Don Rebel stories, Page 59

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...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 25. Two years ago, the Mt. Lebanon football team was on top of the golden mountain. The Blue Devils had just completed a perfect 15-0 season with the...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 25. Do you remember the old children’s story about Old Mother Hubbard? When she went to give her old dog a bone, the cupboard was sadly bare. Ryan...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 25. Canon-McMillan is nearing the end of the Evans era. Not the head coach, the quarterback. In the two years since taking over as Big Macs quarterback, Michael...

For some programs, coming close is not good enough. There is no such thing as a silver lining. Central Catholic wide receiver Peter Gonzalez believes the Vikings are one of those programs. Gonzalez and his fellow seniors are champing at the championship bit after losses in the WPIAL Class 6A...

For all of his individual and team achievements as a junior last fall, Khiryn Boyd has stayed humble. The North Allegheny senior was asked about his 2022 season, in which he was a member of the Trib HSSN Terrific 25 all-star team and was named the WPIAL Class 6A Player...

Brett Willner is a young assistant baseball coach at Chartiers Valley after an impressive playing career at South Fayette. Having connections to both southern rivals is appropriate because he possesses both the smoothness of a galloping colt and the heart of a lion. Willner recently concluded his third year as...

Mike Gavlik just completed his 20th year as an athletic director in the area when an opportunity arose that would bring him closer to home, so he is headed north. The now-former AD at Chartiers Valley has been hired as the new athletic director at Hampton. “I wasn’t necessarily looking...

For the fourth time, the South Fayette Lions are the kings of the 5A jungles. The white and green machine used steady success and a couple of winter sports championship runs to win the Trib Cup in Class 5A by a comfortable margin. The Trib Cup is a yearlong competition...

Last year, North Allegheny won another HSSN Trib Cup, but the 500-point margin of victory was closer than most years for the black and gold. The dynasty continued in the district’s highest classification as NA once again crushed the competition in Class 6A to win the 2022-2023 Trib Cup by...

A popular trend in football is an effort to de-emphasis the physical aspect of the game, such as NFL Pro Bowl flag football and 7-on-7 summer leagues. That might be OK for some, but not for North Allegheny senior Tyree Alualu. He is an old-school throwback who thrives on the...

For years, Montour has come close but could not seal the deal on raising a Trib Cup championship. The chase is now over as we salute and toast the new Class 4A winners from the West Hills. The HSSN Trib Cup is a yearlong competition in 25 varsity sports to...

The historic North Catholic victory bell is ringing once again for another championship captured by the red and gold. The Trojans’ athletic success has led to them hoisting the Class 3A Trib Cup for a fourth straight year and the fifth time overall, all in the last six years. The...

In 2021, Union finished 4-6 and in fifth place in the Big 7 Conference, missing out on the WPIAL Class A football playoffs. Last fall, recent Scotties success in basketball, baseball and softball must have rubbed off on the football team as No. 10-seeded Union stunned the district with upsets...

Back-to-back WPIAL championships and a district-record winning streak in softball led Neshannock to a second consecutive Trib Cup Class 2A championship. There was a lot to cheer about in Lancers Land — including a PIAA championship in competitive spirit and a runner-up finish in the WPIAL finals. The HSSN Trib...

History was made in the chase for the Trib Cup in Class A in 2022-23. In the first 19 years of the sports cup competition, Class A has been won by either Sewickley Academy (13 times), Greensburg Central Catholic (five times) or Serra Catholic (once). Union became the first public...

Happy Anniversary, Sports Cup! Over the next few weeks, we will be unveiling the winners and final standings of the annual Trib Cup competition. This marks the 20th year that The Network has been recognizing the best sports programs in each WPIAL class over the entire school year. Points are...

While most of the high school sports played in the fall, winter and spring put the emphasis on teams, there are some sports that are individually oriented. This championship parade took a lot of great individual efforts. Trib HSSN is proud to salute the WPIAL and PIAA individual champions from...

Most parades draw large crowds that are entertained by the many bands and floats and other spectacles that march through a specific route, making for a fun and unique event. This parade was a golden team effort. Trib HSSN is proud to salute the WPIAL and PIAA team champions from...

2023 Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Year Lexie Hames School: Seneca Valley Class: Sophomore Fear is an emotion that can be a great motivator in sports. It can force great success or lead the way to epic failures. When it comes to high school softball, fear can lead to...

The 2023 campaign began for the Chartiers Valley softball team by scoring 14 runs in a win over Class 6A semifinalist Pine-Richland in March. The season ended in late May with back-to-back playoff shutout losses. In between, there was a lot of success for the Colts. “Overall, I think we...