Chris Harlan stories, Page 51
5 things we learned in Week 8 of high school football
There were some dark days this fall for the Mohawk football program, but Saturday wasn’t one of them. The Warriors cemented their spot in the WPIAL playoffs by pulling off a 22-8 upset on the road against Western Beaver, an opponent that had lost once all season. Remembering where Mohawk...
OLSH loses star QB in warmups; No. 1 Bishop Canevin clinches 1st conference title since ’11
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Nehemiah Azeem is one of the WPIAL’s top passers, but 15 minutes before kickoff, the Chargers found out they wouldn’t have him in the lineup. The quarterback hurt his knee during pregame warmups at Dormont Stadium, leaving OLSH in a dire spot as No....
Trib HSSN WPIAL high school football rankings: Week ending Oct. 23, 2022
WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 8-1, 1 2. Central Catholic, 5-4, 4 3. Seneca Valley, 6-3, 2 4. Mt. Lebanon, 4-5, 3 5. Canon-McMillan, 5-4, 5 Class 5A Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 8-1, 1 2. Pine-Richland, 6-3, 2 3. Gateway, 7-2, 3...
North Allegheny volleyball looks to finish job after unprecedented regular season dominance
North Allegheny’s girls volleyball team has won five consecutive state titles, but this year’s roster accomplished a feat none of those teams ever did. They played 16 matches this fall and didn’t lose single set — winning them all 3-0. “We kind of congratulated them for that accomplishment,” NA coach...
Central Catholic’s young playmakers lead playoff-clinching win over Seneca Valley
Central Catholic could’ve accepted a penalty for an out-of-bound kickoff and taken the ball at the 35-yard line, but instead told Seneca Valley to re-kick. Playing timid wasn’t an option. With their playoff hopes on the line Friday night, the Vikings asked their young playmakers to make plays. Sophomore Xxavier...
5 things to watch in Week 8 of high school football
It’s hard to be perfect. With two weeks left in the regular season, only seven WPIAL teams still own an undefeated record, the lowest total in three years. Last season, 10 teams finished the regular season unbeaten. In 2020, there were 14, inflated in part because of pandemic cancellations. This...
Preseason WPIAL favorites Central Catholic, Seneca Valley now fighting for playoff lives
Seneca Valley and Central Catholic were picked as preseason favorites to meet in the WPIAL Class 6A championship before anyone had played a game. Yet, they’ll meet Friday night in a Week 8 matchup that could ultimately keep one out of the playoffs altogether. The winner is safe. The loser...
9 WPIAL coaches earn statewide award from PIAA
Nine WPIAL coaches were name state coaches of the year by the PIAA for the 2021-22 school year. Moon had two coaches earn the statewide honor: girls track coach Kyle Burgess and girls soccer coach Bill Pfeifer. Joining them were Hampton boys soccer coach Matt McAwley, Seneca Valley boys swimming...
WPIAL board increases to 21 seats with diversity advisory council addition
The WPIAL board has expanded to 21 members with the addition of a seat for a representative from the WPIAL Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council. The first to fill that seat is David Hunter, a Donora native and an accomplished professional in investment and finance. The nine-person advisory council chose...
PIAA’s reps from WPIAL split on future of competitive-balance rule
The WPIAL has three seats on the PIAA board, and its representatives usually vote together, but that didn’t happen when asked about making major changes to the state’s competitive-balance rule. Those WPIAL reps, like the PIAA board itself, were split. Should the PIAA eliminate the transfer element from the rule,...
5 things we learned in Week 7: Central Catholic blocked FG touchdown scorer: ‘I heard no whistle’
As a 6-foot-4, 270-pound offensive lineman, Anthony Shovlin says he’d accepted the fact that scoring touchdowns wasn’t in his future, but that changed dramatically Friday night. The Central Catholic junior scored an almost unbelievable winning touchdown after a blocked field goal with no time left, earning him and the Vikings...
TribLive HSSN WPIAL football rankings: Week ending Oct. 16, 2022
WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 7-1, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 6-2, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 3-5, 3 4. Central Catholic, 4-4, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 4-4, 5 Class 5A Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 7-1, 1 2. Pine-Richland, 5-3, 3 3. Gateway, 6-2, 2...
