Don Rebel stories, Page 120

Some sunshine and temps in the mid 70s will be the backdrop Tuesday as most of the WPIAL baseball teams hit the diamond to begin section play. The district has set up a different look to section play this spring in response to pandemic related concerns. Instead of playing every...

Without a 2020 season and with offseason workouts sporadic due to the ongoing pandemic, few people knew what to expect at the start of the 2021 high school baseball season. Batting .846 five games and 10 days into the much-anticipated campaign is something not even the most optimistic hitter could...

The first full week “back to work” for the Valley baseball team was nearly perfect. After losing their season opener Mar. 26 at Highlands, the Vikings nearly matched their win total of five in 2019 in one week, going 3-0. “The biggest concern coming into the season is always the...

North Allegheny senior basketball player Lizzy Groetsch has been taking piano lessons since she was 6 years old. She enjoys playing classical music. That’s seems appropriate since she and her Tigers teammates have just completed a season for the ages. Groetsch led North Allegheny to a 27-1 season in which...

In the spring of 2019, the Armstrong softball team lost its first 13 games. The River Hawks won two of their final three games two years ago but ended up tied for last place in Section 1-5A with an overall record of 3-16. Two years later, and things have changed...

After a great start to the season March 26-27, the strikeouts and the victories kept coming for Mia Edwards and Shenango softball last week. In three games, all wins, the senior pitcher threw 18 innings without giving up a run. She allowed six hits and struck out 37. “The biggest...

No need to hunt here and there for outstanding high school sports coverage, just check out the basket of video and audio treats this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We have the start of section play with WPIAL baseball and softball on the diamonds, along with boys...

Here are the final PIHL high school hockey standings through the end of the regular season. The PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs are set to start with all of the quarterfinals games Monday. Trib HSSN will have video steam coverage of the semifinals and finals. The Pennsylvania Cup state hockey championships...

When last we saw the Norwin softball team, it was falling in the final four. The Knights lost to North Allegheny, 8-4, in the 2019 Class 6A semifinals, ending their season with a 13-8 overall record. Now in his sixth season as coach at Norwin, Brian Mesich knows a lot...

Every team had to deal with the pandemic this past basketball season, but covid-19 related issues hit some programs more than others. The South Fayette girls basketball team had several stops and starts it had to deal with, but it was able to enjoy success in a season that started...

Many years ago, when a student did well in the classroom, the teacher would sometimes move him to a seat in the front of the class. Well, this is the Trib HSSN boys basketball version of that with social distancing protocols still in effect. There were plenty of players and...

There are certain perks to doing well. Sometimes you get to move to the front of a line, like the long line of standout girls basketball players in the WPIAL in 2021. There were plenty of top-notch players and coaches who stood out for their performances on the girls basketball...

“It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame. Let’s play two.” That was the famous quote from Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, the late, great shortstop of the Chicago Cubs. His words are fitting for two WPIAL baseball teams Saturday afternoon. Two days after the snow was falling and the wind...

We aren’t trying to fool you as we touch on some of the scholastic events to watch here on this first day of April. Prior to 1979, there was only one classification in WPIAL boys baseball. From 1979-1998, high school baseball in the district had Class AAA and AA. Expansion...

The end of the season is here after six new boys basketball champions were crowned. Class 5A champion Cathedral Prep and 4A winner Allentown Central Catholic each captured their third PIAA boys basketball gold while it was state title No. 2 for Reading in Class 6A. The other three champions...

Five basketball champions from the WPIAL headed east last week for a trip to Hershey to play for a state championship. Three returned with state silver to go along with their district title while two struck more gold at the Giant Center in Chocolate Town and are now twin title...

The final day of March looks like it might be a wet one, so our focus on this Wednesday moves from the outdoors to the indoors and boys volleyball. While there are a handful of nonsection matches set, one that stands out is a battle between top 5 teams in...

The end is here after six new girls basketball champions were crowned. Class A champion Bishop Guilfoyle collected its seventh state title while Class 4A winner Archbishop Wood took its sixth PIAA crown home from Hershey. The other four champions — North Allegheny in 6A, Cardinal O’Hara in 5A, West...

In the 2017 WPIAL Class 6A baseball semifinals, North Allegheny defeated Canon-McMillan, 5-3. It marked the second straight year the Big Macs lost in the district semifinals. A year later in May of 2018, Canon-McMillan finally cleared the semifinals hurdle with a win over Central Catholic that set up a...

On the district stage, North Allegheny has been a dominant force since Spencer Stefko took over the girls basketball program in 2016. Since then, the Tigers have been to six straight WPIAL championship games, winning four of them, striking gold in each of the last two seasons. However, that incredible...

North Allegheny used a balanced attack on offense and a suffocating defense all season to win a second straight WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball championship. However, in the two biggest games of the season last week, the Tigers turned to Lizzy Groetsch to lead the way. The senior, averaging 16...

Here are the latest PIHL standings through Sunday. The PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs are set to start April 5. The Pennsylvania Cup championships are set for April 24. *- clinched a playoff spot x- eliminated from playoff chase Team – Wins – Losses – OT/Shootout Loss = Total Points Class...

With winter sports champions nearly all crowned, we spring into our spring high school sports coverage this week here on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We have the debuts of WPIAL baseball, softball, girls lacrosse and boys volleyball. We also begin our salute to the WPIAL basketball champions with...

During an imperfect time, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is celebrating a perfect boys basketball season. For only the 14th time in history and the third time this century, a WPIAL boys basketball team won district and state championships while going undefeated. OLSH (24-0) went wire to wire as...

Senior Dante Spadafora and junior Jake DiMichele made up one of the higher-scoring and more successful dynamic duos the WPIAL has seen in a long time. As point guard, Spadafora set the table and DiMichele dined and feasted on opposing defenses, averaging more 30 points in what turned out to...