Chris Harlan stories, Page 33
WPIAL girls basketball rankings for week ending Dec. 24, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 6-0, 1 2. Norwin, 7-1, 2 3. Peters Township, 7-0, 3 4. Chartiers Valley, 6-1, NR 5. Upper St. Clair, 5-3, 4 Out: Canon-McMillan (6-2, 5) Class 5A 1. Oakland Catholic, 6-0, 2 2. McKeesport, 5-1, 1 3. Lincoln Park, 7-0,...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings for the week ending Dec. 24, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Mt. Lebanon, 6-0, 1 2. Butler, 5-1, 2 3. New Castle, 7-1, NR 4. Upper St. Clair, 4-3, 3 5. Baldwin, 5-2, 4 Out: Central Catholic (1-3, 5) Class 5A 1. Gateway, 6-1, 1 2. Shaler, 8-0, 2 3. Penn Hills, 3-1, 3...
Central Catholic’s Xxavier Thomas gets offer he ‘always wanted,’ commits to Penn State
Xxavier Thomas says he was ready to commit to Penn State since visiting the campus a year ago, but the Central Catholic junior first needed an offer from the Nittany Lions. That arrived Wednesday. After school, he and his parents joined a video conference call with Penn State coaches James...
Western Pa.’s top football prospects for the Class of 2025
For college coaches recruiting the WPIAL, linebacker has become a position of strength. That proved true for the 2024 class after Central Catholic teammates Anthony Speca and Cole Sullivan signed Wednesday with Big Ten schools. Speca is Penn State bound. Sullivan is a Michigan recruit. Among their peers, Aliquippa linebacker...
2023 TribLive HSSN Terrific 25 Football All-Stars
Here’s a look at the TribLive High School Sports Network’s Terrific 25 football all-stars for the 2023 season. Terrific 25 Tyree Alualu North Allegheny, RB/LB 6-0, 220, senior Alualu was a two-way standout for the Tigers, who won back-to-back WPIAL Class 6A titles. He rushed for nearly 900 yards and...
Early signing day for 2024: WPIAL football players announce Division I commitments
High school football recruits used to have to wait until February to sign a national letter of intent, but that changed starting in 2017, when the NCAA added an early signing period for Division I football. Now, most of the top recruits sign in December. Here’s a look at senior...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Dec. 17, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Mt. Lebanon, 4-0, 3 2. Butler, 3-1, 1 3. Upper St. Clair, 3-2, 2 4. Baldwin, 4-1, 4 5. Central Catholic, 1-2, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Gateway, 5-1, NR 2. Shaler, 6-0, NR 3. Penn Hills, 2-1, 5 4. Moon, 3-2,...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Dec. 17, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 5-0, 1 2. Norwin, 5-1, 2 3. Peters Township, 5-0, 4 4. Upper St. Clair, 4-2, 3 5. Canon-McMillan, 5-1, NR Out: Mt. Lebanon (2-3, 5) Class 5A 1. McKeesport, 4-0, 2 2. Oakland Catholic, 4-0, 5 3. Lincoln Park, 4-0,...
Just like Revis, state champion Aliquippa football players try to transition quickly to hoops
Aliquippa basketball coach Nick Lackovich, with a laugh, pointed out that sophomore Qalil Goode was doing his best Darrelle Revis impression. In Aliquippa, at this time of year, that means winning a state football title and days later starring on the basketball court. The future NFL star did that for...
District 10 grants Farrell’s release request, moving school closer to WPIAL return
The District 10 committee has granted Farrell’s request to leave that PIAA district, moving the Mercer County school one step closer to rejoining the WPIAL. However, Farrell has more steps to climb. Farrell needs permission from the WPIAL and PIAA to complete the transfer. WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer said...
PIAA football championship notebook: Despite criticism, St. Joseph’s Prep coach proud of powerhouse team’s achievements
St. Joseph’s Prep football has dominated the state’s largest classification for over a decade, and the Philadelphia team’s coach isn’t about to apologize for the school’s success. The Hawks won their eighth title in 11 years on Saturday by defeating WPIAL champion North Allegheny, 45-23, in a Class 6A final...
North Allegheny loses to defending champ St. Joseph’s Prep in mercy rule state final
MECHANICSBURG — In the 11 years since North Allegheny last reached the PIAA finals, the landscape in the state’s largest classification has shifted to the east. More often than not, the state title has belonged to Philadelphia Catholic League power St. Joseph’s Prep, and not even the largest school in...
