Josh Rizzo stories, Page 5
Keystone Oaks players adjusting to new roles after playoff season
Keystone Oaks coach Steve McCormick identified Owen Gearhart as a strong option at quarterback. The benefit of rotating players into different roles is that when a new year comes around, they are capable of handling a variety of tasks. Gearhart will be tasked with helping the Golden Eagles attempt to...
Expectations elevated for Carlynton after snapping playoff drought
Carlynton senior linebacker Grant Freidhoff has an idea of what things should look like when everything is going well. The Cougars closed out last season with three consecutive wins to end a 23-year playoff drought and earn a WPIAL Class 2A playoff spot out of the Century Conference. While Western...
Fox Chapel swimmers earn medals, enjoy opportunity to compete in Maccabi Games
Cameryn Brindza enjoyed the learning experience that came along with participating in the Maccabi Games. The event, which was held in Pittsburgh during the first week of August, was an international competition for Jewish teenagers similar to the Olympics. Brindza, 16, attends Fox Chapel and won six medals in swimming...
New Shady Side Academy coach favors grit over glamour
Spending time on campus during the first few weeks of football camp has given Shady Side Academy football coach Andrew Geisler the feeling he is where he needs to be. The former Bulldogs captain was hired in January to take over the program after a tumultuous season last year. Shady...
With interest in program up, OLSH ‘would like to surprise people’
The fruits of bringing together three programs in a co-op have brought Our Lady of the Sacred Heart football coach Donnie Militzer what he was looking for. The Chargers now have 54 players on the roster, allowing for competitive practices. Militzer is encouraged by the arrangement between Eden Christian, Propel...
Defense holds key to improved results for Fox Chapel
Fox Chapel coach Dave Leasure is clear about what it will take for the Foxes to continue their progression as a program. If Fox Chapel wants to challenge for a WPIAL Class 5A playoff spot out of the Northeast Conference, they will have to be better defensively. “Fox Chapel has...
Greensburg Salem graduate Jayden Blake uses MMA to lose weight, build confidence
Jayden Blake’s self-confidence was way down. The Greensburg Salem graduate’s weight was on the rise and he needed a change. Blake, 19, turned to mixed martial arts three years ago to try and fix some of his problems. Blake, who is 5-foot-7 and topped out at 265 pounds when he...
‘Violent Bob Ross’ wins main event of 1st fight card at new North Versailles venue
Nine minutes went by much faster than Luis “Violent Bob Ross” Pena thought it would. During the inaugural 247 Fighting Championships card Saturday night at Sunny Days Arena in North Versailles, Pena, who fights out of Little Haiti, Fla., didn’t think he would win on the scorecards against a hometown...
Shady Side Academy girls basketball star Karis Thomas makes Division I college choice
Karis Thomas wanted to play college basketball somewhere she could be comfortable. When looking at schools, the Shady Side Academy girls basketball senior guard was searching for a place where they took care of each other. Thomas found what she was looking for when she recently committed to Division I...
‘This is home’: Rob Niederberger set to lead North Allegheny boys basketball team
Rob Niederberger took last season off coaching varsity basketball. During that time, the newly-minted North Allegheny boys basketball coach did color commentary on games for the TribLive High School Sports Network and went to help a few teams work on things in practice. Niederberger’s passion for basketball is his sickness....
Depth on offensive line puts Penn Hills in position to contend in Northeast Conference
Tristan Davis took in plenty of information about how to lead and pass information to the next generation of the Penn Hills football program. The Indians’ 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior center has eagerly taken on the challenge to pass the baton. Davis learned from former Indians standout linemen Carter Lance and...
Fox Chapel ready to move into next tier in Class 5A
Dave Leasure knows starting sophomores typically means grim things for a football program. But the Fox Chapel coach didn’t have many options when it came to playing young players last season. The Foxes had 15 players go out in three weeks with injuries. Fox Chapel had to improvise, which meant...
Shaler looking to improve on offense, contend for playoff spot
The Shaler football program desires a steadier level of production from its offense. The Titans scored 10 or fewer points in all seven of their losses last season. Shaler coach Jim Ryan believes the work put in over the past few seasons should benefit the program. “With the consistency of...