North Allegheny athletic director concerned by changing definition of amateurism
A groundbreaking name, image and likeness policy proposed by the PIAA cleared a second hurdle this month, meaning Pennsylvania high school athletes soon could be eligible to make money from NIL deals this winter. But some school administrators and coaches still have concerns about potential negative impacts, including those raised...
Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen capitalizes on Mars’ mistakes in high-scoring Greater Allegheny win
Giving Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen short fields, time to pass and extra possessions is a dangerous combination. The Penn recruit passed for 349 yards, threw four touchdowns and rushed for two more Friday night as Armstrong capitalized on four Mars turnovers to win 55-31 in the highest-scoring game in River...
5 things to watch in Week 7 of high school football
Football coaches will always say Week 7 isn’t the time for nonconference games, since the playoffs are less than a month away and nobody wants to get hurt now in a “meaningless” game. That aside, this week’s schedule has a few attractive matchups that might be meaningless in the standings,...
PIAA rule keeps OLSH football team idle Friday night after Avella forfeits
Avella doesn’t have enough healthy players available for this week’s football game against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, so the Eagles will forfeit the Class A Black Hills Conference contest scheduled for Friday night. OLSH tried to make the best of a bad situation and found an alternate opponent...
Philadelphia Catholic League teams no longer block WPIAL’s path to PIAA basketball finals
The marquee matchup of state championship weekend became an all-Philadelphia Catholic League affair when Roman Catholic and Archbishop Wood met in Hershey last winter for the Class 6A boys basketball final. It was the third time in eight years that the PIAA’s big-school boys championship included two teams from District...
Narrow vote keeps alive potential overhaul of PIAA competitive-balance rule
MECHANICSBURG — The PIAA competitive-balance rule was originally created to measure postseason success and transfers, but that formula could change significantly this winter. As written now, football and basketball teams that have success in the state playoffs and also add transfers are promoted to a higher classification as a way...
NIL policy for Pa. high school athletes clears 2nd hurdle, could be finalized in December
MECHANICSBURG — One of Western Pennsylvania’s largest hospital networks had to revamp an advertising campaign that featured WPIAL athletes after the PIAA pointed out the ads violated its rules. Right now, ads featuring high school athletes are rare, but those like Allegheny Health Network’s soon could be commonplace. That’s because...
5 things we learned in Week 6: Some teams clinching already
It’s too early to start mapping playoff scenarios for most WPIAL football teams, but a select few already have won their way in. The most obvious is North Allegheny, which clinched a spot in the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs with a 20-6 win Friday night over Mt. Lebanon. The Tigers...
Trib HSSN football rankings for Oct. 9, 2022
WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 6-1, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 5-2, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 2-5, 3 4. Central Catholic, 3-4, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 3-4, 5 Class 5A Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 6-1, 2 2. Gateway, 6-1, 3 3. Pine-Richland, 4-3, 4...
New faces take center ice for perennially powerful North Allegheny hockey program
North Allegheny always had a few familiar names among its top six forwards in recent years, experienced scorers who were there for multiple seasons. Yet, the Tigers are entering a winter of change. “People are used to seeing Connor Chi’s name. Washabaugh. Collinear. Those guys have all moved on,” said...
Bethel Park’s offense plays keep away in win over No. 1 Upper St. Clair
“The most average line you’ve ever seen.” Bethel Park center Logan Pettigrew heard that description about his offensive line earlier this season and it still makes him laugh. Individually, there are no monster-sized blockers on the Black Hawks’ line, but the unsung and undersized group can be scary together. Upper...
5 things to watch in Week 6 of high school football
This could be a make-or-break week for some teams with conference title hopes. There are five matchups on the Week 6 schedule pitting teams with undefeated conference records. Among them is a Century Conference matchup between fourth-ranked Washington (5-1, 2-0) and No. 5 Sto-Rox (3-2, 3-0). Each team celebrated an...
Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair renew rivalry ranked 1st, 2nd in WPIAL Class 5A
Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair have combined for a few dramatic regular-season finales in recent years, but WPIAL schedule makers decided there’s no need to wait. It’s only Week 6, but the South Hills rivals meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Upper St. Clair with first place in the...
