High School category, Page 368
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Rival QBs earn conference honors
A pair of Westmoreland County senior quarterbacks were honored by the coaches of the WPIAL Class A Eastern Conference, one for his play on defense. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Tyree Turner was voted the conference’s offensive player of the year, while Jeannette’s Payton Molter received top honors as the best defensive...
North Allegheny notebook: Tigers girls wrestling team wins at Butler
Behind victories by Audrey Morrison (142 pounds) and Kaylee Dean (235), North Allegheny took home the team title at the Butler girls wrestling tournament Dec. 9. Both had pins in their championship bouts. Morrison was 4-0 on the day, while Dean was 2-0. Sophia Folks (148) and Leyna Rumpler (155)...
Franklin Regional swimming team has new coach, youthful squad
Franklin Regional has a new swimming coach, and he’s inherited a young team. Dan Taylor, who recently coached at Fox Chapel, takes over for Vic Santoro, who resigned after the 2022-23 season. Taylor is a teacher in the Franklin Regional School District at the middle school. He once served as...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 15, 2023
High schools Basketball Boys Friday’s results Class 4A Section 2 Blackhawk 66, Hopewell 38 North Catholic 88, Ambridge 45 Class 3A Section 1 Neshannock 64, Freedom 21 Ellwood City 75, New Brighton 33 Beaver Falls 56, Riverside 52 Section 2 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 55, Brentwood 54 Seton...
High school roundup for Dec. 15, 2023: Bethel Park knocks off Upper St. Clair
Jack Bruckner scored 16 points to lead four players in double figures for Bethel Park in a nonsection boys basketball victory over rival Upper St. Clair. Nick Brown added 13 points and Shawn Davis and Tanner Pfeuffer each had 10 for the Black Hawks (2-3). Christian Ito led Upper St....
Braylon Littlejohn leads Butler to road win at raucous Franklin Regional
These are the moments Braylon Littlejohn dreams of. “Always put the blinders on and just walk in on the game,” said the senior star, who scored 24 points Friday night to lead visiting Butler past Franklin Regional, 63-60, in a WPIAL boys basketball game that lived up to its hype....
Brown leads Jeannette boys to win against Serra Catholic
Kymone Brown didn’t score in the first quarter Friday night, so coach Adrian Batts pulled the Jeannette sophomore guard aside. “I wasn’t playing how I can play,” Brown said. “Coach had a talk with me. Everything he said made sense. He said, ‘Go get yours.’ ” Brown got his, and...
Burrell boys clamp down on Shady Side, win section opener
The beginning of Section 3-3A play was a tough, low-scoring affair between Shady Side Academy and host Burrell. The Bucs came into the game allowing only 39.7 points a game and were faced with a challenge in shutting down a Bulldogs offense led by Eli Teslovich. “We preach defense. Our...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 16, 2023: Showcase to honor late coaching great
District basketball lost a true great earlier this year with the passing of coach Harry Jenkins in May at the age of 75. Jenkins was a successful head coach for 25 years at Fox Chapel. After stepping down in 2005, he was an assistant coach at CMU for three years...
Just like Revis, state champion Aliquippa football players try to transition quickly to hoops
Aliquippa basketball coach Nick Lackovich, with a laugh, pointed out that sophomore Qalil Goode was doing his best Darrelle Revis impression. In Aliquippa, at this time of year, that means winning a state football title and days later starring on the basketball court. The future NFL star did that for...
Mt. Pleasant basketball games to benefit Dom Giallonardo scholarships
Mt. Pleasant is hosting a basketball tripleheader Friday night to raise money for a scholarship in the name of late Vikings’ baseball and basketball player Dom Giallonardo. The Vikings will host Southmoreland. The junior varsity boys will play at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity teams — girls at 6:30...
Recruiting heating up for Latrobe junior John Wetzel
College coaches are turning up the volume to hear the cracking of pads on junior John Wetzel’s highlight film. “It’s similar to what you see with (Alex) Tatsch,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said. “It’s violent. They hit, and guys go backwards.” Tatsch and Wetzel have been pillars in the Wildcats’...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 14, 2023
High schools Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Nonsection Aliquippa 49, Obama Academy 48 Central Valley 62, Western Beaver 37 Frazier 55, Jefferson-Morgan 41 Homewood (Ala.) 52, North Allegheny 42 Propel Braddock Hills at Summit Academy, (n) Quaker Valley 67, Union 56 Sewickley Academy 65, Carrick 60 South Park 55, Clairton 45...
