Michael Love stories, Page 86
Riverview soccer teams eager to be back on field
It has been nearly two years since the Riverview boys and girls varsity soccer teams played games that counted in the WPIAL. That stretch, which included the entire 2020 season when low numbers prevented the teams from competing, came to an end when the Riverview boys faced section foe Eden...
Freeport football to honor veterans Friday
The Freeport football team takes on Avonworth at home Friday, and the Yellowjackets will honor local veterans and celebrate RED Friday. A Remembering Everyone Deployed ceremony will be during pregame festivities starting at 6:30 p.m. Local veterans will take the field to be honored, and residents of the Mechling Shakley...
Volleyball coaches association releases Week 1 rankings as WPIAL kicks off regular season
It was a busy opening weekend to the 2021 season for many WPIAL girls volleyball teams with dual-match and tournament action. The Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 1 Top 10 poll Monday morning, and North Allegheny (Class AAAA), Montour (Class AAA), North Catholic (Class AA) and Bishop...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Komaniak delivers in clutch for W&J men’s soccer
Riverview graduate Michael Komaniak didn’t waste any time delivering the dramatic for the Washington & Jefferson men’s soccer team. The senior forward and team captain tallied the winning goal in the 89th minute to lift the Presidents past Point Park, 3-2, in the season opener last Wednesday. Komaniak also scored...
Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League wraps up Week 3 with 59 games
Week 3 in the Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League is in the books, and teams in nine divisions from all three classifications took to the field. For more information on the league, including schedules and standings, visit wpyfl.org. CLASS AAA Division I (5th-6th grade) Seneca Valley 31, Norwin 0 Washington...
Deep senior class returns to lead Gateway girls volleyball
When Kayla Taylor arrived in Monroeville in July as the new head coach of the Gateway girls volleyball team, she wasn’t familiar with much in the program, including its players. But in the time since then, including the past couple of weeks of preseason practices and scrimmages, she has gotten...
Gateway girls tennis showing improvement with returning lineup
Kenny Nieser heads to the tennis courts at Gateway High School each time hoping to see improvement from his youthful girls team. So far this season, he said, his players are getting a return on their investments. “We have a good group of girls who have shown up and worked...
Riverview soccer teams eager to be back on field
It’s been nearly two years since the Riverview boys and girls varsity soccer teams played games that counted in the WPIAL. That stretch, which included the entire 2020 season when low numbers prevented the teams from competing, came to an end when the Riverview boys faced section foe Eden on...
Plum girls volleyball aims to defend section championship
With the loss of eight seniors, including six who played major roles, from last year’s Section 1-3A championship team, Plum girls volleyball coach Kelsey Bonk knew coming into this season there would be a lot of competition for starting spots in the rotation. That competition through offseason workouts and into...
Freeport builds big lead, holds off rival Knoch
Last year’s Freeport and Knoch football game was canceled amid the plethora of schedule changes because of the covid pandemic. The teams resumed their rivalry Friday at Knoch Knights Stadium, and the Yellowjackets raced to a four-touchdown lead at halftime before holding off a Knights comeback attempt for a 28-14...
A-K Valley girls volleyball preview: Freeport seeks 17th straight section title
In the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s preseason poll for Class AAA, four of the top six girls teams in the rankings are the ones who finished in a four-way tie for last year’s Section 5-AAA title. Leading the way is No. 2 Freeport, which won its 16th straight section...
A-K Valley football players to watch for 2021 Week 1
Calvin Heinle Kiski Area, Sr., WR/CB An all-conference selection last year who led the Cavaliers in receptions and receiving yards is back after recovering from a torn meniscus. Coach Sam Albert played Heinle sparingly in Friday’s Week Zero win over Butler, but he expects Heinle to carry a bigger load...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 1
Nonconference Apollo-Ridge (0-1) at Class 2A No. 2 Avonworth (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Lenzner Stadium, Ohio Township Last year’s matchup, slated for Owens Field in Apollo, was canceled amidst covid schedule changes. Apollo-Ridge hopes to bounce back from Friday’s season-opening 28-22 home loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart....
Covid cancels Riverview, Butler football games
The Riverview football team will not play its nonsection game at Chartiers-Houston on Friday. “We are experiencing multiple cases of covid-19 on the varsity football team. After numerous conversations with the Allegheny County Health Department, we have decided to suspend football practices and games from Aug. 30 (Monday) until Sept....
Fox Chapel girls soccer out to defend section title
For the 18th time in program history, the Fox Chapel girls soccer team brought home a section championship in 2020, edging WPIAL power Norwin by two points for the Section 3-4A crown. While a sizeable group of contributing seniors moved on — including All-WPIAL performers in goalkeeper Sammi Dunlap and...
Deer Lakes runner McCoy gears preparation toward contending at WPIAL cross country championships
Carson McCoy is a state champion in track and field, as he won the PIAA Class AA title in the 1,600-meter run in May at Shippensburg after placing second at WPIALs at week earlier. Now, the Deer Lakes senior hopes to add more gold to his resume as one of...
Teams post victories in Week 2 of WPYFL season
The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League’s 40 member programs continued their seasons over the weekend. The WPYFL stretches across seven counties and nearly 3,000 square miles in Southwestern Pennsylvania, making it the largest youth football organizations in the state and one of the largest in the country. Additional information on...
Volleyball coaches association releases preseason WPIAL girls rankings
Girls volleyball teams in the WPIAL officially begin their seasons Friday and Saturday with matches and tournaments all throughout the region. For the sixth year, the Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association is ranking the teams with a top-10 poll for all four classifications. Each week, all 120 WPIAL head coaches...
Plum girls soccer aims to maintain contender status
With back-to-back runs to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game, the Plum girls soccer team has established itself as a team to beat. Despite the loss of eight seniors who were starters or significant contributors from the last two postseason trips, including a berth to states in 2019, coach Jamie...
Plum boys soccer players motivated by early playoff exit
The Plum boys soccer team didn’t expect last season to end suddenly. But the Mustangs, seeded fourth in the Class 3A bracket after finishing as Section 4 co-champions with Franklin Regional, were stunned in the WPIAL first round by No. 13 South Fayette, 2-1. “That left a bitter taste in...
Optimism abounds for experienced Gateway girls soccer team
The 2020 season for the Gateway girls soccer team was anything but normal as covid uncertainties and a two-week stoppage in the middle of the regular season were just some of the obstacles which challenged the Gators players and coaches. “Just having any soccer season, it was a light and...
Gateway boys soccer embarks on ‘new beginning’
On the main page of the Gateway boys soccer website are the words “New beginnings” along with “Pride, passion and perseverance.” “In the offseason, that was kind of our theme, a new beginning, because we graduated 10 seniors, and seven of them were very influential from their freshmen to senior...
A-K Valley girls soccer preview: Plum eyes another trip to WPIAL final
The Plum girls soccer team hopes three is the magic number this fall. The Mustangs, despite the loss of eight seniors who were starters or significant contributors the past two seasons, will attempt a run at a third straight trip to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. Coach Jamie Stewart...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Springdale, Deer Lakes renew rivalry
A number of high school football rivalries were put on hold last year as the covid pandemic delayed, shortened and toyed with players, coaches and fans from August to early December. Springdale and Deer Lakes were not immune to the changes as their Week Zero matchup, scheduled for Deer Lakes’...
Smith shines as Franklin Regional beats rival Plum
Things couldn’t have started any better for Franklin Regional and new coach Lance Getsy on Friday against Plum at Franklin Regional Stadium in Murrysville. A Caden Smith interception, his first of three picks, on the first play from scrimmage led to a Connor Donnelly 2-yard touchdown run. With less than...
