District College category, Page 22
Greensburg Central Catholic grad Max Pisula a 2-way terror for Saint Vincent opponentsVideo
Max Pisula remembers a particularly rainy football practice during his days at Greensburg Central Catholic. Then-coach Aaron Smetanka, as often was the ex-quarterback’s custom, was running the scout team offense. On one play, Smetanka rolled out and, as he did so, slipped on the wet sod and took a tumble....
Kiski Area grad Jack Colecchi earns national recognition for academics while playing new position again for Cal (Pa.) football
Cal (Pa.) football coach Gary Dunn rattles off a long list of compliments when talking about junior tight end Jack Colecchi. Leader. Great teammate. An example. First one to sign up for a community service project. In short, the Kiski Area graduate is a well-rounded guy. That perhaps is best...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Saint Vincent soccer teams post shutouts under the lights
Saint Vincent’s soccer teams should play under the lights more often. The women’s team had six players score goals in an 8-0 victory over Thiel, and the Bearcats men tied Thiel, 0-0, last Tuesday night at UPMC Field. It was a historic doubleheader for SVC, which hosted night soccer for...
District college football roundup: Cal (Pa.) starts fast, rolls past Seton Hill
Eric Willis scored on a 75-yard touchdown catch on the first play from scrimmage, sparking Cal (Pa.) to a 41-14 PSAC victory over Seton Hill on Saturday. Davis Black was 14 for 23 for 300 yards and four touchdowns for the Vulcans (5-1, 4-0). Omari Hopkins caught five balls for...
Norwin grad Declan O’Brien leading nation in receiving for Allegheny College
The nation’s leading pass catcher continues to turn heads — those of defensive backs and casual observers. Declan O’Brien, a senior wide receiver at Allegheny College, had a career game Saturday with a school-record 18 receptions for 233 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 loss to Washington & Jefferson....
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Greensburg Salem grad wins 1st cross country title
Cal (Pa.) senior Malia Anderson (Greensburg Salem) picked up her first individual cross country title by winning the Carnegie Mellon Invitational at Schenley Park. Anderson won the 5K in a time of 18 minutes, 36.1 seconds. She had two runner-up finishes in her career before her victory. Women’s cross country...
Saint Vincent men’s soccer team set for 1st night game under new lights
Let there be light for Saint Vincent College athletic teams. The school will make history at 7 p.m. Tuesday when the men’s soccer team plays host to Thiel under the lights. “This is an exciting time for Bearcat athletics,” interim athletic director D.P. Harris said in a press release. “We...
Ligonier Valley alum Aaron Tutino makes most of move to offense at St. Francis (Pa.)
It took a former Westmoreland County star and one of Pennsylvania’s top all-time high school receivers more than four years to find the end zone recently in a college football game. Aaron Tutino was hoping it wouldn’t take nearly as long to do it again. Tutino caught 61 touchdown passes...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: GCC grad Max Pisula working double duty for Saint Vincent
Max Pisula played quarterback when he was in high school. He specialized in defense when he came to Saint Vincent last year, where he initially was listed as a linebacker. But the 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior out of Greensburg Central Catholic is working double duty this season for the Bearcats (2-3,...
District college football roundup: Cal (Pa.) rocks IUP in Coal Bowl
Davis Black passed for 261 yards and Eric McKan III rushed for 105 yards to lead Cal (Pa.) to a 30-20 victory over IUP in the Coal Bowl on Saturday afternoon. McKan and Matt Charlton had rushing touchdowns and Khalil Taylor returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a score...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Area grads in running for Campbell Trophy
A local trio with on- and off-the-field smarts are up for one of college football’s major awards. Lehigh senior offensive lineman Christian Jablonski (Ligonier Valley), Allegheny senior wide receiver Declan O’Brien (Norwin) and Washington & Jefferson senior linebacker Justin Johns (Franklin Regional) are on a list of 201 semifinalists for...
Yough grad CJ Waldier having breakout season for Edinboro footballVideo
CJ Waldier knew immediately: that stomach-turning “pop” in the knee when a ligament has ruptured. It was a freak occurrence. No contact. Waldier, a Yough grad, was just going through a practice during his sophomore season with the Edinboro football team when, he said, he “just stepped, and it just...
