Michael Love stories, Page 122

The Fox Chapel girls tennis team remained alive for a PIAA championship Friday with a 3-2 victory over District 1 champion Unionville at Hershey Racquet Club. The Foxes (16-2) advance to Saturday’s semifinals and will face District 3 champion Manheim Township at 9:30 a.m. They are the only WPIAL team...

Sammy Jo Barnes qualified for the PIAA cross country championships individually the past two seasons. The Knoch senior made it three in a row Thursday at Cal (Pa.) with a fifth-place finish (20 minutes, 27 seconds) in the Class AA girls race. Barnes was hoping for a little bit more,...

The Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer team, seeded third in the Penn State University Athletic Conference Tournament, rolled into the semifinals with a 7-1 victory Wednesday over Penn State Scranton. Sophomore Nolan Johngarlo (Kiski Area) had a goal and an assist, and junior Mitchell Kuczynski (St. Joseph) scored. Johngarlo...

Jake Blumer Leechburg, sr., RB/LB The Blue Devils’ workhorse ball carrier ran wild against Bentworth to the tune of 242 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries in last Friday’s dominant 46-13 victory. For the season, Blumer has 822 yards and 14 scores on 131 rushing attempts. Jack Dykes Kiski...

Class 5A Northern Armstrong (1-7, 0-6) at Kiski Area (4-5, 3-3) 7 p.m. Friday at Richard J. Dilts Field, Allegheny Township Last week: Fox Chapel 41, Armstrong 14; Kiski Area 10, Mars 7 Coaches: Frank Fabian, Armstrong; Sam Albert, Kiski Area Players to watch: Cole Brown, Armstrong (Jr., 6-1, 170,...

Girls soccer Quarterfinals Class AAAA 9-Fox Chapel (10-7-1) at 1-Norwin (16-1) 8 p.m. Thursday Winner plays: Winner of 4-Moon (15-2-1) and 5-Seneca Valley (12-3-2) on Monday in the semifinals Coaches: Peter Torres, Fox Chapel; Lauren Karcher, Norwin Players to watch: Lucy Ream, Jr., F, Fox Chapel; (Katelyn Kauffman, So., MF/F,...

The Riverview boys cross country team finished runner-up to Winchester Thurston in Class A at WPIALs each of the past three seasons. The Raiders, led by juniors Mason Ochs and Gideon Deasy, would like to overtake the Bears on Thursday as the championships return to the Roadman Park course at...

The Burrell girls soccer team’s dominance in the regular season extended to Monday’s WPIAL Class AA first-round game against Mt. Pleasant at Kiski Area. The undefeated fourth-seeded Bucs led 4-0 at halftime and cruised to a 5-0 victory over the 13th-seeded Vikings. “We will take this win and move forward...

North Allegheny, Knoch, North Catholic and Bishop Canevin earned top seeds in their respective classifications as the WPIAL released girls volleyball playoff brackets Monday. In Class AAAA, second-seeded Pine-Richland, No. 3 Canon-McMillan and No. 4 Moon will join a field of 12 hoping to unseat the Tigers, who are searching...

Plum shut out Montour, 5-0, Sunday afternoon at Norwin to capture the Western Pennsylvania Fall Baseball League’s varsity title. The Mustangs went 3-0 in the playoffs and finished 12-2-1 overall to capture the program’s third fall title since 2014. “The league was very competitive this year,” Plum coach Carl Vollmer...

The WPIAL girls volleyball regular season has concluded, and the playoff pairings will be released early Monday afternoon. The journey to the finals at Fox Chapel is about to begin. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final classification rankings and players-of-the- week recognition Monday. Class AAAA 1. North...

Monday’s games Girls soccer First round Class AAAA 9-Fox Chapel (9-7-1) at 8-Upper St. Clair (11-5) 8:15 p.m. Monday at Upper St. Clair Winner plays: 1-Norwin on Thursday in quarterfinals Coaches: Peter Torres, Fox Chapel; Dave Gray, Upper St. Clair Players to Watch: Lucy Ream, Jr., M/F, Fox Chapel; Marissa...

Apollo-Ridge could have clinched a home first-round playoff game last week against Steel Valley, but the Vikings were upset by the Ironmen. Everything turned out in the Vikings’ favor Friday as they secured that home game and second place in the 2A Allegheny Conference when Shady Side Academy lost to...

Justin Mascilli finished 51st in the boys Class AAA race at last year’s WPIAL cross country championships on the Roadman Park course at Cal (Pa.). It was a 49-place improvement from his sophomore finish. Mascilli enters his final WPIAL competition Thursday eyeing another big jump in the standings and also...

Kiski Area graduate Nick Bisceglia earned Northeast Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in last Saturday’s 20-17 double-overtime victory by Robert Morris at St. Francis (Pa.). Bisceglia collected eight points, six coming on a pair of field goals. The latter of the two was a 38-yard...

Johnny Crise Highlands, Sr., WR/LB The Golden Rams nearly pulled off the upset of Class 4A No. 2 South Fayette last Friday, and Johnny Crise played a big part. He hauled in touchdowns of 38 and 4 yards from freshman Chandler Thimons and was a part of a defense that...

Class 5A Northern Armstrong (1-6, 0-5) at Fox Chapel (3-5, 2-3) 7 p.m. Friday at the James Burk Athletic Complex, O’Hara Township Last week: North Hills 42, Armstrong 0; Fox Chapel 30, Mars 28 Coaches: Frank Fabian, Armstrong; Tom Loughran, Fox Chapel Players to watch: Cole Brown, Armstrong (Jr., 6-1,...

Highlands was the final girls soccer team from the Alle-Kiski Valley invited to the WPIAL playoff party as the Golden Rams clinched a spot out of Section 2-AA with Monday night’s 2-1 overtime victory over Apollo-Ridge. In the postseason for the first time since 2016, Highlands sets the area’s playoff...

Here’s a look at this week’s girls soccer rankings: Class AAAA 1. Norwin, 16-1, 3 2. Peters Township, 15-1-1, 2 3. North Allegheny, 14-2-1, 1 4. Seneca Valley, 11-3-2, 4 5. Moon, 14-2-1, 5 Out: None Class AAA 1. Mars, 13-0-1, 1 2. Plum, 14-1, 2 3. Belle Vernon, 13-3,...

The Highlands girls soccer team came within two points of a WPIAL playoff spot last year. The Golden Rams weren’t to be denied this time around. Adrianna Vergerio scored with 5 minutes, 17 seconds left in the second overtime of Monday’s Section 2-AA contest at Apollo-Ridge. The golden goal gave...

The Plum girls cross country team already was having a productive season when it arrived at the Division I, Section 4 championship meet Oct. 2 at Northmoreland Park. The Mustangs took second at the season-opening Gateway Invitational at Boyce Park, won the Kiski Area Invitational at Northmoreland Park before faring...

As the WPIAL girls volleyball regular season enters its final week, additional section champions will be crowned, and the final tickets to the WPIAL playoffs will be punched. There is movement in each of the four Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association classification rankings this week. The top four in Class...