High School category, Page 145

Starting 5s A preview of girls high school basketball season in Westmoreland County: 5 storylines to follow: • The sugar high has worn off, for now, but the returning players remember how sweet it was, those glorious championship moments at “The Pete,” Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Norwin and Greensburg Central...

Starting 5s A preview of boys high school basketball season in Westmoreland County: Boys 5 storylines to follow: • Postseason basketball can provide surprises and a little magic, as evidenced by Franklin Regional’s thrill ride last year to the WPIAL and PIAA finals. Recreating that scenery won’t be easy, but...

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...

High schools Basketball Boys Friday’s schedule Armstrong tournament Highlands at Armstrong, 7:30 p.m. Ellwood City tournament Blackhawk vs. Rochester, 6 p.m. Union at Ellwood City, 7:30 p.m. Geneva College/Lincoln Park tournament At Geneva College Beaver Falls vs. Ambridge, 6 p.m. Moon vs. Imani Christian, 7:30 p.m. East Liverpool (Ohio) vs....

Whenever Thomas Jefferson holds a Thanksgiving Day practice, coach Bill Cherpak never knows who might show up. One year it was Barry Sanders. OK, so it wasn’t really the NFL legend. But instead, the Jaguars players have a favorite holiday tradition of wearing a jersey representing a favorite college team...

The six WPIAL champions from the 2024 season are all headed to the state semifinals two wins shy of more gold drip. This marks the second year in a row and the third time this decade that all six WPIAL champions will be playing in the PIAA final four. The...

On both a team and individual basis, the spotlight has been vacated in WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball. Greensburg Central Catholic defeated Serra Catholic in last year’s WPIAL finals, but the Centurions moved up to Class 3A thanks to the PIAA’s competitive balance formula and the Eagles dropped down to...

Here’s some big news. Class 2A is the biggest classification in WPIAL boys basketball. This two-year cycle, 2A boys hoops has 31 teams. It also will have the largest playoff field as at least 19 teams will be participating in the postseason. Here is a rundown of players to watch,...

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...

Forty-nine senior girls from the WPIAL will converge on the AHN Sports Complex at Cool Springs in Bethel Park Saturday for the Western Pennsylvania High School Girls Soccer Coaches Association all-star games. There will be three teams that will play three games in a round-robin format. The opening game begins...

Former Serra Catholic assistant coach Akeeme Robinson was hired as head coach, the school announced Wednesday. Robinson replaces Jose Regus, who resigned after eight seasons and won a WPIAL title in 2021. Robinson, a Serra Catholic assistant from 2017-22, was defensive coordinator when the Eagles won the Class 2A title....

A look at the 2024-25 WPIAL Class 2A wrestling season: The Favorite Burrell has a new head coach, Steve Ansani, but the goals haven’t changed. The Bucs are out to win a section title and WPIAL Class 2A title and finish top four in the state. Ansani was hired to...

After a two-year hiatus, Burrell wrestling returned to the top of the WPIAL Class 2A mountain by winning its 18th district championship last season. In the offseason, there was a shuffling of the coaching staff with longtime assistant Steve Ansani becoming head coach and Josh Shields stepping down to an...

Derry wrestling coach Troy Dolan Jr. was having a tough time keeping the excitement about the future from showing. “It’s going to be fun around here the next several years,” Dolan said. “We’ve got some good wrestlers (in seventh and eighth grade) coming up. We should be much improved this...

High schools Football PIAA playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Friday’s schedule Downingtown West (13-1) vs. St. Joseph’s Prep (9-2) at Coatesville, 7 p.m. Saturday’s schedule Central Catholic (11-2) vs. Harrisburg (11-2) at Mansion Park, Altoona, 1 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Friday’s schedule West Chester Rustin (13-1) vs. Roman Catholic (10-4) at...

Dominic Casile scored a pair of goals to lead Fox Chapel to a 4-2 victory over Cathedral Prep in PIHL Class 2A hockey Tuesday night. Tucker Cullen added a goal and two assists and Pierce Osterholm also scored for Fox Chapel (5-1-1). Tucker Kinnear and Mathius Sprickman scored for Cathedral...

The shuffling in and out on a weekly basis is now complete as the PIAA playoffs prepare for state semifinals weekend. The final four teams in each classification playing for state gold are set, as are the final five teams in each class. There were no comings and goings in...

Class 3A boys basketball will have a different look in the WPIAL this season. First and foremost, two-time defending champion Deer Lakes moved up to Class 4A, but that’s just the beginning. Two other teams that won or shared section titles departed with Yough joining Deer Lakes in the climb...

A pair of teams will try to defend WPIAL championships this winter in Class 3A girls basketball. Shady Side Academy captured its first title last season, defeating defending champion Avonworth in the Class 3A title. Greensburg Central Catholic won the Class 2A crown but was moved up into Class 3A...

The players for the third annual We Serve First All-Star Classic, sponsored by the We Serve First Foundation, have been released. The event, set for Dec. 7 at Kiski Area High School, will celebrate and recognize the skills of 40 of the top senior girls volleyball players from 20 schools...

Fox Chapel wrestling coach Michael Frank watched his group strive to master the art of the dual last season. As a team, the Foxes worked together to win their first section title since 1971, and with 10 wrestlers who won at least 15 matches returning, expectations are high again. “For...

A look at the 2024-25 WPIAL Class 3A wrestling season: The Favorite Reigning Class 3A champion Connellsville lost one starter, Nick Rohal at 172 pounds, to graduation. The Falcons have a huge roster (40) that could field three teams. Heading the returnees are four PIAA qualifiers: sophomore Nolan Rice (38-10)...

Franklin Regional wrestling coach Matt Lebe knew how good his team was last season. Few believed him. The Panthers ended up third in the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament, losing to WPIAL champion Connellsville in the semifinals and edging Bethel Park in the consolation match, qualifying for the PIAA team...

High schools Football PIAA playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Friday’s schedule Downingtown West (13-1) vs. St. Joseph’s Prep (9-2) at Coatesville, 7 p.m. Saturday’s schedule Central Catholic (11-2) vs. Harrisburg (11-2) at Mansion Park, Altoona, 1 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Friday’s schedule West Chester Rustin (13-1) vs. Roman Catholic (10-4) at...

AJ and Carson Verszyla each had a goal and an assist to lead Pine-Richland to a 3-1 victory over South Fayette in PIHL Class 3A hockey Monday night. Josh Lanyard also scored for Pine-Richland (3-5). Ivan Kalinkou scored for South Fayette (3-4-1). Avonworth 8, North Hills 2 – Austin Dzadovsky...