Don Rebel stories, Page 38
Trib HSSN don’t miss high school football matchups for 2024 Week 1
Welcome to Week 1 of the 2024 WPIAL football regular season and one of the busiest Fridays in the WPIAL with only two teams, New Brighton and Summit Academy, slated for a Saturday game. This weekend is also a rare occurrence for high school football throughout the state. For only...
What to watch for in high school sports on Aug. 28, 2024: Westinghouse looks to get in win column
Over the last two seasons, the Westinghouse football program has proven to be a dominant force, not only in the City League but also across the state. The Bulldogs are a combined 27-2 in 2022 and 2023, with both losses coming in the PIAA Class 2A championship game against Southern...
Trib 10: Quips stand atop 1st edition of football power rankings
Last year, only two teams sat atop the Trib 10 power rankings throughout the season. Central Catholic was No. 1 from Week Zero through Week 6, and then Aliquippa took over the top spot and remained there the rest of the 2023 campaign. It’s a new season, but the Quips...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Aug. 28, 2024: Section matchups heat up in girls soccer
With the August weather in full meltdown mode this week, things are heating up in select sections in Class 3A, 2A and A in WPIAL girls soccer. One of the matches to watch pits the two top teams from last year in Section 1-3A as Mars hosts Hampton. Last fall,...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania high school football rankings for Aug. 27, 2024
It was a good start for the elite high school football teams across the state, but not a great start as the 27 teams from last week’s HSSN preseason state rankings were a combined 18-9 in Week Zero. Despite nine teams losing, it only cost three schools a place in...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Aug. 27, 2024: Boys soccer champs open with tough test
One of the top section openers slated for Tuesday in WPIAL boys soccer pits a team that peaked in the regular season against a school that thrived in the postseason. Defending 3A champion South Fayette visits Bethel Park in a intriguing Section 2-3A opener. Last fall, the Black Hawks won...
Trib HSSN high school football team of the week for 2024 Week ZeroVideo
Trib HSSN football team of the week: Blackhawk Cougars Coach: Jake Wickline (1st season) Record: 1-0 #Earned: Once a dominant program in the old Class 3A, it has been a struggle for Blackhawk to return to the glory days of the ’90s and early 2000s under Hall of Fame coach...
This week on Trib HSSN for week of Aug. 26, 2024
We close out the month of August in grand style with plenty of fall scholastic sports action this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video and audio coverage of Week 1, with more than 25 WPIAL and District 6 football games. We also have WPIAL...
Trib HSSN football player of the week for 2024 Week ZeroVideo
Trib HSSN football player of the week – Drew Welhorsky School – South Fayette Class – Junior Height/weight – 6-foot-1, 185 pounds Position – Quarterback, free safety What coach says – “Drew was a very mature leader,” South Fayette coach Marty Spieler said about Welhorsky’s play Friday. “We spoke about...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Aug. 26, 2024: Avonworth, Freedom open girls soccer section slates
Four days into a new season and the WPIAL girls soccer section schedule begins Monday for teams in Class 3A, 2A and A. One of the district teams beginning section play here in late August has mastered having success in early November. Avonworth opens up Section 3-2A action Monday when...
Trib HSSN don’t-miss high school football matchups for 2024 Week Zero
Welcome to the kickoff of the 2024 WPIAL football season — the eighth time we begin a district football season with Week Zero. The season begins for six teams wearing the mantle of defending champions: North Allegheny in 6A, Peters Township in 5A, Aliquippa in 4A, Belle Vernon in 3A,...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania high school football rankings for Aug. 21, 2024
Welcome to the 2024 high school football season, which kicks off for most schools across the state with Week Zero games this weekend. Before this season starts, here is a quick refresher course on the six 2023 PIAA champions. St. Joseph’s Prep won its second straight Class 6A crown and...
This week on Trib HSSN for the week of Aug. 19, 2024
Let the games begin! We kick off another scholastic sports season with the start of high school football this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video and audio coverage of Week Zero, with over 20 WPIAL and District 6 football games. We also have the...
WPIAL Class 6A preview: North Allegheny looks for 3-peat in beefed-up classVideo
For the first time since expansion to six classifications eight years ago, the number of teams playing in the highest class has actually gone up. In 2016 and ’17, there were 14 district teams playing in the newly formed Class 6A. That number dwindled to nine in ’18 and ’19,...
Countdown to kickoff: Only a handful of teams still play Saturday games
There was a time when Saturday afternoon marked a busy end to a high school football weekend. Those days are a distant memory. The number of WPIAL schools that play their home games on Saturday afternoons because they have no lights at their facility has shrunk to only three. Western...
Countdown to Kickoff: 17 schools welcome new football coaches this season
They are new faces in new places supplying new hopes and golden dreams. Some are rookie head coaches replacing experienced coaches while some are veteran coaches starting over at new venues. Some schools have a new football coach for the first time in decades while others continue to play roulette...
Countdown to Kickoff: WPIAL football teams set for Saturday scrimmages
Training camps officially began Monday for all 127 WPIAL, City League and independent teams. The week concludes for all with a scrimmage. The second week of camp concludes with most teams playing a Week Zero game on Friday, Aug. 23 or Saturday, Aug. 24. A few schools still prefer a...
Countdown to kickoff: Changes made to WPIAL football playoff format
This is the first year of a new two-year cycle for scheduling, conference alignment and playoff formats in all high school sports in the WPIAL and PIAA. When it comes to district football, there will be four teams that qualify for the playoffs in Class 6A, 12 in 5A, eight...
Chartiers Valley tries to take another step in move to Class 4A Big Seven Conference
The 2023 season for the Chartiers Valley football team was an improvement over Aaron Fitzpatrick’s first season as Colts head coach. Now the third-year coach is looking for more from his team in Year 3. “I look at (2023) as a step forward in the right direction,” Fitzpatrick said. “We...
Montour has experience to contend in Class 4A Parkway Conference
With many players back in the black and gold last fall, there were expectations for success for Montour. While the Spartans came up short of their ultimate championship goal, finishing 10-2 with a trip to the WPIAL semifinals is not too shabby. “We had an excellent season,” Montour coach Lou...
Seneca Valley looks to rebound from rare last-place finish with experienced team
The Seneca Valley football team was down last fall and out of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs for the second straight year. However, the Raiders’ stay in the basement might be a short one with higher expectations this fall for a team that finished winless in 6A and 3-7 overall....
North Allegheny chasing historic WPIAL 3-peat
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Last November, North Allegheny tied Pine-Richland and Central Catholic as the only teams to repeat as WPIAL champions in Class 6A football. “The dedication to everyone...
Central Catholic retools in effort to get back on top in Class 6A
After years as a top assistant coach at Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley, Ryan Lehmeier finally got the chance to be a high school football head coach last year, taking over the storied program at Central Catholic. The former North Hills quarterback led the Vikings to first place and a regular...
Canon-McMillan looks to regroup, not rebuild in Class 6A
The current senior class at Canon-McMillan has an overall football record of 15-18 in the last three seasons. While that doesn’t scream district elite, these seniors have never missed the WPIAL playoffs, which speak volumes over where this program was more than a decade ago when the Big Macs won...
Another new coach looks to return Mt. Lebanon to winning ways
In the 52 years between 1967-2018, Mt. Lebanon had four football head coaches. Now one of the storied programs in WPIAL football will have its third head coach in three years since winning the school’s first PIAA championship in 2021. Bob Palko left the school after four years following the...