After capturing conference title, it’s win or bust for Woodland Hills
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. Woodland Hills football coach Brian Tarrant would have been happy to hear how senior wide receiver Scoop Smith answered the question about the Wolverines’ expectations for...
Fox Chapel’s Elias George sharpens skills with Swedish 18U baseball team
Elias George enjoyed making an annual summer trip with his family to visit his mom, Eva’s native Sweden. But when he turned 10, Elias started to ask a few practical questions. The now-Fox Chapel junior wanted to make sure his baseball skills stayed sharp. He wasn’t sure Sweden had baseball...
Moon MMA fighter Khama Worthy to help christen 247 Fighting Championships’ new venue in North Versailles
Khama Worthy still has the desire to fight. The 38-year-old Moon Township resident feels like he owes his fans the opportunity to see him perform. Worthy will help the Pittsburgh-based combat sports promotion 247 Fighting Championships christen its new venue, Sunny Days Arena, on Saturday, Aug. 9, in North Versailles...
2025 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Woodland Hills’ Scoop Smith
Catch Scoop Smith if you can. Many of the football programs that line up against Woodland Hills would rather pursue other endeavors. Smith enjoys playing on the return team but has become mostly a spectator as his career has progressed. “I don’t get them a lot,” Smith said. “A lot...
Former Penn Hills, WVU standout Drew Schifino reflects on life in basketball in new book
Drew Schifino wanted an opportunity to reflect on his time in basketball. He didn’t want to rehash the old stories of his time in European basketball or at West Virginia. The 43-year-old Penn Hills graduate sought an opportunity for self-reflection. Schifino decided to write a book about his time in...
Penn Hills’ Isabella DeCarlo caps high school softball career on high note
Isabella DeCarlo being asked by Team Gold to throw two innings in June during the Western Pennsylvania Softball All-Star game at Plum High School meant the world to her. The Penn Hills graduate ended a difficult senior season with two solid memories. DeCarlo no-hit Woodland Hills on Senior Night to...
Fox Chapel kicker, Georgia commit Harran Zureikat earns spot in Under Armour Next Football All-America game
Harran Zureikat didn’t have to wait for a list to come out to see if he would be part of the Under Armour Next Football All-America game. Zureikat, a Fox Chapel senior, earned his spot during a Kohl’s Scholarship Camp in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Competing with several other top prospects, Zureikat...
Athletes put summer workouts to use in Fox Chapel’s Big Man Challenge
Apollo-Ridge right tackle Connor Bogdanski was tired, but earned the feeling he was looking for July 23 at James M. Burke Athletic Facility. The Vikings had the smallest school enrollment at the Big Man Challenge, but they were able to earn a team victory over host Fox Chapel and Knoch....
Sonny Westerman Old Timers game again a highlight at Freeport International Baseball Invitational
The public address announcer ended his pre-game duties before the Sonny Westerman Old Timers game by sharing a sentiment likely shared by a large majority of the crowd, the players and any on-call medical personnel within shouting distance of Swartz Field in Freeport Borough Thursday night. Don’t get hurt. Despite...
2025 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Penn Hills’ Carter Bonner
Carter Bonner doesn’t think going on the recruiting trail for football is an easy process. One thing that eases the Penn Hills junior’s mind when it comes to the decision-making process is the impact it has on his dad during the road trips to visit schools. The two made a...
All-state honors pour in for Shaler spring athletes
Adam Hoffman was floating in the pool in South Carolina when he found out that his efforts with the Shaler boys volleyball team had earned him all-state honors. Hoffman was one of many Titan athletes across all spring sports who drew recognition in the postseason. Hoffman was named an honorable...
Fox Chapel native Jack Katsonas excited for opportunity in Tampa Bay organization
Jack Kartsonas prefers to dominate one task at a time. On a recent Wednesday, the former West Virginia University standout and Fox Chapel native was only worried about the quality of the steak he was cooking and not about the challenge of leaping into minor league baseball. Kartsonas, who played...
