Paul Schofield stories

Those who thought that No. 1 Pine-Richland would cruise into the WPIAL Class 5A championship game forgot to tell members of the Moon football team. The No. 5-seeded Tigers gave the Rams all they could handle in the first half of Friday’s semifinal until a roughing the passer penalty sent...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Basketball coaches always say the key to winning games is the end of the first half and the beginning of the second. West Virginia coach Ross Hodge walked away from Thursday’s Backyard Brawl pleased. The Mountaineers used a big run late in the first half and early...

The Norwin football program has made nice strides over the years. But there were still things on their bucket last that they had not achieved before Friday’s WPIAL Class 6A semifinal at North Alle­gheny Newman Stadium. The Knights never had won a conference title, defeated North Alle­gheny, reached the WPIAL...

Player of the week Kymon’e Brown Jeannette, Sr., QB/DB Brown rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown and threw for 138 yards and a TD to Jayce Powell in helping Jeannette defeat Bentworth, 38-24, in a WPIAL Class A playoff game. Brown has completed 80 of 166 passes for 1,494...

When North Allegheny rallied to defeat Norwin, 20-17, in Week 4, the Tigers used five big plays to secure victory. They blocked a punt, got two long touchdown passes, a fourth-quarter interception and a stop by defensive tackle Lincoln Hoke. Those plays prevented Norwin from earning its first win over...

Norwin girls cross country coach Brian Fleckenstein said he felt 100 or fewer points would be enough to win a PIAA championship. His girls did better than he expected Saturday at the PIAA Class 3A cross country champions at the Parkview course in Hershey. The Knights ran away with the...

Just because the Penn-Trafford football team earned a first-round bye in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs does not mean the Warriors can take a vacation. Far from it. Veteran coach John Ruane prepared his team like they had a game in the first round. “The only thing different is we...

It was not the season that Lance Getsy and the Franklin Regional football team hoped for. The Panthers closed out the season with a 41-14 loss at Armstrong on Oct. 24. The only win came against Fox Chapel, 21-10, on Oct. 3. It was a season of growth for the...

It has been quite a week for the Bentworth athletic program. The boys and girls soccer teams celebrated WPIAL championships Thursday. Could the seventh-seeded football team celebrate its second WPIAL Class A playoff win Friday against No. 10 Jeannette? That answer was no. The Jayhawks played the spoiler, scoring 21...

When Hempfield cross country coach Jeff Mayo first met his team in 2022, he knew this was a special group. Four years later, Mayo’s view was spot on. Hempfield won its first WPIAL Class 3A cross country title Oct. 23, and it heads to Hershey for the PIAA championships Saturday....

Player of the week Giovanni Rothrauff Norwin, Jr., RB/OLB The junior ran for a career-high 260 yards in helping the Knights to a 14-7 victory over Mt. Lebanon. He is approaching a Norwin record for yards in a season. He has rushed 1,433 yards and nine touchdowns. Players to watch...

When it comes to playoff history, there is no comparison between Jeannette and Bentworth. The Jayhawks are 59-36-1 in the playoffs and have won two PIAA and 10 WPIAL titles. The Bearcats are 1-8 in the playoffs, and that win came in 2005: a 35-24 overtime victory over Mapletown. The...

Caeley Simon Class: Senior Sport: Field hockey Q: How was your season? A: Our season was good. It was exciting because it was my senior season. We did not make the playoffs, but I still had a great year. Q: Did you have any memorable moments this season or during...

It has been more than a month since Mia Williams played in a high school tennis match. Now the Penn-Trafford senior heads to Hershey to compete in her fourth PIAA Class 3A tournament. Williams was a WPIAL champion in 2022 and runner-up in 2023, 2024 and 2025. She has not...

There were a couple of surprises when the WPIAL football committee released the 2025 playoff pairings Saturday: Greensburg Central Catholic (Class A) is in, and Mt. Pleasant (Class 3A) was left out. Greensburg Central Catholic qualified for a Class A wild-card spot thanks to Friday’s 36-7 rout of No. 8...

When Mt. Lebanon coach Greg Perry talked about the Norwin football team, he heaped praise on quarterback Tristyn Tavares. Perry’s defense did an excellent job containing the slick Tavares. But Norwin is more than just Tavares. Junior running back Giovanni Rothrauff showed why. Rothrauff rushed for a career- record 260...

Sewickley Academy sophomore Zachary Sharara and Shady Side Academy junior Charlotte Barker took top honors in Class A at the WPIAL cross country championship Thursday at White Oak Park. Sharara breezed to the title, running a 15:41.60. Mohawk senior Scott McConnell was second and Riverview junior Ashton Saunders was third....

Latrobe junior Charlie Heese opened some eyes when he won the Red, White and Blue Invitational at White Oak Park last month. When he returned six weeks later to compete in the Tri-State Track Coaches Association Invitational, he finished 15th. But Heese was not disappointed. He used the race as...

Gold medals were not in the cards for the WPIAL golf teams at the PIAA championship Wednesday. Only the Peters Township girls earn a medal: a silver in Class 3A. Conestoga finished first at 12-over-par, and Peters Township was next at 16-over. Senior Ellie Benson paced the Indians by shooting...

Player of the week Jayce Powell Jeannette, Jr., WR/DB The Jayhawks junior scored three touchdowns against Springdale. He caught two touchdown passes (12 and 73 yards) and had a 40-yard punt return. He has 37 catches for 784 yards and eight touchdowns. He has 363 return yards with one touchdown....

How big is Friday’s Class 6A Conference battle between No. 5 Mt. Lebanon and No. 3 Norwin at Norwin Knights Stadium? GIGANTIC. The final two playoff berths are on the line for both teams. Norwin is looking to reach to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. If Norwin...

Fox Chapel junior Carson Kittsley has a chance to do something that has not been done in 84 years, win a PIAA golf championship three times. Kittsley and Elizabeth Forward senior Mya Morgan successfully defended their Class 3A titles Tuesday at Penn State University. Kittsley won in dramatic fashion. After...

Several golfers from the WPIAL put themselves in outstanding positions Monday to make a run at PIAA individual golf titles at Penn State University. Among those players were returning champions Carson Kittsley of Fox Chapel in Class 3A boys and Mya Morgan of Elizabeth Forward in Class 3A girls. Kittsley,...

Q: Do you play another sport? A: Yes, I play golf but not on a team. Q: What is your best round and where? A: I shot a 39 at Manor Valley. Q: How old were you when you started playing hockey? A: I was 4. I did not like...

Junior Ben Grabowski rushed for 172 yards on just four carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the Warriors to a 48-14 victory against Franklin Regional in a WPIAL Class 5A Big East Conference battle on Oct. 10. Quarterbacks Nate Desmond and Cody Yacamelli each tossed touchdown passes. Landyn Stikkel...