High School category, Page 1037
Despite young roster, bump up in class, Aliquippa still thinking WPIAL title
It took a pandemic to end one of the most impressive streaks in WPIAL football history. Every year since 2008, Aliquippa has played for a WPIAL football championship at Heinz Field. The Quips’ 12 straight trips to the North Shore are more than every NFL team outside of the AFC...
Beaver motivated to move past rare losing season
For a 10-year span, there were few football programs in the WPIAL consistently better than Beaver. From 2010-18, the Bobcats were a combined 70-27. Although they never made it to a WPIAL championship game, they never won fewer than seven games in that nine-year stretch. Then the dam of success...
Blackhawk reloads, sets sights on joining Class 4A elite
Blackhawk coach Zach Hayward has a motto that his players hear most every time they step on the practice field or in the weight room. “We want Heinz Field effort,” Hayward said. “That’s been the motto since Day 1, that I want Heinz Field effort. If we don’t make it...
Drop to Class 4A has enthusiasm on the rise at Chartiers Valley
In 2009, Chartiers Valley closed out the first decade of the century with one of its most successful football seasons. The Colts lost only once in the regular season and finished with an 8-2 record. The last 10 years have been a struggle on the gridiron for Chartiers Valley, with...
With QB Persinger healthy, Montour ready to compete in new Parkway Conference
In back-to-back years, the Montour football program became quite familiar with the ups and downs of high school football. The 2017 season was close to the best of times and the follow up in 2018 was the worst of times. Three years ago, the Spartans finished 9-3 and reached the...
With disruptive defense, New Castle looks to extend playoff streak
Edge rushers Jaylan Cox and Allen Bradley make coach Joe Cowart optimistic about how disruptive New Castle’s defense could be this season. They also make the 1999 New Castle graduate feel old. “I keep talking about all the Steelers outside linebackers those guys could be like, and they’re like, ‘Who?’”...
High school scores and summaries for Aug. 31, 2020
WPIAL Boys golf Section 1-AAA Penn-Trafford 204, Hempfield 224 Medalist: Alex Turowski (PT) 38. Indiana 196, Norwin 201 Medalists: Danny Williams, Harrison Martineau (I) 37; Noah Montanez (N) 37. Section 3-AAA Butler 198, Mars 201 Medalists: Colin Patterson (B) 38; Blake Bertolo (M) 35. Seneca Valley 185, Shaler 239, North...
High school sports roundup for Aug. 31, 2020: Silvetti leads Central Catholic at Latrobe CC
Rocco Silvetti shot a 71 and Carter Pitcairn carded a 74 to lead Central Catholic to a three-stroke victory over Franklin Regional at the Garry Garrison Invitational on Monday at Latrobe County Club. The Vikings (397) were the only team to break 400. Michael Wareham led Franklin Regional (400) with...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Ligonier Valley adds 2 new opponents to football schedule
When Ligonier Valley joined the WPIAL, it was eager to play new opponents. What it didn’t expect was an open date on the schedule, which was created when the WPIAL decided to shorten the season because of coronavirus concerns. That grew to two open dates when Summit Academy decided not...
Dan Boring takes over as Southmoreland’s athletic director
Dan Boring knew Charlie Swink had been hinting about stepping down as athletic director at Southmoreland for some time. As the Scotties wrestling coach, Boring had many conversations with Swink around the athletic department water cooler. He even inquired about what Swink’s position entailed — the schedule-making, the meetings, the...
Franklin Regional’s Zach Lorenz added to national all-star watchlist
Add midfielder Zach Lorenz of Franklin Regional to the watchlist for the 10th High School All-American soccer games. He was a late addition to the list, which came out last week. That makes 16 WPIAL players in line to make the country’s premier soccer all-star games. Eleven of the 30...
Bethel Park’s Psotka taking Division I volleyball talents to the beach
Alexa Psotka is looking forward to putting her feet in the sand on the Atlantic Coast in South Carolina. No, she’s not eyeing up a sunny and warm vacation spot but rather a golden opportunity in volleyball at the Division I level. The Bethel Park senior standout recently gave a...
