Don Rebel stories, Page 98
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...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Thomas Jefferson’s Jordan Mayer
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. The standard is the standard, and the standard for Thomas Jefferson football...
Bolstered by 5 WPIAL championship teams, Quaker Valley captures Class 4A Trib Cup
Mike Mastroianni was in a no lose situation in this year’s race for the Trib HSSN Cup in Class 4A. He is the athletic director and boys basketball coach at Quaker Valley while he lives in the Montour school district. Those two schools finished first and second, with Mastroianni’s Quakers...
Championship teams guide Hampton to top of Class 5A Trib Cup standings
Hampton captured three district championships and one state title this past school year, with three of those four coming during the fall sports season. Consistent success throughout all three seasons, however, was a big part of the Talbots showing plenty of bark in winning the Trib HSSN Cup for Class...
North Allegheny again finishes atop Class 6A Trib Cup standings
North Allegheny winning the Trib HSSN Cup comes as no surprise. The fact that it was closer than usual made things interesting in the 6A chase. A strong athletic season at Mt. Lebanon kept it close, but in the end, NA still won comfortably to keep intact its two-decade streak...
Beaver’s Payton List tabbed Trib HSSN Girls Athlete of the Year
Specialization in one sport became the thing to do for high school athletes in the early years of this century. If you showed promise in one sport that could take you to the next level, you were told to focus on that one sport year round to give you the...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Seneca Valley’s Luke Lawson
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. When Luke Lawson was a freshman, his older brother Gabe led Seneca...
Championship girls basketball coach Dori Oldaker steps down at Mt. Lebanon to take spot in South Fayette stands
One of the top basketball coaches in the state is putting down her whiteboard and whistle and is preparing to be a fan. Dori Oldaker announced on Wednesday she was stepping down as head coach of the Mt. Lebanon girls basketball team after 19 years and multiple championships. Oldaker and...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Avonworth’s Peyton Faulkner
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. Peyton Faulkner has been there for the highs and the lows of...
2022 Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Year: Beaver’s Payton List
2022 Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Year Payton List School: Beaver Class: Senior There are several ways to measure athletic ability. There’s the modern day analytics, using a player’s statistics to help determine their level of greatness. Then there is the old-school eye test. Find folks who know the...
Chartiers Valley softball season punctuated by memorable playoff wins
Success isn’t always measured by championships. For a second straight season, the Chartiers Valley softball team enjoyed a strong regular season followed by a deep run in the district playoffs and a season-ending loss in the state postseason. “Overall, I think we had a really good season,” Chartiers Valley coach...
Chartiers Valley girls lacrosse catches lightning in a bottle in WPIAL championship season
The Chartiers Valley girls basketball team’s run of three straight WPIAL championships ended this past season. However, that doesn’t mean the school didn’t mine any gold this year. The Colts girls lacrosse team captured its first district crown this spring, becoming the third girls program to win a WPIAL team...
2022 Trib HSSN Head of the Class: Softball Player and Coach of the Year for each classification
This spring, those sitting at head of the softball class had a clear view of so many individual and team standout performances. A perfect season, two schools winning both district and state gold, two schools winning their first WPIAL championships and one school closing the book on a historic title...
2022 Trib HSSN Head of the Class: Baseball Player and Coach of the Year for each classification
This spring, those sitting at head of the baseball class had a chance to see a lot of thrilling title runs and some great encore performances. Two teams that did not win district titles rebounded to claim state gold. There were two teams that repeated, one as WPIAL champion and...
Trib 10: 4 WPIAL baseball, softball teams end season with PIAA gold
The 2022 WPIAL baseball and softball season are in the books. While the tone of each team’s story may range from a tale of woe to close but no cigar, some of the elite teams in the district are wrapping up a wild ride that yielded treasures of gold and...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Mt. Lebanon’s Kade Capristo
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. Mt. Lebanon quarterback Joey Daniels threw for over 2,118 yards last fall...
Trib HSSN Final 2022 Softball State Rankings
Six new PIAA champions were crowned last week at Penn State, thus concluding the 2022 softball season. Two of the champions finished the season with perfect records. District 2 champion Pittston Area completed a 25-0 season with a victory over Armstrong in the 5A championship game. It was the Patriots’...
Trib HSSN Final 2022 State Baseball Rankings
Five new champions and one repeat winner are celebrating 2022 PIAA baseball championships after last week’s finals at Penn State. Bethel Park was the only repeat state champion from 2021. The Black Hawks shut out Selinsgrove in 5A to win the program’s third PIAA title (1988, 2021) and become the...
