Don Rebel stories, Page 90
Chartiers Valley soccer teams determined to get back on playoff path
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...
WPIAL Class 6A football breakdown: In tiny field of 5, contenders line up to take shot at Mt. Lebanon
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 looks to regain winning ways after tough season
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...
Avonworth hopes to climb to top of Western Hills and beyond
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...
After close call last year, McKeesport hopes to make a run at Class 4A gold
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...
Experience puts Montour in the mix as a challenger in deep Class 4A field
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...
After injuries derailed last season, West Allegheny brings back experienced roster
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...
Chartiers Valley hopes to be a Payne for Parkway Conference foes
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...
Upper St. Clair loaded with returning starters, ready for another playoff run
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...
Experienced Seneca Valley squad ready to make a run for gold in Class 6A
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...
Perfection in the past, Mt. Lebanon starts new season with lots of fresh faces
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...
Central Catholic looking to regain championship swagger
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...
Canon-McMillan looks to join elite in shrinking Class 6A
Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 26. Canon-McMillan football coach Michael Evans is not a math wizard. However, he seems to have a grasp on the numbers breakdown in Class 6A this season. “Lebo,...
North Allegheny expects to be in the title mix in Class 6A
Editor’s note: Starting today, Trib HSSN will preview one WPIAL conference per day until the start of high school football season Aug. 26. The bar is always set high at North Allegheny. While most football coaches would be content with a younger team finishing 7-5 overall and reaching the district...
Countdown to kickoff 2022: Scrimmage schedule set
Monday marks the start of the mandatory heat acclimation week for high school football teams across the state. Training camp officially begins for all 127 WPIAL, City League and independent teams the week of Aug. 15. That week concludes with a scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 20. The second week of...
Countdown to kickoff 2022: Saturday football hasn’t completely disappeared from WPIAL schedules
Are you old enough to remember when high school football carried a nice one-two punch every weekend? We had Friday night lights and sunny Saturdays filled with scholastic gridiron excitement. In the 1970s and ’80s, the number of schools that played on Saturday afternoon because they did not have lights...
Countdown to kickoff 2022: Rule change impacts intentional grounding calls
Many fans may think they are experts on the rules of high school football, making sure everybody in their section knows when they have witnessed a “bad call.” While we don’t condone that behavior, we do think it’s important to study up on the rules of the scholastic game before...
Countdown to kickoff 2022: New WPIAL playoff format limits wild cards
The term “wild card” has become synonymous with playoff formats. The NFL first introduced a wild-card team when the league merged with the AFL in 1970 to form two conferences with three divisions in each. Major League Baseball instituted a wild-card team in 1994 when it realigned from two divisions...
Countdown to kickoff 2022: Nearly 3 dozen teams welcome new coaches
New faces, new places, new hopes, new 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 with their head coaching position....
Countdown to kickoff 2022: Flashback to 2021 WPIAL high school football season
While the Trib HSSN staff prepares you like no other for the upcoming 2022 high school football season over the next three weeks, let’s start our Countdown to Kickoff 2022 with a refresher course on a historic season. Five new WPIAL champions were crowned in late November, with Central Valley...
Girls lacrosse champs headline successful school year for Chartiers Valley sports
There is change in the air on several fronts as Chartiers Valley’s athletic programs prepare for the 2022-2023 season. However, this isn’t about looking ahead, this is about celebrating the success Colts teams enjoyed from this past school year. “For me, success is defined differently for each program,” Chartiers Valley...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Chartiers Valley’s Lamont Payne
Editor’s note: The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 15 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Lamont Payne entered his junior season with high expectations. Chartiers Valley was...
Success across sports spectrum leads Greensburg CC to Trib Cup in Class A
The battle for the HSSN Trib Cup in Class A in 2021-2022 turned into one of the closest and most unique battles where overall success won out. In the end, it was Greensburg Central Catholic hoisting the cup aloft again, this despite the school only winning one district championship all...
State champion girls basketball, softball, spirit teams lift Neshannock to Trib Cup in Class 2A
After finishing second in the HSSN Trib Cup standings a year ago, Neshannock used a perfect season to claim the top spot. It was another strong school year athletically for the seven Lawrence County schools inside the WPIAL, but none compared to the overall resume put forth by Neshannock in...
Behind 3 WPIAL champions, North Catholic lifts 3rd straight Trib Cup in Class 3A
The North Catholic victory tradition continued to ring loud and clear this past school year. Steady contributions across all three seasons, along with a couple of championship runs, helped the Trojans win a third straight Trib HSSN Cup for Class 3A in 2021-22. “North Catholic has a long standing tradition...
