Michael Love stories, Page 21
Behind experienced roster, Plum hockey eyes return trip to playoffs
Plum hockey coach Jon Gratton said his team remained positive despite tough losses to Chartiers Valley and Quaker Valley to start its PIHL Class A season. “Everybody had a good understanding of what we were up against with two really tough opponents right off the bat,” said Gratton, who leads...
Clairton too much for Leechburg in Eastern Conference 1st-place showdown
When Tim Andrasy scored a rushing touchdown for Leechburg with 11 minutes, 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Eastern Conference first-place clash with Clairton at Leechburg’s Veterans Stadium, it snapped the Bears’ 30-quarter streak of not allowing a point. Even though that defensive run came to an...
Slow-pitch softball league playoffs loom as regular season concludes
The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League regular season concludes Sunday with four doubleheaders. West Allegheny (11-1) and Mt. Lebanon (10-2) meet at Mt. Lebanon’s Middle Field with the regular-season title on the line. Baldwin (3-11) and Bethel Park (9-5) played two games Wednesday to close out their regular season. Bethel...
A-K Valley high school football players to watch for 2024 Week 7
Player of the week Trey Coury Burrell, so., RB/DB What did the Bucs tailback do for an encore after rushing for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 51 carries in Burrell’s victory over East Allegheny on Sept. 27? He upped those numbers in helping the Bucs win their...
With Eastern Conference lead on the line, Leechburg looks for program’s 1st win over Clairton
Clairton and Leechburg rolled through the first seven weeks of the season. The Bears gave up one touchdown, a defensive score by Steel Valley in the Week Zero season opener at the Wolvarena, and have proceeded to pitch six straight shutouts. The Blue Devils have averaged 43.2 points in their...
Freeport senior runner Michael Braun commits to ‘No. 1 choice’ Penn State
Michael Braun first made contact with Penn State cross country and track and field coaches in late August and quickly developed a rapport. “They expressed some interest, and we just went from there,” the Freeport senior distance standout said. Braun paid an initial visit to the University Park campus and...
Freeport girls work overtime again to get past Burrell
In the first meeting between the Freeport and Burrell girls soccer teams Sept. 16, a goal from sophomore Camryn Woods in the first overtime lifted the Yellowjackets to the victory. The teams met again Monday, this time at Freeport, and the rematch between the leaders of Section 2-2A also needed...
Gateway hockey team returns to PIHL varsity play
The Gateway hockey team took big steps forward last season with winning results on the ice. The Gators, playing at the junior varsity level, never lost in the regular season, finishing with 15 wins and one tie to claim the Division 3 title in JV Tier 3. Gateway then was...
Gateway girls soccer makes final push toward playoff berth
The Gateway girls soccer team hopes to be in position to clinch a WPIAL Class 3A playoff spot when it hosts Shaler on Monday (Oct. 14) in the Section 1 finale. The Gators were 3-5-1 after a 2-1 loss to playoff contender Hampton on Oct. 2. It was a close...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Showdown looms for Leechburg
Leechburg and Clairton took care of business in a big way Friday night. The Blue Devils raced past Frazier, 62-16, and the Bears routed Springdale, 71-0. Now, the Eastern Conference leaders, both 4-0, will meet this week in a game that could go a long way in deciding who wins...
Plum’s Wes Lorish earns trip to state golf championships
Wes Lorish is in position to go after state gold. The Plum senior capped his run in the WPIAL Class 3A individual playoffs with a sixth-place finish in the two-day, 36-hole championship tournament last Tuesday and Wednesday at Southpointe Golf Club in Canonsburg (first round) and Oakmont Country Club (finals)....
Riverview earns 1st berth to boys soccer playoffs since 2019
The Riverview boys soccer team started this season 0-4 overall and 0-3 in Section 4-A play. The Raiders were coming off a tough 1-0 loss at rival Springdale and were looking for a spark. That spark came in the form of a 3-1 win over Class 2A Burrell two days...
