Paul Schofield stories, Page 40
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2023 Week 5
Player of the Week Jackson Hutter Mt. Pleasant, Sr., RB/MLB The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior had quite a game on both sides of the ball in helping the Vikings rally to defeat Freeport, 45-23. He scored two touchdowns, rushed for 100 yards, caught two passes and made eight tackles, including three...
Coach rejoins spirited rivalry between Norwin, Penn-Trafford
Mike Brown is very familiar with the rivalry between Penn-Trafford and Norwin. The Knights’ first-year coach is a Penn-Trafford graduate and played in the game three times. Penn-Trafford won two of the three games, losing in 2007. “When I played, it was a game we always got up for,” Brown...
Penn-Trafford’s Turowski doesn’t hold back, leads Class 3A golf championship
Penn-Trafford senior Nick Turowski wasn’t just trying to qualify for the final round of the WPIAL Class 3A Golf Championship on Monday. He played the first round like it was the final round. “I played to win,” Turowski said. “I was aggressive, and I didn’t hold back.” Turowski, who won...
Penn-Trafford’s Turowski brothers help amateur team win Palmer Cup
When the Turowski brothers play, they usually are battling against each other. That wasn’t the case Sept. 14 when they were teammates for the first time since 2020 when they were paired at Penn-Trafford. Alex, a junior at Fairmont State (W.Va.), and Nick, a senior at Penn-Trafford, competed together in...
Penn-Trafford volleyball looking good after challenging early season schedule
Penn-Trafford dropped two nonconference girls volleyball matches early this season to Pine-Richland and North Catholic. But veteran coach Jim Schall said he’s not deterred by the start. He said his team has learned a lot and he expects them to finish strong. Penn-Trafford finished 17-4 in 2022. The Warriors defeated...
Size disadvantage not a problem for Franklin Regional nose guard Jude Gentile
When you think of a nose guards on a football team, former Steeler Casey “Big Snack” Hampton comes to mind. When Hampton played, he stood 6-foot-1, 325 pounds. At Franklin Regional, the Panthers’ starting nose guard is about half that size, sometimes being one of the smallest players on the...
Hutter brothers lead Mt. Pleasant in big 2nd-half rally to beat Freeport
Things didn’t look good for the Mt. Pleasant football team late in the third quarter of their nonconference game against Freeport. The Vikings were down two touchdowns and needed a spark. Senior Jackson Hutter provided it. Mt. Pleasant (4-1) scored on five consecutive possessions in the final 16 minutes, 33...
5th seed from Belle Vernon, freshman from Shady Side Academy claim WPIAL tennis titles
Belle Vernon doesn’t have a girls tennis team, but it does have a WPIAL champion. Sophomore Gabriella Dusi, a fifth seed, took the WPIAL Class 2A girls tennis championship by storm by crushing the field the past two days. She capped her dominance by defeating the second seed, Beaver senior...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2023 Week 4
Player of the week Payton Molter Jeannette, Sr., QB/LB The 6-foot, 180-pound senior had quite a game against Frazier in the WPIAL Class A Eastern Conference opener Friday. Molter was 9-for-9 passing for 158 yards and three touchdowns, including two scores to Jeremiah Williamson. He also returned a fumble 43...
Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson to square off with undefeated records on the line
Don’t think for one moment that Friday’s nonconference game between Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon is meaningless. Far from it. These teams, a mere 12 miles apart, have met annually, except for 1990 and 1991, since 1965. Thomas Jefferson leads the series 37-23, with Belle Vernon winning the past three...
Southmoreland volleyball enjoying great season under coaching of Kurtz
Tom Kurtz was working at a volleyball match last year when he noticed how well the Southmoreland girls were playing. He asked then-Southmoreland athletic director Dan Boring who was coaching the team. The answer was Boring and his wife, Amber, on an interim bases. Bored with officiating, Kurtz applied for...
Franklin Regional girls tennis team eyes another section title
When Franklin Regional celebrates Senior Day on Friday (Sept. 22), Ellen Liu will be the only one honored. That’s because the 2023 team is loaded with underclassmen. “A lot of my friends will be there to support me and watch me against Amelia,” Liu said. “It’s a big day and...
