High School category, Page 198

The Shady Side Bulldogs barked up the right tree. Cam Mallory, Darrin Haynes and Shady Side Academy bulldozed Burrell, defeating it 42-7 at Buccaneer Stadium. Shady Side’s 166 rushing yards and 276 total yardage in the first half boosted them past the Buccaneers. Running back Haynes and quarterback Mallory led...

The Highlands and Elizabeth Forward football teams both experienced heartbreak in Week Zero. The Golden Rams lost to Armstrong by one in overtime, and the Warriors came up short by one against West Mifflin as a conversion attempt was unsuccessful with no time left in regulation. But Friday night at...

For the second straight week, Kiski Area played out of conference, hosting Class 6A Norwin on Friday night to open a four game homestand. The Cavaliers, who jumped in front 7-0, trailed 20-7 at halftime. Kiski Area went back in the lead 21-20 before the Knights scored the game’s final...

Erik Kidwell’s journey to coaching started with trying to sign up his son Hayden for the Valley boys soccer team. That’s when they found out the school didn’t have a team. The program went dormant but since has been revived. After a three-year hiatus, the Vikings are back to playing...

McKeesport runs an offense that’s rather unique in the WPIAL, leading opponents to scheme up new ways to defend against the triple-option. That uniqueness would seem to benefit the Tigers most weeks, but it also can put them at a scouting disadvantage when breaking down video of opponents. Many teams...

A year after Aliquippa announced a partnership with Kraft Heinz, the two will break ground Friday on a new athletic and academic center near the school’s football stadium. The center will include offices, an indoor training facility, a locker room, weight room and a collaborative workspace for students, athletes and...

Some coaching jobs come with more pressure than others. Consider that Aliquippa’s Vashawn Patrick is the new head coach of a team coming off a state championship season, and his first game is against another defending state champion. There is no easing into his job. Aliquippa hosts Belle Vernon at...

High schools Field hockey Thursday’s results Class 3A Mt. Lebanon 9, Norwin 0 Pine-Richland 15, Hempfield 0 Class 2A Peters Township 10, Latrobe 0 Football Thursday’s result Nonconference Westinghouse 52, Linsly (WV) 0 Friday’s schedule WPIAL Nonconference Apollo-Ridge at Jeannette, 7 p.m. Armstrong at Hampton, 7 p.m. Beaver Falls at...

Mark Bence scored the overtime winner to lead Shady Side Academy (1-0-1, 1-0-1) to a 2-1 victory over Deer Lakes (2-1, 1-1) in an early season matchup of Section 1-2A boys soccer contenders Thursday night. Allderdice 4, West Mifflin 0 – Jacek Piekut had a goal and two assists and...

A matchup of first-year coaches in Section 3-3A boys soccer went to Franklin Regional’s Nick White, whose Panthers rang up three second-half goals to pull past Ryan Hankey’s Penn-Trafford team, 3-1, in the section opener Thursday night in Harrison City. “P-T came out strong, and they were really strong in...

Welcome to Week 1 of the 2024 WPIAL football regular season and one of the busiest Fridays in the WPIAL with only two teams, New Brighton and Summit Academy, slated for a Saturday game. This weekend is also a rare occurrence for high school football throughout the state. For only...

DJ Graham, the son of Shenango football coach Jimmy Graham, died Tuesday, two days after his 17th birthday. Shenango’s scheduled football game at Ellwood City on Friday night has been canceled. DJ Graham was not a member of the football team, but he played baseball and was on the golf...

Each week throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look at the players, coaches and events that shaped our scholastic legacy. In what was billed the Viking Bowl, Apollo-Ridge’s Vikings defeated Valley’s Vikings, 49-0, in 2014. Big plays included an 81-yard scoring run by...

Kickers rarely get much limelight. Their extra points are often taken for granted, and casual fans don’t give kickoffs that sail out of the end zone a second thought. But there are a few Westmoreland County kickers worth watching this season, a collection of legs that could be difference makers...

The Uniontown football team can divide its recent history into two eras: pre-covid and post-covid. In the seasons just before the pandemic hit, the Red Raiders were struggling. The team was finding it tough to build its roster and even tougher to come up with wins in its WPIAL conference....

Entering his sixth year as head coach at Laurel Highlands, Rich Kolesar can usually assess the coming fortunes of his Mustangs by the way offseason workouts progress. Kolesar said the years that the offseason work has gone well, Laurel Highlands has had successful seasons. Coming off consecutive eight-win campaigns last...

Entering the 2024 season, the Frazier football team has plenty to prove. The Commodores want to prove to themselves and their fans that they are a much better team than the last few years’ records have indicated. They also want to prove that they are capable of establishing a winning...

For a number of years, one of the main goals for the Connellsville football team has been to reestablish a winning culture that can be sustained long term. That’s proven to be a difficult task, but last year, the Falcons seemed to take a legitimate step forward by posting a...

High schools Cross country Wednesday’s results Boys Nonsection Hampton 19, Mars 39 Football Thursday’s schedule Nonconference Linsly, W.Va. at Westinghouse, 7 p.m. Friday’s schedule WPIAL Nonconference Apollo-Ridge at Jeannette, 7 p.m. Armstrong at Hampton, 7 p.m. Beaver Falls at Imani Christian, 7 p.m. Belle Vernon at Aliquippa, 7 p.m. Beth-Center...

Julia Lishia scored the game’s lone goal to lift Mars (4-0, 1-0) to a 1-0 victory over Hampton (2-1, 1-1) in an early season matchup between top teams in Section 1-3A girls soccer Wednesday night. Ambridge 3, Hopewell 2 (OT) – Megan Conover scored all three goals, including the game-winner...

Over the last two seasons, the Westinghouse football program has proven to be a dominant force, not only in the City League but also across the state. The Bulldogs are a combined 27-2 in 2022 and 2023, with both losses coming in the PIAA Class 2A championship game against Southern...

Last year, only two teams sat atop the Trib 10 power rankings throughout the season. Central Catholic was No. 1 from Week Zero through Week 6, and then Aliquippa took over the top spot and remained there the rest of the 2023 campaign. It’s a new season, but the Quips...

Player of the week Aven Shirley Kiski Area, jr., WR/DB Shirley delivered in all phases to complement Landon Kucic’s four rushing touchdowns in Friday’s 42-7 Week Zero rout of Knoch. He returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown which sparked Kiski to a 21-0 lead in the first...

Nonconference Apollo-Ridge (0-1) at Jeannette (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, McKee Stadium, Jeannette Last week’s result: Leechburg 19, Apollo-Ridge 14; Jeannette 28, Mt. Pleasant 27 Last year’s meeting: Did not play. • Apollo-Ridge was in the same position last week against Leechburg that Mt. Pleasant was in against Jeannette. It was...

Last week: 7-2 (77.8%) The Birdie would like to talk about a very serious issue today: taunting. Not the kind of taunting that draws a 15-yard penalty in a football game. Taunting The Birdie when he picks a game wrong. The Birdie doesn’t get taunted often, of course. Generally speaking,...