High school roundup for Dec. 14, 2023: Rylee Kalocay hits 1,000-point mark for Upper St. Clair
Junior Rylee Kalocay scored 27 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career and lead Upper St. Clair (4-2, 1-0) to a 49-42 Section 2-6A girls basketball win over Baldwin on Thursday night. Lynsey Bernotas scored 12 and Laci Bernotas had 11 for the Highlanders (2-2, 0-1). Beth-Center 57,...
Defensive-minded Greensburg Salem dominates Derry in section opener
Greensburg Salem continued to show how much defense is wired into its grid by smothering another opponent in the Section 1-4A girls basketball opener. With full-court defensive pressure as the catalyst, the long-armed Golden Lions won going away 64-29 on Thursday night at Derry. Greensburg Salem (4-1, 1-0) came in...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 15, 2023: Boys hit the hardwood for section openers
Ten days before Christmas and all through the house, many boys basketball players were stirring because it’s opening night of WPIAL section play. Eight district boys basketball sections open up play Friday, including Section 2 in Class 4A, all four sections in 3A and Section 3 and 4 in 2A....
North Catholic starts section play with 20-point win vs. Highlands
With about four minutes left in the third quarter of Thursday’s Section 1-4A opener between Highlands and North Catholic, the host Golden Rams trailed by two points. Moments before, senior sharpshooter Kate Myers had drained a 3-pointer from the left wing to draw Highlands to within one possession and energize...
Burrell boys ride wave of confidence into section schedule
For the current, senior-laden group of Burrell boys basketball players, this is the last ride. And they hope it’s a long one. The Bucs (4-0) are loaded with experience. Even the one junior in the lineup, Tucker Bitar, has started since he was a freshman. They made their presence known...
Franklin Regional softball’s Ciara Camacho has baseball past, Division I future
A college softball career at Kent State awaits Ciara Camacho, who two years ago was new to the game. She didn’t know a slap hitter from a designated hitter, a courtesy runner from a pinch runner. The Franklin Regional junior played baseball for most of her youth sports career, mixing...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Derry senior filling nets
With four 30-point games this season, Derry’s Nate Papuga is one of the top scorers in the WPIAL. The senior guard had 27 points, and the game-winning shot, in a 56-55 win over Laurel Highlands, then added 31 in a 66-55 win over Connellsville, went for 33 as the Trojans...
Franklin Regional boys off to blockbuster start
Franklin Regional’s boys basketball coaches like to take a game film and pick it apart. They dissect it into dozens of short clips for instructional purposes. Some are examples of perfect execution. Others are used to emphasize what might have worked better. Either way, it gives the players something to...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 13, 2023
High schools Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Nonsection Aliquippa 71, Beaver Falls 35 Central Catholic 54, Neighborhood Academy 49 Charleroi 48, California 38 Cheswick Christian Academy 59, Redeemer Lutheran 39 Derry 65, Freeport 56 Gateway 62, Woodland Hills 36 Greensburg Central Catholic 73, Berlin-BrothersValley 64 Jeannette 46, Steel Valley 41 Indiana...
High school roundup for Dec. 13, 2023: Top-ranked Canon-McMillan, Burgettstown wrestlers fend off challenges
No. 1 Burgettstown won the final six bouts to rally for a 44-24 victory over Jefferson-Morgan after trailing 24-15 after seven matches in Section 1-2A wrestling Wednesday night. Darius Simmons (107) and Parker Sentipal (133) had pins, Daniel Smith (121) and Dylan Slovick (127) won by major decision and Joseph...
Frazier grabs win vs. Southmoreland without state champ Lawrence
Frazier won a wrestling match Wednesday and did it without three-time PIAA Class 2A champion Rune Lawrence. The fourth-ranked Commodores recorded seven pins and defeated Southmoreland, 44-33, in a Section 2 battle for first place. Lawrence weighed in and was dressed for the match, but he was there to root...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 14, 2023: Section play tips off in girls basketball
Welcome to the start of section play in four of the six classifications in WPIAL girls basketball. Section play tips off Thursday in Section 2-6A, Sections 1, 2 and 3 in 5A, Section 1 and 3 in 4A and Section 1, 3 and 4 in 2A. One of the highlights...
