High School category, Page 163

Player of the week Jarett Garn Mt. Pleasant, sr., WR/RB/K/DB The 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior had a big game and helped the Vikings stay with Elizabeth Forward. The multipurpose athlete rushed for a touchdown, caught an 87-yard touchdown and returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score. He had a 64-yard...

Friday’s WPIAL Class A playoff game between Monessen and Greensburg Central Catholic could turn out to be the most electrifying in the first round. It could feature two of the top players in Westmoreland County and the WPIAL. It also could be a high-scoring affair. Fans will be on the...

Class 5A first round 9-Franklin Regional (7-3) at 8-North Hills (8-2) 7 p.m. Friday, Martorelli Stadium, Ross Township Last week’s results: Franklin Regional 29, Armstrong 26; North Hills 10, Central Valley 7 Winner plays: At 1-Pine-Richland (8-1) 7 p.m. next Friday in quarterfinals Franklin Regional finished third in the Big...

Last week: 7-5 (58.3%) Season: 91-32 (73.9%) While his pedestrian 7-5 final week of the regular season probably would not have earned him wild-card consideration by the WPIAL committee, the Birdie is fired up for the playoffs. “I make it no matter what my record is,” he said, shrugging his...

On the final Friday of the regular season, the combined record of the Trib 10 teams was 9-1. The one loss came when West Allegheny stunned Montour in overtime to forge a tri-championship in the Class 4A Parkway Conference. That loss did not cost the Spartans a spot in this...

Coming into this year’s playoffs, there were only four girls soccer teams across the WPIAL who had more than 90 goals for and fewer than 20 against: South Fayette in Class 3A, South Park and Mt. Pleasant in Class 2A and Springdale in Class A. Out of those four, only...

WPIAL Class A boys soccer championship 1-Bentworth (18-0) vs. 3-OLSH (15-2) 8 p.m. Thursday, Highmark Stadium Tickets: $10 general admission Coaches: Nick Malarbi, Bentworth; Nick Romano, OLSH Players to watch: Ryan Moessner, Bentworth; Owen Minzer, OLSH WPIAL titles: Bentworth 1 (2023); OLSH 0 Playoff path: Bentworth defeated No. 16 California,...

WPIAL soccer playoffs Girls Class 3A Third-place consolation 4-Plum (17-2) vs. 6-Mars (17-3) 8 p.m. Thursday, North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium, McCandless Winner plays: District 10 champion Tuesday in PIAA first round Corner kicks: Plum lost 3-0 to Fox Chapel in the semifinals Tuesday. The Mustangs reached the WPIAL finals three...

There might be a bit more traffic than usual heading down Route 28 the next few days, as local soccer fans make their way to Highmark Stadium on the South Side. Of the 16 boys and girls soccer teams playing for WPIAL championships Thursday through Saturday, five are from the...

Welcome to the start of Championship Weekend in the WPIAL, where 15 teams will be crowned with district titles in three sports. The golden treats will be flowing on a steady basis from Thursday through Saturday. Highmark Stadium in Station Square will be the site of the eight soccer championships,...

Abbey Spalla, Quinn Miller, Mia Deramo and Gabby Beinecke converted their attempts in the penalty kick shootout and Caitlyn Thompson recorded the shutout in goal as No. 2 South Fayette (17-3) defeated No. 6 Mars (17-3), 1-0, in the WPIAL Class 3A girls soccer semifinals Tuesday night. The Lions won...

High schools Field hockey WPIAL playoffs At Washington & Jefferson Saturday’s schedule Championship Class 3A Pine-Richland (19-0) vs. Mt. Lebanon (12-4), 4 p.m. Class 2A Fox Chapel (10-6-1) vs. Peters Township (15-3), noon Class A Shady Side Academy (14-4) vs. Aquinas Academy (8-3-3), 2 p.m. Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A...

After four consecutive years of semifinal heartbreak, the Fox Chapel boys soccer team finally exorcised the demon. Aidan Stein scored the game-winning goal in the 69th minute as No. 3 Fox Chapel earned a 1-0 win over No. 2 Peters Township on Tuesday night at Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium. “It means...

The Greensburg Central Catholic girls volleyball team could have easily quit in Tuesday’s WPIAL Class A semifinals at AHN Arena at Peters Township. But there was no quit in these Centurions. After dropping the first two games of their best-of-five match to No. 2 Eden Christian, the No. 3 Centurions...

Welcome to Semifinals Wednesday for Class 4A and 3A in the WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs. Don’t be offended if a member of the North Allegheny girls volleyball team asks you to repeat something because they are experts when it comes to duplicating championship runs. The Tigers won back-to-back WPIAL Class...

For years, Plum boys soccer coach Raf Kolankowski has talked about how the soccer gods haven’t shined on his group in the postseason. Well, on Tuesday, the Mustangs went to an “Alter,” and their prayers were answered. Christian Alter scored three minutes into the second half for what proved to...

On the surface, the WPIAL Class 2A semifinal between top-seeded Quaker Valley and No. 5 Southmoreland appeared to be a battle throughout. However, neither coach was happy with how their team played. “We just need more energy on the court,” said Southmoreland coach Michelle Pergar. “I think that’s something we...

Fox Chapel is heading back to Highmark Stadium for a shot at a second straight WPIAL championship. Sophomore Emily McKee and senior Maddie Grimsley tallied first-half goals for the top-seeded Foxes, senior Alyssa Quackenbush scored in the second half, and the defense limited the normally potent offensive attack of No....

It was a known commodity versus a new challenger Tuesday evening when No. 1 Frazier took on No. 4 St. Joseph in the WPIAL Class A volleyball semifinals, and it was the Commodores who punched their ticket to Saturday’s championship for the second time in three years with a 3-1...

There wasn’t a specific moment, an omen or a sign that pointed to this playoff run. No, for Franklin Regional, it was simply playing precise, sound soccer at the right time. The team’s first-year coach knew he had something special from the start. Watching it blossom into another title contender...

The high school football regular season is in the rearview mirror and the new focus becomes the district playoffs. Some of the district tournaments will continue for the next three or four weeks; others will conclude as early as next week. The district postseason sets the field for the PIAA...

WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 2A Third-place consolation 13-Burrell (10-10) vs. 3-Deer Lakes (17-3-1) 8 p.m. Wednesday, Burke Stadium, Fox Chapel Winner plays: District 10 champion Tuesday in PIAA first round (time/site TBD) Corner kicks: Deer Lakes won both meetings between the Section 1-2A rivals this season 2-1. … Burrell...

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

High schools Field hockey WPIAL playoffs At Washington & Jefferson Saturday’s schedule Championship Class 3A Pine-Richland (19-0) vs. Mt. Lebanon (12-4), 4 p.m. Class 2A Fox Chapel (10-6-1) vs. Peters Township (15-3), noon Class A Shady Side Academy (14-4) vs. Aquinas Academy (8-3-3), 2 p.m. Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A...

With a pair of late goals by Rowan Carmichael and stellar goalkeeping by Alex Rowe, the Avonworth boys soccer team is heading to a WPIAL final for the first time since 2018. Carmichael scored twice in the final four minutes and the second-seeded Antelopes earned a 3-1 win over No....