High School category, Page 250
Plum’s Darian Nelson offers all-around talent, leadership in senior season
At the beginning of Plum’s football practices, Darian Nelson is one of the vocal leaders, counting out with a booming voice while everyone stretches. Nelson has been playing on both sides of the ball since he was a freshman and has learned from the older guys along the way. Now...
Lineman Colin Bruno wants to put signature on final season at Norwin
His football card collection means a lot to him, as does his assortment of professional sports autographs. But what Norwin’s Colin Bruno might value more is the opportunity to give an autograph seeker, an admirer of his blocking and tackling, his own personal inscription. He can smell the Sharpie pen...
Notable changes to the 2024-25, 2025-26 WPIAL gymnastics alignment
The WPIAL released new section alignments for the next two-year cycle in all sports, and changes will be implemented starting this fall. This summer, the Tribune-Review will break down changes for each of the WPIAL sports. Here’s a look at the upcoming WPIAL gymnastics season: 2023-24 WPIAL championships WPIAL team...
Springdale faces major challenges in rebuilding efforts
A change at the top could be a piece of the puzzle for a Springdale football program working to get back on track after a pair of tough seasons in and out of conference play. Springdale went a combined 1-19 in 2023 and 2022, and new coach Chad Walsh seeks...
Excitement builds as Riverview continues quest to return to playoffs
In Class A football, large rosters are mostly uncommon. But this year, Riverview is bucking that trend. Fifth-year coach Trevor George was excited to welcome more than 50 players to preseason camp. “We have to get some new uniforms,” George said. “We’ve seen growth every year. Winning helps, and I...
Leechburg continues to build on trips to WPIAL playoffs
Leechburg football made history last year becoming the first Blue Devils team to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs three years in a row. The postseason streak came about after Leechburg had not made the WPIAL playoffs since 1988. Jake Cummings and his senior teammates want to add on to their...
Jeannette a program on the rise, but ‘work is far from done’
There is an old saying that suggests “it’s tough to keep a good man down.” In the case of Jeannette, that applies to the football program. After a shocking 2021 season, a year after winning a WPIAL Class A title and losing a heartbreaker to Steelton-Highspire in the PIAA championship...
Greensburg Central Catholic primed to follow Samir Crosby’s lead
Reaching the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A playoffs was a highlight for Greensburg Central Catholic coach JT Thompson in his first season. The experience his team gained from a first-round win over West Greene and a loss to South Side could yield benefits this fall. GCC had not made...
With roster loaded with experience, Clairton eyes return to WPIAL dominance
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 Friday. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Frazier preview will be published later in the week. Expectations at Clairton are always high. The program’s rich tradition and dominant...
Brentwood hopes to compete for playoff spot in coach’s 2nd season
It was a somewhat inauspicious debut for Brentwood coach Nick Caponi. His Spartans football team didn’t win its first game last year until mid-October and finished 2-8 overall. “Our motto this year is ‘Win in the Dark.’ It’s something our defensive coordinator, Jake Thomas, brought up at a staff meeting....
2024 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the linebackers
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top linebackers for the 2024 season. 1. Alex Tatsch Latrobe Senior, 6-3, 222 Around this time last summer, Tatsch had received only a couple of college offers from...
Undersized defensive end Gamble ready to push Leechburg back into WPIAL playoffs
Lucas Gamble isn’t the biggest defensive end in the WPIAL, but Leechburg coach Randy Walters said the Blue Devils senior makes up for it with dogged determination to get the quarterback and cause havoc in the backfield for opposing offenses. “All the things he does off the field contributes to...
Mt. Pleasant’s Garn is a flyer on the football field, track and in a plane
Mt. Pleasant’s Jarett Garn loves challenges. The young man can flat out fly, literally. Whether it’s on the track as one of the premier sprinters in the state, on the football and soccer fields using his quickness and kicking abilities or, yes, in the air as a pilot, the 6-foot-3...
WPIAL Class 5A preview: Increased playoff field a welcomed changeVideo
Upper St. Clair and Woodland Hills felt the disappointment last season, and Penn Hills experienced it two years ago. They all had winning records and narrowly missed the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs in what was unquestionably the toughest classification to qualify. But there is added hope for 5A teams this...
WPIAL Class 4A preview: Teams again chasing defending champion AliquippaVideo
No team in the WPIAL or throughout the state could come up with a game plan to stop Aliquippa from claiming all the gold last season. The WPIAL top-seeded Quips defeated No. 2 McKeesport, 35-21, at Acrisure Stadium, then marched to Cumberland Valley where they overwhelmed District 2 champion Dallas,...
WPIAL Class 3A preview: Moving down from 4A, Central Valley has Acrisure aspirationsVideo
Avonworth had to play second fiddle to Belle Vernon the past two seasons in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. And with seven starters on offense and defense returning, all-conference quarterback Carson Bellinger among them, the Antelopes (12-1) look to take another trip to Acrisure Stadium. But it’s not that...
WPIAL Class 2A preview: Steel Valley tops new-look list of title contendersVideo
Steel Valley’s Ray Braszo is one of those old-school high school football coaches who generally has about as much use for preseason predictions as he does for a TikTok account. But tell him the Ironmen look like the favorites in WPIAL Class 2A football this season, and he’ll begrudgingly admit...
2024 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the defensive line
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top defensive linemen for the 2024 season. 1. Christopher Climes Elizabeth Forward Senior, 6-2, 305 The “Sack Sensei” is the fun moniker Climes added to his social media...
Experienced line, young skill players have Washington headed in right direction
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 Friday. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Charleroi preview will be published later in the week. When coach Mike Bosnic looks down the Washington roster, he sees the...
After huge turnaround in 2023, Waynesburg looking to sustain success
Waynesburg football went into last season with one goal in mind: to remain healthy throughout the season. The Raiders went 0-10 in 2022. Quarterback Jake Stephenson was lost for the whole year with an elbow injury and starting running back Breydon Woods missed a lot of time with nagging injuries....
New coach hopes to see experience pay off for young Sto-Rox team
Since taking over at his alma mater in May, Sto-Rox’s Brendan Blair has been caught up in a whirlwind that many in his position across the WPIAL can probably relate to. “To me, being a head coach, it hasn’t really sunk in for me because I’ve been so busy making...
Seton LaSalle looking to maintain momentum after .500 campaign
Seton LaSalle made a dramatic improvement as a team in 2023. The Rebels upgraded from a 0-10 record in 2022 in coach Tim Storino’s first year as field boss to a 5-5 overall mark last season. The Rebels made significant improvements on both offense and defense, going from scoring 114...
Smaller roster won’t stop Keystone Oaks from vying for playoff spot
Steve McCormick has worked to make every member of the Keystone Oaks football team versatile. With only 30 players on the roster, the Golden Eagles can’t afford to have many specialists. McCormick wants to ensure that when injuries happen, they aren’t catastrophic. That’s why the Golden Eagles have been learning...
Roster packed with seniors brings confidence to Carlynton
The Carlynton Cougars have a pack of seniors that are more than ready for the Friday Night Lights. The Cougars’ roster showcases 17 seniors. Senior Mark Jameson, who played at Bishop Canevin for the past three years, returned to Carlynton for his last year of high school football. He knows...
A-K Valley football teams work to find formula that brings consistent success
Deer Lakes football has qualified for the WPIAL playoffs four times in its history. Two of those trips have come in the past two seasons with the team hosting a playoff game for the first time last fall and scoring the program’s first postseason victory with a 30-point rout of...