Central Catholic returns 2,000-yard rusher but QB job remains 5-way battle
Central Catholic has five guys competing to play quarterback, and whoever wins the job will practice handing the football to Eddy Tillman. The senior is coming off a 2,000-yard, 26-touchdown season. The 5-foot-8 running back has increased his strength since last season and started drawing Division I interest this summer....
Strong junior class has Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko optimistic in Year 2
Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko had 14 sophomores earn a varsity letter in his first season with the Blue Devils. That has him excited because those sophomores are now juniors, so he expects to see a discernible jump in their performances. For football players, that transition from 10th grade to...
North Allegheny replaces top rusher, passer, receiver from last year’s lineup
North Allegheny coach Art Walker has always had a go-to guy in the backfield, one running back who’d shoulder the bulk of the carries. Not so, this season. “We’re going to be running back by committee until somebody steps up and takes it,” Walker said. “We could’ve done more evaluation...
Veteran Seneca Valley team out to even the score
Since the expansion to six classifications throughout the state four years ago, even years have been very good for the Seneca Valley football program. In 2016, Seneca Valley finished 8-4 and defeated Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny in the playoffs to reach the first WPIAL Class 6A championship game. There...
Running game, defense take precedence at Norwin
With a nonexistent running game, a problem that was compounded by a multitude of injuries to its offensive line, Norwin struggled to move the football last season. Rifle-armed quarterback Jack Salopek threw it 303 times but often had to scramble to avoid a rush. Salopek is off to Western Michigan,...
Hempfield looks to stay healthy in 2020
Ninth-year coach Rich Bowen wonders what might have been last year had his Hempfield Spartans not been ravaged by injuries early in the season. An exciting offense, powered by star running back Nathan Roby, and a hold-it-together defense still allowed the Spartans to finish 4-6. But a 2-6 mark in...
With new coach, new class, a season of change at Baldwin
Changing addresses and moving from one football program to another can be taxing and tough. The adjustment period between coaching staff and players can last well into the first season. Preparing for the first season at a new school with the limitations of a pandemic makes a difficult transition so...
Canon-McMillan starting to stack up playoff appearances
For nearly 10 years, the Canon-McMillan football team was a spectator to postseason football. From 2009-17, the Big Macs’ season never carried over to November. However, the team is now riding a new streak coming into the third decade of the century. Canon-McMillan is coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. Sure,...
Central Catholic football star, Pitt recruit Elliot Donald skipping senior season
The possibility he’d infect his granddad or any other family member with covid-19 was too much risk, said Central Catholic football star Elliot Donald, who decided to skip his senior season. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive tackle is a Pitt commit, one of the WPIAL’s elite players and the nephew of...
Killinger, Plum girls soccer ready for repeat performance
Kaitlyn Killinger probably couldn’t have imagined a better start to her high school soccer career. The Plum sophomore striker led her team in scoring last season with 18 goals, and she came up big numerous times in the Mustangs’ run to the WPIAL Class AAA championship game and state playoffs....
Increased roster numbers boost Avella
Low roster numbers have plagued Avella before, but coach Ryan Cecchini can assure you, he’s shaken all he can from the bushes in the school district. He has exhausted his recruiting in the school halls options. The football team had between 12 and 16 players for summer workouts and, “We’ll...
Uptick in numbers helps Bentworth’s confidence
J.J. Knabb, a teacher at Bentworth who doubles as the football coach, took over lunch duty last year so he could get the word out about his team’s sparse roster. If there were football players camouflaged into the student body, his goal was to find them. “It gave me a...
Carmichaels returns to Class A with new coach, momentum
When Ron Gallagher was promoted to the head coach position at Carmichaels in January, he took over a program with momentum. One of the biggest reasons things are looking up is a drop in classification. After spending the previous two seasons as the smallest public school in Class 2A football...
