High School category, Page 435
Bishop Canevin revs up in victory against Greensburg Central Catholic
Greensburg Central Catholic was hoping Bishop Canevin would be rusty because the highly touted Crusaders did not play a game or scrimmage last week. The Crusaders were, especially early. But they recovered from the groggy start and a slew of penalties, using a huge push up front and some GCC...
Da’sjon Craggette carries Southmoreland to blowout victory
The spotlight on a pair of Westmoreland County running backs with 200-yard games last week during the opening night of high school football shifted Friday night to Southmoreland’s Da’sjon Craggette. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior ran every which way again, finishing with 193 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting...
Randolph runs wild in Highlands’ victory over Blackhawk
Football can be a game of inches. This was certainly the case when Highlands traveled to Blackhawk for a nonconference matchup Friday night. With Highlands holding a 20-13 lead with more than seven minutes remaining in the game, Blackhawk faced a fourth-and- goal at the 5-yard line. The Golden Rams...
Valley beats Apollo-Ridge to give new coach Adams his first victory
The Mark Adams era of Valley football is officially underway, and if the Vikings defense plays anything like it did Friday night against Apollo-Ridge, the folks of New Kensington will be proud. The Vikings (1-1, 0-0) controlled the line of scrimmage for all but one drive in an 18-7 victory....
Deer Lakes dominates rival Burrell in shutout
Last year’s matchup between Burrell and Deer Lakes went to overtime before the Bucs pulled out a six-point victory. An extra session wasn’t needed Friday in the latest edition of the series between the area rivals. Deer Lakes scored three times in the first half, added two TDs in the...
Big plays, takeaways help McKeesport defeat Penn-Trafford
Before its matchup with Penn-Trafford, the Class 4A No. 3 McKeesport added a play to its offensive repertoire that coach Matt Miller did not know if they would use. That play: a halfback pass. Not only did the Tigers use it, but they used it to perfection. That play also...
Freeport jumps out of gate in rout of South Allegheny
Freeport coach John Gaillot wasn’t going to kick to South Allegheny standout Cameron Epps under any circumstances. So, on the opening kickoff Yellowjackets kicker Cole Troutman executed a pooch kick, and Freeport recovered. It was an inadvertent spark to total domination. The Yellowjackets went on to score on three straight...
Connellsville football team runs over Hempfield
For the first time since 1997, the Connellsville Falcons are 2-0 to start a football season. Behind the running of Bruce Giles and a defense that only seemed to get tougher as the game wore on, the Falcons defeated Hempfield, 28-7, on Friday evening. Giles carried the ball 26 times...
Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon ignore talk of ‘down year’ after coaching change, graduations
New head coaches. Rosters hurt by graduation. Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon came into this football season with similar situations. “I think there’s a lot of people who thought we maybe would be a little bit down this year from where we were last year because of graduation,” said first-year...
Longtime Sewickley Academy athletic director Win Palmer, who also coached 3 sports, dies at 65
One of the best ways many describe Win Palmer is that he was a gentleman’s gentleman. Palmer, athletic director at Sewickley Academy for the past 22 years, died Thursday at Allegheny General Hospital at age 65 from cardiovascular complications. . Palmer left an indelible mark on the Sewickley Academy and...
5 things to watch in Week 1: A red-letter day in Aliquippa as the new Heinz Field opens
Not only is Aliquippa’s new football stadium named Heinz Field, but like its North Shore namesake, the Red Zone should be popular. When the Quips cross the 20-yard line, the stadium’s new LED lights will flash red, Aliquippa athletic director Jennifer Damico said. The first game at the new stadium...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 31, 2023
High schools Field hockey Thursday’s results Section 3A Mt. Lebanon 2, North Allegheny 1 Norwin at Allderdice, (n) Pine-Richland 12, Hempfield 0 Nonsection Penn-Trafford 5, Shady Side Academy 2 Football Thursday’s result City League University Prep 66, Carrick 0 Friday’s schedule WPIAL Class 6A Section 1 Canon-McMillan at North Allegheny,...
