Don Rebel stories, Page 3
In ‘physical, intense’ battle, Upper St. Clair gets past Central Catholic into state semifinals
Back in December, Central Catholic handed Upper St. Clair its only blemish of the season. In the rubber game of the season series between the two Section 2-6A co-champs three months later, the Panthers made sure the Vikings would not deliver a fatal blow to their near-perfect season. Three-time WPIAL...
Sites set for Chartiers Valley, Neighborhood Academy, Obama Academy in PIAA boys basketball semifinals
Three local teams remain heading into the final four in the 2026 PIAA boys basketball Class 5A, 4A and A playoffs. Two from the WPIAL and one amazing run from a City League team. One thing all three have in common is they are in search of double gold this...
Neshannock, Shady Side Academy, GCC set for Monday’s PIAA girls basketball semifinals
The PIAA girls basketball semifinals are set for Monday for teams in Class 6A, 3A and 2A. Three District 7 teams will look to get a ticket punched for a date at the Giant Center in Hershey later in the week. While there will be no Class 6A rep from...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 14, 2026: WPIAL 6A teams battle for spot in state finals
As soon as the PIAA quarterfinals began, 24 hours later, they will be in the books. The Road to Hershey sees the end of the third round coming up Saturday afternoon as teams from boys Class 6A, 3A and 2A and girls Class 5A, 4A and A take center stage....
2026 WPIAL Class A baseball preseason breakdown
Four of the five top-ranked teams heading into the 2026 Class A baseball season are private schools. The last three district champions were private schools. The last time two public schools collided for the WPIAL Class A crown was five years ago. Now this isn’t a boundary vs. non-boundary school...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania boys high school basketball rankings for March 12, 2026
Depending on what class you look at, Trib HSSN either did a great job ranking the Top 5 heading into the state playoffs with plenty of “likes” and “atta-boys,” or we should hide our face in great shame and are banished to the bat cave. It has been a crazy...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania girls high school basketball rankings for March 12, 2026
Some districts are doing better than others in certain classifications as we head to the third round of the five-round PIAA girls basketball playoffs. In Class 6A, both Districts 3 and 12 have two teams left in the elite eight. In both 5A and 4A, the WPIAL is shining bright...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 13, 2026: Deer Lakes, Obama Academy to meet in unlikely quarterfinal
Will it be a lucky Friday the 13th for the nine WPIAL and one City League basketball team taking to the court as The Road to Hershey continues with quarterfinals Friday? The spotlight shines on the remaining 10 district teams in boys Class 5A, 4A and A and girls Class...
Trib 10: Power rankings filled with teams still alive in state playoffs
The Trib 10 this week is like the prince seeing if the glass slipper he may or may not have legally confiscated belonged to Cinderella. It was indeed a perfect fit. Much like the power rankings are a perfect fit as both the WPIAL boys and girls are down to...
WPIAL releases new-look girls volleyball alignment with 6 classes
On the 10-year anniversary of the PIAA expanding football, basketball, baseball and softball from four to six classifications, girls volleyball is next to grow in class. The WPIAL released the new section alignment and schedules for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, the first two years of girls volleyball entering the...
Saturday’s PIAA girls basketball quarterfinals loaded with WPIAL teams in Class 5A, 4AVideo
The WPIAL has a 75% chance of having a district girls basketball team playing for state gold in the PIAA Class 5A and 4A championship games, while their chances in Class A have flat-lined. Three of the final four PIAA western teams in both 5A and 4A are from District...
5 WPIAL boys basketball teams set for Saturday’s PIAA quarterfinalsVideo
One class is shining bright with three WPIAL boys basketball teams of the four remaining on the western side of the brackets. Another class has two of the four left, while a third is vacant of District 7 schools heading into the state Elite Eight. On Wednesday, WPIAL boys teams...
WPIAL releases football conference alignment for next 2 seasonsVideo
Following plenty of speculation with various plans considered between league officials, the WPIAL released new conference alignments and schedules for the 2026 and 2027 high school football seasons Thursday. It’s a day coaches, administrators, players and fans have been eagerly awaiting. “Glad we finally got these, and now we can...
