Don Rebel stories, Page 58

We close out August with plenty of boys soccer section matches. It’s still early days, but there are three standout matches Thursday in WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer with at least a share of the section lead at stake. In Section 2, defending district champion Moon, along with Montour, South...

It’s our first look at which teams have the power in WPIAL football, at least through Week Zero. The inaugural edition of the weekly Trib 10 power rankings is top heavy with big schools. The top two schools are the top two teams in our latest Trib HSSN Class 6A...

The Seneca Valley girls soccer program has had the Midas touch over the years. The Raiders have won five WPIAL girls soccer championships, including title runs 10 years ago in 2013 and five years ago in 2018. The season is only one game old for this year’s Seneca Valley squad,...

August football is in the books and September football kicks off for most teams, including all the scrimmaging teams that weren’t part of the Week Zero fun and frivolity. Well, at least it was fun for those who won. For six teams ranked in the inaugural 2023 Trib HSSN PIAA...

On Monday, it was the girls’ turn to open up section play on a new soccer season. Now on Tuesday, the boys hit the pitch for section openers. All four 2022 WPIAL boys soccer champions are in action Tuesday. In Class 4A, defending champion Pine-Richland visits Butler in Section 1-4A....

When it comes to high school football in August and early September, conditioning is huge. Many times it comes down to a battle of attrition as youngsters work their way into “football shape.” So it was hard to figure out what was more impressive in Week Zero, the total yards...

Welcome to the start of section soccer action. A new season of action on the pitch began this past weekend with some tournament and nonsection matches for most teams. On Monday, section play begins in WPIAL girls soccer. Two defending champs open up section play at home. In Section 1-4A,...

While most of the WPIAL schools took part in Week Zero football action, the entire district will line it up and kick it off this weekend here on the TribLive High School Sports Network. September football begins, and Trib HSSN has video coverage of Week 1 with five WPIAL football...

In high school football, defense plays big in November when championships are at stake. Mt. Lebanon showed in Week Zero that defense and physical play does pretty good in August, as well. The Blue Devils limited the high-octane offense of Gateway to 141 total yards in upsetting the Gators, 28-7,...

After a two-touchdown game, Mt. Lebanon sophomore Patrick Smith declared his team is ready to shock the state. While those lofty expectations are for later in the season, the Blue Devils did stun the district on opening night. Mt. Lebanon dominated the line of scrimmage and kept the high-powered Gateway...

After enjoying its best football season in 24 years in 2021, Butler was looking to build on that success last fall with several key players returning. After a hot start, the season got away with six consecutive losses, including a 55-point setback against McDowell in the District 10 Class 6A...

In 2021, the independent Albert Gallatin football program enjoyed one of its best seasons in decades, finishing 6-2. It was a solid turnaround for a group of seniors who began their scholastic career on a team that went 0-10 and was outscored 479-46. With a lot of new faces in...

As Billy Preston sang in his 1974 hit song Nothing from Nothing, “Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’.” That still holds true today, unless we’re talking about zero. In the case of a high school football schedule, zero means a whole lot. This is the eighth season that the PIAA has...

With the onslaught of high school stadium renovations over the last two decades, 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 Beaver, Riverview and Summit Academy are the only teams that...

They are new faces in new places supplying new hopes and golden dreams. Some are rookie head coaches replacing experienced coaches while other veteran coaches are starting over at new venues. Some schools have a new football coach for the first time in decades while others continue to play roulette...

The curtain rises on a new high school football season across Pennsylvania this weekend as Week Zero kicks off another year of Friday and Saturday scholastic gridiron action across the Keystone State. Before 2023 begins, a shout out to the state champions from 2022: St. Joe’s Prep in 6A, Pine-Richland...

As with any new high school football season, there are plenty of changes with players, coaches and and even rules. There are five rule changes for the 2023 football season. Some are minor and more aesthetic than anything else. Others are somewhat significant as administrators and officials continue their efforts...

This is the second year of the current 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 once again four playoff teams that qualify for the playoffs in Class 6A, eight...

Let the games begin! We kick off another scholastic sports season with the start of high school football, August style this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video coverage of Week Zero with five WPIAL football games. Plus, a new season of the Rebel Yell...

Training camps officially began Monday for all 127 WPIAL, City League and independent teams in Western Pennsylvania. That week concludes for all with a scrimmage. The second week of camp ends with most team’s playing a Week Zero game Friday, Aug. 25 or Saturday, Aug. 26, while a few schools...

In high school football, having a three-year starter at quarterback usually gives a team the upper hand. In 2023, it will be advantage Montour. Jake Wolfe returns for his third year as starting QB for the Spartans. “To have a three-year starter at quarterback is great for us and a...

Led by Penn State recruit Lamont Payne Jr. and several other returning seniors, there was hope for Chartiers Valley in the first year of the Aaron Fitzpatrick era. However, 2022 became a painful season for the Colts, as they finished in sixth place in the eight-team Class 4A Parkway Conference...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 25. Last fall, Seneca Valley was sitting at 1-1 in Class 6A and 6-2 overall heading into Week 8. Two wins and the Raiders would earn at least...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 25. It had been a decade of close calls for the North Allegheny football program since the Tigers hoisted WPIAL gold. That 10-year drought ended last fall when...