James Dotson stories

Ambridge repeats as WPIAL competitive spirit champion; Hempfield gets back on top

Pittsburgh traffic could not keep the Ambridge cheer team from repeating as district champions. The Bridgers survived stopped traffic in the City of Bridges, made it to Hempfield in time to compete and took home their second consecutive WPIAL Class 2A competitive spirit championship Saturday. “From Pittsburgh through the Squirrel...
Union blasts its way to 1st PIAA softball championship

All throughout the postseason, Union softball has been the home team. When the Scotties finally got the chance to bat first and set the tone of the game, they took advantage. Union scored six runs in the first and six more in the sixth inning to defeat Northeast Bradford, 12-2,...
Neshannock repeats as undefeated PIAA Class 2A softball champion

While the opponent was the same as a year prior, Neshannock softball faced a challenge they had not seen often during this season — a deficit. But the same as a year ago, a big inning for the Lancers broke open the game en route to a Neshannock championship. Neshannock’s...
Neshannock claims conference title with win over Laurel

For the second straight year, Bob Bleggi Stadium held a conference championship game between two undefeated teams on the last week of the regular season. For the second straight year, the Neshannock Lancers took home the victory and the conference title. Neshannock scored once in each quarter and racked up...
Neshannock has Laurel’s number again in latest chapter of storied softball rivalry

Even though Neshannock had won the previous nine matchups in the last three years against county rival Laurel, both teams knew the result of Monday’s PIAA Class 2A softball semifinal would be a coin flip. They were correct, but maybe not in the way they expected. After losing the pregame...
Hempfield, Neshannock claim their 4th WPIAL competitive spirit championships

Neshannock’s competitive spirit cheer squad has won the past two state championships. However, it did not have a WPIAL title in that time. That changed Saturday. Neshannock claimed its fourth WPIAL title by winning the Class 2A championship at Chartiers Valley on Saturday morning and also was crowned the 2A...
Mohawk defeats Imani Christian to reach WPIAL semis for 1st time

Forty-eight minutes of play came down to the final 12 seconds. But in reality, it came down to the previous 11 games of the season. Fifth-seeded Mohawk was able to get a defensive stop in the final seconds against No. 4 Imani Christian on fourth down to secure a 17-12...
Neshannock controls clock, stops Mohawk to win MAC championship

The best way to stop a high-powered offense is to keep it off the field. The Neshannock offensive line took that to heart Friday night. The Lancers offense ran twice as many plays as Mohawk did, mainly working the rushing attack, in a 13-7 victory at Bob Bleggi Stadium. The...
South Side wins 1st Big 7 Conference title since 1999

South Side coach Luke Travelpiece was unsure what the correct strategy would be against Union to start the game. Do the Rams kickoff and put their stellar defense up against the high-powered offense of the defending WPIAL champions? Or do they put their offense on the field and set the...
Norwin keeps New Castle close, but Red Hurricanes pull away for victory

The last time the New Castle boys basketball team played in the largest classification, the Red Hurricanes won WPIAL and PIAA championships. Now in Class 6A for the first time, New Castle picked up where it left off in 2014. The top-seeded ‘Canes defeated Norwin, 59-47, in the WPIAL quarterfinals...
Central Valley wins 1st WPIAL spirit title; Hempfield 3-peats

With 17 seniors on the Hempfield competitive spirit squad, expectations were high for the Spartans to secure another district championship on their home court. Mission accomplished. Hempfield secured its third consecutive Class 3A competitive spirit championship Saturday afternoon, edging out Thomas Jefferson for the gold medal. In the Class 2A...
Union vies for 1st PIAA championship against veteran Steelton-Highspire

The list of firsts for the Union Area football program continues to grow. The Scotties won their first outright WPIAL championship, were the first double-digit seed to play in or win a Class A football title. On the way, Union defeated a county foe in the playoffs (the first time...
Big-play Union tops Port Allegany, advances to PIAA Class A football final

CLARION — For the second consecutive week, the Union Scotties defense came up with big plays when needed. The Scotties forced four turnovers, including a fumble return for a touchdown, to defeat Port Allegany, 46-36, in the PIAA Class A semifinals at PennWest Clarion’s Memorial Stadium on Friday night. It...
Neshannock uses ground game to run past short-handed Burrell

Neshannock’s rushing attack was on full display at Bob Bleggi Stadium on Friday night. The Lancers had three rushers surpass 80 yards and held Burrell to just 130 yards of total offense in a 48-6 victory in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. “It’s a huge victory...
Neshannock softball caps undefeated season with state championship

UNIVERSITY PARK — At the beginning of the spring season, Neshannock softball was barely on anybody’s radar in the state. The Lancers were not in any state or district rankings and had not even made the state tournament in eight years. Three months later, they’re undefeated state champions. Neshannock defeated...
Walk-off single in 9th dashes Neshannock’s state baseball title hopes

UNIVERSITY PARK — The grind of three-straight extra-innings games finally got to the Neshannock baseball team. After combining for eight scoreless innings in the PIAA Class 2A championship at Medlar Field, Everett’s Jadin Zinn hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Neshannock, 1-0. Neshannock had...

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