Michael Love stories, Page 82
Strong finish carries Plum to slow-pitch softball finals
The Plum slow-pitch softball team entered the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League single-elimination playoffs Oct. 23 hoping to make a run to the title game. As the No. 6 seed, the Mustangs did just that. Plum upended No. 11 Penn-Trafford, 21-12, in the first round, scored an 11-5 win over...
Burrell wins, gets help, qualifies for playoffs for first time since 2012
Burrell entered Friday’s Allegheny Seven Conference finale with Valley at Buccaneer Stadium needing a win and a Deer Lakes loss to make the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. The Bucs got the win they needed, 19-14 over the Vikings. They also got the Lancers loss necessary. Deer Lakes fell to Freeport,...
Knoch girls cross country team ‘ready to run’ at WPIAL championship meet
The WPIAL cross country championships return to Cal (Pa.) on Thursday after a one-year covid hiatus, and the Knoch girls team hopes to be a major factor in the team and individual standings. Five of six runners from last year’s Class AA fifth-place team are back, and coach Wess Brahler...
A-K Valley WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Oct. 28, 2021
Today’s games Girls Quarterfinals Class 4A 9-Fox Chapel (9-7-1) at 1-North Allegheny (16-0-1) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Newman Stadium, McCandless Winner plays: Winner of 4-Seneca Valley (14-3-2)/5-Norwin (13-4) on Monday in semifinals (site and time TBD) Notes: Fox Chapel, the third-place team from Section 3 behind Latrobe and Norwin, secured a...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 9
Class 5A Northeast Conference Penn Hills (5-3, 3-1) at Kiski Area (6-3, 1-3) 7 p.m. Friday, at Richards Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township Penn Hills can clinch a share of the conference championship with a win Friday. The Indians put themselves in position last Friday with a 40-3 victory over Shaler....
A-K Valley football players to watch for 2021 Week 9
Devin Beattie Burrell, So., RB/DB Beattie is one the many young players who have helped keep the Bucs alive for a WPIAL playoff spot heading into the final week of the regular season. Last week against Derry, he ran nine times for 82 yards and scored two touchdowns in a...
Freeport girls volleyball in good position for playoffs
The Freeport girls volleyball team feels right at home in the WPIAL playoffs. The Yellowjackets haven’t missed the postseason in close to two decades, and they find themselves the hunted as the No. 1 seed in Class AAA as they shoot for their second WPIAL championship in three years, their...
Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer optimistic entering postseason
After a regular season full of positive outcomes for the Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer team, the Lions turn their attention to a quest for gold this week at the Penn State University Athletic Conference tournament. PSNK (11-4 overall) finished conference play 8-2 and will be the No. 3...
Volleyball coaches association releases final WPIAL girls rankings, players of the week
The WPIAL playoff brackets are set and the postseason matches begin this week. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final girls rankings and players of the week Monday. North Allegheny (Class 4A), Freeport (Class 3A), North Catholic (Class 2A) and Bishop Canevin (Class A) own the top spots...
East Allegheny boys soccer team dethrones defending 2A champ Deer Lakes
There will be a new WPIAL champion in boys Class 2A. East Allegheny sophomore midfielder Ryan Nichol scored off a rebound 24 seconds into overtime to lift No. 10 East Allegheny past defending champion Deer Lakes, 2-1, in a first-round game Monday at Lancers Stadium. “That felt amazing,” Nichol said...
Gateway’s Raymer commits to swim at Youngstown State
Summer Raymer is busy in the water getting ready for competitions with her Racer-X club team and also for her final season with the Gateway swim team. But the Gators senior standout also has her eyes focused on the future after high school. Raymer recently set her course for college...
Gateway hockey celebrating 50th anniversary season
The Gateway ice hockey program is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and alumni president Stefan Biancaniello said there are a lot of positive vibes surrounding what will be a year-long celebration. “From humble beginnings in 1972 to undefeated WPIHL AA champions in 1976 to WPIHL AAA champions in 1996...
