Chris Harlan stories, Page 85
Pine-Richland routs Cathedral Prep to claim PIAA Class 5A titleVideo
HERSHEY — Luke Miller was a Pine-Richland waterboy four years ago when the Rams last celebrated a state football championship at Hersheypark Stadium. “I remember the feeling the seniors had, looking at each other saying: ‘Wow, we did it. We finally did it.’ ” Miller and his teammates now know...
Central Valley caps undefeated season with PIAA Class 3A championship
HERSHEY — The second-half clock usually moves lightning quick for Central Valley games, but this time the Warriors insisted it felt excruciatingly slow. Regardless, the celebration was worth the wait. Working to hold a fourth-quarter lead, unlikely hero Brandon Graham made two late interceptions and Central Valley relied on its...
5 things to watch at the PIAA football championships
With a laugh, Cathedral Prep coach Mike Mischler brags that his defense hasn’t given up a point in weeks. Technically, he’s right. The District 10 champions reached the PIAA football championships on the heels of two covid-related forfeits. Wyoming Valley West forfeited their quarterfinal game and Upper Dublin forfeited the...
PIAA Class 5A football championship breakdown: Pine-Richland vs. Cathedral Prep
Pine-Richland vs. Cathedral Prep 8 p.m. Friday, Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribHSSN.triblive.com; Radio: 1020 AM, 100.1 FM PIAA titles: Pine-Richland 1 (2017); Cathedral Prep 5 (2000,’12, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18) Cathedral Prep (7-2) Player to watch: Jaheim Williams Senior, 6-1, 215, RB/LB Williams is...
PIAA championship ‘final chapter’ for record-setting Pine-Richland seniors
Cole Spencer has won more games than any quarterback in Pine-Richland history, and Eli Jochem owns all-time receiving records for catches and yards. A week ago, Luke Miller set a single-game Rams record with 23 tackles in one afternoon. Miguel Jackson owns the team’s all-time sacks record with 36. Pine-Richland’s...
Few tickets. No locker rooms. Covid-19 alters football team plans for PIAA championships
Central Valley’s football players will eat Thanksgiving dinner at the school, enjoying food served only by their coaches, before the team boards its buses to Hershey. The Warriors are headed to the PIAA championships for the second year in a row, but they and the 11 other state finalists will...
Thomas Jefferson doesn’t look back while chasing consecutive PIAA Class 4A titles
Thomas Jefferson likes to celebrate its championship tradition, but this year’s football team has grown a little tired of talking about last year’s accomplishments. Yes, the Jaguars went undefeated a year ago. Yes, they won WPIAL and PIAA titles. Yes, they were the first TJ team to celebrate at Hersheypark...
PIAA drastically cuts football championship tickets to meet Gov. Wolf’s order
State championship football teams will receive 386 tickets apiece from the PIAA for this weekend’s games, far fewer than originally planned. The PIAA reduced its ticket sales after Gov. Tom Wolf implemented tighter gathering limits on events statewide, restricting Hersheypark Stadium to 5% of capacity. The PIAA had originally intended...
PIAA puts football ticket sales on hold after governor tightens gathering limits
Ticket sales are on hold for the PIAA football championships after Gov. Tom Wolf announced new limits on gathering sizes. PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said tickets were unavailable until Tuesday while the PIAA determines how many spectators are allowed this weekend at Hersheypark Stadium. According to the governor’s outdoor...
Pine-Richland headed to Hershey after wild win over Governor MifflinVideo
HOLLIDAYSBURG — “It was over” when Pine-Richland stumbled off the bus and let Governor Mifflin score the first three touchdowns. “It was over” when the Rams threw three interceptions, lost a fumble and misplayed a punt. “It was over” when the team from Berks County held a daunting 22-point lead...
Pine-Richland’s stout run defense faces star tailback in PIAA 5A semifinals
Here’s what makes Pine-Richland’s semifinal opponent dangerous: “They’ve got one of the top junior tailbacks in the country,” Rams coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “If that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what does.” Pine-Richland will get a close look at Governor Mifflin’s Nicholas Singleton at 1 p.m. Saturday when...
Defending champion Thomas Jefferson routs Oil City, returns to PIAA 4A final
Thomas Jefferson had the football 10 times Friday night and scored nine touchdowns, an almost-perfect performance that has the Jaguars headed back to Hershey. TJ teammates Preston Zandier and Conner Murga reached the end zone three times each as the defending state champion steamrolled Oil City, 62-0, in a PIAA...
