High School category, Page 405

It took blood and sweat, but first place in Section 3-2A belongs to Belle Vernon — for now. Belle Vernon, playing at full strength for the first time all season after a few key players came back from injury, put up an early goal and grinded out a 1-0 boys...

The Plum boys golf team snapped an eight-year WPIAL team playoff drought last year by finishing second to Central Catholic in Section 4-3A. The Mustangs took advantage of their opportunity in the first round at Beaver Valley Golf Club and earned a spot in the finals. Kiski Area hopes to...

Penn-Trafford field hockey coach Cindy Dutt hadn’t missed a match since she started coaching until her team played Pine-Richland on Sept. 12. She had a great reason: the birth of her first grandson. And even though she missed the WPIAL Class 2A section opener Sept. 14 at Latrobe, she was...

While Class 6A and 5A may have had a head start with two conference games each the last two weeks, much of the rest of the WPIAL joins the fun as the starter’s pistol goes off this weekend with 43 conference football games highlighting Week 3 in the WPIAL. There...

Anyone who followed Deer Lakes’ run to the WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer championship last season knew the future of the program was bright. A pair of freshmen, Peyton Kushon and Jacob Orseno, combined to score the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Beaver in the final. There was...

Each week throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look back at the games, players and events that have shaped local scholastic history. One of the largest crowds ever at Freeport Borough Field watched Jeannette defeat the Yellowjackets, 3-0, on Sept. 16, 1983, via...

Legendary Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic coach Joe Mucci is among 50 nominees — players, coaches and teams included — for the second National High School Football Hall of Fame class. Another former Jayhawks headliner, the late John Crowell, was enshrined this year in the inaugural class. Lamont “Showboat” Robinson,...

Regional television and radio will feature several Westmoreland County teams Friday night while shining a spotlight on two recent WPIAL and PIAA championship programs. Belle Vernon (2-0) will visit Penn-Trafford (1-2) in a game that will be televised on 22 The Point as part of the channel’s “Friday Night Rivals”...

High schools WPIAL Cross country Boys Wednesday’s Results Class 2A Section 4 Hampton 15, Avonworth 50 Girls Class 2A Section 4 Hampton 19, Avonworth 43 Field hockey Wednesday’s results Section 3A Peters Township 11, Allderdice 0 North Allegheny 8, Hempfield 0 Thursday’s schedule Section 3A Norwin at Mt. Lebanon, 7:30...

A busy weekend of conference openers in high school football kicks off with a rare WPIAL Thursday night contest. Two long-time Lawrence County rivals meet when defending Class A champion Union hosts Shenango in a Big 7 Conference opener. This marks the 89th encounter between the Scotties and the Wildcats...

Abigail Stager’s second goal of the game broke a second-half tie to send North Allegheny to a 4-3 victory over Fox Chapel in Section 1-4A girls soccer Wednesday night. Jadyn Coy and Gracie Strzempek also scored for the Tigers (8-0, 5-0). Taylor Wilkinson and Kate Friday scored for the Foxes...

An airplane flew over Rossi Field early in the girls soccer game Wednesday night, descending slowly toward the nearby airport named after Arnold Palmer. A short time later, Latrobe lifted off. Junior Robin Reilly and freshman Emerson Shine netted first-half goals as the fourth-ranked Wildcats set down visiting No. 5...

Public schools will see their enrollments increase in the next few months, at least according to PIAA statistics. The PIAA is changing the formula used to count students, which might cause some sports teams to unexpectedly move into a different classification for the 2024-25 school year. Currently, school districts count...

Week 2 proved to be rough one for WPIAL teams that took home gold in 2022. Pine-Richland (5A), Steel Valley (2A) and Union (A) all lost; however, the combined record of the teams that beat them — Penn Hills, Seton LaSalle and Cornell — is an impressive 8-1. Two other...

Pennsylvania high school athletes who repeatedly violate name, image and likeness rules would lose their eligibility entirely under penalties adopted Wednesday by the PIAA. The PIAA board approved a three strikes approach for violations of the NIL rules enacted last winter. A student’s period of ineligibility increases with each violation,...

Last week: 9-3 (75%) Season: 23-11 (67.6%) The yellow-bellied Birdie would like to get some things off his chest so he can predict games with a clear conscience. He has some pet peeves eating at him that he needs to get out in the open. While he has made it...

Class 5A Big East Conference Franklin Regional (2-1) at Gateway (0-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Pete Antimarino Stadium, Monroeville Last week: Franklin Regional 38, Connellsville 0; North Hills 26, Gateway 8 Last year’s result: Franklin Regional 16, Gateway 7 Teams trending in separate directions will open Big East Conference play. …...

Some might be surprised by the Southmoreland and Knoch football teams starting the 2023 season at 3-0. Their coaches certainly aren’t among that group. The WPIAL Class 3A teams collide in a nonconference matchup Friday in Saxonburg looking to stay unbeaten. This is only the fourth time the teams have...

Player of the week Tasso Whipple Penn-Trafford, Jr., RB/LB The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder had a breakout for the Warriors. He rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 36 yards and another score to lead Penn-Trafford to its first win of the season. His 41-yard run in...

Thursday WPIAL Big 7 Shenango at Union, 7 p.m. City League University Prep at Westinghouse, 7 p.m. Friday WPIAL Class 6A Central Catholic at Mt. Lebanon, 7 p.m. Class 5A Allegheny Six Peters Township at South Fayette, 7 p.m. Big East Franklin Regional at Gateway, 7 p.m. Plum at Norwin,...

Last week: 8-3 (72.7%) Season: 23-9 (71.9%) When The Birdie shuffled out of the office late Friday night, he was little bit down. He wasn’t even thinking about which bar’s kitchen would still be open, which is normally pretty much the only thing his bird brain obsesses about late Friday...

Class 5A Big East Conference Plum (2-1, 0-0) at Norwin (1-2, 0-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Last week: Shaler 28, Plum 14; Norwin 33, Fox Chapel 18 Last year’s result: Plum 42, Norwin 13 A power running attack meets a go-and-throw approach in a Big East...

For the Highlands football team, the road to the WPIAL playoffs kicks into high gear Friday. After three victories in nonconference play to start the season, the Golden Rams open Greater Allegheny Conference action on the road at perennial playoff contender North Catholic (1-2). Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski knows what...

Player of the Week Devin Beattie Burrell, Sr., RB/LB Devin Beattie was questionable to play Friday against Valley after suffering an injury two weeks ago in the loss at Deer Lakes. But the bruising runner wasn’t going to stand on the sidelines and not play against the rival Vikings. Beattie...

It is a question coaches in Section 4-3A keep asking: How good is Latrobe? The Wildcats, looking to get back into the WPIAL playoff conversation under second-year coach Jake Rice, have started 4-1. They opened with a 2-1 win over Penn-Trafford, then handled Obama (3-1) and Penn Hills (3-0). Their...