High School category, Page 29

When Cameron Kunkle tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee during basketball season, his doctor told him recovery time would take 12 months. The 6-foot-2, 178-pound senior went for a second opinion. That doctor gave him better news: He could be back in six months. After he had...

Spending time on campus during the first few weeks of football camp has given Shady Side Academy football coach Andrew Geisler the feeling he is where he needs to be. The former Bulldogs captain was hired in January to take over the program after a tumultuous season last year. Shady...

The fruits of bringing together three programs in a co-op have brought Our Lady of the Sacred Heart football coach Donnie Militzer what he was looking for. The Chargers now have 54 players on the roster, allowing for competitive practices. Militzer is encouraged by the arrangement between Eden Christian, Propel...

Ligonier Valley football coach Roger Beitel had not endured consecutive losing campaigns before last season. Westmoreland County’s longest-tenured coach does not want a third. The Rams were 3-7 overall and 1-5 in the tough WPIAL Class 2A Allegheny Conference in 2024. They graduated 13 seniors, but Beitel hopes a talented...

Apollo-Ridge took its lumps in and out of Allegheny Conference play last year. The Vikings won just one game out of nine, with the lone triumph a conference victory by three points over Ligonier Valley in the season finale. But with the struggles, veteran head coach John Skiba said, came...

Since 2021, when Donald was a freshman, there’s always been a Barksdale in the backfield for the Steel Valley football team. It’s been a run to remember. Over the past four seasons, the Ironmen have gone 42-8 with a WPIAL championship in 2022, a runner-up finish the following year and...

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. South Park is coming off a dream season. Led by a dominant offensive line and superstar running back in Erie Doerue, the Eagles defeated Seton LaSalle,...

South Allegheny reached the playoffs for the first time since 2021 last season, finishing 9-3 for its first winning season since 2020. After back-to-back 1-9 seasons, the Gladiators were fed up. With a motivated and energized cast of players, South Allegheny found its mojo. “We have to continue to play...

High schools Golf Thursday’s results Boys Wildcat Invitational At Latrobe Country Club Team scores: 1. Fox Chapel 374. 2. Latrobe 385. 3. Central Catholic 397. 4. Pine-Richland 400. 5. Franklin Regional 409. 6. McDowell 410. 7. North Catholic 416. 8. West Shamokin 467 Individual scores: 1. David DiGregory, Fox Chapel,...

When Sam Albert stepped down at Kiski Area shortly after the 2024 season and ended a three-decade run as a head coach at stops that included Valley, Butler, Freeport and Highlands, he said he had plans to serve as an assistant somewhere. That somewhere is Pine-Richland. Albert has joined Rams...

Jahmar Wright bridged the gap between the majority of his junior season and the lead-up to his senior year with strong performances at the WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A track and field championships in May. Wright, a senior at Highlands and one of the top returning talents for the Golden...

The WPIAL football coaching pendulum continues to swing between a lot of offseason changes and not as many new sideline generals. Prior to the 2023 season, there were 26 head coaching changes. Last year was a lot less with only 17. This offseason saw 26 new football coaches hired to...

After 25 years of calling Highlands sporting events, Mike and Mike have taken their talents across the Allegheny River. The longtime broadcast team of Mike Choma and Mike Pavlik will be in the press box calling Burrell football games this fall. Starting with Saturday’s scrimmage, the pair plans to livestream...

TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top offensive linemen for the 2025 season. 1. Jimmy Kalis Central Catholic Junior, 6-7, 285 Kalis earned first-team all-conference honors as the starting left tackle for a Central...

Christian Hyland is stepping down as boys basketball coach at Greensburg Central Catholic after six successful seasons. Hyland, a former GCC point guard who took the job at age 23 after three years as an assistant to Greg Bisignani, said his decision was multifaceted but did not want to get...

...

Football wasn’t for Lucas Kolenc in the beginning. It was hard. A chore. About as fun as roofing or pouring concrete in extreme heat. He tried the game as a middle schooler and, by all accounts and with no sugar coating, he hated it. “I didn’t feel like I belonged,”...

For one of the WPIAL’s all-time winningest programs, Greensburg Salem has seen more than enough losing in recent years. Following a head-turning 7-4 record in 2024, perhaps the culture is changing again. “We’re trying to get back to winning football games and get back to the playoffs,” coach Ty George...

Despite that five-game skid, Mike Arone is not deterred. Forget the season-ending implosion, Derry’s fourth-year coach insists. And while thoughts of another season-turned-bad linger, Arone is hopeful the Trojans will rally. “The 11 guys we put on the field on offense, the 11 on defense and the 11 on special...

Ben Hoffer feels his team is set to take a step forward as he begins his fourth season as Yough’s football coach. The most wins Yough has had since 2013 — when the team went 6-5 and won the school’s only playoff game — was four in 2016. In 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 Elizabeth Forward preview will be published later this month. There is a new car smell to the Southmoreland football program....

Things are looking up for Mt. Pleasant football coach Jason Fazekas and his program. The Vikings roster expanded to nearly 60 players this summer, which is encouraging for a Class 3A program. The other encouraging thing is Fazekas must only replace six starters from the 2024 team that went 3-2...

High schools Golf Wednesday’s results Boys Class 3A Section 1 Indiana 189, Hempfield 205 Medalists: Ryan Bell (I) 36; Mats Martz (H) 38 Latrobe 189, Kiski Area 222 Medalists: Jeremy Lazarchik (L) 34; Max Mottura (KA) 35 Section 2 Belle Vernon 199, McKeesport 233 Medalist: Jordan Mocello (BV) 35 Albert...

This will be the second season of the innovative WPIAL football playoff format. The trusty old abacus was retired last fall when it came to figuring out wild card playoff teams. The WPIAL football steering committee decided which schools qualified for the district playoffs as wild cards instead of using...

Jayce Powell has been stealing scenes in Jeannette football games since he broke into the starting lineup as a freshman. Deep routes, posts, seam shots, catch-and-runs. He’s done it all. Last year, he broke through. He grabbed 57 receptions for 1,023 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging a brow-raising 17.9 yards...