Chris Harlan stories, Page 54
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the wide receivers
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the running backs
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...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the quarterbacks
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,...
WPIAL reveals fall championship sites: football finals at Acrisure Stadium, Norwin
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...
Mars slowly but surely acclimating to coach Eric Kasperowicz’s system
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...
With 3rd straight WPIAL title secured, Central Valley’s goals don’t change
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...
Expectations soar as defending state champ Aliquippa brings back loaded roster
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 still running with the big dogs in Class 5A
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...
Bolstered by improved offensive line, Gateway builds confidence for run at WPIAL title
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...
South Fayette looks to turn hard-luck losses into conference wins
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...
Short on seniors, Peters Township looks for next wave to take over
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...
New football coach Eric Kasperowicz wants to repeat Pine-Richland success at Mars
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...
Countdown to kickoff 2022: Cumberland Valley out to show it’s the right site (at the right price) for PIAA finals
When the PIAA awarded the state football championships to Cumberland Valley, the sudden exit from Hersheypark Stadium caught most by surprise. After 24 years in Hershey, the state finals are leaving the so-called “sweetest place on Earth” this fall for a high school stadium about 30 miles away. The PIAA...
WPIAL rules Thomas Jefferson QB ineligible, approves 2 South Fayette transfers
Thomas Jefferson quarterback Luke Kosko, a transfer from Seton LaSalle, was ruled ineligible for the upcoming football season after a hearing Monday with the WPIAL board. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore was in the running to start this fall for the Jaguars but instead must sit out the upcoming season. “The...
Former WPIAL director organizes P3R youth track event at RMU Island Sports Center
Put away the stopwatches. Instead, athletes in grades 7-12 can get an exact, electronically measured time in the 40-yard dash, the mile and a few other popular distances at a youth track event Saturday on Neville Island. The festivities at the RMU Island Sports Center are hosted by race organizer...
Summer camp success has Seneca Valley linebacker Chris D’Appolonia committed to ‘dream school’
A broken hand sidelined Seneca Valley linebacker Chris D’Appolonia for a couple of weeks last season and limited his game film, so he was determined this summer to show recruiters his full potential. The rising senior already shares his workout videos on social media, but he also embraced the camp...
As Brashear’s other D1 linebacker, Kameron Cheatom ready to make a name for himself
On many other football teams, Kameron Cheatom would be the most talked about player on the roster. At Brashear, that title rightfully belongs to teammate Ta’Mere Robinson, the top-ranked recruit in Pennsylvania. Both are seniors. Both play linebacker. So it’s easy to see how Cheatom might be overlooked in Robinson’s...
WPIAL approves extra year of eligibility for Aliquippa athlete injured in shooting
The WPIAL approved an extra year of eligibility for Aliquippa’s Antonyo “Sunny” Anderson, a multi-sport athlete who was seriously injured in a shooting 14 months ago. Anderson missed his senior seasons and often watched football games from a wheelchair on the sideline, so Aliquippa administrators asked for a hardship waiver...
Former North Allegheny decathlete Ayden Owens-Delerme finishes 4th at World Championships
Since his days running track at North Allegheny, Ayden Owens-Delerme has talked about winning world titles and Olympic medals. This weekend, the NCAA champion decathlete made his World Championships debut and proved those dreams aren’t too far off. Competing against the sport’s best professional athletes, the 22-year-old college star finished...
Q&A with new WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer
Scott Seltzer had decided his time with the WPIAL was ending this summer after 13 years on the board and six as board president. Or so he thought. Seltzer, 55, had expected to retire within a few years as assistant superintendent at Chartiers Valley, so he considered now to be...
WPIAL administrator: High school NIL deals could lead to manipulation
Name, Image and Likeness deals could improve the lives of some high school athletes, but there’s also real concern about manipulation by misguided adults, says the WPIAL’s top administrator. The discussion about NIL money and its impact on high school athletics increased in recent days after the PIAA board revealed...
St. Louis Cardinals draft former Allderdice pitcher Tanner Jacobson in 10th round
Allderdice graduate Tanner Jacobson on Monday became the first player in the short history of Queens University baseball to be picked in the MLB Draft. The St. Louis Cardinals chose the right-handed pitcher in the 10th round with pick No. 307, a milestone moment for the NCAA Division II baseball...
Baltimore Orioles draft former Canon-McMillan pitcher Cameron Weston
Former Canon-McMillan star Cameron Weston, who helped win WPIAL and PIAA baseball titles in 2018, was selected Monday in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Weston was picked 227th overall. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound right-hander finished his junior season at Michigan, where he ranked among the...
Seattle Mariners select North Allegheny’s Cole Young in 1st round of MLB Draft
Cole Young was introduced to the baseball world as an MLB Pitch, Hit & Run winner in 2014, hinting then that the 10-year-old from Franklin Park might have a bright future ahead. Eight years later, that’s still true. Young heard his name called again Sunday night at another MLB event,...
Amazing year for North Allegheny grad Ayden Owens-Delerme continues at World Championships
Ayden Owens-Delerme appears nowadays on TV commercials in Arkansas for a local hospital system, but the recent NCAA decathlon champion is ready to take his track talents global. On the heels of winning a college national championship, the North Allegheny graduate will compete in the World Athletics Championships on July...
