Chris Harlan stories, Page 84

Sto-Rox’s coach LaRoi Johnson has a bundle of 2-point plays he will call in any situation, but with Friday’s game on the line, he summoned his sophomore kicker. Johnson admits even he wouldn’t have predicted that’s how his Vikings would win their WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal. Yet, Adam Devine made...

The WPIAL football finals are moving from the North Shore to the North Hills. Heinz Field wasn’t a viable option this fall under covid-19 restrictions, so the WPIAL’s six championship games are divided instead between North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium and North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium. Each stadium will host three. The...

The No. 1 seed in WPIAL Class 4A football is one of the smallest schools in the WPIAL. “I don’t want people to forget that,” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said. “Just because we won some games, it’s still not right. It’s still not fair. We’re a Single-A school.” Aliquippa hosts...

Mt. Lebanon’s motto this season is simply: Why not us? When Bob Palko was West Allegheny’s coach, he instilled in his Indians a gritty confidence that they were contenders every season, regardless of whether their opponents had more talent. Together, they won eight WPIAL titles. Now in Year 2 at...

PIAA basketball teams should limit the number of individuals on their bench to maintain a social distance of six feet or more when possible. If need be, add rows of chairs. The PIAA on Wednesday approved that recommendation and many other covid-19 guidelines for winter sports as executive director Bob...

The PIAA might someday charge schools a fee to compete in the state playoffs, creating an alternate source of income as the coronavirus pandemic batters its budget. The PIAA board discussed that idea in general terms Wednesday but took no action during its online meeting. The PIAA is surviving financially,...

Some WPIAL teams will have a home-field advantage in the state playoffs. The PIAA board decided Wednesday to forgo traditional neutral sites and let teams at the top of the bracket host state playoff games, a move prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. The change affects all fall team sports. Finding...

After Avonworth’s regular-season finale was canceled because of coronavirus concerns, football coach Duke Johncour told his players to start preparing for any number of playoff scenarios. “This was obviously worst case,” Johncour said Saturday night, when the WPIAL released its playoff pairings and the Antelopes weren’t included in the Class...

Two of the WPIAL’s top quarterbacks are questionable to play as their teams approach the playoffs. North Catholic’s Joey Prentice and Keystone Oaks’ Logan Shrubb, both standout dual-threat quarterbacks, left their Week 7 games with injuries. KO coach Greg Perry said he expects Shrubb to play this Friday, but North...

Here’s a class-by-class breakdown of the WPIAL football playoff brackets: Class 6A Favorite: North Allegheny was the only undefeated team in WPIAL Class 6A this season, but the Tigers did miss three conference matchups because of covid-19 shutdowns by opponents. That included a Week 1 matchup with Seneca Valley that...

The WPIAL promised its football teams weeks ago that if they canceled games for covid-19, those decisions wouldn’t hurt their qualifying chances come playoff time. The WPIAL kept it word. In playoff brackets released Saturday night, the WPIAL included a couple of teams that played only four regular-season games as...

Class 6A 1. North Allegheny, 5-0, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 4-2, 2 3. Central Catholic, 4-2, 3 4. Seneca Valley, 4-2, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 3-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 6-0, 1 2. Gateway, 4-0, 2 3. Peters Township, 6-0, 3 4. Penn-Trafford, 5-1, 4 5. Upper St....

This was a football season unlike any other. Coaches, players, administrators and fans endured covid-19 concerns and cancellations, but for the most part, WPIAL teams successfully completed the regular season, an achievement that shouldn’t go overlooked. Now, it’s playoff time. The WPIAL will reveal its six playoff brackets at 7...

With its playoff hopes in jeopardy, Mt. Lebanon would’ve gone for two in overtime Friday night, sticking with coach Bob Palko’s win-or-go-home reputation. Instead, the decision was made for them. Blue Devils junior Joey Peters blocked an extra point in overtime, letting teammate Casey Sorsdal kick the game-winner a few...

If Mt. Lebanon wins Friday’s regular-season finale at Seneca Valley, the Blue Devils will likely receive one of the top two seeds in the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs. With it comes a first-round home game. But if Seneca Valley wins, the one-loss Raiders can make an equally strong argument to...

Avonworth canceled Friday night’s football game over covid-related concerns, Central Valley athletic director Sam Cercone said Thursday. The matchup could have impacted the Northwest Six standings, where Central Valley (6-0, 4-0) is first and Avonworth (4-2, 3-1) is second. Avonworth announced its high school campus will be closed through Sunday....

Video conference calls replaced many of the in-school recruiting visits and campus tours canceled during the pandemic. North Allegheny senior Khalil Dinkins, one of the WPIAL’s top football players, navigated that new normal this year and committed Wednesday to Penn State. Dinkins announced his decision on Twitter. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound...

Could there be a quarterback controversy brewing at Pine-Richland? With a laugh, Miguel Jackson says yes. The 6-foot-2, 265-pound senior lived every lineman’s dream Friday night when he rushed for a touchdown and threw for another as undefeated Pine-Richland maintained its No. 1 ranking in WPIAL Class 5A with a...

Class 6A 1. North Allegheny, 5-0, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 3-2, 2 3. Central Catholic, 3-2, 3 4. Seneca Valley, 4-1, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 2-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 5-0, 1 2. Gateway, 3-0, 2 3. Peters Township, 5-0, 3 4. Penn-Trafford, 4-1, 4 5. South Fayette,...

As a defending WPIAL champion, no one would’ve blamed North Allegheny’s girls soccer team for glancing ahead to the playoffs. Now, that’s their only focus. Covid-19 concerns caused the team to shut down for the final two weeks of the regular season, canceling section games with Butler, North Hills and...

Some WPIAL football conferences may have no champion this season. The WPIAL announced this week that no conference champion would be recognized if canceled games could have changed the outcome. In the Class 2A Allegheny for example, Apollo-Ridge and Serra Catholic are both undefeated but their head-to-head matchup was canceled...

The lights above Sto-Rox’s football field aren’t new, but they might feel a little brighter this week. Big games have that effect. The stadium in Stowe Township will host two Class 2A contenders from the Three Rivers Conference when Western Beaver (5-0, 3-0) visits Sto-Rox (4-1, 2-1) at 7 p.m....

If playoff qualifiers can’t be determined from the standings, the WPIAL steering committee for each sport will decide who makes the postseason this fall. That surely will be the most scrutinized change the WPIAL board approved Wednesday while finalizing plans for an unprecedented postseason under covid-19 conditions. Among its other...