Chris Harlan stories, Page 88

Peters Township came within one point of winning the WPIAL Class 5A title last season, but that rain-soaked loss didn’t close the team’s championship window. “We have some good guys coming back,” coach T.J. Plack said. “If we didn’t have (Donovan) McMillon, (Corban) Hondru and some of these others, we’re...

Bethel Park graduated all 11 starters on offense and 10 on defense, but coach Brian DeLallo won’t call this a “rebuilding” year. “I don’t like using the R-word,” he said. “We’re not building in excuses and saying we’re rebuilding. We’re going to try to reload and get after guys. If...

South Fayette quarterback Naman Alemada was running the New England Patriots offense at times last season, with plays designed for small-but-quick receivers. Charley Rossi, Joey Audia and Ryan McGuire were the WPIAL’s version of Julian Edelman and Co. But this year, offensive coordinator Ben Maracek borrowed ideas from another championship...

Ethan Dahlem and David Pantelis have a quarterback-receiver connection that Upper St. Clair coach Mike Junko describes as nearly clairvoyant. The pair combined for 77 receptions and more than 1,100 receiving yards. “It’s almost intuitive,” Junko said. “They are very much in tune. They just know. They’re developing that rhythm...

West Allegheny not only has a new head coach but also a new offensive coordinator and an entirely new offense. There was a lot to learn during the team’s twice-weekly video conference calls with everyone trapped at home this spring. Looking back, that online work let the Indians enter summer...

There will be City League sports this fall. The school board for Pittsburgh Public Schools voted unanimously Wednesday against a proposal that would’ve postponed sports until the district resumes in-person classes. The school district’s administration recommended the delay earlier this month, but the 9-0 vote reversed that decision, allowing sports...

Concerned that an athlete had direct exposure to covid-19, Seneca Valley shut down football workouts indefinitely Tuesday, meaning it also must cancel its preseason scrimmage and season opener. Teams must have 10 preseason practices before a scrimmage and 15 before a game, thresholds that the Raiders can’t reach, coach Ron...

If a school district lets students play sports and one contracts covid-19 with complications, could the school be held legally responsible? Unlikely, says attorney Larry Kelly, a multi-sport coach in the WPIAL who has practiced personal-injury law for 37 years. Kelly studied the question and points to the governmental immunity...

The WPIAL believes a large majority of member schools will play sports this fall, but it’s hoping to know for sure in the next week. School administrators will receive a survey Tuesday asking them to respond if they intend to opt out of any fall sport, WPIAL executive director Amy...

A positive covid-19 test caused Mt. Lebanon to shut down football activities until next week, a delay that will force the team to cancel its preseason scrimmage and season opener. The PIAA requires 10 practices before a scrimmage and 15 before the first game, thresholds Mt. Lebanon can’t reach in...

City League football coaches are worried about losing their season, but they’re also fearful they could lose the entire league. “If we don’t play football this year, we won’t have City League football in a couple of years,” Allderdice coach Jerry Haslett said. Pittsburgh Public Schools’ administration recommended earlier this...

Hopewell principal Michael Allison is a former high school athlete and coach, the treasurer of the WPIAL and president of the Pennsylvania Principals Association. He’s also one of five PIAA board members Friday who voted against starting fall sports next week. Allison understands his vote won’t be popular with many,...

High school football season starts Monday, along with soccer, cross country, girls volleyball and all other PIAA fall sports. The PIAA board of directors ignored Gov. Tom Wolf’s strong recommendation and voted Friday to let fall sports start as scheduled, but the PIAA left the responsibility with individual school districts...

The PIAA voted to allow high school sports to proceed on schedule. Allegheny County schools got a double dose of good news. Allegheny County schools will be able to play games at home, the WPIAL and Allegheny County Health Department announced Friday in a joint statement. The county’s 50-person limit...

After decades in red and black, Dwight Hines is embracing green energy at Sto-Rox. The former coach and star athlete at Aliquippa was hired Thursday night as the Sto-Rox boys basketball coach. Hines didn’t choose to leave his alma mater this summer, but said his new job already reminds him...

The PIAA has been around for more than a century, and Friday’s decision surely ranks among its most debated. Should high school sports be played this fall? Gov. Tom Wolf repeatedly has said no and issued a “strong recommendation” that all youth sports be delayed until at least Jan. 1...

The WPIAL and Allegheny County Health Department will meet Friday to discuss plans for potentially playing high school sports this fall. Those talks will include the county’s 50-person limit on outdoor gatherings, a restriction that has school administrators concerned Allegheny County football teams won’t be able to host games. “We...

If there’s a high school football season this fall, teams from Allegheny County might play home games at stadiums in neighboring counties. That’s a possibility if the Allegheny County Health Department maintains its strict 50-person limit on outdoor gatherings, North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto said Wednesday. Bozzuto, president of...

Quaker Valley suspended all workouts by its sports teams after learning several athletes were exposed to covid-19 at an off-campus gathering, the school announced Tuesday. “We are working swiftly to identify all student-athletes who were in attendance at this non-school event so that they can quarantine, and the remaining student-athletes...

The PIAA wants to move forward with fall sports, executive director Bob Lombardi told state legislators Tuesday, citing favorable data collected by UPMC athletic trainers. His words were an early indication the governor’s wishes will be ignored. “It is worth at least attempting to pursue a fall sports program,” said...

If the PIAA ignores Gov. Tom Wolf’s advice and allows fall sports to continue, his administration won’t turn his strong recommendation into a mandate. “The governor has been very clear about that: There are no plans to do that,” state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Tuesday. Wolf’s administration wants...

Republican state lawmakers are questioning the specific data — or lack thereof — that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration used to recommend shutting down youth sports this fall. Wolf issued a “strong recommendation” interscholastic and recreational youth sports be postponed until Jan. 1, but members of the Republican House Caucus criticized...

Freedom administrators canceled football workouts for this week over concerns a player was possibly exposed to the coronavirus. Superintendent Jeffrey Fuller informed parents in a letter posted on the school district’s website. Fuller said the move was taken out of an abundance of caution after an athlete was potentially exposed,...

The NBA and NHL successfully used an isolation “bubble” to restart their sports, and now Kiski School will take that idea to the high school level. Athletes at the private, all-boys boarding school in Saltsburg will compete this fall under a plan that involves team-specific dorms and on-campus covid-19 testing,...

In a word, Friday’s meeting with Gov. Tom Wolf’s staff was “uneventful.” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi offered that analysis after an unproductive conversation regarding Wolf’s recommended shutdown of fall sports. The governor isn’t budging from his recommendation, and his staff wasn’t receptive to concerns raised by the PIAA. “There...