High School category, Page 51

B.J. Pugh considers being the football coach at West Mifflin his dream job. “I’ve envisioned being a head (football) coach for a long time, particularly at West Mifflin. It’s my alma mater,” said Pugh, who was hired in February to succeed Rod Steele. A 1995 graduate, Pugh quarterbacked West Mifflin...

Knoch limped to the finish line of the 2024 season. Quite literally. Injuries ravaged the team, leaving fewer than 30 healthy players for the stretch run. That contributed to the Knights (3-6, 2-3 Greater Allegheny) losing three of their final four games, each of the losses in blowout fashion. So...

Hey, Indiana, an old acquaintance is back in town. Four years after setting out for Arizona, where he spent time as an adjunct professor at Grand Canyon University, former longtime coach Mark Zilinskas will be back on the Indians’ sideline. He’s hoping to jump-start a program that hasn’t enjoyed a...

Hampton coach Steve Sciullo had no problem putting his finger on what went wrong during last year’s 3-7 season. “We didn’t tackle well, and we didn’t block well,” Sciullo said. “Those two things take courage. We’re hoping that we have a little bit more courage this year to go and...

Two years ago, Alex Clawson suffered a serious ankle injury during an early-season game for the Apollo-Ridge football team and was lost for the rest of his sophomore campaign. Last year as a sophomore, Chris Dailey suffered the same fate as an ankle injury in the second game of the...

Calling it more of a retirement than a resignation, Dan Palm is leaving the Yough baseball program. He was with the Cougars for 10 years, including the last three as head coach. Palm was Craig Spisak’s assistant for seven seasons and took over when Spisak left to coach at Norwin....

If you attend a Franklin Regional football practice this fall, you will not see senior Matt Moore running around and getting into his teammates’ faces to encourage or fire them up. You will see a football player being a leader by acting as another coach and demonstrating the proper way...

Karis Thomas wanted to play college basketball somewhere she could be comfortable. When looking at schools, the Shady Side Academy girls basketball senior guard was searching for a place where they took care of each other. Thomas found what she was looking for when she recently committed to Division I...

When he finally walked in the door to his house in late July, Kyle Martin realized he’d only been home for 10 days since the end of May. Norwin’s wrestling coach took a rock band-like road trip to coach and train youth wrestlers. It is what he does. What he...

He gets asked the same question all the time. “Do you play basketball?” But Jason Buczynski, at a towering 6-foot-7, lets down inquisitors gently. Not anymore. The rising junior at Franklin Regional played from age 6-13 but set aside the sport for another with nets. “I did not have passion...

The way the 2024 season played out for West Allegheny’s football team was a bit strange, but also a bit encouraging. The Indians had their first two last year games suspended due to dangerous weather conditions that hit while West Allegheny led on the scoreboard. Both games were given no-contest...

Last season, coach Fred Mozzocio came into New Castle, where he played in the 1980s, and wanted to deliver awesome football to the community. The Red Hurricanes were 1-9 two seasons ago, but “Coach Mo” got New Castle sailing in the right direction with a 5-4 season last year. The...

The 2024 football season at Montour was a tale of two seasons. A thrilling Week 8 victory over Aliquippa put the Spartans alone in first place in the Class 4A Parkway Conference with one week left in the regular season. With a chance to win the conference title outright, Montour...

Jake Wickline is relieved that all of the newness has finally worn off. A year ago, Wickline was tasked with taking over a Blackhawk football program that had gone through some turmoil over the previous season with the sudden departure of the program’s head coach, Zack Hayward, just two weeks...

Through the first month of the 2024 football season, Ambridge looked like it could be in for a special, breakthrough year. And while the Bridgers constructed a far more competitive season with a 4-5 overall record, coach Sherm McBride is focused on one thing as the team enters 2025. “The...

Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. Aliquippa lost some talented football players to graduation or transfer since last season, so it’s understandable if there were some cracks in the Quips’ confidence. But,...

High schools Golf Friday’s results Boys TRICADA championship Top 10: 1. Brady Newman, South Fayette, 69. 2. Camden Reyes, Peters Township, 71. 3. Sam Bishop, South Fayette, 72. 4. Tyler Ondrejko, Peters Township, 73. 5. Urijah Teasdale, Jefferson-Morgan, 75. 6. Chase Werthman, Canon-McMillan, 76. 7. Ben Taczak, Canon-McMillan, 77. 8....

Quarterback Anthony Sacco, meet two-way tackle Aiden Piper. “We’ve met,” Sacco said, dryly. The two Derry juniors exchanged glances. Finally, they flashed what appeared as true smiles Friday on the final day of the PIAA’s mandated preseason heat-acclimatization week for high school football teams. Make no mistake, guys like the...

Rich Marshall has experienced opportunities at every level during his basketball coaching career. He was a Division I men’s assistant at Clemson and Arizona State, and he helped Clemson win the only ACC championship in program history in 1989-90 under head coach Cliff Ellis with standouts Dale Davis and Elden...

Seton LaSalle transfer Anthony Smith, an up-and-coming quarterback with multiple college offers, remains ineligible for his sophomore season after the PIAA denied his appeal Friday. However, an attorney representing Smith and his family said they may challenge the decision in court. “Not over yet … ” Smith wrote in a...

Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel played 13 years for the black and gold. A 46, he still looks like he could hold down that position. Keisel was the guest speaker recently at Grandview Golf Club in North Braddock for a gathering of former and current WPIAL coaching legends. The...

Rob Niederberger took last season off coaching varsity basketball. During that time, the newly-minted North Allegheny boys basketball coach did color commentary on games for the TribLive High School Sports Network and went to help a few teams work on things in practice. Niederberger’s passion for basketball is his sickness....

It has been a return to fundamentals for Baldwin, the only team in Class 5A to go winless last season. “We’re back to the basics,” coach Dana Brown said, “getting the kids to truly understand football and wanting to be a football player and not just play football. “Last year...

Only the strongest football programs can graduate a big, talented senior class one year and keep winning the next — a short list that Bethel Park wants to join. For six months, the Black Hawks have talked about having “something to prove,” said third-year coach Phil Peckich. That idea describes...

Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. There’s a football team in Western Pennsylvania with a revamped passing attack that’ll feature multiple tight ends — and, no, it’s not the Steelers. It’s Peters...