 67th annual Big 33 Football Classic. The list included Aliquippa’s Cameron Lindsay and Brandon Banks, Canon-McMillan’s Kaeden Singleton and Geno Calgaro, North Allegheny’s Khiryn Boyd, Penn-Trafford’s Zach Tomosovich, Pine-Richland’s Evan Johnson and...
WPIAL announces playoff sites, times for Friday’s basketball quarterfinals
Fox Chapel, Highlands, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny and Peters Township will host doubleheaders for Friday’s quarterfinal games in the WPIAL basketball playoffs. WPIAL basketball playoffs Friday’s quarterfinals Class 6A boys 8-Pine-Richland (7-15) at 1-Mt. Lebanon (18-4), 8 p.m. 5-North Allegheny (11-11) at 4-Baldwin (16-6), 7 p.m. 2-Central Catholic (14-8) vs....
After taking job just last month, coach sets big goals for Bishop Canevin
Aaron McGee gave away some of his Bishop Canevin gear when he left for an assistant coaching job at Moon, but fortunately he held onto some shirts. He couldn’t have predicted two years ago that he’d soon need a long-sleeved white shirt with “BC” on the arm, but he wore...
WPIAL announces playoff sites, times for Thursday’s basketball quarterfinals
The WPIAL released sites and times for Thursday’s boys and girls basketball quarterfinals. Fox Chapel, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, North Hills, Norwin and St. Joseph will host doubleheaders. WPIAL basketball Thursday’s quarterfinals Class 6A girls 8-Seneca Valley (12-10) at 1-Norwin (18-3), 6 p.m. 5-Chartiers Valley (15-6) at 4-Mt. Lebanon (12-10),...
Brandon Sensor resigns as Chartiers Valley boys basketball coach, citing lack of support from administration
Chartiers Valley boys basketball coach Brandon Sensor, who missed the final six weeks of the season on administrative leave, resigned Tuesday. Sensor said a lack of support from Chartiers Valley’s administration led to his decision, adding that he intended to coach again elsewhere. “I just didn’t think there was any...
WPIAL reveals Aliquippa’s 5A conference, but football coach says ‘it’s not settled’
The WPIAL revealed an updated football alignment Monday that has Aliquippa sharing a Class 5A conference with Fox Chapel, North Hills, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, Plum and Shaler. Quips coach Mike Warfield said he saw the list and wasn’t sure how to feel, knowing those could be their conference opponents for...
WPIAL says Butler football must take conference schedule, reviving years-long dispute
A seemingly settled dispute between Butler and the PIAA was rekindled Monday when the WPIAL said the school’s football team must play a conference schedule next fall. The team planned to opt out of WPIAL competition and play an independent schedule, Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said last month, a...
WPIAL sets conference, section alignment for next 2 fall seasons
The WPIAL wanted more competitive balance in its conferences and sections, so some teams might have a longer drive next season as a result. Updated fall sports alignments for the 2024 and ’25 seasons were approved Monday by the WPIAL board, giving teams a first look at their upcoming opponents....
WPIAL announces playoff sites, times for Wednesday’s basketball quarterfinals
The WPIAL has scheduled a slate of quarterfinal doubleheaders for Wednesday in the next round of the basketball playoffs. The classifications in action are 4A boys, A boys, 2A girls and 3A girls. Wednesday’s schedule includes five rematches of section teams: Montour vs. Avonworth, Rochester vs. Carlynton and Neighborhood Academy...
North Allegheny boys put layoff to good use ahead of WPIAL playoffs
When other WPIAL basketball teams were probably prepping for their playoff openers, the North Allegheny boys took batting practice in the high school gym. They certainly had time to spare. That’s because North Allegheny and everyone else in the Class 6A bracket got a 10-day layoff before starting their postseason...
Rowan Carmichael’s 32 points lift Avonworth past Highlands in Class 4A 1st round
Highlands’ size can be an advantage, just not against a deceptively sturdy guard who made one big shot after another. Avonworth’s Rowan Carmichael plays bigger than his lean 5-foot-11 frame might suggest. The junior scored a game-high 32 points with five 3-pointers Friday night as the sixth-seeded Antelopes defeated No....
WPIAL playoff berth means a lot to Hillel Academy, a tiny Orthodox Jewish school in Squirrel Hill
As the boys basketball coach at Hillel Academy, Yoni Eglash has fielded a number of questions since his team joined the WPIAL two years ago. Questions like, “What is Hillel Academy?” “No one knows, unless you talk to the Jewish kids at Allderdice,” Eglash said with a laugh. “They know.”...
Breaking down the 2024 WPIAL boys basketball playoff brackets
Class 6A Favorite: Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David published a book about his “Bora Defensive System,” and his team has probably boosted sales. The Blue Devils won the Section 2 title behind a defense that allowed only 44.9 points per game, the best in WPIAL 6A. The team is chasing...
Mt. Lebanon hires football coach Greg Perry, former coach at Seton LaSalle, Keystone Oaks
Football coach Greg Perry has a new head coaching job that’s just down the road from his previous two. The former coach at Seton LaSalle and Keystone Oaks was introduced Monday as the new head coach at Mt. Lebanon, meaning he will have coached at three schools with campuses all...

