Dave Mackall stories, Page 26
Amid refurbished home court buzz, Duquesne tries to keep focus on Dayton
While the pregame buzz at Duquesne has centered mainly on the long-awaited reopening of the refurbished and renamed UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the Dukes hope to keep their focus on a familiar opponent. The nemesis known as the Dayton Flyers will serve on Tuesday night as the first men’s basketball team...
Duquesne routs St. Joseph’s with suffocating defense
Goodbye to the “La Roche Hex.” Duquesne made its final home-away-from-home men’s basketball game a rousing success before shedding its vagabond status Saturday night. Riding senior Marcus Weathers’ 24 points and 12 rebounds and a suffocating defense, the Dukes posted a 67-50 victory over St. Joseph’s at Kerr Fitness Center....
Duquesne men’s basketball loses to St. Bonaventure — again
Mark this one down for the archives. If you didn’t watch it, you might want to dial it up at a later date. Fast. Physical. Entertaining. Take your pick. And probably, there are many more superlatives to describe St. Bonaventure’s 65-61 Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball victory over Duquesne on...
Northern Kentucky pulls away in 2nd half to defeat Robert Morris
In the first men’s basketball meeting between the schools, Robert Morris and Northern Kentucky spent much of the night on Friday trading baskets at UPMC Events Center. Then Northern Kentucky stepped on the gas and powered to its first road win of the season. Marques Warrick notched 20 points, Trevon...
Girls basketball preview: Latrobe loaded with veteran talent
The 2021 senior class at Latrobe includes four girls basketball players who represent the first group to play the sport at the seventh-grade level when the current coaching staff, led by sixth-year coach Mark Burkhardt, took over the program in 2015. As a result, Latrobe’s varsity roster is loaded with...
Boys basketball preview: Latrobe looks for return to winning ways
Latrobe boys basketball has seen its share of success under longtime coach Brad Wetzel, who has experienced just four losing seasons since taking over the program in 2002-03. The Wildcats enter the current campaign, though, hoping to erase the memory of one of those off years that resulted in a...
Greensburg Salem girls basketball returns plenty of experience, depth
Four starters return to the Greensburg Salem girls basketball team, giving coach Rick Klimchock hope for a breakout season heading into his fourth year of leading the Golden Lions, whose enrollment rose enough to place them in Class 5A. Though he wasn’t thrilled to learn of the move, Klimchock hasn’t...
Greensburg Salem boys basketball preparing to face Class 6A competition
The lure of familiar names was too much for Mark Zahorchak, the third-year Greensburg Salem boys basketball coach and former Golden Lions player. So much so that he elected to take the jump. All the way to Class 6A. “At least, we’ll have some connection with most of the teams,”...
Boys basketball preview: Belle Vernon could thrive again in underdog role
It seems anyone discussing coach Joe Salvino’s long and successful high school basketball career can’t help but refer to all those victories achieved by the 69-year-old Mon Valley staple. Salvino’s combined record in 36 seasons at neighboring schools Monessen and Belle Vernon stands at 667-279. But it’s his latest loss...
Girls basketball preview: Former Belle Vernon star takes reins of exciting young team
Talk about respect. Belle Vernon has yet to play a game under new girls basketball coach Kaitlyn Slagus, but her players already have heard a great deal about her. A former Belle Vernon star, Slagus is learning quickly about her players, too. “Some of us were walking out of the...
Franklin Regional volleyball impresses with straight-sets win in PIAA quarterfinals
There is a thing or two about his girls volleyball team coach Mike Feorene might wish he could change. It’s just Feorene doesn’t feel the need to tinker much amid another season of thrills at Franklin Regional. When you’re shooting for a state championship, you must be doing things right....
Peters Township avenges loss to Gateway, returns to WPIAL Class 5A title game
That bad taste Peters Township had had since a one-point loss to Gateway in a WPIAL championship football game a year ago finally is gone. For real, it isn’t there anymore. There’s nothing sweeter for the Indians, now that they’re headed to their second Class 5A championship game following a...