North Allegheny embraces ‘who we are’ entering state championship clash with St. Joseph’s Prep
The team North Allegheny thought most about this week, the roster of players the Tigers maybe focused on more than any other, was North Allegheny. Yes, they studied film and game planned extensively to face St. Joseph’s Prep in the state finals Saturday in Mechanicsburg. But North Allegheny coach Art...
Southern Columbia’s 99-yard drive dashes Westinghouse’s state championship hopes
MECHANICSBURG — It was heartache again for the ‘House. Southern Columbia marched 99 yards late in the fourth quarter and scored a winning touchdown with 42 seconds left Friday to dash Westinghouse’s hopes of winning a state championship for the second year in a row. Carter Madden finished off Southern...
Imhotep Charter too much for Peters Township in Class 5A state championship game
MECHANICSBURG — Peters Township’s defense had to tackle a running back headed to Georgia, a sophomore back with SEC offers and a freshman wideout already courted by Pitt and Penn State. Yet, it was the quarterback committed to Army who scored three times in the first half Friday night as...
Aliquippa dominates Dallas to become school’s 1st undefeated state championship team
MECHANICSBURG — Not Ty Law. Not Darrelle Revis. None of the all-time greats in Aliquippa history had ever celebrated an undefeated state championship. That perfect ending had eluded the Quips five times before, including just a year ago here at Cumberland Valley. But this season turned out flawless. Tikey Hayes...
PIAA will let Woodland Hills, Charleroi fix enrollment mistakes, avoid promotion to higher classifications
The PIAA will let Woodland Hills and Charleroi fix mistakes the schools made when submitting their enrollments, errors that would’ve forced their teams into higher classifications. The board voted Wednesday to approve the requests from the two WPIAL members along with two schools from other PIAA districts that also made...
Not concerned with any curse, bad luck or superstitions, Aliquippa aims to cap undefeated season with PIAA title
Aliquippa has an imperfect history in the state football finals that’s hard to explain. Every time the Quips have gotten to the championship game with an undefeated record, they’ve lost. Every time they’ve gotten there with at least one loss on their record, they’ve won. And, well, this year’s team...
Imani Christian basketball moving to 6A in 2024, football also playing up
Imani Christian is one of the smallest schools in WPIAL basketball, but the Saints want to compete with the big boys. After winning WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles last winter, Imani Christian has decided to voluntarily move up to 6A for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. The PIAA on...
North Allegheny ends 11-year wait, moves on to state finals vs. powerhouse St. Joseph’s Prep
ALTOONA — North Allegheny is headed to the PIAA finals for the first time since 2012, and waiting for the Tigers will be a team that’s dominated the state for the past decade. But that’s a concern for another day. North Allegheny had no worries Saturday after a strong defensive...
Aliquippa secures 3rd straight state finals appearance with win over Selinsgrove
EBENSBURG — There was some fourth-quarter suspense for Aliquippa as the final minutes ticked away in the state semifinal Friday night. It was felt whenever the stadium’s PA announcer gave updates on the other semifinal 3½ hours away. The Quips’ only question at that point was who’d be waiting for...
Unheralded QB runs his family’s business — Aliquippa’s offense — with championship efficiency
In a jubilant locker room where the players were even louder than the cranked-up music, Aliquippa quarterback Quentin Goode paused to think about the WPIAL football title he’d just won and why it felt different than his first two. There were countless answers he could’ve given Friday at Acrisure Stadium....
PIAA releases updated enrollments, classifications for 2024-25, 2025-26 seasons
The PIAA has released updated enrollment numbers for all sports, giving high school teams their first look at classifications for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. The numbers were posted online Tuesday. The PIAA realigns teams into new classifications every two years by evenly dividing them into two, three, four or...
Potential enrollment error has Woodland Hills moving to WPIAL 6A football
Woodland Hills may have misreported its enrollment numbers to the PIAA, causing its sports teams to jump into higher classifications starting next year. The school reported 638 boys and 619 girls, according to updated enrollment numbers released Tuesday by the PIAA, but Wolverines football coach Brian Tarrant said those figures...
20 times tough: Aliquippa handles McKeesport to add to record total of WPIAL championshipsVideo
Cameron Lindsey could sum up Aliquippa’s night in just a few words: “Three for three.” Three touchdowns for him. Three straight titles for the Quips. “A game like this, in a big moment right here, it’s just amazing,” said the senior, who scored three times on his future college field...