Belle Vernon beats Penn-Trafford in battle of champions
Belle Vernon and Penn-Trafford have won WPIAL and PIAA championships the past two seasons — Belle Vernon in 2022 and Penn-Trafford in 2021. But Belle Vernon, which plays in Class 3A, looks like it’s in great position to go back-to-back. Penn-Trafford, which plays in Class 5A, has some work to...
Penn-Trafford field hockey off to strong start as team eyes 8th straight WPIAL title
Penn-Trafford field hockey coach Cindy Dutt hadn’t missed a match since she started coaching until her team played Pine-Richland on Sept. 12. She had a great reason: the birth of her first grandson. And even though she missed the WPIAL Class 2A section opener Sept. 14 at Latrobe, she was...
Knoch, Southmoreland square off in battle of unexpected unbeatens
Some might be surprised by the Southmoreland and Knoch football teams starting the 2023 season at 3-0. Their coaches certainly aren’t among that group. The WPIAL Class 3A teams collide in a nonconference matchup Friday in Saxonburg looking to stay unbeaten. This is only the fourth time the teams have...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2023 Week 3
Player of the week Tasso Whipple Penn-Trafford, Jr., RB/LB The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder had a breakout for the Warriors. He rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 36 yards and another score to lead Penn-Trafford to its first win of the season. His 41-yard run in...
Westmoreland County athletes of the week: Franklin Regional’s Gianna Johnson, Mt. Pleasant’s Luke Rivardo
Gianna Johnson School: Franklin Regional Sport: Golf Class: Sophomore Claim to fame: The sophomore surprised everyone, including herself, by winning the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association girls tournament Thursday at Champion Lakes Golf Course in Ligonier. Johnson shot 4-over-par 40, tying her with returning champion Izzy Aigner of Greensburg Central Catholic....
Latrobe gallops to win over Hempfield
Hempfield’s marching band played the fan favorite “The Horse” during its pregame performance. But it was Latrobe’s football team that relied on its trio of thoroughbreds to defeat the Spartans, 27-7, in a nonconference game Friday at Bill Abraham Field at Spartan Stadium. The Wildcats’ backfield trio of quarterback John...
Franklin Regional’s Johnson captures WCCA title with personal-best round
When Franklin Regional girls golf coach Kane Daignault was talking to Ali Boyle about her play during the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament Thursday, she told him she didn’t think the team would win the title. Daignault then informed her how sophomore Gianna Johnson played, which shocked Boyle. Playing the...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2023 Week 2
Player of the week Ahmad Ward Derry, Sr., RB/LB The 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior had a huge game in helping Derry end its 20-game losing streak last week. He rushed for 191 yards and scored on runs of 9, 4 and 30 yards. He also returned an interception a school-record 100...
Rivals Hempfield, Latrobe look to rebound as they meet for 50th time
Latrobe and Hempfield enter Week 2 of the high school football season trying to rebound from their first losses. The teams collide at 7 p.m. Friday in a nonconference game at Bill Abraham Field at Spartan Stadium looking to get back on track. This is the 50th meeting between the...
Successful season shaping up for Penn-Trafford girls golf team
Ed Herbst has been coaching the Penn-Trafford girls golf team since 2004. Under his direction, the Warriors have won 11 section titles and two WPIAL titles (2012 and 2013). The Warriors were PIAA runners-up in Class 3A in 2012 and 2013. Midway through the 2023 season, Herbst sees a squad...
New Penn-Trafford boys golf coach has same goals
New Penn-Trafford boys golf coach Jeff Newsom was once the girls coach when the program started in 1999. But for the past three years, Newsom was an as assistant coach for Andy Rizzardi and the boys team. So when Rizzardi decided to retire after the 2022 season, Newsom stepped in...
Young Franklin Regional boys golf team shows depth with key victories
How deep is the Franklin Regional boys golf team’s lineup? Good enough for coach Jeff Traphagen to take his second team to a tri-match Aug. 30, and earn wins over Gateway, 200-227, and Woodland Hills, 200-310. With the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament set for the following day, and coming...
Franklin Regional’s goal-line stands turn back Latrobe
Two goal-line stands and two third-quarter touchdown runs by Kyle Dupill helped Franklin Regional defeat Latrobe, 28-21, in a heart-thumping nonconference battle Friday at Memorial Stadium. It might have been a nonconference game, but these two Westmoreland County foes battled like it was for a conference title. The Panthers (1-1)...
