Chris Harlan stories, Page 53
Penn Hills’ Amir Key scores 3 times in victory over Pine-Richland and his former coach
Jon LeDonne spent five seasons building Penn Hills into a big-play dynamo and saw that explosive energy work against his new team Friday night. With LeDonne now on the opposite sideline, running back Amir Key rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns as No. 2-ranked Penn Hills defeated No. 3...
What to watch in Week 2: WPIAL’s top passing attack has showdown with Clairton
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart quarterback Nehemiah Azeem has already thrown for almost 700 yards and ranks as the top passer in the WPIAL, but his coach knows what skeptics are probably saying. Prove it again, this time against Clairton. “I think we already kind of showed we are...
Conference opener takes Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne back to Penn Hills
Yuhas-McGinley Stadium holds fond memories for Jon LeDonne, but what kind of welcome will he receive there Friday night when he’s wearing green instead of the home team’s red and gold? LeDonne spent five good years as Penn Hills’ football coach and won a state title in 2018, but this...
Hampton transfer Peter Kramer ineligible for basketball playoffs
Hampton transfer Peter Kramer, a standout shooting guard who won a WPIAL basketball title at Shady Side Academy, is ineligible for the playoffs this winter. The 6-foot-4 junior had an eligibility hearing Tuesday with the WPIAL, which didn’t find enough evidence to grant him a postseason waiver, WPIAL executive director...
What we learned in Week 1: New WPIAL approach leads to competitive schedule
This was the most competitive Week 1 in recent WPIAL history, but that probably wasn’t a coincidence. The WPIAL made a major change in recent years to the way it schedules nonconference games, an adjustment that seemed evident in the final scores Friday night. In all, there were five overtime...
Trib HSSN WPIAL football rankings: Week ending Sept. 4, 2022
WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Central Catholic, 1-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 2-0, 3 3. Seneca Valley, 1-1, 2 4. Mt. Lebanon, 0-2, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 0-2, 5 Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Gateway, 2-0, 1 2. Penn Hills, 1-1, 3 3. Pine-Richland,...
Schedule toughens for 5-time defending PIAA champion North Allegheny girls volleyball team
Section 1 is smaller this season, so the North Allegheny girls volleyball team had to fill some open dates on its schedule. The section shrunk from seven teams to five, leaving the Tigers with only eight section matches. As a defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A champion with a majority...
Steel Valley’s Cruce Brookins follows big blockers in run-heavy win over Sto-Rox
Cruce Brookins predicts that he and Steel Valley teammate Greg Smith could be crashing into one another on a college field in a year or two. Brookins is a Kent State commit and Smith is headed to Miami (Ohio), so they’re future rivals in the Mid-American Conference. But for now,...
What to watch in Week 1: Laurel Highlands vs. Belle Vernon matches 2 top college recruits
Don’t be surprised if a few college coaches make an appearance at Belle Vernon’s football stadium. Two of the state’s top recruits will share the Leopards’ gold-colored field Friday night when Laurel Highlands visits Belle Vernon for a nonconference game with plenty of star power. Laurel Highlands wide receiver Rodney...
Week 1 clash between Sto-Rox, Steel Valley comes 10 months later than they’d hoped
Steel Valley’s Cruce Brookins watched maybe a few minutes of last year’s WPIAL Class 2A final. Sto-Rox’s Josh Jenkins couldn’t stomach watching any. That’s understandable because their teams were the favorites to face one another in that championship game. Steel Valley was the No. 1 seed. Sto-Rox was No. 2....
Mohawk cancels Week 1 football game, Quaker Valley seeks new opponent
Mohawk canceled its football game for the second week in a row as authorities investigate hazing allegations involving the team. The Lawrence County District Attorney and Mohawk School District officials have said they’re investigating the conduct of team members. The Warriors were scheduled to host Quaker Valley on Friday in...
Five things we learned from Week Zero of WPIAL football
When the Woodland Hills defense made a valiant goal-line stand in the fourth quarter Saturday, the result was a win for the Wolverines but also a much-needed win for WPIAL football. The league prides itself on playing maybe the best brand of high school football in the nation, but it...
Trib HSSN WPIAL football rankings: Week ending Aug. 28, 2022
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,...
Brad Birch perseveres in pressure-packed opener, lifting Gateway past Mt. Lebanon
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...
After 6 years, 6-classification format still has pros, cons for WPIAL football teams
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the specialists
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the new coaches
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the safeties
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the cornerbacks
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...
WPIAL title contender Clairton somehow flying under radar
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the linebackers
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the defensive line
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...
WPIAL Class 5A football breakdown: Gateway among teams trying to squeeze into tight playoff field
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the offensive line
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the tight ends
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...