Valley grad Jordan Kirkwood settles in quickly with Saint Vincent women’s soccer teamVideo
Jordan Kirkwood has a tattoo on her right knee. It’s a set of open skeleton jaws that engulfs her kneecap. There’s no real meaning behind it, the Valley grad said. She just thought it looked cool. Same with her other less-frequently-visible tattoo: some birds etched across her collarbone. Kirkwood has...
District college football roundup: Behind 3 TDs from Khalid Dorsey, Slippery Rock doubles up IUP
Khalid Dorsey ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns to lead Slippery Rock to a 42-21 victory over rival IUP in PSAC football Saturday. Bryaden Long went 18 for 23 passing for 277 yards and ran for a touchdown, and Kyle Sheetz had five catches for 131 yards for SRU...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield’s Brose brothers shine for Delaware
The brothers Brose from Hempfield have helped the Delaware Blue Hens to a 3-1 start. Braden Brose, a graduate tight end, is starting alongside his brother, senior Fintan Brose, an offensive lineman. Braden Brose (6-3, 250) had a season-high four receptions for 66 yards in Saturday’s 29-25 win over New...
Seton Hill LB Ritchie McCormack steps into void left by graduation of star linebacker Jaylen McDuffie
Ritchie McCormack came all the way across the country to play football at Seton Hill, trading the warm desert of his hometown in Tucson, Ariz., for the rolling hills and cold winters of southwestern Pennsylvania. Straying 2,000 miles from home was no small undertaking, and neither is the role he...
Gateway grad Courtney Jackson finding success at Arkansas State
Courtney Jackson is playing his first season with the Arkansas State football team, and on Sept. 16, he hauled in his first touchdown pass for the Red Wolves in a 31-7 victory over Stony Brook. Arkansas State collected 485 yards of total offense with the receiving corps gaining 140 of...
District college football roundup: Slippery Rock rolls past Seton Hill in PSAC West opener
No. 12-ranked Slippery Rock scored 28 straight points to earn a 34-14 victory over Seton Hill in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West opener Saturday at Offutt Field in Greensburg. Brayden Long threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score for the Rock, which improved...
Norwin grad Declan O’Brien thriving in 3rd season as receiver at Allegheny
When Braden Layer was serving as offensive coordinator for the Allegheny football team, he had speedy wide receiver Alex Victor at his disposal. He was a player who, in Layer’s words, “made my life a lot easier.” The numbers bear it out. Victor graduated in 2020 as the Gators’ all-time...
Knoch contingent hoping to elevate La Roche volleyball to top of AMCCVideo
La Roche women’s volleyball coach Nicole Bajuszik has spent a lot of time around the Knoch middle and high school girls programs. She lives in the district, so it’s a convenient place to conduct youth clinics and, perhaps, pick up a couple of recruits along the way. And why not?...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Southmoreland grad Zach Cernuto scores 3 TDs for W&J
Zach Cernuto knew he was not going to play quarterback when he left Southmoreland and joined the football team at Washington & Jefferson. But the thought of playing tight end or H-back intrigued him because he knew he could still have an impact on offense, be it by blocking people...
District college football roundup: Saint Vincent picks up 1st win of season
Austin Slye threw for 164 yards and a touchdown to lead Saint Vincent to a 23-19 victory over Allegheny in PAC football Saturday afternoon. Ty Martin ran for 96 yards and Kaelib McElroy caught five passes for 74 yards and a score for the Bearcats (1-2, 1-2). Jack Johnson tossed...
Penn-Trafford grad Allyson Doran putting time on sidelines to good use for Mercyhurst field hockey
Every once in a while, Allyson Doran still gets the itch to play goalie. That’s where she started her journey in field hockey when she took up the sport in eighth grade after moving to Penn-Trafford School District. But it wasn’t long until her coaches figured out that Doran had...
Deer Lakes grad Fletcher Hammond follows in older brother’s footsteps at Allegheny
Here’s the good news for opponents of Allegheny football: They no longer have to worry about defensive lineman Maxx Hammond, who, in the past two seasons, accumulated 93 tackles (131⁄2 for loss) from his defensive line spot. Now for the bad news: There’s still another Hammond to deal with. Fletcher...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Greensburg Salem grads step in for Seton Hill
There is a Greensburg Salem flavor to the Seton Hill football team. With redshirt freshman Hayden Teska taking over the quarterbacking duties over the weekend, there are now three former Golden Lions contributing for the Griffins (1-1), who defeated Shippensburg for the first time, 28-23, on Saturday at Offutt Field....
