Greg Macafee stories, Page 40
After rough start, Fox Chapel is looking to close with 4 wins in row
Just a few weeks ago, the Fox Chapel football team was on the outside of the Class 5A playoff picture looking in. They were 1-5 overall, 1-3 in section and were coming off a 42-0 shutout loss to Upper St. Clair. The Foxes needed to turn things around. To do...
Springdale boys soccer gets past Chartiers-Houston in physical battle
Throughout the course of a soccer season there are certain moments when seniors feel the need to step up and make big plays. On Saturday at Fox Chapel, senior midfielder Mike Mitchell did just that during No. 6 Springdale’s WPIAL Class A first-round victory over No. 11 Chartiers-Houston. Mitchell received...
Fox Chapel football team cruises by Armstrong for 3rd win in rowVideo
It didn’t start great, but with its playoff hopes on the line, Fox Chapel rebounded quickly from an early turnover and ran away with its Class 5A Northern Conference matchup against Armstrong, 41-14. After Sam Brown fumbled on Fox Chapel’s second play of the game, the defense forced an Armstrong...
Armed with playoff experience, Deer Lakes boys soccer is ready to make another run
Beginning on Saturday, boys soccer teams from around the area will begin their trek to the WPIAL championship game at Highmark Stadium. The Class AA No. 2 Deer Lakes Lancers will approach their first-round game with No. 15 Steel Valley, along with any other games, as if they are already...
A-K Valley boys soccer matchups for the first round of the WPIAL playoffs
Class AAAA First round 12-Woodland Hills (9-8-1) at 5-Fox Chapel (11-3-3) Noon Saturday at Fox Chapel High School Winner plays: 3-Canon-McMillan on Wednesday Coaches: Erik Ingram, Fox Chapel; Delroy “Lucky” Russell, Woodland Hills Players to watch: Erik Ingram, Sr. MF, Fox Chapel; AJ Hill, Sr., GK, Woodland Hills Corner kicks:...
Sewickley Academy girls top Knoch for third straight WPIAL team tennis title
The Sewickley Academy girls tennis team captured the WPIAL Class AA team tennis championship for the third straight year with a 3-2 victory over Knoch. For the three-time champs, it started in doubles competition. The pairing of Victoria Keller and Emma DiSantis earned Sewickley its first point with a 6-0,...
Breaking down the 2019 WPIAL boys soccer playoffs
Here’s a look at the 2019 WPIAL boys soccer playoffs: Class AAAA Favorite: Plum (15-0-2) turned in one of the best regular seasons in school history and finished unbeaten. The only blemishes on the Mustangs’ record came in 1-1 ties against Allderdice and Norwin. They have a talented group of...
Plum boys and girls soccer teams earn premier seeds for WPIAL playoffs
The Plum boys and girls soccer teams enjoyed successful regular seasons and the WPIAL rewarded both with premier seeds on Wednesday when playoff brackets were unveiled. The Mustangs boys (15-0-2) are the No. 1 seed in their Class AAAA bracket, while the Plum girls (14-1) are the No. 2 seed...
A-K Valley football Q&A: Fox Chapel’s Shane Susnak
A 42-0 loss to Upper St. Clair on Sept. 27 put Fox Chapel’s record at 1-5, but the Foxes felt the scoreboard that night did not indicate how they played and that better things were ahead. “After watching the tape against (USC), we knew we were a better team than...
Highlands ready to fight as New Castle pays a visit
Throughout this season, Highlands has displayed an ability to physically compete with teams every Friday night, but it hasn’t always resulted in wins. A Week 7 matchup against Class 4A Northwest Eight-leading South Fayette was the perfect example. The Golden Rams gave up 14 points in the first quarter and...
First-year Leechburg boys soccer shows improvement throughout season
The first year of the Leechburg boys soccer program started with a win and ended with a win. Everything in between those two victories was a crucial part in the growing process of a young program, and Leechburg coach Brad Walker is happy with the success that his team had...
Burrell boys soccer team clinches first playoff appearance since 2014
Over the last few years, the Burrell boys soccer team has taken its lumps. After some recent success, the Bucs are starting to bump back. After a 5-1 win over Valley last week, the Bucs are heading back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014, when they went...
