Chris Harlan stories, Page 96
Woodland Hills leads WPIAL football back to practice with workouts ‘normal as any other’
Woodland Hills football coach Tim Bostard checked every player’s temperature and nobody was allowed to shake hands. Otherwise, this was just another Monday in June. “Once the kids got there, it felt as normal as any other day that we would have during the summer,” said Bostard, whose football team...
PIAA approves state football brackets; WPIAL can finalize its playoff plans
The PIAA approved state tournament brackets for all sports except basketball Monday, meaning the WPIAL soon can finalize plans for its football playoffs and championship games. The PIAA football brackets have the Class 6A champion entering the state playoffs in Week 13 (quarterfinals) on Nov. 27-28. The five other WPIAL...
PIAA adopts 2-game suspension for unsportsmanlike actions including ‘racially insensitive comments’
The PIAA strengthened its stance against “ethnic and racially insensitive comments” by making those and other unsportsmanlike actions punishable with a two-game suspension. The board on Monday unanimously approved added discipline for coaches and athletes ejected for the most egregious infractions. That list also includes foul or vulgar language and...
Serra baseball star Mark Black commits to juco that produced Jose Bautista, Russell Martin
Serra Catholic baseball star Mark Black had his future mapped out way in advance, committing to St. John’s before his sophomore year, until the coronavirus pandemic turned the world upside down. So, the recent graduate decided to reconsider. A power-hitting catcher with MLB aspirations, Black announced plans Sunday to de-commit...
Pine-Richland defensive lineman Miguel Jackson adds 3 more Division I offersVideo
Pine-Richland defensive lineman Miguel Jackson added three more Division I offers this week, pushing his overall total to about 30. The 6-foot-2, 265-pound rising senior added offers from Liberty, Louisiana-Monroe and Villanova. Sun Belt member Louisiana-Monroe and Liberty, an independent, are FBS programs. Villanova competes in the CAA, an FCS...
2-game suspension for foul language, physical contact among items on PIAA agenda Monday
The PIAA could give final approval Monday to a rule change that lets game officials issue a two-game suspensions to coaches and players who cross the line with foul language or make physical contact. The proposal, ready for a third and final vote, is included in the agenda for the...
Big 33 plans ‘watch party’ to celebrate players chosen for canceled all-star game
The covid-19 pandemic forced organizers to cancel the Big 33 Football Classic, but this year’s players will be honored online. The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association has planned a video “watch party” for 8 p.m. Thursday to celebrate this year’s players and highlight alumni from the all-star game that started...
PIAA reveals tentative state basketball brackets for 2021, ’22 postseasons
The WPIAL will send only four Class 6A boys basketball teams to the state playoffs next season, according to preliminary brackets revealed by the PIAA. That’s down from five qualifiers in the past two seasons and six in the 2017 and 2018 postseasons. The WPIAL also would have one fewer...
Freshman-year visit leads Sto-Rox linebacker Diontae Givens to DuquesneVideo
As a freshman, Diontae Givens tagged along with Sto-Rox football teammates for an unofficial recruiting visit to Duquesne. He was only a ninth grader but received a warm welcome from the Dukes’ staff, met assistant Scott Farison and kept in touch with the linebackers coach in the years since. “It...
West Allegheny’s Austin Hendrick selected 12th overall by Cincinnati Reds in MLB Draft
With a quick left-handed swing that packs plenty of pop, West Allegheny’s Austin Hendrick was naturally a Ken Griffey Jr. fan as a kid. They’ve now got another connection. Hendrick, one of the top high school hitters in the country, was selected 12th overall Wednesday in the MLB Draft by...
State releases covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports
Gov. Tom Wolf released covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports Wednesday, clearing the way for high school sports teams statewide to begin offseason workouts. But before those workouts can take place, the guidelines require every school district to create a detailed health and safety plan that’s approved by the school...
Will Austin Hendrick trade West Allegheny red for Cincinnati Reds in MLB draft?
Hot dogs with Skyline Chili and evenings at Great American Ball Park could be in Austin Hendrick’s future, if draft experts are correct. The West Allegheny outfielder is projected as a first-round selection in the MLB Draft on Wednesday night, and the majority opinion has him headed to the Cincinnati...
