Chris Harlan stories, Page 72
2021 WPIAL Class 5A football breakdown: Pine-Richland saga headlines offseason of change
The defending champion has a new coach. The preseason favorite has a new quarterback. The runner-up from last season has a whole lot of new faces. Yes, this is a year for change. Even the playoff format is different in WPIAL Class 5A this fall with a 12-team bracket waiting...
WPIAL football finals to be played over 2 days at Heinz Field
For the first time, the WPIAL football championships will be a two-day event at Heinz Field this fall. The WPIAL board on Monday officially approved plans to hold five of the six championship games at the North Shore stadium Nov. 26-27. The Class 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and A finals...
Aliquippa keeps punching above its weight … and winning
Because Aliquippa reached the WPIAL Class 4A finals last fall, coach Mike Warfield worries that achievement will overshadow one harsh reality. “We’re a school that graduated 39 kids — boys and girls — and we had to play 4A,” said Warfield, who’s entering his fourth season as coach. The Quips...
2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the defensive line
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top defensive linemen for the 2021 season. 1. Sean FitzSimmons Central Valley Senior, 6-3, 275 FitzSimmons’ coach may praise the two-way lineman’s underrated blocking skills, but almost everyone else...
2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the offensive line
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top offensive linemen for the 2021 season. 1. Nick Bryan Thomas Jefferson Senior, 6-3, 255 The Kent State recruit was a two-way starter when the Jaguars won WPIAL and...
2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the tight ends
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top tight ends for the 2021 season. 1. Charlie Kreinbucher Butler Senior, 6-5, 230 Kreinbucher is a strong pass catcher and blocker committed to Akron, but few WPIAL football...
2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the wide receivers
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top wide receivers for the 2021 season. 1. Robert Dickerson North Hills Senior, 6-0, 185 Nobody can accuse Dickerson of being one dimensional. The two-sport star did a little...
After offseason upheaval, Pine-Richland has something to prove
Pine-Richland is a defending WPIAL and PIAA champion, but the Rams aren’t focused on last year. At this point, that undefeated season seems long ago. “Even though we won a state championship, I feel we have a chip on our shoulder,” senior Jeremiah Hasley said. “There’s a lot of doubt...
2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the running backs
Starting this week, TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top running backs for the 2021 season. 1. Landon Alexander Central Valley Senior, 6-0, 180 A former youth football star on the TV show “Friday Night...
Gateway gladly wears bull’s-eye in WPIAL Class 5A
On paper, Gateway certainly has the look of a WPIAL contender. The Gators added one of Pennsylvania’s top young quarterbacks in Brad Birch, return a Division I talent at wide receiver and safety in Patrick Body and carry a roster dotted with talent. But the team returns only four or...
Like rivals, Upper St. Clair turns to new nucleus
Upper St. Clair’s conference was among the WPIAL’s deepest in recent years with senior-heavy rosters full of experience becoming the norm in the South Hills. This year, that’s not always the case. “Our league is turning over big time,” said USC coach Mike Junko, who returns only five full-time starters....
Peters Township seniors hungry for bigger roles
When Peters Township snaps the football on opening night, returning center Anthony Brunette will be the lineman over the ball. The Indians know that for sure. Who will be the four blockers next to him? Coaches must answer that question and quite a few others if they want to return...
2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the quarterbacks
Starting today, TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top quarterbacks for the 2021 season. 1. Brad Birch Gateway Sophomore, 6-2, 190 Birch already holds a college offer from Pac-12 school Oregon after a title-winning freshman...
North Allegheny flying under Class 6A radar
Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview at least one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 27. The preseason buzz in WPIAL Class 6A usually has North Allegheny among the early favorites. This year, that’s maybe not the case. “I think everybody’s...
T.J. Watt’s absence from team drills tied to contract, Steelers defensive coach says
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt’s decision to sit out team drills is tied to his current contract situation, defensive coordinator Keith Butler confirmed Saturday, after Watt’s teammates again worked out without the reigning NFL sack leader. Asked when Watt might ramp up activity, Butler said: “That’s none of my business. I...
Mike Tomlin refutes report saying Steelers receiver James Washington wants trade
Despite a report saying James Washington was unhappy with his role and wanted to be traded, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he hasn’t heard those words from the fourth-year receiver. “Those unnamed sources, we don’t react to or respond to,” Tomlin said after practice Saturday at Heinz Field. “James has...
With camps, college visits back, TribLive HSSN Preseason All-Stars are busy this summer
As Josh Jenkins walked into Kennywood Park, passing the merry-go-round and the Sky Rocket, the Sto-Rox quarterback marveled at just how much life has improved in a year. At this time last summer, Western Pennsylvania’s high school football players were mostly staying close to home and wondering whether there’d be...
WPIAL adds board of directors seat exclusively for private schools
Private schools in the WPIAL soon will have their own seat on the board. As the WPIAL entered a new school year, the board voted Monday to add a 20th seat earmarked exclusively for private schools. Those schools were left without a representative when longtime WPIAL board member Bill Cleary...
WPIAL football championships will return to Heinz Field this fall — maybe over 2 days
The WPIAL football championships are returning to Heinz Field this fall, maybe for a two-day affair Thanksgiving weekend at the North Shore stadium. The football finals were held at high school venues last season because of the pandemic, but the WPIAL board voted Monday to take four or five of...
State champion wrestler, City League great Godwin Nyama Cutler dies at 27
Former state wrestling champion Godwin Nyama Cutler, an all-time City League great who won the league its first PIAA title less than a decade ago, has died. He was 27. Nyama Cutler went 132-19 in four seasons at Brashear in a standout high school career highlighted by a 120-pound state...
Miller, Meister headline North Allegheny Hall of Fame class
Championship-winning coaches Heidi Miller and Rick Meister were among 18 inductees chosen to enter the North Allegheny Hall of Fame this year. Both coached at the school for more than two decades as a head coach or assistant. Meister won WPIAL softball titles in 2002, ’03 and ’06, along with...
PIAA makes change to state basketball tournament, anticipates ‘normal’ fall
The state basketball tournament will start a little earlier this winter under a schedule change that makes cross-state travel easier for the semifinals and finals. The PIAA board unanimously approved the new postseason schedule Wednesday when it met at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College. The...
Trib HSSN boys athlete of the year: Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer wins titles in 2 sports
Early in the winter, Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer called his future college wrestling coach with some bad news. He’d injured his left shoulder and would eventually need surgery to repair a torn labrum. Should he sit out his senior year? Weeks removed from quarterbacking Pine-Richland’s football team to a PIAA championship,...
A year like no other: The top stories of the 2020-21 school year in WPIAL sports
8.21.20 The PIAA board of directors ignored a “strong recommendation” from Gov. Tom Wolf to postpone sports until January and voted 25-5 to start fall sports as scheduled, ending weeks of worry for athletes, coaches and families. “We know there are no guarantees, but we’re at least making the attempt...
Record-setting quarterback Johnny DiNapoli leaving East Allegheny
Johnny DiNapoli, who set a WPIAL passing record two years ago, has transferred this summer from East Allegheny to Elizabeth Forward. As a freshman in 2019, DiNapoli passed for 1,728 yards, setting what is believed to be a WPIAL freshman record. He attended East Allegheny the past two school years,...