Plum girls soccer riding high ahead of WPIAL postseason
Through its first 11 games, the Plum girls soccer team gave up just three goals and lost just once. But that one loss had a quick response. The Mustangs suffered a 1-0 nonconference setback at Montour on Sept. 19 but came back in its next game four days later and...
Trey Coury runs 53 times for 266 yards as Burrell tops Valley in rivalry game
For the second week in a row, Trey Coury did some heavy lifting. The Burrell sophomore tailback again logged more than 50 carries: 53 to be exact. Those runs went for 266 yards and both Bucs scores in a 15-6 victory over Valley in the annual “Battle of the Bypass”...
Springdale girls, boys sweep soccer doubleheader from rival Riverview
The Springdale girls soccer team suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday against Class 2A power Burrell. But the Dynamos got that winning feeling back Thursday evening with a convincing 3-0 triumph over rival Riverview in a Section 4-A clash under the lights at Riverside Park in Oakmont....
A-K Valley high school football players to watch for 2024 Week 6
Player of the week Carson Heinle Kiski Area, sr., QB/DB The veteran signal caller helped put his team in position to grab a victory Friday against Big East rival Franklin Regional. Heinle completed 16 of 27 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns and added 91 yards and a TD...
Battle of the Bypass continues to hold extra meaning for Burrell, Valley
Valley assistant football coach Jason Ballard attended Burrell and graduated in 1994. He knows exactly what the Battle of the Bypass rivalry between the schools is all about. While he does hold an affinity for his alma mater, he said he will work to make sure his current team comes...
Kiski Area girls, Fox Chapel boys win Division I, Section 4 cross country titles
Temperatures hovered in the low 80s with sunny skies at last year’s WPIAL Division I, Section 4 cross country championship meet at Northmoreland Park. It wasn’t nearly as warm Wednesday — low 60s — when runners from Armstrong, Fox Chapel, Kiski Area, Gateway, Plum, Penn Hills, Woodland Hills, and Franklin...
Dana Petruska comes out of retirement to take over as girls basketball coach at Deer Lakes
When Dana Petruska retired from coaching high school girls basketball in the spring of 2023, she thought that probably was it after 35 seasons. But that lasted just 15 months. Her love of the game and love of coaching keeps her going. Petruska, who owns a 518-325 career record, will...
Gateway youth football teams contending for Big East Youth Football League titles
Gateway was one of only two programs in the Big East Youth Football League — Penn-Trafford was the other — to have all four of its teams make the playoffs in 2023. The Gators’ flag (ages 5-6), Termites (7-8), Mites (9-10) and Midgets (11-12) teams turned in successful regular seasons...
Gateway boys soccer hits stride ahead of 2nd half of section play
The Gateway boys soccer team finds its in solid position to reach the WPIAL playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Coach Mike Rugh said the Gators, who were 6-4 overall and 3-2 in Section 1-4A heading into the start of the second cycle of section play, are hitting their stride...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Burrell runs to 1st victory of season
Burrell is well-known as a run-first football team. On Friday against East Allegheny, the Bucs were a run-only team, and it worked well for them as they broke into the win column for the first time this season. Burrell, now 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the Allegheny 7 Conference, ran...
Plum Midget Football Association teams relish competition in return to Big East Youth Football League
The Plum Midget Football Association was on the move after the 2023 season. Playing in the Allegheny Youth Football League for the past several years, the PMFA board and coaches felt it was in the best interest of the organization to move back to the Big East Youth Football League...
Burrell leans on running game to break into win column vs. East Allegheny
Something had to give as the Burrell and East Allegheny football teams met Friday in an Allegheny 7 Conference matchup at Burrell’s Buccaneer Stadium. The Bucs and Wildcats struggled through the first five weeks without a win. But that changed for Burrell as it used a big game from sophomore...
Defending champions look to extend their records at annual Great Race
Jennifer Bigham won last year’s Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10K for her second back-to-back triumph in eight years. One of the fastest masters runners in the country, she also won in 2016 and 2017 and finished first in 2019. Bigham’s five Great Race 10K titles are...
