High School category, Page 33
Lyla Jablon keeps her cool, helps Fox Chapel advance past Latrobe in Class 5A 1st round
Fox Chapel girls basketball coach Marty Matvey believes guard Lyla Jablon won’t wilt at the first sign of trouble. During her four seasons with the Foxes, she has been challenged by Matvey to be ready for the tough moments. During Fox Chapel’s 60-58 win over Latrobe in the first round...
Deer Lakes boys get physical, drop section champ Derry in Class 4A 1st round
High school basketball coaches often say the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half is the most crucial time of the game. Usually, that’s when a winner will be determined. That is what happened Friday at Derry in a WPIAL Class 4A first-round boys game....
Defending WPIAL champ Belle Vernon smothers Burrell in Class 4A 1st round
Belle Vernon boys basketball coach Ricky Tyburski picked up his first career playoff win Friday as his Leopards dominated No. 9 Burrell to open defense of last year’s WPIAL Class 4A championship. The No. 8 Leopards used smothering pressure and multiple defense to roll to a 60-45 win over the...
Behind big night from James ‘Booboo’ Armstrong, Hopewell zips past Greensburg Salem
Hopewell used a 22-point third quarter to get past Greensburg Salem for a 74-49 victory Friday in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball playoffs. It was the Vikings’ first playoff win since 2008 and also the 400th career victory for coach Doug Biega. James “Booboo” Armstrong...
Aliquippa football again contesting being placed in Class 4A by PIAA
The ongoing debate between the PIAA and the Aliquippa football program will write another chapter next week during the monthly state board of control meeting. On the docket, Aliquippa plans to appeal the PIAA decision to keep the Quips in Class 4A for the next two-year football cycle. Part of...
PIHL reschedules all-star games
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League will have its all-star weekend after all. Five all-star games that were postponed because of a snowstorm Jan. 25 will now be played March 29 at the Robert Morris Island Sports Center on Neville Island. The schedule is as follows: Division 2, noon; Class A...
7 players from WPIAL selected to Big 33 roster
The WPIAL will be represented by seven players on this year’s Pennsylvania Big 33 football team. The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association announced the 40 players and coaches selected Friday morning as part of the annual PSFCA clinic in Camp Hill. Those selected were Avonworth offensive lineman Peter Bonnet, Pine-Richland...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 12, 2026
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Monday’s schedule First round Norwin (11-11) at Fox Chapel (13-9), 7 p.m.; Pine-Richland (11-11) at Mt. Lebanon (14-8), 7:30 p.m.; Imani Christian (6-16) at North Hills (15-7), 7 p.m. Quarterfinals Thursday, Feb. 19 Norwin/Fox Chapel winner vs. Upper St. Clair (21-1), TBA;...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 13, 2026: Newly crowned section champ Derry headlines 1st night of 1st-round action
Welcome to opening night of Round 1 action in the WPIAL basketball playoffs with the spotlight shining on boys Class 4A, girls 5A and girls 3A first-round games. This has been a memorable season for the Derry boys basketball team, winning its first section championship in 69 years. The No....
High school roundup for Feb. 12, 2026: Montour gets past McKeesport in Class 5A prelims
Brandon Bennett scored 19 points, including the go-ahead layup with less than a minute to play, to lead No. 17 Montour to a 53-52 victory over McKeesport in a WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball preliminary round game Thursday night. Zane Schachter added 15 points and Robert Schmitt had 10 for...
Home crowd helps carry Latrobe boys past Mars in basketball playoff openerVideo
With its 14-point lead shaved to five with just more than a minute to play, Latrobe had to buckle up and hold on down the stretch to win its playoff opener Thursday night. The Wildcats made a bunch of free throws, yes, but they had something Mars didn’t with the...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys rally in last minute to beat Union in 2A play-in
Greensburg Central Catholic had not led for the first 31 minutes of their WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball preliminary-round game Thursday. JT Stawovy had not scored in the game for the Centurions. Both of those changed with 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Stawovy got a backdoor, reverse layup...
Hempfield outduels Plum to win WPIBL girls team bowling championship
As the qualifying rounds of the WPIBL girls team championships progressed Thursday at AMF Mt. Lebanon, Plum and Hempfield began to distance themselves from the pack. It was no surprise, then, when they ended up meeting in the finals for the second year in a row. When the dust settled,...