Gateway defense stands strong, defeats Penn Hills in Class 5A opening round
Gateway couldn’t score many points Friday night on its home turf, but the Gators didn’t need to. Their defense took matters personally and stonewalled a determined Penn Hills bunch in a physical WPIAL football playoff victory at Antimarino Stadium. Carsen Engleka passed for 147 yards, and the Gateway defense backed...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls soccer follows script, advances to WPIAL semifinals
For a high school soccer program not used to early playoff exits, the Greensburg Central Catholic girls team continues to follow the script to a tee. Sara Felder, Tatum Gretz and Jessica Nemeth scored two goals apiece, and top-seeded GCC stayed unbeaten while advancing to the WPIAL Class A semifinals...
Ligonier Valley caps 1st season back in WPIAL with wild win over Shady Side Academy
Consider Ligonier Valley’s return to WPIAL football a success, because the Rams won their season finale Friday night to post a winning record in their first year in District 7 since 1969. Hayden Sierocky’s interception at midfield in the final minute secured Ligonier Valley’s wild 53-48 victory over visiting Shady...
Penn-Trafford pulls away in second half, dusts Connellsville
No. 4 Penn-Trafford, idled by coronavirus-related issues for a week, found itself in a battle Friday with winless Connellsville through one half of a WPIAL Class 5A Big East football game before shaking off the rust and pulling away for a 64-28 thumping of the visiting Falcons. Ethan Carr passed...
Top-ranked North Allegheny rolls past Norwin
A late arrival by North Allegheny to Westmoreland County didn’t manage to derail the WPIAL’s No. 1-ranked Class 6A football team on Friday night at Norwin. Chalk it up to experience in matters like these: When the lights go on for North Allegheny, they generally go out for the Tigers’...
Mt. Pleasant holds off dogged challenge by Yough
Mt. Pleasant kept trying to put away the outcome. Yough wouldn’t allow it to happen. Until time ran out on the Cougars. Pete Billey rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns, and Asher O’Connor threw two scoring passes to Donavin Bair and scored on an 8-yard run late in the...
Jeannette brings coach birthday rout
For the 10th time in Roy Hall’s 12 seasons as Jeannette’s football coach, the Jayhawks managed to provide their leader with a victory during his birthday week. And what a rousing display it was. A day after celebrating his big day, Hall came away with another victory Friday as No....
Seneca Valley makes waves in debut, routs Hempfield
The wait was a bit longer than expected, but when Seneca Valley finally was able to take the field for its football opener Friday night, the Raiders did not disappoint. Dustin Horn, making his first varsity start, threw four touchdown passes and rushed for another for Seneca Valley in a...
Plum keeps Greensburg Salem from reaching 700-win plateau
For Greensburg Salem, football victory No. 700 will have to wait for at least another week. The Golden Lions were bidding to become just the fifth WPIAL school to reach that lofty plateau Friday night, but Plum had another idea. “We talked about it all week,” Plum coach Matt Morgan...
Ligonier Valley softball team eyes longer postseason run
Another successful softball season at Ligonier Valley in 2019 abruptly ended with an early exit from the postseason. For the Rams, who last qualified for the PIAA playoffs in 2017, it is time to get back to the business of trying to win a few more of those games. But...
Ligonier Valley baseball has holes to fill in lineup if it wants to chase Heritage title
In its final tuneup before joining the WPIAL next season, the Ligonier Valley baseball team will attempt to exit District 6 this spring with a second consecutive Heritage Conference championship and fifth overall. Coach Brett Marabito remembers well the first time the Rams earned the conference title. “It was my...
New coach Bates hopes to steer young Greensburg Salem softball team in right direction
Former Hempfield softball standout Alyssa Bates steps in this season as coach at Greensburg Salem after a two-year stint as an assistant with the Golden Lions. Bates, a freshman on Hempfield’s 2009 WPIAL Class AAAA championship team, said she is relying on what she learned from various mentors to develop...
Opportunity knocks for Greensburg Salem’s new-look baseball roster
Greensburg Salem faces a major overhaul of its baseball roster after a season that sent the Golden Lions into the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs as a No. 1 seed. It doesn’t mean coach Bill Wisniewski hasn’t been looking forward to the challenge. “It’ll be fun to see them progress,” he...
