High School category, Page 501

Gabe Carbonara School: Derry Sport: Basketball Year: Senior Claim to fame: It was quite a week for Derry senior Gabe Carbonara. The 6-foot-2 guard scored 41 points, had 21 rebounds, 16 assists and nine steals for the Trojans in games against Freeport and Greensburg Salem. His best game was Thursday...

Jesse Reed was a prolific scorer in high school and college, so when he started coaching, he figured he would have offensive-minded teams that ran the floor nonstop and finished breaks with layups and highlight dunks. “Hey, I thought we’d run and gun to be honest,” Reed said. “Who knew...

With a renovated pool, the water seems to have added sparkle at Norwin. The teams hope to have a similar shine this season. The new digs include a scoreboard, deck, blocks, lighting and more, all changes that have rejuvenated teams that waited patiently for the project’s long-awaited completion. “The renovations...

Eight games into the WPIAL season, there were no losses for either Norwin basketball team. Both teams started 4-0. The boys stayed perfect with a 48-40 win over Yough at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Shootout at Jeannette. Senior Adam Bilinsky had 17 points, senior Justin Weaver added 13 and...

North Allegheny wrestlers won three of four matches Dec. 10 at the Trinity Duals in Washington County. The Tigers (4-1) defeated Cathedral Prep, 37-30, Finneytown (Ohio), 72-0, and Wheeling Park, W.Va., 33-27. They lost to host Trinity, 48-18. Gus Stedeford (107), Casey Walker (114), Griffen Reid (121), William Bentrim (127),...

Any mention of the Aquinas Academy boys basketball team starts with 6-foot-2 guard Vinnie Cugini. The senior backcourt star led the WPIAL in scoring in each of the past three seasons, averaging 34.2, 39.2 and 35 points per game. Cugini reached the 2,000-point mark in his 55th varsity game Feb....

For the longest time, Hampton’s Ava Vitiello believed a Division I scholarship was out of her reach. But she kept running and eventually caught up to one. “I never really thought I was going to be D-I athlete,” she said. “It was never a dream of mine. It kind of...

After starting the season 1-4, the last thing many expected from the Shady Side Academy football team was an appearance in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals. But the Bulldogs turned the season around, winning six in a row before falling to Avonworth, a step away from the WPIAL title game....

To win a PIAA or WPIAL title, it takes a team. It also takes some special players. For Belle Vernon, one of those special players was junior Quinton Martin. The five-star superstar with more than 20 Division I football offers was the player Belle Vernon opponents feared the most. And...

High Schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Friday’s results Class 4A Section 2 Lincoln Park 78, Beaver 76 Blackhawk 60, Hopewell 25 Class 3A Section 1 Beaver Falls at Riverside, (n) Ellwood City 63, New Brighton 48 Neshannock 73, Freedom 23 Section 2 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 69, Brentwood 48...

Jake Pollaro banked in the game-winning 3-pointer just before the buzzer to lead North Hills to a 55-53 nonsection boys basketball victory over Seneca Valley on Friday night. Royce Parham and Jayden Thomas each scored 13 points and Pollaro finished with 10 for North Hills (4-1). Andrew Roy scored 21...

Mt. Pleasant recently put an extended 2-3 zone defense to use and was starting to see its merits heading into Friday night’s nonsection boys basketball game at rival Southmoreland. “We were just wondering when our offense was going to come around,” Vikings coach T.J. Kravits said. “Tonight, it finally did.”...

Shady Side Academy began formal defense of its WPIAL Class 3A crown Friday night with a 59-50 victory over Burrell at Mellon Gym. The Bulldogs (5-1, 1-0 Section 3-3A) led the entire way but couldn’t shake the Bucs (2-4, 0-1) until the final minutes of play. Eli Teslovich led Shady...

Home is where the commitment is. Penn-Trafford senior football player Daniel Tarabrella wanted to continue his football career close to home so he could remain near family and friends — so those people could come and watch him play. That is why he chose Duquesne over a number of other...

WPIAL passing leader Cadin Olsen earned first-team all-conference honors in the Class 4A Greater Allegheny, along with his top two receiving targets. Wide receivers Isaiah Brown and Ian Olsen helped the Penn-bound quarterback pass for 3,210 yards and 43 touchdowns as the River Hawks won the conference title with a...

Aliquippa players received a dozen first-team spots on the Class 4A Parkway all-conference team, including six claimed by a trio of linemen honored on both sides of the ball. Naquan Crowder, Neco Eberhardt and Jason McBride were instrumental in the Quips winning the conference title before adding another WPIAL championship....

McKeesport teammates Bobbie Boyd and Jahmil Perryman were two-way stars for the Tigers this season, but they weren’t the only players in the Class 4A Big Seven pulling double duty. Coaches also named Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher, Thomas Jefferson’s Jordan Mayer and Trinity’s Ty Banco all-conference on both sides of...

High Schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Class 4A Section 2 North Catholic 75, Ambridge 48 Nonsection Brashear 61, Cornell 34 Derry 81, Greensburg Salem 68 Ellwood City 56, Western Beaver 45 Jefferson-Morgan 48, Frazier 47 Knoch 51, Valley 42 Mapletown 57, Avella 35 Mars 80, Kiski Area 63 Propel...

Lauren Palangio scored 15 points, and Kendall Berger added 10 as Norwin won its sixth straight game to start the season, defeating reigning WPIAL Class 5A champion South Fayette, 43-40, on Thursday night in nonsection girls basketball. Trailing 28-22 at halftime, Norwin (6-0) outscored South Fayette 21-12 in the second...

Greensburg Salem girls basketball players and coaches turned an old storage closet at their home gymnasium into a makeshift locker room. Derry felt like it was confined to an even smaller space Thursday night when the teams met in the Section 1-4A opener. Using pressure defense to set up offense...

With 5 minutes, 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s nonsection girls basketball game between Kiski Area and Mars, the Cavaliers led by nine and had designs on putting the game away. But the Planets had other ideas. Mars regrouped with a timeout and proceeded to outscore Kiski...

While losing quarterback Kedon Slovis and facing the possibility of safeties Brandon Hill and Erick Hallett II moving on, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi did what any college coach would do in this era of free agency — he turned to the NCAA transfer portal. Let’s go Home… time to get to...

After 22 years of coaching Woodland Hills football, first as an assistant and later head coach, Tim Bostard says he often joked that he’d be there until they kicked him out. “I guess they did what I said,” said Bostard, who learned Thursday that the school district was opening his...

The Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-Star Games are set for Saturday at North Allegheny. There are two matchups featuring the top senior boys from the WPIAL. At 11 a.m., the Class A all-stars will play a 2A team. Class 3A will meet 4A at 1 p.m. Tickets are $5...

Former Franklin Regional boys basketball coach Steve Scorpion is coming back to coach against his old team. That he is coming back at all is borderline miraculous. Scorpion’s position was opened in spring 2021 after his longtime opioid addiction came to light. The final straw was a blackout episode that...