Greg Macafee stories, Page 13

In the first five minutes of practice on Jan. 4, Quaker Valley girls basketball coach Tom Demko could tell his girls were excited to be back. “We usually warm up with some layups and that told us right there. Wow,” Demko said. “They went hard in the first five minutes,...

Unlike most teams around Western Pennsylvania, the newly named Shady Side Academy Bulldogs didn’t get an opportunity to start practices on Jan. 4. After taking covid-19 tests that day, the date that teams were permitted to return to practice, the Bulldogs had to wait 48 hours for their results before...

When the Highlands boys basketball team won its first WPIAL basketball title since 1995 last season, the Rams did so with three talented seniors and several important role players who clicked when the time was right. Current senior Dom Pesci was forced to watch from the bench because he missed...

Another Women’s Premier Soccer League team is coming to the city of Pittsburgh, ahead of the 2021 season. On Saturday, the WPSL, which is entering its 23rd season and is the largest women’s soccer league in the world with more that 130 clubs in 35 states, announced Century United would...

The winter sports offseason is when players and teams can use their extra time to improve for the following season. They get together, play in fall leagues, hold open gyms and attend summer team camps in order to become more of a team. The time is important as players learn...

Springdale boys basketball coach Aaron Epps was expecting his team to be sloppy Friday night as it opened its season with a nonsection matchup against Northgate at Donald C. McGhee Fieldhouse. So, when the Dynamos only scored nine points in the first quarter, compared to Northgate’s six, Epps wasn’t surprised....

For the past 30 years, Kiski Area wrestling coach Chris Heater has spent most of his winter vacation in the wrestling room, putting his athletes through practices and preparing them for tournaments and future matches. This year has been different, though. With the three-week pause that was put into place...

The Washington Wild Things have found their next manager in Tom Vaeth, who was a longtime assistant for the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association. Washington also announced the hiring of pitching coach Alex Bosher in a news release Wednesday. “Tom brings a wealth of knowledge from his time in...

Penn State’s men’s basketball game scheduled for Wednesday at Ohio State has been postponed due to positive covid-19 tests in the Nittany Lions program. “Individuals with a positive test have been put into isolation. In addition to isolation, contact tracing procedures have been implemented, which includes quarantine and testing for...

All basketball teams around Western Pennsylvania have been through a series of ups and downs in the past few weeks. The Highlands boys, however, didn’t even get to take the court for so much as a practice before Gov. Tom Wolf put a three-week pause on high school sports. So,...

The Washington Wild Things are searching for a new manager who will have big shoes to fill. After giving the Wild Things managerial stability since joining the organization in 2016, Washington announced the retirement of manager Gregg Langbehn on Monday. He was the second-winningest manager in team history behind former...

Former Pine-Richland defensive lineman Ryan Duran III has been carving a role out for himself over the past few years in West Point, and as the junior and his Army teammates get set to take on West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl, that role is expanding. During his first two...

En route to its first WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship since 1995 last season, Highlands relied on a trio of seniors to lead the way. But as the Golden Rams jump up a classification, they will have to rely on a young roster, and sophomore Jimmy Kunst is one...

The Armstrong School District athletics community lost an important voice this past weekend as longtime athletic director Denny Stewart died. Armstrong co-athletic director Todd Harvey, who worked alongside Stewart since Kittanning and Ford City merged in 2015, confirmed the news Monday. “It was a real pleasure to work alongside him,”...

Back in 1982, the Cal football team pulled off a historic 25-20 comeback against Stanford when the Golden Bears completed a series of laterals on an end-of-the-game kickoff. At the end of the play, Kevin Moen ended up having to sprint through a grouping of Stanford band members and into...

West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins is on the 2021 Naismith Hall of Fame Ballot. Huggins is a reccurring member on the ballot and is an eligible candidate alongside popular nominees like Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Chris Webber, Jay Wright, Swin Cash and Becky Hammon,...

A member of the Buffalo men’s basketball program tested positive for covid-19 on Sunday, leading officials to cancel a Dec. 29 game against West Virginia. The decision was announced Monday. Buffalo did not reveal who tested positive, but officials said it was either an athlete or a member of the...

Shady Side Academy officially has a new mascot and nickname — the Bulldogs. The SSA Board of Trustees began a five-month search process in July after they decided to discontinue the use of the Indian as the school’s mascot and team name. During their search for a new mascot, a...

Kiski Area wrestler Enzo Morlacci has had quite the year, but he’s made the most of the past seven months. “It’s been weird, but I couldn’t have asked for it to lay out any better,” Morlacci said. “I met some amazing coaches, and I got a lot better. I wouldn’t...

The first year at the head of a program can be tough for any new coach, but imagine taking over a program in the middle of a pandemic. Then, as some might have expected, everything just stops. Practices. Games. In-person, face-to-face camaraderie. Everything. It’s all put on pause for three...

The Robert Morris men’s basketball team hadn’t played a competitive game since Dec. 5, and it showed Friday as the Colonials fell to Bowling Green, 85-65. Bowling Green guard Justin Turner turned in a near triple-double as he scored 24 points, dished out 11 assists and grabbed eight rebounds to...

With repeated shutdowns of school sports and closing of local gyms, high school athletes have had to find their own ways to train throughout this year as they prepared for fall and winter sports. Now, due to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf “pausing” high school sports until Jan. 4, the ball...

The Robert Morris men’s basketball team returns to action Friday night but added a little more competition to the schedule first. On Friday, the school announced a nonconference road matchup with Marshall. The Colonials (1-0) will take on the Thundering Herd (4-1) on Sunday, at Cam Henderson Center in Huntington,...

His commitment has been quiet, but Wednesday, Deer Lakes senior soccer standout Michael Sullivan announced his college decision with a bang. After leading the Lancers to their second state championship appearance in three years this season, the WPIAL Class 2A Player of the Year said he will play for Pitt....

West Virginia coach Neal Brown secured a promising 2021 recruiting class during early signing day Wednesday with several talented players from all over the country. Offensive lineman Wyatt Milum (Kenova, W.Va.), wide receiver Kaden Prather (Germantown, Md.) and running backs Justin Johnson Jr. (Edwardsville, Ill.) and Jaylen Anderson (Perry, Ohio)...