High School category, Page 502

Jules Mohrbacher scored 16 points to lead Freedom to a 41-37 victory over Beaver in nonsection girls basketball Thursday night. Shaye Bailey and Cassidy Harris each added 10 points for the Bulldogs (4-0). Chloe List led the Bobcats (3-1) with 16 points and Zoe Ringer had 12. Baldwin 61, Shady...

MECHANICSBURG — In the state football championships, against a quarterback with major-college talent and an opponent seeking redemption, there’s very little room for error. Aliquippa can attest. The Quips lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and watched Bishop McDevitt quarterback Stone Saunders convert their mistakes into touchdowns Thursday night as...

You can’t fault Sydney Joyce if she gets a little emotional or is overcome with nostalgia when she takes the court Friday and Saturday as part of the inaugural We Serve First All-Star Classic girls volleyball event at Kiski Area High School. “This is very exciting, especially since it is...

MECHANICSBURG – Union could see the end zone all afternoon, but didn’t get there enough. The offense created four red-zone chances Thursday and crossed the goal line only once in a 22-8 loss to Steelton-Highspire that ended the Scotties’ Cinderella story in the PIAA Class A final at Cumberland Valley’s...

Give Frank Muccino a pass for missing Southmoreland’s basketball game Saturday. He has a state championship to win. Muccino, the Scotties’ head boys basketball coach, also is an assistant with the Belle Vernon football team, which will take on Neumann-Goretti on Saturday at Cumberland Valley for the PIAA Class 3A...

Alonzo Wade always has three words in the back of his mind, whether he is lining up wide for a pass route or posturing to make a play at outside linebacker. “Always be ready,” the Belle Vernon sophomore football player said. That mantra has rung true across the roster this...

Lance Maha wanted to diversify the Norwin boys basketball schedule when he took over the program last year. The coach’s end game always was to sharpen his team’s teeth on the defensive end of the floor to boost offensive opportunities on the other. “We want to be a good half-court...

The Westmoreland County Coaches Association will welcome 16 boys basketball teams for its annual showcase Saturday at Hempfield and Jeannette. There will be four games at each site, with corresponding times. The schedule for Hempfield: Derry vs. Southmoreland, noon; Burrell vs. Monessen, 1:30 p.m.; Ligonier Valley vs. Hempfield, 3; Kiski...

Last week: 0-1 Season: 106-29 (78.5%) This is the last Birdie column of the season, and the gridiron guru is getting emotional. Or are those crocodile tears? “Look, I admit I’m glad another season is coming to an end so I can take some vacation time. … I need it,”...

Aliquippa started a sophomore at quarterback and a freshman at running back in the state finals last season while opponent Bishop McDevitt had a freshman behind center that day. So, no, this rematch isn’t a surprise. Defending champion Aliquippa (13-0) faces runner-up Bishop McDevitt (12-1) in the PIAA Class 4A...

The PIAA football playoffs are down to 12 teams as the season approaches the final weekend. The six state championship games, no longer held at Hersheypark Stadium, will be played Thursday-Saturday at Cumberland Valley in Mechanicsburg. Aliquippa in Class 4A and Southern Columbia in 2A are the only defending champions...

High Schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Nonsection Ambridge 45, Riverside 44 Avonworth 85, Carrick 35 Butler 75, Eden Christian 66 Carmichaels 52, McGuffey 46 Jeannette 54, East Allegheny 51 Latrobe at Geibel, (n) North Catholic 54, Seneca Valley 53 Seton LaSalle 76, Serra Catholic 59 Shaler 79, Perry Traditional...

No. 4 Mt. Pleasant rallied from an early deficit to defeat Albert Gallatin, 48-27, in a Section 2-2A wrestling match Wednesday night. The Vikings (1-0, 1-0) got pins from Greg Shaulis (139 pounds), Jamison Poklembo (145), Kolton Turek (152), Ty Hornick (160) and freshman heavyweight Dylan Pitzer along with three...

Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost didn’t let the bright lights and pressurized atmosphere of the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships get to her last year as swam to gold in the 100-yard butterfly and second in the 200 individual medley as a freshman at Pitt’s Trees Pool. She followed that up with...

MECHANICSBURG — Plans to revamp the competitive-balance formula were rejected Wednesday by the PIAA board, meaning only football and basketball teams are still impacted by the rule — and only those that add too many transfers. The PIAA board voted 18-10 against a proposal that expanded the rule to include...

MECHANICSBURG — The vote was only a couple of hours old when Laurel Highlands senior Rodney Gallagher announced the first NIL deal for a PIAA athlete. Pennsylvania high school students can maintain their amateur status and accept money for use of their name, image and likeness under a groundbreaking policy...

The seniors on the Pine-Richland football team have an opportunity to complete their story arc in grand style. They were sophomores when the Rams won the 2020 state title. Since then they’ve gone through coaching changes in back-to-back offseasons, but under the direction of Jon LeDonne they’ve found their footing....

The list of firsts for the Union Area football program continues to grow. The Scotties won their first outright WPIAL championship, were the first double-digit seed to play in or win a Class A football title. On the way, Union defeated a county foe in the playoffs (the first time...

Tiffany Zelmore reached 1,000 career points, and the Mt. Pleasant senior did so in fewer games than most who achieve the milestone. Mt. Pleasant only played 20 games during Zelmore’s freshman and sophomore seasons and has only made the playoffs once during her career. So she has scored over 1,000...

Two games is a small sample size. But to Hempfield, it can reveal a lot. With hiked-up expectations this season based on success in the offseason, Hempfield won its first two games for a sweep at the Fayette County Tournament at Connellsville. “We played with a lot of energy throughout...

Bentworth’s Landon Urcho needed just four points Tuesday night to reach the 1,000-career point milestone. That was the easy part. The hard part … the senior guard had to battle foul trouble, playing with four fouls most of the second half, and lead the Bearcats to a 51-45 victory over...

High Schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Tuesday’s results Nonsection Allderdice 56, Gateway 47 Baldwin 72, Thomas Jefferson 58 Beaver 84, Burgettstown 33 Belle Vernon 58, Steel Valley 35 Bentworth 51, Jefferson-Morgan 45 Brentwood 70, South Side 31 Burrell 74, Indiana 67 California 66, Beth-Center 39 Propel Braddock Hills 62, Carrick 34...

Chaz Cobbs scored 16 points to lead Woodland Hills to a 59-57 nonsection boys basketball victory Tuesday night, fending off a McKeesport shot at the buzzer that would have tied the score. Scoop Smith assed 11 points for the Wolverines (2-0). Travarese Rowe scored 26 points and Caiden Holtzman had...

While most of us were chomping down turkey dinners on Thanksgiving Day, Bradyn Foster was sneaking into the gym working on his shooting. The extra work paid off as the Highlands junior scored a career-high 31 points Tuesday night as the Golden Rams rolled past Shady Side Academy, 92-53. Junior...

Tori Sydeski is often the last girl out of the gym at Norwin basketball practices. “I don’t count how many shots. I just like to end on a make,” the senior guard said. Sydeski didn’t light up the scoreboard — no one did in this game — but the Knights’...