High School category, Page 558

Last week: 8-4 (66.7%) Season: 28-5 (84.8%) The Birdie has two words for the WPIAL: “Thank you.” Usually, the football-toting fowl is angry at the District 7 staffers over some mundane detail on a league cover sheet that failed to pass his quality standards. But he is praising the league...

Week 3 and the start of conference play. It’s like opening up that first Christmas catalog as a kid and going to town on the wish list. Conference games have a little extra special feel. Players know it. Coaches know it, though they won’t admit it. These are the games...

Mt. Pleasant might have a bright future in boys soccer. The proof lies in the team’s present lineup. The Vikings have been rolling out an all-underclassmen starting 11 at times, but that hasn’t prevented them from contending for a section title this season. “At one point, we had five of...

WPIAL realignment caused a shake-up in classifications and sections, and boys soccer saw quite a bit of movement in Westmoreland County. Latrobe and Penn-Trafford moved from 4A to 3A. Greensburg Salem and Belle Vernon went from 3A to 2A, and Jeannette opted to play up a class in 2A. With...

Tuesday’s weather in the Pittsburgh area brought the first nip of fall to the air. But with the temperature still hovering around 70 degrees at mid-afternoon, few folks were ready to consider the prospect of wearing extra layers of clothing. Upper St. Clair girls golf coach Mercedes Epondulan was one...

Don’t tell players from the Penn-Trafford and Belle Vernon football teams that Friday’s nonconference game isn’t important. It might not count in the conference standings, but when two Westmoreland County schools that rank among the top teams in the state get together, expect a hard-hitting and exciting game. Penn-Trafford visits...

When he played high school basketball at Norwin, Cam Auld was a shooting guard who fired up 3-pointers. When he arrived at Waynesburg, he morphed into something else: a stretch forward who later took on a role as a screener, cutter and rebounder. And something else happened along the way....

A groundbreaking Name, Image and Likeness policy proposed by the PIAA must pass three separate votes to take effect, but that second vote won’t happen this week as initially thought. The PIAA board meets online Wednesday, but the new NIL policy wasn’t included on this month’s agenda. PIAA executive director...

High schools Cross country Tuesday’s results Boys Division I Section 1 Hempfield 17, Latrobe 46 Hempfield 15, Derry 50 Section 6 South Fayette 28, Peters Township 29 South Fayette 19, Bethel Park 38 Peters Township 15, Bethel Park 48 Division II Section 3 Seton LaSalle 15, Burgettstown 50 McGuffey 15,...

Ryan Higgs had a pair of goals and Drew Popp netted the game-winner to lead Upper St. Clair (5-1-1, 4-1) to a 3-1 victory over Allderdice (5-2-1, 3-2) in Section 2-4A boys soccer Tuesday. Belle Vernon 1, Washington 0 – Trevor Kovatch scored in overtime to lift Belle Vernon (5-2,...

Last fall, the Moon girls soccer team got very defensive in the district postseason. The Tigers defeated Butler, Peters Township and finally Seneca Valley in the finals to win the 2021 WPIAL 4A girls soccer championship. They did so without allowing a goal. That mindset continued into the PIAA playoffs...

A pair of top-ranked teams in the weekly Trib HSSN state football rankings tasted defeat in Week 1, yet both held on to their top spot in a week that featured little movement. Imhotep Charter from District 12 lost by a touchdown to Archbishop Spalding out of Maryland, yet the...

Franklin Regional (5-1) is the newest local team to find a spot in the TribLive HSSN rankings. The team moved into the No. 5 spot in Class 3A. All of the Panthers’ wins have come via shutout. The have outscored their opponents 14-1. Franklin Regional has a big test Wednesday...

One goal is impressive. Two goals? It’s like you’re getting away with something. When Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland and Yough play each other in Section 3-2A girls soccer games, offense is minimal because defense disrupts momentum, talent cancels out talent, and a playoff atmosphere rings out. It is a three-way rivalry...

High schools Field hockey Section 3A Peters Township 11, Hempfield 0 Section 2A Penn-Trafford 4, Latrobe 2 Golf Boys Monday’s results Class 3A Section 3 North Allegheny 200, Butler 204 Medalists: Chris Hoffman (NA) 38, Ryan Porch (B) 37 Pine-Richland 197, North Hills 234 Section 4 Central Catholic 192, Franklin...

Bella Vozar recorded a hat trick and Olivia Supp and Natalie Lamenza had two goals each to lead Thomas Jefferson (5-0, 3-0) to an 8-0 victory over Laurel Highlands (5-1, 3-1) in a battle for first place in Section 2-3A girls soccer Monday. Abby Atkinson recorded the shutout. Avonworth 5,...

Many people around the area will take advantage of a nice, late summer day Tuesday with some sort of run, jog or brisk walk at a nearby park. Also Tuesday, many young athletes who enjoy a longer run on a more challenging course will be in action as section play...

Maddie Joyce started playing organized volleyball in sixth grade, and at the time, she was hitting the ball around with older sister Sydney and mom, Robin, who enjoyed a standout career at Duquesne in the 1990s. With those influences, she formed a foundation that now has brought her notoriety, including...

Moments after a loud, happy celebration — screams and claps to applaud two goals in a row — a subdued hush fell over the crowd at Russ Grimm Field. Even the crickets that chirped all night seemed to stop for a few seconds. Public address announcer Paul Britton, who went...

When Ellwood City sophomore running back Elijah Palmer-McCaine scored the second of his three touchdowns in Week 2 in the first quarter that put the Wolverines up for good, little did he know that he was making history. Palmer-McCaine rushed for 102 yards on 18 carries and scored on touchdown...

The Moon girls volleyball team opened Section 2-3A play with convincing victories over South Fayette, 3-1, and Oakland Catholic, 3-0, before going 10-0 and winning its own tournament on Saturday. Those victories were enough toward the Tigers resume to propel them from No. 6 to No. 1 in the WPIAL...

When Yough’s boys soccer team made the WPIAL playoffs last season, it marked just the fourth time since 2004 the program qualified for the postseason. However, talking to Cougars coach Ron Duschak, that trend could be changing. “Soccer in the community is certainly looking up,” said Duschak, who is replacing...

First-year Highlands girls tennis coach Vaughn Hunkele knew exactly what he signed up for when he took the job in August. The 2016 Highlands grad knew he would need to begin to build a foundation, teach tennis and that winning would come later. After the first few weeks of the...

High schools Soccer Boys Monday’s schedule Class 4A Section 1 Pine-Richland at Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m. Class A Section 4 Bishop Canevin at Carlynton, 8 p.m. Nonsection Altoona at Allderdice, 5:30 p.m. Bentworth at Brentwood, 4 p.m. Brashear at Montour, 6:15 p.m. Connellsville at Mt. Pleasant, 7:30 p.m. Hampton at...

We inch our way toward the middle of September with a busy night of WPIAL girls soccer section action. One of the marque matchups Monday features a pair of undefeated teams fighting for first place in Section 2-3A as Thomas Jefferson hosts Laurel Highlands. The Mustangs are a perfect 3-0...