High School category, Page 569

Football Friday Chambersburg Peach Bowl Showcase Steelton-Highspire 21, Bishop Canevin 14 Freedom Bowl at Hall of Fame Stadium, Ohio St. Edward, Ohio 42, Central Catholic 10 Nonconference Apollo-Ridge 34, Leechburg 28 Armstrong 42, Valley 7 Avonworth 27, Grove City 7 Baldwin 47, Brashear 17 Beaver Falls 22, Blackhawk 7 Bentworth...

Conlan Greene threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 42 yards and another score as Class 5A No. 2 Penn-Trafford held off Class 6A No. 5 Canon-McMillan, 35-28, in a nonconference football game Friday night. Daniel Tarabrella caught nine passes for 140 yards and the game’s first...

Fourth-and-20 is a pressure situation no quarterback wants, but Brad Birch knew where the ball needed to go. The Gateway quarterback threw a high, arcing pass toward receiver Dallas Harper, who cut his route a little short, came down with the ball and scored on a 34-yard catch. That was...

South Allegheny’s first drive of the new season didn’t exactly provide ideal results. The Gladiators converted a 25-yard pass on their first play from scrimmage before committing four penalties and eventually punting on a fourth-and-46 deep in their own territory. “We had a good gain right there and were up...

Top performers for Week Zero of high school football in Western Pennsylvania. Passing 335 - Conlan Greene, Penn-Trafford (23 of 30) 309 - Mike Evans, Canon-McMillan (13 of 22) 280 - Cadin Olsen, Armstrong (12 of 17) 276 - Brad Birch, Gateway (18 of 28) 263 - Jake Phillips, Hempfield...

A back-and-forth game between the Class 5A Penn Hills and 6A Seneca Valley came down to the final play as Penn Hills kicker Owen Williams missed a 34-yard field goal to allow the Raiders to hang onto a 17-15 victory in Week Zero. “It was an ugly win, but it...

First-year coach Matt Bonislawski’s debut wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. After a slow start, the Golden Rams took advantage of University Prep miscues to take control as Highlands rolled to a 34-12 nonconference Week Zero win at Golden Rams Stadium on Friday night. “We came out slow,”...

A late-August dogfight became a rout in a hurry. Did lightning provide Greensburg Central Catholic a spark? Da’sjon Craggette rushed for 114 yards and scored two touchdowns during a crucial second-half rally, Tyree Turner passed for 109 yards and two scores and Greensburg Central Catholic tallied 28 third-quarter points after...

Neighboring rivals Latrobe and Derry had a lot in common heading into their season-opening matchup. Both have new coaches — Ron Prady at Latrobe, Mike Arone at Derry. Both are stepping down to new classifications — Latrobe to Class 4A, Derry to 2A. Both have switched to odd-man fronts on...

Burrell opened the season with a win over an old nemesis. The Bucs defeated Jeannette for the first time since 1993 with a 31-10 victory over the Jayhawks on Friday at McKee Stadium. Jeannette still has a 15-4 lead in the all-time series that dates to 1971. The Bucs used...

After a two-year hiatus, the Leechburg and Apollo-Ridge football teams renewed their neighboring rivalry Friday night for a Week Zero clash at Owens Field. The Vikings, who collected 530 yards of offense, earned bragging rights in the latest matchup against the Blue Devils. Apollo-Ridge held off a late Leechburg charge...

In their first meeting since 2017 and the 34th overall between the football teams, Plum scored 21 second-half points to come away with a 35-14 opening-night victory over Kiski Area. Both teams were conference opponents from 2014-17, and, despite the loss, Kiski Area still holds a (17-16-1) lead in the...

The only thing that slowed down the Hempfield football team’s offense Friday was a lightning delay at the end of the first half. Play was stopped with 1 minute, 58 seconds left in the first half because of lightning in the area. The game was called at 9:15 p.m. after...

The Frazier football team wasn’t happy with the way things went throughout the 2021 season. The Commodores struggled from start to finish on their way to an 0-9 season. A total of 13 players graduated from the 2021 squad, but the holdovers from last year, coupled with the new additions...

A year ago, coaches and players throughout Western Pennsylvania had a familiar refrain following their Week Zero contests. They got, as so many said, “back to normal.” Eric Kasperowicz finally got to experience that. The former Pine-Richland coach, who was controversially ousted last spring by the school’s administration, returned to...

Anthony Becoate thought this was the right time to take his first job as a head coach. The McKeesport and Clarion graduate had previously coached junior varsity football at Summit Academy seven years ago but took time away from coaching after having a child. Stepping back into coaching by taking...

Coming off a hard-earned berth in the WPIAL Class 2A playoff field last season, South Side is looking to be one of the top teams in Class A this year. Luke Travelpiece is going into his seventh year as Rams head coach and is looking to improve in some areas....

Coming off a 7-2 season in 2020, Shenango had high hopes this time last year. But reality failed to meet expectations and, despite a second straight season with a playoff victory, the Wildcats were left wanting more. “We thought we would have a much more successful season based on our...

Last fall, Brian Cooper watched as, week in and week out, his running back and quarterback sliced through opposing defenses. The combination of Luke McCoy and Kobe DeRosa combined for 2,938 rushing yards and scored 47 touchdowns, as the Spartans finished the season 11-1, qualifying for the WPIAL Class 2A...

A year ago, Northgate entered the 2021 season carrying the weight of the WPIAL’s longest losing streak — 32 games played, 32 straight losses. But the Flames wasted no time snapping the skid, topping Carlynton, 22-6, in Week Zero. “To get that first win, and see the look on those...

Rochester has a message for its Class A opponents this year — tighten those hinges. “Our motto this year is, ‘Kick the door down,’” said 23rd-year coach Gene Matsook. “That door is the semifinals, and hopefully we can knock it down and move to the next level.” The Rams, for...

If anyone’s ever been ready for his first head coaching job, it’s Union’s Kim Niedbala. He is the son of the late Rich Niedbala, who won 192 games and three WPIAL titles at Western Beaver. He played under coach Joe Hamilton, second-winningest coach in WPIAL history at Blackhawk. He’s been...

Marcus McCullough played his final football game at Ringgold in 1987, losing to New Castle in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals. Now he’s in charge of restoring the Rams’ program into the force that it once was, and he’s relishing that chance in his first season at the helm. “It’s...

Elizabeth Forward has heard all the rumblings about certain Interstate Conference newcomers. But as far as the Warriors are concerned, they’re still the top dogs. The Warriors have won the Interstate four out of the last five years, and with a talented lineup coming back, coach Mike Collodi thinks his...

As Bentworth football coach JJ Knabb enters his fourth year with the Bearcats, he is faced with a team that may not have a lot of experience but has tremendous upside. The Bearcats entered the preseason with 28 players on their roster, but only four are seniors. “As a coaching...