High school roundup for Aug. 31, 2023: Nathan Katari’s hat trick powers North Allegheny past Pine-Richland
Nathan Katari recorded his first career hat trick, leading North Allegheny to a 3-1 victory over rival Pine-Richland in Section 1-4A boys soccer Thursday night. Dante Accamando made two saves to earn the win for the Tigers (4-0, 2-0). Mark Cashman scored for the Rams (1-3, 0-2). Beaver 1, Mohawk...
Plum shuts out rival Franklin Regional in early season section showdown
Plum is finding different ways to score goals this soccer season. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It can even be boring, as long as the ball goes in the net. The fourth-ranked Mustangs did enough to claim a 1-0 shutout in a chippy Section 3-3A matchup against neighboring Franklin...
Trib HSSN don’t-miss high school football matchups for Week 1 2023
Most of the district teams knocked off the rust, buckled the chin straps tight and began the 2023 high school football season last week in Week Zero. However, there were still a handful of teams that went old school and decided to play a second scrimmage and wait to officially...
Penn-Trafford golfer Nick Turowski claims 2nd WCCA title
Golfers will say there are just some courses that fit their game the best. Latrobe Elks Golf Course is one of those courses for Penn-Trafford senior Nick Turowski. The West Virginia commit captured his second Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association boys golf title Thursday by shooting a 4-under-par 68. He also...
Through the years: Apollo-Ridge’s Brian Newton made strong 1st impression
Each Friday 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. In his first varsity start, Apollo-Ridge sophomore Brian Newton ran for 221 yards and three touchdowns to give the Vikings a...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Top runners clash when Ligonier Valley, Southmoreland meet
John Jablunovsky and Da’sjon Craggette ran wild in their season openers, each rushing for more than 200 yards as their teams won. The speedsters will square off this week as Ligonier Valley (1-0) hosts Southmoreland (1-0) in nonconference action. You want track speed? You’ll get it with these two. This...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 30, 2023
High schools Cross county Wednesday’s results Nonsection Boys Hampton 15, Mars 47 Girls Hampton 24, Mars 32 Field hockey Wednesday’s result Nonsection Penn-Trafford 1, Peters Township 0 Thursday’s schedule Section 3A Mt. Lebanon at North Allegheny, 7 p.m. Norwin at Allderdice, 3:15 p.m. Pine-Richland at Hempfield, 6 p.m. Nonsection Shady...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Aug. 31, 2023: Boys soccer teams to battle for early section lead
We close out August with plenty of boys soccer section matches. It’s still early days, but there are three standout matches Thursday in WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer with at least a share of the section lead at stake. In Section 2, defending district champion Moon, along with Montour, South...
High school roundup for Aug. 30, 2023: Abigail Stager nets hat trick in North Allegheny win
Abigail Stager scored a hat trick to lead North Allegheny to a 4-0 victory over Pine-Richland (0-3, 0-2) in Section 1-4A girls soccer Wednesday night. Libby Earley added a goal and Natalie Rak recorded the shutout for the Tigers (4-0, 2-0), who have won four straight to open the season....
Franklin Regional beats Penn-Trafford in OT in defensive struggle
When two defensive-minded girls soccer teams get together, you don’t expect to see much offense. Maybe none at all. At least not in the run of play. Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford didn’t take many chances, or shots, as they battled deep into the second half and into overtime Wednesday night,...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 1
Player of the week Luke Bombalski Highlands, Sr., RB/LB After missing the final four games last season, Bombalski wanted to make a statement at Ambridge last Friday that he was back and healthy. He got Highlands’ scoring started with a 2-yard run in the first quarter and added a pair...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 1
Friday Apollo-Ridge (1-0) at Valley (0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, New Kensington Last week: Apollo-Ridge 18, Leechburg 16; Armstrong 49, Valley 16 Last year’s meeting: Apollo-Ridge 34, Valley 19 These longtime rivals each would like to gain some nonconference momentum before conference play begins. … The big story for...
The Birdie isn’t goofing around anymore as he makes his Week 1 A-K Valley picks
Last week: 8-3 (72.7%) Astute readers will recall that The Birdie spent much of his preseason column squawking about how Riverview was his favorite football team in the A-K Valley. Those readers also will note that Birdie made that proclamation largely because he’s a goof. He just wanted to make...
