South Hills Record category, Page 8

The Thomas Jefferson boys basketball team has a tough act to follow in 2024-25. Last year’s team enjoyed one of the best seasons in school history as the Jaguars advanced to the WPIAL Class 5A semifinal round and racked up a 21-6 record. “Our kids did everything I asked,” coach...

Baldwin Borough Randy Koonse sold property at 5504 Brownsville Road to KFES Enterprises LLC for $145,000. Randy Koonse sold property at 5510 Brownsville Road to KFES Enterprises LLC for $275,000. Lisa Palmieri sold property at 1179 Camarta Drive to Jamie Ennis and Derek Moran for $425,000. Reed Rutkowski sold property...

On the night of Oct. 3, Brentwood police pulled over a car on Route 51 because the license plate was partially blocked. When an officer approached the driver, her friend and front-seat passenger, Devin Irwin, held up his iPhone and began recording. The only other person in the car, a...

Early December high school basketball doesn’t usually offer many intriguing storylines as teams search for an identity while trying to put one in the win column. However, a good storyline wasn’t difficult to find Friday in the first game of the Upper St. Clair boys basketball tip-off tournament. Two playoff...

ALTOONA — A dominant second quarter by Thomas Jefferson meant a trip to the state finals was just 24 minutes away. That made Friday’s loss tougher to take. Two failed fourth-down tries, a near-miss on a sure touchdown pass, a couple of lapses on defense, penalties and some other forgettable...

In co-authoring a book called “Navigate Your Path to Success,” Bethel Park resident Ron Arnoni writes from experience. The longtime district judge served his home municipality and Upper St. Clair has a career in public office dating back to when he served on borough council and then as mayor of...

Thomas Jefferson tends to have a longer football season than most, so while most schools are preparing to kick off the basketball season Friday, the Jaguars are keeping it on the gridiron in Altoona for a state semifinal matchup against District 3 champions Lampeter-Strasburg. The Jaguars (13-0) and the Pioneers...

Welcome to the PIAA final four with 11 games scheduled for Friday and one for Saturday. With 24 teams set to collide post-Thanksgiving for the opportunity to play in a state championship game, let’s provide a breakdown of which districts remain in the hunt for PIAA gold. For the second...

South Park 21, Seton LaSalle 14 South Park 6-8-7-0 — 21 Seton LaSalle 0-7-0-7 — 14 Scoring summary SP: Eric Doerue 6 run (kick blocked) SP: Robert Lenzi 1 run (Doerue run) SLS: Khalil Taylor 32 run (Brayden Carter kick) SP: Doerue 8 run (Griffin Burnett kick) SLS: Richard Littlejohn...

ALTOONA — There was no hangover for WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson on Saturday against District 9 champion Clearfield in a PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal at Altoona’s Mansion Park. The Jaguars forced three turnovers in the first half, took control with four touchdowns before the break and finished off a 35-0...

It was a turn back the clock day in the 2024 WPIAL Class 2A championship game Saturday at Acrisure Stadium. Nearly two decades since South Park played in a district title game, the Eagles’ approach on offense was more of a game plan from seven decades ago. It was ground...

Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Whitehall is gearing up for its annual Christmas Cookie Sale. The sale will take place at the church, 450 Maxwell Drive, on Dec. 7 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost is $15 per pound, and attendees can choose what they want. Nut rolls are $18...

There are plenty of old football coach sayings that link defense and championships. Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne offered this one ahead of the WPIAL finals: “If they don’t score, they can’t win.” Simple enough. No. 1 Pine-Richland (10-1) plays No. 3 Peters Township (11-1) in a WPIAL Class 5A final...

Kirill Faerovitch owns several cigar businesses, so it is not surprising his latest venture also involves smoke. Owl’s Nest is a barbecue restaurant that opened four months ago in Upper St. Clair. “We specialize in traditional smoked meats with a European twist on presentation, bringing a unique flavor and dining...

Foundation reaches goal for Sluganski Memorial Scholarship The Baldwin-Whitehall Education Foundation has reached its $75,000 capital endowment campaign goal for the Officer Sean Sluganski Memorial Scholarship. Uplifting that the BWEF reached the milestone on his actual birthday: Oct. 29. This means the annual scholarship will now be funded in perpetuity...

The numbers just kept piling up for the Thomas Jefferson football team this season. The top-seeded Jaguars took a perfect 12-0 record into the WPIAL Class 4A championship game with former conference rival McKeesport, the No. 3 seed. And TJ’s legendary Bill Cherpak was going for his 10th district championship...

Baldwin seniors Avery Barrett and Kaylee Smolko hardly could wait for Nov. 13 to finally arrive. Both were scheduled to officially commit that day to Pitt-Johnstown where they will continue their athletic and academic careers. They were the only two seniors on the Baldwin girls volleyball team in 2024. “I...

Baldwin Borough Rose Milkovich Andrews sold property at 5250 Elmwood Drive to Brian Davis and Rose Andrews for $1 (state deed transfer stamps indicate a value of $89,800). Estate of Thomas Kelley sold property at 424 Faith Drive to Kathie Jo Manning for $268,000. Daniel Griener sold property at 4733...

Bill Cherpak has never been one to tout his own stats or accolades and that remained the case after becoming the first WPIAL coach to reach double-digit championships in football on Saturday. His Thomas Jefferson players did the talking for him. “He’s the G.O.A.T. Period,” Jaguars running back Tyler Eber...

It is somewhat surprising that Thomas Jefferson and McKeesport, despite their proximity to one other, have only met five times on the football field. The schools, located in the South Hills’ Mon Valley area, are separated by just 11 miles. They didn’t start playing one another until 2020; McKeesport owns...

Colleagues, family, students, athletes and alumni gathered at Baldwin High School Stadium the evening of Oct. 26 to honor their late track coach, Edward Helbig. Helbig died in August at age 72 following a battle with esophageal cancer. He coached at Baldwin for 49 years. Those in attendance shared their...

On Saturday, the WPIAL will crown two football champions with the playing of the district Class 4A and 6A title games. This will be the fourth straight year and the sixth time in the last seven years that the 6A championship game will be played at Norwin Knights Stadium in...

Beloved Pittsburgh documentarian Rick Sebak returned to his hometown of Bethel Park on Nov. 2 to present his short film “A Short History of Route 88” to community members at the Schoolhouse Arts and History Center. Tim Moury, president of the Bethel Park Historical Society, introduced Sebak to the audience...

Whitehall Borough Historical Society hosted a program with author Tom McMillan on his book, “Flight 93,” on Oct. 24. That same night, the society’s History Student of the Year Award was presented to Baldwin High School senior Rakshya Kafle. She received a plaque and her name is inscribed in the...

The streak is over. Sixteen years in a row, Aliquippa had remarkably reached the WPIAL finals, often by exploiting any mistake an opponent made. This time, the Quips were on the other side. Top-seeded Thomas Jefferson blocked two punts, scored the first 28 points and played mostly mistake-free football Friday...