Josh Rizzo stories, Page 24
Fort Cherry on top: Rangers, QB Matt Sieg beat South Side to win program’s 1st WPIAL title
Louis Ryan was sporting a gray 1997 WPIAL football championship cutoff shirt that had clearly seen better days. The shirt was worn down by sweat and age, but the Fort Cherry middle linebacker wore his dad’s old shirt as a reminder of what they were working toward. Ryan and the...
Led by high-scoring offense, stingy defense, South Side, Fort Cherry followed similar path to WPIAL Class A final
South Side football coach Luke Travelpiece can see the Rams’ battle for the WPIAL Class A championship against Fort Cherry going many ways. Both teams have explosive offenses. Those offenses are complimented by tremendous defenses. “Both teams average more than 40 points a game,” Travelpiece said. “I think you’re going...
Penn Hills notebook: Senior soccer standout chosen for all-star game
Penn Hills senior Landon Hankey had to tough out playing two sports during his senior season. The Indians boys soccer team’s senior goalkeeper struggled to stay on the field. However, he was able to grind it out and find a way to play as much as possible in both football...
With top 8 players back, Shaler boys feeling confident
Shaler boys basketball coach Rob Niedeberger has always prided himself on having depth in his program. This season, the Titans had more than a solid foundation to build on. Shaler will bring back the top eight players from its rotation last season. Six of those players go straight from hanging...
Motivated by 1-point playoff loss, Shaler girls aim higher
Hanna DeJidas still thinks about the Shaler girls basketball team’s loss in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. The Titans became one of the WPIAL’s top defensive teams last season by utilizing bungee cords in practice so the entire team knew how to move and work together....
Fox Chapel girls look to leave injuries behind, compete in tough section
The solitude of shooting basketballs with a machine in her family’s garage was a welcome environment for Fox Chapel senior guard Skylar Byrnes. Finding a way to push herself through workouts isn’t something Byrnes has struggled to find motivation to do. It’s the culture with which she is familiar. Her...
With 3 starters back from playoff team, Fox Chapel boys aiming high
Fox Chapel’s Will Siegel believes the Foxes should have lofty goals for the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Last season’s postseason run proved Fox Chapel is capable of accomplishing good things when it is playing good basketball. The Foxes made the PIAA playoffs as the fifth seed out of the WPIAL....
Franklin Regional girls focus on winning close games in bid to return to playoffs
Franklin Regional junior Toryn Fulton doesn’t want to see the Panthers’ girls basketball program run out of gas. All offseason, Fulton and her teammates have been looking to make sure they have the legs to keep up with the challenges that lay ahead. “We need to compete at the same...
Franklin Regional hopes avoiding injuries provides path to postseason
Cam Rowell was worried he didn’t quite have the spring in his step anymore. The 6-foot-4 Franklin Regional senior forward suffered a hip flexor injury that kept him out for most of last season. After four months off, Rowell said it took about a month of playing in games before...
Penn Hills notebook: Kelly hits court for Quinnipiac
Daemar Kelly was on the court for the Quinnipiac men’s basketball season opener Nov. 6. The Bobcats destroyed Coast Guard, 116-48, to open the season. Kelly, a freshman guard, contributed 17 minutes off the bench, scored seven points, grabbed two rebounds and had two assists. Kelly also made the first...
Strong playoff performance led to Penn Hills’ biggest offensive explosion in 5 years
Charles Morris had to wait until his second season to coach his first playoff game as the Penn Hills football coach. The Indians’ performance left quite the impression on anyone who saw it. Penn Hills blasted Penn-Trafford, 63-28, in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals. It was the first time the...
North Allegheny routs Canon-McMillan to set up rematch with Central Catholic
North Allegheny quarterback Logan Kushner won a foot race four plays into Friday night’s WPIAL Class 6A semifinal playoff game at Wright Field. The 71-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 was a risk that paid off big time for the Tigers. North Allegheny gained the early lead and coasted to a...
Fox Chapel cross country team, top runner Rowan Gwin dialed in at WPIAL meet
Fox Chapel senior Rowan Gwin looked forward to mentoring junior teammate Drew Black at the PIAA Class 4A cross country championships in Hershey. If anyone had the requisite experience for helping a first-time runner out, it was Gwin, who was making his third trip and had a wide range of...
