High School category, Page 22
Apollo-Ridge rushes for 4 scores, including game-clincher late, to defeat South Park
Preston Clemens could have had two touchdowns had it not been for a goal-line fumble that his team recovered. With that in the back of his mind, he wasn’t going to let a surging South Park team complete a comeback. After the Eagles cut the lead to 11 with under...
Derry executes on both sides of ball for win over Mt. Pleasant
Ask Derry coaches and players what their team’s identity is, and you’ll get different answers. Some say it’s hands in the dirt, ground-and-pound football. Others think the passing game might be underrated and consider the entire unit to be well-balanced. Or maybe it’s just the physical brand of football and...
Trio of late interceptions helps Plum pull away from Kiski Area, bolster playoff hopes
Plum trailed Kiski Area by two points late in the third quarter of Friday’s nonconference rivalry clash at Mustangs Stadium. But the Mustangs rallied, with both sides of the ball contributing. The Plum defense intercepted three passes from Cavaliers sophomore quarterback Landyn Artman. The Mustangs offense converted all three of...
Tristyn Tavares leads Norwin on winning drive to top Canon-McMillan, close in on playoff spot
In a game with serious playoff implications, with the score tied in the fourth quarter, Norwin got the ball with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left and looked to its senior quarterback and playmaker Tristyn Tavares to lead the charge. Tavares led the Knights on a 12-play, 54-yard drive that was...
Freeport secures playoff spot by beating East Allegheny
Punching a ticket to the WPIAL playoffs is never easy. For the Freeport Yellowjackets, they needed a win Friday at home against East Allegheny to position themselves for a spot. In front of a healthy senior night home crowd at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, the Yellowjackets allowed an early TD...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 18, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 3A First round 14-Montour (9-8) at 3-Franklin Regional (15-3) 1 p.m. Saturday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 11-Trinity (10-5-1)/6-Chartiers Valley (10-4-1) on Wednesday in quarterfinals Players to watch: Brayden Borris, Montour; Mike Hillebrand, Franklin Regional Throw-ins: Montour took fourth in a tough Section...
A-K Valley soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 18, 2025
Boys Class 3A First round 15-Knoch (5-12-1) at 2-Bethel Park (12-1-3) 1 p.m. Saturday, Bethel Park High School Stadium, Bethel Park Winner plays: Winner of 7-Mars (11-5-2)/10-Penn-Trafford (10-7) in quarterfinals Wednesday (time/site TBD) Players to watch: Austin Friedline, Knoch; Xavier Jackson, Bethel Park Throw-ins: Knoch tied for fourth in Section...
North Allegheny, Oakland Catholic, Hopewell, Frazier earn top seeds for WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs
The WPIAL girls volleyball teams have concluded section and nonsection matches, and invitational tournaments are in the past. The WPIAL postseason is here, and the playoff pairings committee on Friday released the brackets for all four classifications. North Allegheny (Class 4A), Oakland Catholic (Class 3A), Hopewell (Class 2A) and Frazier...
WPIAL girls volleyball playoff field finalized with 68 teams
The 2025 WPIAL girls volleyball regular season is over, and 68 district teams have clinched postseason berths. The top four teams in each section with seven or more teams and the top three teams in sections with six or less teams qualify for the district playoffs. All teams tied for...
College coaches make Friday night visits to WPIAL football stadiums — 5 things to watch in Week 8
Jon LeDonne can still recall the day a big-name college football coach visited his high school. “I remember in my playing days, Paterno coming to Aliquippa for Josh Lay,” said LeDonne, now Pine-Richland’s coach. “You look down the hallway and say, ‘That’s Joe Paterno. That’s awesome.’” Now is around the...
‘Playoffs started this week’ for Aliquippa, Montour with pivotal Parkway clash
The WPIAL calendar says the football playoffs don’t start until Halloween, but Aliquippa, Montour and the teams they’re tied with atop the Parkway Conference might disagree. “Our playoffs started this week,” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said. “That’s how we’re looking at it. We knew at the beginning of the season...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Oct. 16, 2025
High schools Cross country Thursday’s results TSTCA Championships At White Oak Park Boys Class 3A: 1. Brendan Eicher, Butler, 15:31.51; 2. Andrew Peigh, North Allegheny, 15:38.60; 3. Nolan Sarkett, Upper St. Clair, 15:40.26; 4. Wyatt Case, North Allegheny, 15:42.28; 5. Griffin Martin, South Fayette, 15:55.35; 6. Evan Yurasko, Mt. Lebanon,...
