Chris Harlan stories, Page 57

HERSHEY — “Historic” is now the perfect word to describe Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s dominance. The Chargers tied the state’s longest winning streak and became the first boys basketball team in nearly 60 years to celebrate back-to-back undefeated PIAA titles Friday when they defeated Constitution, 92-71, in the...

PIAA Class 5A boys basketball final New Castle vs. Imhotep Charter 7:30 p.m., Friday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN PIAA titles: New Castle 1 (2014), Imhotep Charter 7 (2009, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’17, ’18, ’19) New Castle (27-2) Coach: Ralph Blundo Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht.,...

PIAA Class 2A boys basketball final OLSH vs. Constitution 2:30 p.m. Friday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribLive HSSN PIAA titles: OLSH 1 (2021), Constitution 4 (2012, ’14, ’15, ’18) Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (27-0) Coach: Mike Rodriguez Probable starting lineup No., Name,...

HERSHEY — Adou Thiero blocked three first-quarter shots, Quaker Valley scored 11 consecutive points and the Quakers held a slim lead over an eight-time state champion. Momentum was on QV’s side, but it didn’t last. Neumann-Goretti had four Division I recruits among its starting five, and they certainly played like...

HERSHEY — This state championship celebration was years in the making for Bishop Canevin, with some waiting longer than others to see the Crusaders finally win one. Consider, their coach was once a team ballboy. “Being an alum from our school, our program was never talked about for years,” said...

PIAA Class 4A boys basketball final Quaker Valley vs. Neumann-Goretti 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribLive HSSN; Radio: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM PIAA titles: Quaker Valley 0, Neumann-Goretti 8 (2010, ’11, ’12, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18) Quaker Valley (27-0)...

Jordan Mayer is very good at getting his arms around quarterbacks, but when the Thomas Jefferson junior committed to Boston College, he was the one wrapped up. “I’ve never felt a hug like that from a bigger person,” said Mayer, who was bear-hugged by BC defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase....

Aliquippa is headed to Hershey for the second time in three months, chasing after a rare football-basketball double state championship. Sophomore point guard Quentin Goode, who quarterbacked the Quips to a football title in the fall, made a winning layup with 30 seconds left Saturday afternoon as Aliquippa defeated South...

North Allegheny didn’t have a girls wresting team two years ago, yet the Tigers saw a girl finish second in the state this winter. The team’s success is a credit to the athletes, coach Dan Heckert said, but also shows how far the program has come and how far the...

Mike Wells’ elbow was still hurting him, but that didn’t hide his happiness as New Castle fans rained Hershey’s Kisses on the Red Hurricanes’ postgame celebration. A day after falling hard at practice, Wells shook off the shooting-arm injury and scored a game-high 26 points Friday night with four 3-pointers...

Peters Township will host a PIAA semifinal Saturday between the Chartiers Valley and McKeesport girls, one of four all-WPIAL pairings in the final four of the state basketball tournament. The Class 5A teams play at noon at the school’s AHN Arena. Also at noon Saturday, the Aliquippa and South Allegheny...

After missing a few long jumpers in the first quarter, Aliquippa’s D.J. Walker understood why he was being called to the bench and the junior didn’t argue. “He knows,” said Quips coach Nick Lackovich, who wanted his players to work for better shots. “I said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to ….’...

The PIAA chose Norwin as host site for the rematch of New Castle and Gateway, one of two all-WPIAL pairings in the state basketball semifinals. They’ll meet at 7 p.m. Friday with the winner advancing to Hershey. New Castle defeated Gateway by 10 points when they played Feb. 28 in...

How do you describe a game with more than a dozen blocks, more than two dozen turnovers, and the first team to score 40 points won? “A total fist fight,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said, “and we knew that’s what it was going to be.” At the end, his...

There will be a WPIAL rematch in the state semifinals, but Laurel Highlands won’t be there. The previously undefeated WPIAL champions were stunned Tuesday night by a determined Gateway team that dominated on the glass, piled up second-chance points and celebrated a 55-52 victory in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal...

Say goodbye to the subsections. The WPIAL will crown 12 section wrestling champions next winter in a new alignment approved Monday that eliminates the use of subsections in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. This winter’s alignment had only seven sections, with each section divided into two subsections. The new alignment...

The WPIAL rejected a compromise offered Monday by Butler’s administration that would’ve let the school’s football team play in the District 10 playoffs for the next two seasons. The plan proposed by Butler promised that the Golden Tornado would return to WPIAL competition in two years, but the WPIAL board...

With only one player taller than 6-foot-2, Fox Chapel maybe doesn’t look like a team built to outrebound many opponents. Too short? Too small? “The funny thing about Fox Chapel is, I know this not to be true,” Allderdice coach Devin Crummie said, “but other coaches will say … they...

The WPIAL is guaranteed to have a boys team in the Class 5A state championship with Laurel Highlands, New Castle, Gateway and Penn Hills all reaching the quarterfinals. They’ll pair off Tuesday in two matchups in a doubleheader at Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center. New Castle plays Penn Hills at...

Laurel Highlands celebrated its 27th consecutive win Friday night, but this victory over Highlands followed a different script than the first 26. This time, the Mustangs were down by double digits early. A hot shooting start let Highlands jump to a 13-point lead, yet Laurel Highlands battled back behind star...

Section foes South Fayette and Moon will meet for the third time this season Saturday in a PIAA second-round playoff game at Peters Township. The teams split two regular-season games. Theirs is one of five all-WPIAL matchups in the second round of the girls state playoffs, including a fourth matchup...

Peters Township will host a clash of champions Saturday when WPIAL champion Fox Chapel faces City League champion Allderdice in the PIAA boys basketball playoffs. Second round games are Friday and Saturday. The playoff schedule includes a third matchup between section foes Shady Side Academy and South Allegheny, who split...

Mike Quigley has a favorite rim in Allderdice’s gym, one that he’s found is a little softer than the other. The senior surely likes it even more now, after making consecutive 3-pointers just 37 seconds apart in overtime as Allderdice overcame a dreadful start to defeat Central Catholic, 45-43, in...

Penn Hills won’t play games against Kiski Area teams this spring because of racial taunts allegedly made by fans during a recent middle school volleyball game. In a letter sent Monday to school district families and staff, Penn Hills superintendent Nancy Hines said “several boys” in the Kiski Area student...

The PIAA released sites and times for second-round matchups in the state basketball playoff scheduled for Friday. That list includes boys classifications 5A, 4A and A, along with girls classes 6A, 3A and 2A. Those six classifications played first-round games on Tuesday. PIAA basketball playoffs Friday’s second-round games Class 6A...