Young lineup off to strong start for Plum hockey
The Plum varsity hockey team won just one game last year in a 2020-21 season that was unlike any other in the history of the PIHL with delays, restrictions and numerous changes overall because of the covid pandemic. But a new season with new opportunities has begun for the Mustangs,...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Leechburg snaps drought
Leechburg traveled Route 66 on Friday to face Imani Christian and wrapped up its first trip to the WPIAL playoffs since 1988. The Blue Devils (7-2, 4-2) snapped the longest playoff drought in the WPIAL with 40 first-quarter points en route to a 66-6 Eastern Conference victory. “This is really...
Pine-Richland comes through for victory over Kiski Area
The Kiski Area football team needed a win Friday at Pine-Richland to keep its WPIAL playoff hopes alive in the Northeast Conference. But for the Cavaliers, it wasn’t to be. Trailing by six in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, a fumbled snap and Pine-Richland recovery by defensive lineman...
Monroeville Mall to host Golden Gloves Western Regional finals
The Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League will host the PA Golden Gloves Western Regional Finals on Saturday at Gloria’s Gym on the second level of the Monroeville Mall. Eight bouts will be contested. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and bell time is 6. The 16 boxers who will compete for...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 8
Class 5A Northeast Fox Chapel (4-3, 2-1) at North Hills (5-3, 2-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Martorelli Stadium, Ross Township Both teams are locked in a four-way tie for the top spot in the conference with Pine-Richland and Penn Hills. … The Foxes saw a two-game win streak snapped with a...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2021 Week 8
Garrett King Freeport, Sr., RB/QB/DB Back in the lineup after missing all of last season, King has taken advantage of his opportunity with strong play for the surging Yellowjackets. He owns 39 tackles, a sack and an interception for the Freeport defense, while he has proven to be a threat...
Springdale, Plum land No. 2 seeds for WPIAL girls soccer playoffs
The Springdale and Plum girls soccer teams each captured section championships in the regular season, and both the Dynamos and Mustangs lead the Alle-Kiski Valley with No. 2 seeds for the upcoming WPIAL playoffs. The pairings for each of the four boys and four girls tournaments were released Wednesday afternoon....
Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League playoff tournament matchups set
The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League playoff tournament will be Saturday and Sunday, and all 12 teams will take part. The brackets were released Tuesday morning, and Bethel Park, which finished first in the regular-season standings with an 11-3 mark, owns the No. 1 seed for the single-elimination event. No....
Freeport girls soccer team edges Valley to take sole possession of 4th in Section 2-2A
The Valley girls soccer team came into Monday’s Section 2-2A finale against Freeport at Valley High Memorial Stadium needing to defeat the Yellowjackets to clinch a WPIAL playoff spot for the first time since 2016. But Freeport had other ideas. Katie Borromeo scored from 28 yards off an assist from...
Shaler, Thomas Jefferson, North Catholic, Bishop Canevin hold top spots in latest WPIAL girls volleyball rankings
After a two-week hiatus from the top spot, Thomas Jefferson again was the No. 1 team in Class 3A when the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s Week 7 WPIAL girls rankings were released Monday morning. The Jaguars lead Section 3 with a 10-0 record after a 3-0 nonsection win over...
Riverview boys, girls soccer teams show improvement in 2nd half
The Riverview girls soccer team lost its first three games of the season and was outscored 30-7. But coach Sean Abraham said he looked at the positives from those challenging contests against Greensburg Central Catholic, Serra Catholic and Apollo-Ridge in Section 1-A. He said the girls did as well, and...
Gateway grad Brady Walker coming into his own at quarterback at Saint Vincent
Brady Walker had a front-row seat for a wild college football game Oct. 2. The Gateway grad, a starting junior quarterback for Saint Vincent, helped lead the Bearcats to a come-from-behind 42-40 Presidents’ Athletic Conference victory over Case Western Reserve. Saint Vincent trailed 14-0 after the first quarter but came...
Plum girls soccer team ramping up for playoff run
When the final horn sounded on Plum’s 10-0 rout of Section 3-3A rival and WPIAL playoff contender Penn Hills on Oct. 12, the Mustangs had clinched their third consecutive section championship. It hoped for a clean sweep of section play in its section finale against second-place Oakland Catholic last Thursday....