Slowing Wilmington’s running game key for Beaver Falls in PIAA 2A semifinal
Studying film of Wilmington’s offensive line made Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone think back to a Week 2 matchup with Laurel. The two opponents run a somewhat similar scheme up front, he said, since both use wing-T elements in their offenses. But there’s a key difference. “Laurel had two really...
Seton LaSalle hires Mauro Monz as football coach
Seton LaSalle reached into its past to find its future football coach. Mauro Monz, a former player in the early 1990s, will replace Mike Zmijanac as the Rebels’ coach, the school announced Thursday. The 1992 graduate played quarterback and defensive back for Seton LaSalle under coach Greg Gattuso. He’s coached...
PIAA urges winter sports teams to ‘set the foundation’ by starting practice Friday
The PIAA is encouraging winter sports teams to “set the foundation” by starting preseason practice Friday, if possible. With covid-19 making the future uncertain, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said teams should accomplish as much as they can as soon as they can. Friday marks the first day winter teams...
Individual schools must decide if athletes wear masks for competition, PIAA says
Could wearing a mask during a football game or soccer match be considered an unsafe condition? How about for a wrestler or swimmer? The PIAA strongly opposes a mandate from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration ordering athletes across Pennsylvania to wear masks during competitions indoors and out, but will leave the...
WPIAL bans Peters Township band after investigating ‘blackface’ allegations
The Peters Township marching band is prohibited from performing at any WPIAL event until the school district submits a plan to “eradicate the social and racial insensitivity displayed by the marching band and its director/supervisors,” the WPIAL announced Tuesday. The ban lasts at least six months. The discipline was the...
Central Valley’s Ameer Dudley chooses Ivy League football, ‘best education’
Three days after winning a WPIAL championship, Central Valley quarterback Ameer Dudley had more reason to celebrate. The senior on Monday announced his commitment to Harvard, choosing the Ivy League school over other Division I offers. He’d quietly committed to the Crimson weeks ago but waited to reveal his decision...
WPIAL considers changes to swimming championships, other winter sports
The WPIAL might hold its swimming and basketball championships somewhere other than Pitt’s facilities this winter. Of course, that’s assuming there are winter sports championships. The WPIAL board met online Monday and discussed adjustments that need to be made this winter. Among them, the board approved a plan to potentially...
Thomas Jefferson stops Aliquippa in OT in WPIAL finals dream matchup
If there was any uncertainty on Thomas Jefferson’s sideline, it was about the high school rules for overtime. Nobody on the roster had experienced it before. Jaguars coach Bill Cherpak couldn’t remember the last time he was involved in an overtime game. “I was like, ‘If they score do they...
North Allegheny runners elevate their game, sweep PIAA cross country titles
There’s an old theory that Western Pennsylvania cross country runners are better on hilly courses while their counterparts from the east thrive on fast, flat stretches. North Allegheny coach John Neff doesn’t know if that’s necessarily true. But this is certain: His athletes run a lot of hills while training...
Beaver Falls’ big backs will test Sto-Rox in WPIAL Class 2A final
Beaver Falls could use multiple receivers, spread the field and throw the football in Saturday’s WPIAL championship. They could, but they probably won’t. “When you have two tailbacks that are over 220 pounds, you’re going to put them with as many linemen and as many lead blockers as you can...
Aliquippa brings ‘massive’ line into Class 4A final against Thomas Jefferson
When Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak talks about Aliquippa’s linemen, he doesn’t compare them with any group he coached to a WPIAL title. His guys were never that big. Instead, Cherpak points to a different football team that wears black and gold. “Their line is as big as the Steelers. I’m...
WPIAL Class 4A football championship breakdown: Aliquippa vs. Thomas Jefferson
WPIAL Class 4A football championship No. 1 Aliquippa vs. No. 2 Thomas Jefferson 1 p.m. Saturday, North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium On the air: Audio stream at TribHSSN.triblive.com Winner plays: District 10 champion Oil City (9-0) or District 1 champion Upper Moreland (5-1) in the PIAA semifinals, Nov. 20-21. WPIAL titles:...
Central Valley claims WPIAL title with yet another dominant performanceVideo
Call it a mercy mission. Central Valley celebrated its 10th consecutive “mercy rule” victory Friday night, an incredible season-long streak that now includes a 35-0 win over Elizabeth Forward in the WPIAL Class 3A championship at North Allegheny. The WPIAL title was the second in a row and fourth overall...
