Don Rebel stories, Page 139
Trib HSSN Team of the Week for Week 1
In four years from 2016-19, Chartiers Valley football played in Class 5A and struggled, winning only four conference games and amassing an overall record of 10-30. After WPIAL realignment dropped the program to Class 4A, the Colts galloped to a quick start out of the gates with an impressive 34-7...
This week’s Trib HSSN broadcasts
The high school fall sports season kicks into full gear this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We have the debut of WPIAL boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball and field hockey. We turn our attention to Week 2 of the high school football season with 36 video...
Trib HSSN Football Player of the Week for Week 1
Anytime a key player changes position, there is a little hesitation, a little anxiousness and a whole lot of finger crossing. Belle Vernon made the move from an offense built around a pocket passer the last few years to an run-option dynamic by putting the ball in the hands of...
Reis Watkins stars as Shenango christens new turf with win over Union
Gone is another natural grass field in the WPIAL as they rolled out the new turf at Frank Bongevingo Field at Glenn “Pop” Johnson Stadium at Shenango High School. However, there was nothing artificial about how the host Wildcats opened up the new season with a 25-12 win over rival...
Signal Item girls soccer preview: Chartiers Valley chasing playoff berth in competitive section
Girls high school soccer teams that succeeded last fall begin this season trying to build on that momentum while those who stumbled look to a new year as a building block. Such it is for the Chartiers Valley girls soccer team. Last season, the Colts missed the playoff for a...
Signal Item boys soccer preview: Carlynton has championship potential
The 2020 high school sports season is underway. A season once thought to be in jeopardy of being canceled or possibly moved to the spring has kicked off for athletes playing football, field hockey, volleyball, golf, tennis, cross-country and soccer. Four area boys soccer teams reached the WPIAL playoffs a...
Trib HSSN don’t-miss high school football matchups for Week 1
Class 6A Canon-McMillan (3-8) at No. #1 Central Catholic (12-2) 7 p.m. Friday, Graham Field in Wilkinsburg Coaches: Mike Evans, Canon-McMillan; Terry Totten, Central Catholic Players to watch: Ryan Angott, Canon-McMillan (Jr., 5-10, 185, RB); Edward Tillman, Central Catholic (Sr., 5-8, 165, RB) Four downs: 1. Junior Ryan Angott will...
Trib HSSN preseason state football rankings
The 2020 high school football season kicks off Friday around Pennsylvania with words such as finally, normalcy, excitement and tradition being used to describe games that were up in the air as recently as two weeks ago. Add another word when it comes to state rankings — chaos. First the...
Central Catholic leads preseason Trib 10 football power rankings
Here is the first edition of the Trib 10 high school football power rankings for the 2020 season. These are the weekly rankings where you throw classifications out the window. We allow for some wiggle room for the smaller schools to participate. I mean, is Clairton or Beaver Falls going...
After back-to-back playoff trips, Shaler looking to take next step
What a difference a couple of years make. For most of this recent decade, the Shaler football team entered a season just looking to win a game or two. From 2012-17, fans were forgetting the Titans as they struggled to a 2-56 overall record with five winless seasons. However, the...
South Park motivated by last season’s postseason victory
For the last two years, South Park has played in the strongest of the two WPIAL Class 3A conferences — the Tri-County West. There, the Eagles battled some of the top teams in the class in Aliquippa, Beaver Falls and defending district champion Central Valley. You would think South Park...
WPIAL Class 6A football breakdown: NA, Central Catholic cream of shrinking crop
The expansion to six classifications four years ago has been a bonanza for many of the WPIAL classes. Close regular season battles for playoff berths have led to some nail-biting moments in the postseason. That has not been the case for the WPIAL’s largest classification. While the number of teams...
With Teddy Ruffner in backfield, Mars targets postseason success
In 2005, Mars finished with a 5-5 record after a Class AA first-round playoff loss to Burrell. That was the last time the Fightin’ Planets had a non-winning season. Lately, however, Mars has mastered regular season success, but the Planets aren’t aligning come playoff time. From 2006-15, Mars was able...
After WPIAL title game appearance, Sto-Rox enters new class with new quarterback
In LaRoi Johnson’s first year as head coach at Sto-Rox in 2018, the Vikings improved from the previous year to finish 6-4 but missed out on the Class A playoffs. The next step in the program’s growth under Johnson last year was more like a giant leap. Sto-Rox ended up...
Brentwood breaking in new starters after breakthrough season
Brentwood was close to having a golden season in 2019. The Spartans finished 10-3 overall with all three losses coming down to the wire. Brentwood lost its season opener to Keystone Oaks, 26-21, fell to Burgettstown for the Three Rivers Conference crown, 16-13, in Week 8 and then was eliminated...
Carlynton looks to end playoff drought behind experienced line
The Carlynton football team won its season opener for a second straight year in 2019 and was actually sitting in first place at 2-0 after outscoring Bishop Canevin and Fort Cherry by a combined score of 77-20. Then a seven-game losing streak derailed its playoff hopes … again. With Southmoreland...
Despite young roster, bump up in class, Aliquippa still thinking WPIAL title
It took a pandemic to end one of the most impressive streaks in WPIAL football history. Every year since 2008, Aliquippa has played for a WPIAL football championship at Heinz Field. The Quips’ 12 straight trips to the North Shore are more than every NFL team outside of the AFC...
Beaver motivated to move past rare losing season
For a 10-year span, there were few football programs in the WPIAL consistently better than Beaver. From 2010-18, the Bobcats were a combined 70-27. Although they never made it to a WPIAL championship game, they never won fewer than seven games in that nine-year stretch. Then the dam of success...
Drop to Class 4A has enthusiasm on the rise at Chartiers Valley
In 2009, Chartiers Valley closed out the first decade of the century with one of its most successful football seasons. The Colts lost only once in the regular season and finished with an 8-2 record. The last 10 years have been a struggle on the gridiron for Chartiers Valley, with...
With QB Persinger healthy, Montour ready to compete in new Parkway Conference
In back-to-back years, the Montour football program became quite familiar with the ups and downs of high school football. The 2017 season was close to the best of times and the follow up in 2018 was the worst of times. Three years ago, the Spartans finished 9-3 and reached the...
Veteran Seneca Valley team out to even the score
Since the expansion to six classifications throughout the state four years ago, even years have been very good for the Seneca Valley football program. In 2016, Seneca Valley finished 8-4 and defeated Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny in the playoffs to reach the first WPIAL Class 6A championship game. There...
With new coach, new class, a season of change at Baldwin
Changing addresses and moving from one football program to another can be taxing and tough. The adjustment period between coaching staff and players can last well into the first season. Preparing for the first season at a new school with the limitations of a pandemic makes a difficult transition so...
Canon-McMillan starting to stack up playoff appearances
For nearly 10 years, the Canon-McMillan football team was a spectator to postseason football. From 2009-17, the Big Macs’ season never carried over to November. However, the team is now riding a new streak coming into the third decade of the century. Canon-McMillan is coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. Sure,...
With playmakers back, Freedom has tools to contend in Class 2A
In the first eight years of this past decade, the Freedom football team struggled mightily, going a combined 18-62. However, the decade finished with a flourish for Freedom. The Bulldogs found their bite by going a combined 19-6. The bar has been raised for the program to the extent that...
Entering school’s 2nd decade, Central Valley looks to add to loaded trophy case
What a great first decade of existence for the Central Valley football team. In the first 10 years since the merger of Center and Monaca before the 2010 season, the Warriors are 98-29 with five conference championships, three WPIAL titles and two WPIAL and two PIAA runner-up trophies with only...
