High School category, Page 207

A change in classification can serve as a reset for a football program. With Highlands moving from Class 4A to 3A, the team can reignite rivalries in the A-K Valley. Now, matchups with Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport and Valley will impact the Allegheny 7 Conference standings. Highlands players are particularly...

A young Freeport football team took its lumps last year in a season that ended with a 3-7 record and a rare playoff miss. The Yellowjackets are still young on paper for 2024 with the majority of the team being juniors, but they are more experienced. Now the goal is...

East Allegheny football is a family affair for Frank Cortazzo. When the new Wildcats coach hit the field for a recent preseason practice, he was accompanied by his father, also named Frank, and his uncle, Tim. The three Cortazzos are longtime WPIAL coaches. “I have my dad on my (coaching)...

Deer Lakes made program history last year with its first playoff victory. And what a dominant win it was in the WPIAL Class 3A first round. The Lancers rolled past Southmoreland by 30 points in what was their second postseason game at home. Deer Lakes fell to eventual WPIAL and...

In coach Shawn Liotta’s first season at Burrell in 2018, he had 18 players come out for the team. Seven years later, he’s able to put down 60 names on the roster, which is a testament to what he and his coaching staff have built. Of those 60 kids, only...

High schools Golf Tuesday’s results Boys Section 3-3A Seneca Valley 195, Butler 196 Medalists: Tyler Garvin (SV) 36; Codi Fennel, Blake Scott (B) 36 Section 5-3A Peters Township 173*, Canon-McMillan 196 Medalists: Griffin Hansberry (PT) 33; Henry Manciu (CM) 33 * Course record Section 1-2A Riverview 205, Deer Lakes 232...

This is the first year of a new two-year cycle for scheduling, conference alignment and playoff formats in all high school sports in the WPIAL and PIAA. When it comes to district football, there will be four teams that qualify for the playoffs in Class 6A, 12 in 5A, eight...

Football found Owen Buchholz. It wasn’t the other way around like most high school players. Actually, it was Hempfield coach Nick Keefer who introduced and drew Buchholz to the game a few years ago. Keefer was teaching at Wendover Middle School, and Buchholz was a student. “He also is my...

The fourth quarter isn’t going to be the time when the Fox Chapel offensive line folds up its tent. The Foxes have spent most of the offseason building their physical capability to push the pace with their opponents. Fox Chapel plans to employ its run-heavy wing-T attack for 48 minutes....

Starting today, TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top quarterbacks for the 2024 season. 1. Matt Sieg Fort Cherry Junior, 6-0, 175 If his 1,000/1,000 freshman year wasn’t good enough, Sieg proved himself again...

The 2023 season was a tough grind on a young Quaker Valley football team, much like 2022. After finishing 1-8 two years ago, the Quakers ended up 1-9 last season. They were 1-5 both years in the Class 3A Western Hills Conference. The aim now is to utilize the Quakers’...

The drop to Class 3A could have prompted North Catholic to conclude winning will come easier this season. But it has done exactly the opposite. “Our mindset is that it’s going to be harder,” Penn State-bound senior tight end Brady O’Hara said. “We’ve got to push ourselves even more to...

Logan Carlisle won’t fret too much about the McGuffey football program bumping up to Class 3A this season. The Highlanders have a large senior class with players accustomed to playing both ways. Carlisle, a senior quarterback, believes that McGuffey has the mentality to carry its success into the Western Hills...

Hopewell is no stranger to elite football. Tony Dorsett, Paul Posluszny and WPIAL all-time leading rusher Rushel Shell all roamed the halls of the high school. Senior Hank Berner understands the tradition of Hopewell football, and he can’t wait to run out of the tunnel with his teammates one last...

Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Mark Lyons isn’t exactly a big believer in silver linings or excuse making. Lyons, entering his 15th campaign as Central Valley’s coach, is coming off a...

The Beaver Bobcats went 9-3 last year, adding to one of the largest win totals in Pennsylvania high school football history. They’re got 675 victories, good for 25th all-time. Beaver racked up that record last season despite playing a lineup filled with first-year starters after a mass exodus of seniors...

Avonworth knows well the path to Acrisure Stadium. But after back-to-back lopsided losses in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game, the Antelopes are determined to complete the journey. “For us to be there and be 0-2 (in the WPIAL finals), it’s going to be big-time and a lot more motivation,”...

High schools Golf Monday’s results Jerry Roman Memorial Chairman’s Cup At Cedarbrook Team scores Boys 3A: 1. Peters Township 370; 2. South Fayette 394; 3. Morgantown 418; 4. Central Dauphin 422; 5. Baldwin 439; 6. Bethel Park 439; 7. Wheeling Park 446 Boys 2A: 1. Mt. Pleasant 442; 2. Sewickley...

Zier Williams was the workhorse of the Deer Lakes running game last year and helped the Lancers make playoff history. He collected 1,147 yards and 13 touchdowns on 188 carries as Deer Lakes secured its first WPIAL playoff home game and also made a statement with a 30-point rout of...

Knowing that boys volleyball coaches prefer room in the schedule for tournaments, the WPIAL on Monday approved a new section alignment with that idea in mind. There are two classifications in boys volleyball — 2A and 3A — and the WPIAL increased both from three sections to four for the...

While he stops short of “dream job” territory, Cam Auld admits the idea of coaching at his high school alma mater crossed his mind before. He’ll always be a Norwin Knight, first as an athlete and now as coach. “Anybody who ends up getting to go back to their school...

A small but enthusiastic group of 21 Springdale football players greeted first-year Dynamos coach Chad Walsh on Monday afternoon for the first day of official preseason camp in the shadow of Springdale High School. “We had a core of about 16 showing up throughout the summer,” Walsh said. “We had...

Record-setting quarterback Jaivin Peel is fully eligible for his sophomore football season at Western Beaver after a hearing Monday at the WPIAL office in Scott. Peel is a student at Lincoln Park and plays football at nearby Western Beaver through a co-op between the schools. He took steps this summer...

As a two-time defending WPIAL and PIAA champion, Belle Vernon football must have opened full-contact training camp Monday morning with a sense of entitlement, right? “No,” running back Kole Doppelheuer said. “We came here all business. We didn’t talk about the past. We want to use the same exact recipe,...

Dom Rosensteel is ready to move the sticks. “What I did last year makes me want to be better,” the Greensburg Salem rising senior said. “I want to add 10 more to everything. I know I can do more.” A wide receiver and safety with pedigree, experience and just the...