Football coach Ryan Matsook returning to sidelines at Western Beaver
At Western Beaver, Ryan Matsook’s work duties already include assistant principal and athletic director. Now, add football coach to his busy schedule. Four years after winning WPIAL and PIAA football titles at Beaver Falls, Matsook is making a coaching comeback. Western Beaver needed a football coach after Derek Moye resigned...
Gov. Wolf: State will release covid-19 guidelines for PIAA in ‘next day or two’
The wait is almost over. Covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports are expected to be released Tuesday or Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf said. The PIAA has banned teams from organizing offseason workouts until those guidelines from the state departments of health and education are put into place. “We’re dealing with...
‘Position-less basketball’ draws Penn Hills’ A’Lysa Sledge to UMass LowellVideo
A’Lysa Sledge owns point guard skills and the size of a forward, a combination that lets her play every position on the floor for Penn Hills. That versatility also makes her an ideal fit for UMass Lowell’s basketball team, so the 5-foot-11 rising senior committed Saturday to River Hawks coach...
Indiana rising sophomore Eve Fiala draws Pitt basketball offerVideo
Indiana’s Eve Fiala, who’s part of a talented 2023 WPIAL basketball class, added a scholarship offer Saturday from Pitt. She will be a sophomore in the fall. The 6-foot-4 center averaged 15 points last season for Indiana, which reached the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. She received her first Division I...
Sports might return sooner if schools prepare covid-19 plans now, PIAA says
The PIAA wants schools to use this downtime wisely. It’s unclear when Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration will release covid-19 guidelines to restart interscholastic sports, but in the meantime, the PIAA is asking school administrators to start making plans for their own districts, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said Friday. That...
Quaker Valley’s Bailey Garbee commits to American, turns teammates into rivalsVideo
Quaker Valley basketball teammates Bailey Garbee and Corinne Washington made college commitments this spring to separate schools, but they’ll still see one another at least a couple of times a year. A 5-foot-11 forward, Garbee announced a commitment Thursday to American. Her decision came several weeks after Washington committed to...
Covid-19 guidelines for PIAA sports won’t be ready this week
Athletes, coaches and high school administrators are growing impatient as more counties turn green, but they won’t see return-to-play guidelines for covid-19 until at least next week, according to a spokesman for the Pa. Department of Education. The PIAA has said it won’t clear teams to resume offseason workouts without...
Who were the PIAA football teams of the decade? MaxPreps ranks the Top 20
The most dominant high school football team in the state last decade wasn’t from Western Pennsylvania, but six WPIAL programs did make the list. MaxPreps created a formula to rank the teams of the decade and crowned St. Joseph’s Prep as the winner Wednesday. Among WPIAL teams, North Allegheny was...
‘Sadness’ for athletes, coaches and alumni as Quigley Catholic closes doors
Where’s the rest of your team? It’s a lighthearted question that makes Quigley Catholic boys soccer coach Dave Baker laugh years later, thinking back to a time when his players shared the field with powerhouse Sewickley Academy. “They had two squads of 30,” Baker said. “They have a varsity team...
Kiski Area planning for fall sports season despite distance learning decision
Kiski Area’s superintendent announced plans to start next school year online, an approach other districts may adopt, but that doesn’t mean sports are canceled. “If every other PIAA school in the WPIAL is ramping up for fall sports, we will be doing the same thing,” Kiski Area athletic director John...
4 unanswered questions about PIAA sports, covid-19
Here are a few unanswered questions regarding PIAA sports and covid-19: When can Pennsylvania high school teams resume workouts? For now, PIAA teams must wait until July 1 to start working out together because Gov. Tom Wolf has school buildings closed for the rest of this school year in response...
Penn State eliminated as Peters Township’s McMillon reveals Top 5
Peters Township junior Donovan McMillon eliminated Pitt and West Virginia a month ago, and now Penn State also disappeared from his list of college football destinations. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound safety announced a top five list of finalists Monday that included Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech. He’d eliminated...
Iowa becomes 1st state to resume high school sports with baseball, softballVideo
While Pennsylvania debates the future of fall sports, Monday was the first day of baseball and softball season for high schools in Iowa. Like the rest of the country, the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union canceled spring sports seasons, but the state...