WPIAL boys soccer rankings through Oct. 12
Class AAAA Team, record, previous 1. Plum, 15-0-1, 1 2. Norwin, 15-1-1, 2 3. Seneca Valley, 12-3-1, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 13-3-1, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 12-3-1, 5 Out: None Class AAA 1. Franklin Regional, 14-0-1, 1 2. Mars, 15-1-1, 2 3. Moon, 15-2, 3 4. Belle Vernon, 16-1, 4 5....
A-K Valley football notebook: WPIAL playoff picture rounding out
It’s getting to the point in high school football season when the playoff picture is starting to become clearer. Friday night’s Big East Conference matchup between Burrell and Freeport helped with that. With their 36-35 overtime victory, which snapped the Bucs’ seven-game losing streak in the matchup, Burrell (5-3, 4-3)...
Fox Chapel’s Bitar named to AJGA Scholastic Junior All-America Team
It has been quite the season for Fox Chapel senior golfer Scott Bitar. Just over a week ago, Bitar captured the WPIAL Class AAA individual championship at Fox Chapel Golf Club, becoming the third Fox Chapel golfer to do so since 2014. Fox Chapel’s Scott Bitar on his play today...
Burrell football team defeats Freeport in overtime thrillerVideo
Burrell coach Shawn Liotta has coached a lot of games in his career, but he said he has never coached one like Friday’s 36-35 overtime victory over Freeport. There was history — the Bucs were 1-11 against the Yellowjackets in the past 12 years and had been outscored 361-141. There...
Plum leads A-K Valley contingent into boys soccer playoffs
For the first time since 2005, the Class AAAA No. 1 Plum boys soccer team captured the Section 3-AAAA section title and will go into Monday’s nonconference regular-season finale against Allderdice with an undefeated record of 15-0-1. The Mustangs have turned in one of the best seasons in program history....
Sewickley Academy boys golf team maintains winning tradition
For the seventh straight year and 10th time in program history, Sewickley Academy captured the WPIAL Class AA boys golf team championship last Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course in Belle Vernon. With a team score of 406, the Panthers blew away the Class AA competition and bested runner-up North Catholic...
Fox Chapel boys finally get over the hump, capture WPIAL team gold
All season long, the Fox Chapel boys golf team has had a saying that its lived by every match. “Be comfortable being uncomfortable,” coach Bryan Deal said. Turns out, on Thursday afternoon at Cedarbrook Golf Club in Belle Vernon, Fox Chapel didn’t need the second half of its saying. They...
Former Springdale goalkeeper Mike Zolnierczyk settling in at RMU
Before heading to Robert Morris, Mike Zolnierczyk left his mark on Springdale High School. He was a three-time All-WPIAL soccer selection, he was named the Class A Player of the Year as a senior and over the course of his last two years, he tallied 26 shutouts and only allowed...
Field set for WPIAL golf championships at Cedarbrook
The field is set for the WPIAL team golf championships at Cedarbrook Golf Club on Thursday as six boys teams and four girls teams punched their ticket to the final round on Monday and Tuesday. Teams will tee off around 10 a.m. Boys Class AAA Three-time defending champion Central Catholic...
A-K Valley football Q&A with Riverview’s Dean Cecere
Two weeks ago, Riverview got its first win, escaping with a 21-20 victory over Imani Christian. Zach Hanlon led the way with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. But when the Raiders got their second win this past Friday, it was running back/strong safety Dean Cecere who...
Burrell-Freeport matchup loaded with playoff implications
Friday night’s WPIAL Class 3A Big East Conference matchup between Burrell and Freeport will pit two teams against each other that have a lot on the line. On one side there is Burrell (4-3, 3-3), a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2012 and hasn’t had a winning record...
Highlands soccer implementing unique analytical approach
Professional sports teams often use anything they can to gain a competitive advantage, and in recent years, different forms of analytics have become a norm across the country. But those in-depth analytics typically don’t trickle down to the high school level. So when first-year coach Jason Norris, an industrial engineer...
Four A-K Valley boys golf teams look to punch their ticket to WPIAL championship
On Tuesday morning, four boys golf teams from around the Alle-Kiski Valley will travel to River Forest Golf Course to play in a WPIAL Class AA semifinal match and compete for a chance to play for the team championship. The top three teams from the two semifinal matches — the...
