Don Rebel stories, Page 83

The Mars football program had a rare down year in 2021. The Fightin’ Planets not only missed the postseason for only the fifth time in the last 30 years, but they also finished 2-8 overall with one of those wins coming via forfeit. The offseason brought major change as the...

Three days into another girls high school soccer season, the district rolls out the red carpet on the start of section play around the WPIAL on Monday. For two-thirds of the 98 District 7 soccer teams, their section opener also will be their season opener. The biggest change after realignment...

With opening weekend of the high school football season in the rearview mirror, we extend the scholastic sports menu this week here on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video and audio coverage of Week 1, with nearly 30 WPIAL, District 6, D-9 and D-10 high school...

At Penn-Trafford, they love their green and gold. Last season, Carter Green helped lead the Warriors to the school’s first WPIAL and PIAA football championships with 1,265 yards passing and 1,155 yards rushing. After Green graduated in the spring, P-T coach John Ruane decided to stay Greene and moved now...

Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side. After going a combined 0-20 in 2018 and 2019, the Butler football program decided to leave the WPIAL to play an independent schedule. After finishing 2-4 in 2020, the Golden Tornado enjoyed a winning season last fall for the first time...

These are the glory days of high school football at Albert Gallatin. The story is familiar by now. In 2018, the Colonials finished 0-10 and were outscored 479-46, an average score of 48-4 with most of the games ending with a running clock. The program hadn’t had a winning season...

Welcome to the 2022 WPIAL football season. Zero usually means nothing, but in this case, Week Zero equates into a lot of excitement and optimism as a new campaign kicks off. All but nine of the 117 WPIAL football teams will be in game action this weekend while eight others...

Twenty-one years. After finishing tied for third place in the 2001 Class AA Interstate Conference, Carlynton traveled to Reeves Field at Geneva College to battle heavy favorite Beaver Falls in the first round of the district playoffs. The Tigers, who eventually lost in the finals to Washington, had more than...

Burgettstown returned to the playoffs in 2021 for the sixth time in seven years thanks to a strong finish with three straight regular season must-wins. The Blue Devils finished 5-5 overall after falling to eventual champion Bishop Canevin in the Class A first round, but second-year coach Greg Marshall won’t...

Two years removed from a one-win season, Bishop Canevin quickly built a solid foundation for the football program that led to the school’s first WPIAL championship since 1990 last fall. “It was a great year for the Bishop Canevin school, alumni, community and our program,” second-year coach Richard Johnson said....

As 117 WPIAL football teams prepare to begin their new season this weekend with a Week Zero game or a second scrimmage, one district team’s season is on hold after allegations surfaced of a possible hazing incident within the team. Lawrence County and Mohawk School District officials are investigating possible...

Let the games begin! We kick off another high school sports season with the start of scholastic football in the heat of August this weekend on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video and audio coverage of Week Zero with 29 WPIAL, District 6, D-9 and D-10...

After eight successful seasons in which he went 45-34, Greg Perry left as Keystone Oaks football coach in the offseason, in part because of a cut in pay for his assistant coaches. However, one of Perry’s assistant coaches, Steve McCormick, has taken over the program and is set for a...

Five years ago, the Chartiers Valley soccer teams were in contender mode. The boys team finished 16-5 and reached the WPIAL semifinals. The girls squad was 12-6-1, tied for second in its section. But last time the girls team qualified for the WPIAL playoffs was 2017, and the boys have...

At its zenith, the highest classification in the WPIAL, then called Quad-A, had 28 teams in the early 2000s. That number stayed steady over the next decade-plus and was at 25 teams for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Expansion to six classifications has steadily shrunk 6A, which started with 14...

South Park enters the new season in rebound mode. After splitting their first four games in 2021, the Eagles lost their final five contests by a combined score of 171-27, keeping them out of the WPIAL postseason for the first time since 2018. “I commend our kids for doing the...

When it comes to consistently excellent football programs in the district, Avonworth is right there in the conversation. The 2019 WPIAL Class 2A champions and PIAA runners-up have reached the playoffs every season since 2007 with the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign when the Antelopes finished tied for second...

Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher used to say, “there is a fine line between winning and losing in the NFL.” The same could be said for high school football. One district team that found out the hard way how true that statement was in 2021 was McKeesport. The...

For the last 17 years under Lou Cerro, the Montour football program has always competed. Even in years the Spartans finished under .500 or didn’t make the playoffs, they had a competitive team that usually is alive for the playoffs until the final week of the regular season. Staring at...

Every football team has to deal with injuries. Some are able to stop the bleeding and continue toward a successful campaign, while others watch as the snowball becomes an avalanche and derails all the hopes for a season. Such was the case for West Allegheny in 2021. The Indians won...

When he was hired in April to replace Dan Knause as head coach of the Chartiers Valley football program, one of the first thoughts Aaron Fitzpatrick had was, ‘It’s go time.’ ‘Go time’ is just around the corner now as the first-year head coach prepares his Colts for a challenging...

After finishing in second place in the balanced Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference a year ago, Upper St. Clair qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for a 22nd straight year. That postseason run trails only Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson at 27 years on a row and McKeesport at 24 straight playoff...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 26. Back in the mid-2000s, Seneca Valley was a struggling Class AAAA program just trying to stay out of the basement in the old Quad North Conference. The...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 26. When Bob Palko made the big move to Mt. Lebanon after decades of success and championships at West Allegheny, he knew there was something special about the...

Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 26. “Inexperience” is a word high school football coaches use a lot in August. Whether it is at a starting position or depth, the fear of the unknown...