Fox Chapel girls soccer uses speed to go on long postseason run
Fox Chapel’s underdog run through the WPIAL Class 4A postseason wasn’t just the result of an October victory. The Foxes blazing a path to the championship game at Highmark Stadium started by challenging one another during training camp in August. Those battles continued through routine practices in September or any...
Penn Hills senior finishes cross country career with fond memories
Sawyer Kinney has been drawn to activities throughout his life that made him feel like he was joining a brotherhood. When the Penn Hills senior thought about what he would like post-college life to be like, he was drawn to a military career the same way he was drawn to...
Penn Hills wins conference title, rivalry trophy to head into playoffs with momentum
The Penn Hills football team was crowned “King of the Hills’ by beating Woodland Hills to end the regular season. The winner of the game being awarded a trophy caught Indians coach Charles Morris off guard. It wasn’t the trophy Penn Hills was ultimately after, but the Indians were happy...
South Fayette nets golden goal in OT to dethrone Moon in Class 3A girls soccer
The nerves of playing in the WPIAL Class 3A girls soccer championship game Saturday at Highmark Stadium didn’t rattle Mia Deramo. The South Fayette sophomore forward has played plenty of high-level games at the venue as part of the Riverhounds’ developmental program. Before Deramo scored the game-winning goal with 1...
Avonworth gets past Shady Side Academy to win 3rd straight WPIAL championship
Gianna Babusci knew her teammate Minah Syam had likely scored 15 minutes into the WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer championship Saturday at Highmark Stadium. The fact the goal wasn’t given was immaterial. The Avonworth senior forward believed the Antelopes’ attack was too efficient not to produce more scoring opportunities. “We...
Penn Hills grad reaches out to South African kids via volleyball
Alain Tamo-Noche immensely enjoyed his experience in Cape Town, South Africa. The Central State University student and Penn Hills graduate taught young people how to play volleyball. One little boy, Mokhtar, left a lasting impression on Tamo-Noche. “He stood out because he was eager to keep learning,” Tamo-Noche said. “He...
Penn Hills defense grows into physical force
Don’t expect to find many holes in the Penn Hills football team’s defense. Indians defensive end Kelsey Hundley believes the team’s discipline makes it difficult for other teams to move the ball effectively. “We’re a physical team,” Hundley said. “We fly around and get to the ball. We tackle well.”...
Penn-Trafford advances to 8th straight WPIAL field hockey final after shutting out Latrobe
There is nothing about making the WPIAL Class 2A field hockey championship game that feels routine to Ava Hershberger. Avoiding complacency through Penn-Trafford’s dominant stretch has a personal motivation. The Warriors qualified for the championship game for the eighth consecutive season by beating Latrobe, 2-0, in a semifinal playoff game...
Playoff losses make high-scoring Fox Chapel hockey ‘hungrier to win’
Fox Chapel hockey coach Cam Raidna knows the pain from the last two seasons has been part of the building process for the team. Two seasons ago, Fox Chapel bowed out of the PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs in the semifinals. Last season, the Foxes coasted through the regular season in...
Fox Chapel toughs it out through rash of injuries, rebuilding season
Fox Chapel offensive tackle Kristofer Bandurski had a few options after having his ankle rolled up during a mid-September game against Upper St. Clair. He could either have gotten surgery, which would have likely ended his season, or done physical therapy. With how many of Bandurski’s teammates were already out...
AD-turned-coach excited about future of Penn Hills volleyball program
Stephanie Strauss never planned on returning to the bench to coach girls volleyball this season, and the Penn Hills athletic director never imagined it would happen this season. The Indians had their share of struggles during Strauss’ return to coaching but were able to pick up a pair of section...
Young players thrown into deep end for Penn Hills’ matchup with Central Catholic
Interrupting the Northeast Conference schedule to play Central Catholic was a tough spot for the Penn Hills football team. The Indians were facing the juggernaut Vikings a week after they were upset by Pine-Richland. Central Catholic pounced on Penn Hills at West Mifflin High School, scoring a 45-12 win. But,...
