High School category, Page 26

Penn State already had a commitment from one talented Imani Christian defensive back, and now the Nittany Lions have another. Junior cornerback Gabriel Jenkins announced his commitment to Penn State on Monday, joining teammate David Davis, a senior who committed there in March. Another former Imani Christian standout, linebacker Dayshaun...

Lucas Altier’s goals for his senior season are larger than he is. Unproven and hefty, the Norwin football player stands 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 315 pounds. He naturally stands out. “He’s the biggest kid I have coached,” Knights coach Mike Brown said of the right tackle. “This is the...

Ineligible sophomore quarterback Anthony Smith, whose transfer to Seton LaSalle led to a lawsuit against the PIAA, won’t play football for the Rebels this season and may enroll elsewhere, said an attorney representing Smith and his family. Attorney Steve Toprani said the family is no longer seeking a preliminary injunction...

TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top cornerbacks for the 2025 season. 1. Gabriel Jenkins Imani Christian Junior, 6-2, 182 Jenkins, who committed to Penn State on Monday, is regarded as one of the...

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. 22. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Frazier preview will be published later this week. Players in this year’s senior class have been with Tommy Paulone from...

With Samir Crosby eyeing a possible move to receiver and Jerry Davis lined up wide opposite him, Greensburg Central Catholic could have big-play ability downfield. The senior pass-catching duo brings a blend of hands and speed few teams will have this football season. Both can go deep or create in...

Clairton senior quarterback Jeffrey Thompson wants to carve out his own space in the football program’s long record book. He thought last season was going to be the moment when the Bears climbed back on top of the WPIAL mountain. However, Thompson suffered a shoulder injury in the playoffs and...

Brentwood returned to the WPIAL Class A playoffs last season via a fifth-place Eastern Conference finish. With nine starters back in 2025, coach Nick Caponi is looking for more. “We are very excited for the season,” Caponi said. “We had a great offseason in the weight room, and we are...

As Springdale wrapped up a recent football practice, each player shook hands with the entire coaching staff, a sign of respect encouraged throughout the program. The Dynamos hope to see respect returned during the 2025 season, but they know they will have to earn it after enduring a winless campaign...

Trevor George saw the potential of last year’s Riverview football team and what the Raiders wanted to do: Stack victories in and out of Eastern Conference play, finish with a winning record and make the WPIAL playoffs. Those goals ended up not being reached as the Raiders finished 3-6 overall,...

For Leechburg and coach Randy Walters, everything starts in the trenches, and the Blue Devils return a veteran group up front. Four of the five starters from a season ago are back for 2025. “Our offensive line is going to need to have a big-time year,” Walters said. “It’s going...

Leechburg has seen its football stock rise over the past several years, and while the Blue Devils have had elite skill position talent, the quarterback play has helped lift them to contending levels. Jayden Floyd, the 2024 Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year, graduated, ending his three-year run as...

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 2025 season. 1. Reston Lehman Peters Township Senior, 6-3, 225 The first-team all-conference outside linebacker was crucial to a defense that held opponents to...

If the Mt. Pleasant football team hopes to be successful this season, then the trio of Strayer, Pease and Schaum will have to play well. No, they are not a law firm. They are more like a construction company ready to pave the way for the running game. The senior...

As of the middle of July, there was a clear favorite in WPIAL Class 2A football this season. With 2,000-yard passer Anthony Smith throwing to game-breaking receiver Khalil Taylor, Seton LaSalle was looking like the team to beat. But sometimes life gets in the way, even at private schools. On...

Nick Anderson felt confident at the start of last season. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound sophomore was a young pup playing on a veteran Kiski Area offensive line with four senior starters. But his first-year varsity status didn’t keep him from shining in the spotlight as he made his mark for a...

Moments after The Birdie turned in his preseason prediction column, his phone rang. (Crazy Train ringtone. RIP, Ozzy.) It was the boss. The rest of the newsroom only heard one side of the conversation — the bird’s words — but it was enough to get the drift. “No. I am...

Samir Crosby and Kymon’e Brown have been exchanging jabs since they began playing Madden against each other in grade school. They are the ultimate friends and foes. They’ve shared dustups and daps, stories of big games and college visits, and a bitter dislike for one another that lasts a few...

Technology and the Birdie never got along. The fast-talking featherweight clings to his collection of classic rock vinyl records, still uses pencil and paper to keep stats, and prefers reading hard copies of the daily newspaper. (The ink stains on his bony fingers are decades old. Stacks of papers clutter...

Fort Cherry defeated Clairton by the slimmest margin in the WPIAL football final at Acrisure Stadium last season. That 21-20 victory showed just how evenly matched the Class A powerhouses were. Expect much of the same this fall. The Rangers are chasing a three-peat while the perennial power Bears will...

Welcome to the 10th season of Class 6A football in the WPIAL and PIAA. The decision for the state to expand from four to six classes in football, boys and girls basketball and baseball and softball prior to the start of the 2016-17 school year was driven by bigger schools...

Can reigning WPIAL champion Pine-Richland break the Class 5A curse? No team has won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 5A since the classification was created nine years ago. Pine-Richland won in 2020, ’22 and ’24. Gateway was the champion in 2017 and ’19. Peters Township won in 2023, but its hopes...

Thomas Jefferson found itself in familiar territory last year. The Jaguars finished the regular season undefeated and went into the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs as the No. 1 seed. They then topped West Allegheny and Aliquippa in the quarterfinals and semifinals before upending McKeesport, 28-7, in the title game at...

Avonworth coach Duke Johncour may not want to hear this, or maybe he does, but opposing coaches say his Antelopes are the team to beat in WPIAL Class 3A. “It starts and ends with Avonworth,” said Central Valley coach Mark Lyons, whose team fell to the Antelopes in the WPIAL...

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. 22. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Charleroi preview will be published later in the week. Mike Bosnic has been at this a while, entering his 17th...