High school roundup for Oct. 16, 2025: Mars volleyball clinches section title
Rylee Wooldridge had 17 kills and 13 digs to lead Mars to a 3-0 victory over Freeport (11-5, 7-3), clinching the Section 2-3A title for the Fightin’ Planets (14-4, 9-1). Cecilia Christy added 11 kills, Gabi Weidemann dished out 36 assists and Alaina Graham had 17 digs for Mars. Allderdice...
Logan Metzger steps into starring role as Belle Vernon opens boys soccer playoffs with win
With everything to play for in a grudge match between neighbors, it was two goals from Logan Metzger that made the difference for Belle Vernon. The 2-1 victory over Ringgold in a preliminary-round game Thursday put the Leopards into the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. No. 16 Belle...
TSTCA cross country championships serve as preview of WPIALs
With the WPIAL cross country championships just a week away, Thursday’s Tri-State Track Coaches Association race became a tune-up. Sunny weather and low-60s temperatures greeted more than 1,000 runners at the White Oak course. There were plenty of runners who broke personal records. The six winners were Butler junior Brendan...
Trib HSSN don’t miss high school football matchups for 2025 Week 8
Welcome to Week 8 of the high school football regular season as the “Stretch Run” continues with the final two weeks of the regular season. Only 49 WPIAL football playoff spots are guaranteed up and down the six classifications with another 16 wild card spots to be determined by the...
Highlands boys soccer excited for 1st WPIAL playoff game in 21 years
For the first time in 21 years, the Highlands boys soccer team is heading to the WPIAL playoffs. The Golden Rams received the No. 15 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs Wednesday and will travel to Leetsdale to take on No. 2 Quaker Valley at 6:30 p.m. Monday. “We’re...
Through the Years: Chuck Sypula sparked Highlands to win 50 years ago
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 a game delayed a day by rain, Chuck Sypula scored two touchdowns for Highlands, and a 2-point conversion pass attempt by Churchill...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: 3 teams 1 win from clinching
Win and you’re in. That is as simple as it gets this week for three local teams looking to clinch WPIAL playoff berths. Many playoff spots will not be decided until next week, but a few Westmoreland County teams can take care of business Friday night. Penn-Trafford (7-1, 3-1) secures...
PIAA notebook: New policy lets some private school students play sports at home public school district
Students attending a “faith-based” private school can play sports at their home public school district under a new PIAA policy. The policy — adopted to settle a federal lawsuit brought by a religious rights group — applies only when the students’ faith-based private school doesn’t offer a particular sport that...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Oct. 15, 2025
High schools Field hockey Wednesday’s results Class 2A Penn-Trafford 1, Upper St. Clair 1 Football Thursday’s schedule City League Semifinals Allderdice at Westinghouse, 7 p.m. Friday’s schedule WPIAL Class 6A Canon-McMillan at Norwin, 7 p.m. Central Catholic at Seneca Valley, 7 p.m. Hempfield at Mt. Lebanon, 7 p.m. Class 5A...
High school roundup for Oct. 15, 2025: In battle of contenders, Fox Chapel downs Norwin
Emily McKee scored the go-ahead goal to lead Fox Chapel to a 2-1 victory over Norwin in a nonsection girls soccer playoff tuneup Wednesday night. Antonia Linzoain also scored for the Foxes (15-1-1), who are the top seed in Class 3A. Tatum Casper scored for the Knights (14-2), the third...
What to watch for in high school sports on Oct. 16, 2025: City League playoffs feature familiar matchups
As the Pittsburgh City League football playoffs kick off this weekend, forgive the four semifinalists if they are going through a bit of déjà vu this week. On Thursday at Cupples Stadium, second-place finisher and three-time defending champion Westinghouse (5-3) will battle the third-place team in the district this season,...
Westmoreland soccer playoff preview capsules for Thursday, Oct. 16
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 3A Preliminary round Ringgold (8-8) at Belle Vernon (7-10-1) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, James Weir Stadium, Belle Vernon Winner plays: At 1-Hampton (14-2-2) 12:30 p.m. Saturday in first round Players to watch: Izaiah Wilson, Ringgold; Jackson Pressel, Belle Vernon Throw-ins: Ringgold tied Laurel Highlands for fourth...
WPIAL clinched: Girls volleyball playoff qualifiers and clinching scenarios through Wednesday
The WPIAL girls volleyball regular season has only one day remaining and 62 district teams have clinched a postseason berth. The top four teams in each of the sections with seven or more teams and the top three teams in each of the sections with six or fewer teams qualify...