Butler’s Jackson Jungling repeats as WPIAL rifle champ
Butler junior Jackson Jungling repeated as WPIAL rifle champion Thursday at Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club, shooting a perfect 100-10x in the first round and edging out Trinity’s Ryan Walther for the title. Jungling shot a 100-8x in the second round for a total of 200-18x. That just beat out Walther’s...
A-K Valley high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 13, 2026
Boys Class 4A First round 9-Burrell (10-12) vs. 8-Belle Vernon (13-9) 7 p.m. Friday Winner plays: 1-Quaker Valley (18-3) on Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Ryan Wass, Burrell; Luca Ghilani, Belle Vernon Layup lines: Burrell finished third in Section 1 behind Knoch and North Catholic. The...
Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 13, 2026
Girls Class 5A First round 10-Latrobe (11-8) at 7-Fox Chapel (14-8) 7:30 p.m. Friday Winner plays: Winner of 15-Penn Hills (11-11)/2-Thomas Jefferson (20-2) on Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Maggie Maiers, Latrobe; Nina Kulikowski, Fox Chapel Layup lines: Latrobe finished third in Section 2, three games...
Cheswick Christian Academy seniors hit 1,500 career points in back-to-back games
There are many low-probability events with unlikely odds of occurring across the universe. The odds of all the planets lining up within one degree occurs once every 13.4 trillion years. Chances of being struck by lightning twice in a lifetime are about 1 in 9 million. The odds of being...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 11, 2026
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Monday’s schedule First round Norwin (11-11) at Fox Chapel (13-9), 7 p.m.; Pine-Richland (11-11) at Mt. Lebanon (14-8), 7:30 p.m.; Imani Christian (6-16) at North Hills (15-7), 7 p.m. Quarterfinals Thursday, Feb. 19 Norwin/Fox Chapel winner vs. Upper St. Clair (21-1), TBA;...
Plum bowling repeats as WPIBL boys team champion
In the first game of the stepladder semifinals of the WPIBL boys team championships Wednesday at AMF Mt. Lebanon, Plum struggled. It most definitely was not a sign of things to come. Plum bounced back from a one-game blip, won the next four games and repeated as WPIBL boys team...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 12, 2026: Basketball playoffs tip off with 6 play-in games
Let the games of the 2026 WPIAL basketball playoffs begin. The new name is “play-in” games, and the old school name was “pigtail” matchups, but they are officially called “preliminary round” contests and there are six of them, all on the boys side and all set for Thursday. Three of...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania girls high school basketball rankings for Feb. 11, 2026
There were a few changes to the Trib HSSN girls high school basketball rankings as the regular season concluded and the district postseason is about to begin. Three teams, two of them from District 6, fell out of the state Top 5. Gone for now are Hollidaysburg in 5A, Marion...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania boys high school basketball rankings for Feb. 11, 2026
The challenges for the elite boys basketball teams throughout Pennsylvania are about to change from regular season hurdles to district postseason challenges that could be season ending. Playoffs are about to begin in all 12 districts with two immediate goals: doing what it takes to qualify for the state playoffs...
Alle-Kiski Valley girls basketball notebook: Burrell looks to snap streak
Ten years ago next week, Burrell girls basketball began postseason play as a WPIAL No. 2 seed and capped a four-year run as a top team in WPIAL Class AA. The Bucs that season finished sixth in the WPIAL and went on to upset District 10 champion Harbor Creek and...
Greensburg Salem coach Rick Klimchock retires
“Coach K” is OK with his decision. With 425 wins and 22 playoff trips in his scrapbook, longtime local basketball coach Rick Klimchock is retiring from the high school game after nearly four decades on the sidelines. Klimchock spent the last nine seasons leading the Greensburg Salem girls and told...
Family ties strong with Westmoreland County playoff basketball teamsVideo
When the Franklin Regional girls edged past Shaler, 45-43, last week to clinch a WPIAL Class 5A playoff spot, Panthers coach Bernie Pucka and his daughter, Chloe, did interviews for a local broadcast. They stood side-by-side, taking questions after an exciting yet demanding win. Chloe Pucka, a junior guard, made...