2026 WPIAL Class 2A baseball preseason breakdown
Who knew Cinderella was a dog – a bulldog that is. A year ago, Freedom held off both Laurel and New Brighton by one game to finish in third place in Section 2-2A just to make the WPIAL postseason. When the district Class 2A brackets came out, Freedom was the...
What to watch for in high school sports on March 12, 2026: WPIAL set to announce football realignment
While we pull over to take a break between the second round and quarterfinals on the Road to Hershey and the PIAA basketball playoffs, football jumps to the forefront Thursday. The WPIAL has said it plans to release the new conference alignments and schedules for the 2026 and 2027 high...
4 WPIAL teams to play in Friday’s PIAA girls basketball quarterfinals
The start of the second round of the PIAA girls basketball playoffs continued to be a grind for district teams as seven WPIAL teams and one City League squad in Class 6A, 3A and 2A were a combined 4-4. Class 6A champion Canon-McMillan, WPIAL 3A finalists Shady Side Academy and...
PIAA sets times, sites for Friday’s boys basketball quarterfinals
Five of the 10 WPIAL boys basketball teams from Class 5A, 4A and A that hit the court for second round action Tuesday are moving forward on the Road to Hershey. However, the biggest eyebrow raiser from Tuesday was delivered by City League champion Obama Academy. The Eagles soared past...
2026 WPIAL Class 3A baseball preseason breakdown
It was a golden run for Riverside in 2025 as the Panthers swept district and state gold in Class 3A. But is their run of domination over for now? Strange to see a preseason ranking this decade without Riverside mentioned. The Panthers also swept WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2023....
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 11, 2026: Central Catholic gets chance to reach quarterfinals
The Road to Hershey continues with second-round action Wednesday with teams from boys Class 6A, 3A and 2A and girls Class 5A, 4A and A taking center stage. Nearly 40 years ago, legendary Central Catholic boys basketball coach Chuck Crummie led the Vikings all the way to the 1988 PIAA...
WPIAL sets boys, girls soccer alignment for next 2 years
This is a big week for fall sports as the WPIAL is releasing section alignments and schedules for the next two years. Football will come Thursday, Wednesday is girls volleyball and Monday was boys and girls soccer. “It’s always difficult trying to balance travel and competitive balance,” WPIAL executive director...
2026 WPIAL Class 4A baseball preseason breakdown
From start to finish, there was no movement atop the WPIAL Class 4A baseball rankings last season. Indiana was the preseason favorite, remained ranked No. 1 throughout the regular season, and then after finishing with silver in both the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs a year earlier, captured the program’s first...
What to watch for in high school sports on March 10, 2026: WPIAL 5A heavyweights to clash in PIAA 2nd round
The Road to Hershey continues with second-round action Tuesday with the spotlight shining on boys Class 5A, 4A and Class A and girls Class 6A, 3A and 2A. WPIAL teams were 5-3 in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A boys basketball playoffs. However, there is only one head-to-head...
Trib HSSN high school basketball team of the week for March 9, 2026Video
Trib HSSN basketball team of the week – Trinity Hillers girls Coach – Bill Poletti (second season) Record – 8-4 and third place in Section 4-5A, 19-8 overall #Earned – Trinity second-year coach Bill Poletti played for Tim McConnell and helped win a WPIAL championship at Chartiers Valley 22 years...
2026 WPIAL Class 5A baseball preseason breakdown
For the third time in seven years, Shaler was raising Class 5A gold when the 2025 district baseball playoffs concluded. Shaler and Pine-Richland shared the Section 3-5A championship after splitting against each other in the regular season. The two met for the rubber game at Wild Things Park in Washington...
Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week for March 8, 2026Video
Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week – Ryan Robbins School – Upper St. Clair Class – Junior Height – 6-foot-7 Position – Center #Earned – He is respectfully referred to by his high school boys basketball coach as Mount Robbins. There were times during the PIAA opener for...
