Chris Harlan stories, Page 52

WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L 1. Central Catholic, 0-1, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 1-0, 2 3. North Allegheny, 1-0, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 0-1, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 0-1, 5 Class 5A 1. Gateway, 1-0, 1 2. Penn-Trafford, 1-0, 2 3. Penn Hills, 0-1, 3 4. Pine-Richland, 0-1,...

Fourth-and-20 is a pressure situation no quarterback wants, but Brad Birch knew where the ball needed to go. The Gateway quarterback threw a high, arcing pass toward receiver Dallas Harper, who cut his route a little short, came down with the ball and scored on a 34-yard catch. That was...

Six for six. The PIAA six years ago divided high school football into six classifications, up from four, a hotly debated decision that changed the Friday night landscape across the state. In Western Pennsylvania, where teams kick off their seasons tonight, the question remains: Is this six-class format good for...

A remarkable WPIAL record is about to turn 20. It was two decades ago — Oct. 4, 2002 — when East Allegheny’s Josh Miller kicked a 55-yard field goal, a feat that still stands as the longest known in WPIAL history. Miller, a 6-foot, 170-pound soccer star who later played...

Nearly three dozen WPIAL and City League football teams changed coaches since last season, some involving head coaches who’d spent a decade or more in one place. Among them, Hampton assistant coach Steve Sciullo was promoted to replace Jacque DeMatteo, who resigned after 14 seasons with the Talbots. Others were...

Safety is often the last line of defense, but having a good one can be a weapon for any team. Look at the WPIAL teams that won last year. State champions Aliquippa, Central Valley, Mt. Lebanon and Penn-Trafford all had at least one difference-maker at safety. Some of those standouts...

Western Pennsylvania football was always known for its quarterbacks and linemen, but that’s changed in recent decades. Ty Law, Darrelle Revis and some other former WPIAL stars added cornerback to the map. And with the rise of pass-heavy spread offenses nowadays, high school teams need as many good cornerbacks as...

Remember Clairton? As in, the football team that won 10 WPIAL titles in a 14-year span, most recently in 2019? The Bears lost in the first round of the playoffs last season and coach Wayne Wade has noticed folks seem to have forgotten about them. In fact, he was a...

Brashear’s Ta’Mere Robinson is certainly one of the best linebackers in Western Pennsylvania. He’s one of the best in the country. But the Penn State recruit is still recovering from knee surgery, so there’s a good chance he won’t play his senior year. Robinson and his coach Drew Moore have...

The athletes who play defensive line are maybe the most varied of any group in high school football. Teams have hard-to-move tackles and speedy edge rushers who all call themselves defensive linemen, each with a different job description to accomplish. Comparing one to another isn’t simple, but what everyone in...

Earning a WPIAL playoff spot in Class 5A was never easy, but the task becomes a little harder this year. That’s because the WPIAL has shrunk the bracket from 12 teams to eight, meaning a team with as few as two losses might miss the playoffs. Only the top two...

High school football teams deploy a variety of offensive schemes, from no-huddle spreads to the wing-T. What do they all have in common? Five offensive linemen. No matter what strategy a coach might dream up, it’s not going far without a good line. Look at last year’s WPIAL champions and...

The storied history of WPIAL football often focuses on its legendary quarterbacks and, more recently, a string of standout defensive backs. But don’t forget about the tight end tradition. Consider, the first pure tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was from the WPIAL. That was Aliquippa...

How’s this for a good quarterback-receiver combination? One of the top quarterbacks from last season, Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher, is becoming a wide receiver. And one of the leading receivers from last season, Greensburg Salem’s Cody Rubrecht, is becoming a quarterback. Rubrecht was one of three WPIAL pass catchers to...

Take a look at the WPIAL rushing leaders from last season and you’ll notice four state champions. Along with earning a spot among the league’s top five rushers, Central Valley’s Landon Alexander, Mt. Lebanon’s Alex Tecza, Penn-Trafford’s Cade Yacamelli and Aliquippa’s Tiqwai Hayes also led their teams to PIAA titles...

The race for the 2021 WPIAL passing title was a three-way battle between Gateway’s Brad Birch, Beaver Falls’ Jaren Brickner and Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen. This year’s race might look very similar. All three quarterbacks passed for more than 2,500 yards a year ago and all three return this fall. Combined,...

The WPIAL has chosen Norwin to host the Class 5A and 6A football finals, the two championship games that won’t be played at Acrisure Stadium this year. The list of fall sites was revealed Monday. The WPIAL already had scheduled four games at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 25 but needed...

A new coach, a new quarterback and a new playbook. This is a summer of transition for the Mars football program under new coach Eric Kasperowicz, but learning a new offense and defense doesn’t happen overnight. Kasperowicz was hired in April, but it was sometime in early July that he...

The Heinz Field clock was ticking down last fall on Central Valley’s third consecutive WPIAL title when coach Mark Lyons was approached by longtime assistant Shawn McCreary. Lyons says he prefers to live in the moment, but his friend urged him to reflect on the past. “He said, ‘Listen, you...

After winning WPIAL and state championships, expectations couldn’t be any higher for an Aliquippa football team that brings almost everyone back. Yet, in Mike Warfield’s first four seasons as the Quips’ coach, he says he found that practice is far more important than predictions. “My first year, there was great...

Woodland Hills could’ve dropped down two classifications this season because of a statewide change in how enrollment numbers are counted, but the Wolverines declined. Instead of joining smaller schools in Class 3A, Woodland Hills voluntarily stayed in 5A. “To me, us going to 3A is almost like a slap in...

Gateway’s offensive line was pushed around at times last season by some of the best defensive fronts in the WPIAL, but the Gators say they’re ready to bite back. “The big thing for us was definitely confidence,” said senior tackle Matt Brooks, a Duquesne recruit. “We didn’t have that confidence...

There was a zero in the wins column, but South Fayette’s conference record didn’t tell the entire story. Yes, the Lions finished 0-5. But as they start this season, they’re still confident they’re a team that can compete in the rugged Allegheny Six, even if the conference standings from last...

Senior night promises to be a short affair at Peters Township. The football team has only five seniors, so coach T.J. Plack will turn to his junior and sophomore classes to fill some leading roles as the Indians seek a sixth straight trip to the WPIAL playoffs. “Depth will be...

Last names were written on strips of tape and stuck to the forehead of Mars football helmets, a tool to help new coach Eric Kasperowicz and his assistants learn the names a little quicker. It’s an old school tactic but one he hadn’t used much since his early days at...