High School category, Page 602
Gesinski sisters connect to lead Mt. Pleasant girls soccer past Southmoreland
Sisters Riley and Morgan Gesinski couldn’t wait to play varsity soccer together so they could make an impact for fast-rising Mt. Pleasant. They are both good players individually, but they showed what they can do as a pair Wednesday night in an important road victory that kept Mt. Pleasant undefeated....
‘Essential’ midfielders drive Mt. Pleasant boys soccer team
Opponents sometimes get lost in the triangle. The Mt. Pleasant boys soccer triangle. Junior Luke Rivardo, senior Dylan Donitzen and junior Chase McCoy make up a midfield that can leave teams rearranging their defenders and altering their gameplan to combat the three-sided unit. The trio has helped the young Vikings...
Mt. Pleasant swim star Lily King to attend national select camp
Fast-rising Mt. Pleasant sophomore swimmer Lily King will train with other future Olympic hopefuls next month and learn more about how to manage her budding career. An elite junior competitor, King was one of just 51 girls in the 14/15-year-old age range nationally to get an invite to the USA...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Returning players boost Jeannette
Jeannette welcomed junior Austin Emery and senior Deyton Conrad back this week. Both were clearly glad to be back. A junior and key facilitator and scorer for the Jayhawks, Emery sustained a calf contusion against Knoch on Sept. 6 and had not played until Monday’s practice. Conrad missed time with...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2022 Week 4
Gavin Croney Freeport, sr., QB/DB The first-year starter at QB has shown his ability to both run and pass for the Yellowjackets (3-1). He has thrown for 267 yards and five touchdowns and also has carried 27 times for 132 yards and two scores. He will attempt to lead Freeport...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 4
Class 5A Big East Conference Plum (3-1, 1-0) at 5-Gateway (3-1, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Antimarino Stadium, Monroeville The rivalry game returns a two-year hiatus as the Mustangs dropped down to Class 4A. Gateway won the 2019 meeting, 44-0. Plum is 1-12-1 all-time against Gateway. Plum rolled to a 42-13...
The Birdie delivers Week 4 A-K Valley football picks with a hard candy shell
Last week: 10-2 Season: 37-7 (84.1%) As The Birdie was waddling through his local supermarket one day this week, he noticed the giant Halloween displays at the end of each aisle. This makes some people angry because they haven’t even put their pool noodles away for the year yet, and...
2022 Western Pa. high school football schedule, broadcasts for Week 4
Thursday City League Westinghouse at Allderdice, 7 p.m. Friday WPIAL Class 6A North Allegheny at Central Catholic, 7 p.m. (HSSN*) Seneca Valley at Mt. Lebanon, 7 p.m. (HSSN*) Class 5A Allegheny Six Bethel Park at Baldwin, 7 p.m. Peters Township at Upper St. Clair, 7 p.m. (HSSN*) Big East Penn-Trafford...
Unbeaten Hempfield readies for its biggest game in decades, a clash with Penn-Trafford
It’s one of the biggest questions asked by casual high school football fans in Westmoreland County: Why can’t Hempfield be a consistent winner? Why can’t the largest school in the county be successful? The school has been very successful in other sports such as baseball, basketball, softball, cross country, track...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 4
Class 4A Big Seven Conference Laurel Highlands (2-2, 0-1) at Latrobe (2-2, 0-1) 7 p.m., Friday, Memorial Stadium, Latrobe Both teams are coming off conference opening losses. Laurel Highlands was blanked by McKeesport, 33-0, and Latrobe was beaten by Thomas Jefferson, 31-21. The Wildcats have dropped their past two games....
Hempfield’s resurgence has Birdie all atwitter as he makes Westmoreland County Week 4 picks
Last week: 9-4 (69.2%) Season: 37-8 (82.2%) Hempfield fever has stricken the Birdie. He came to work Monday morning with his face painted blue and white, and he was wearing a tattered Rick Druschel throwback jersey. Management told him to change clothes, so he put on his Gino Caesar camo...
Trib 10: Tumultuous Week 3 shakes up power rankings
Week 3 of the WPIAL football season may be remembered as Freaky Friday. As teams across the district opened up conference play last weekend, the top proved to be a slippery slope as half of the Trib HSSN top-ranked teams were knocked off. Central Catholic (6A) and Belle Vernon (3A)...
Leechburg looking for elusive win over Clairton
During Leechburg’s recent football revival, one of the must-do items is to beat Clairton. The Blue Devils will have a chance to check that item off their list Friday when they travel to Neil Brown Stadium to face the Bears. Leechburg is 0-27-1 against Clairton, claiming a 6-6 tie in...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2022 Week 4
Adam Lacarte Belle Vernon, Jr., S The 6-foot junior is one of the leading tacklers for the Leopards. Lacarte has 21 tackles and broke up one pass from his free safety position. Nick Lonas Ligonier Valley, Sr., SB/LB Lonas has rushed for 120 yards on 17 carries and leads the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Sept. 20, 2022
High schools Cross country Tuesday’s results Boys Division I Section 1 Hempfield 15, Ligonier Valley 50 Hempfield 15, Yough 50 Section 5 Blackhawk 21, Beaver 37 Blackhawk 15, Central Valley 50 Chartiers Valley 22, Hopewell 49 Chartiers Valley 17, West Allegheny 46 West Allegheny 25, Hopewell 34 Section 6 South...
High school roundup for Sept. 20, 2022: Max Marcotte keeps Seneca Valley unbeaten with OT goal vs. North Allegheny
Max Marcotte scored his second goal of the game in overtime as Seneca Valley stayed undefeated with a 3-2 Section 1-4A boys soccer win over North Allegheny on Tuesday. Connor Oros also scored for the Raiders (9-0, 7-0). Zach Nash and Gabi Gotz scored for the Tigers (6-3-1, 4-3). Beaver...
Freeport girls soccer team uses grit to chase section title
In the first game of the year on the first day of this month, the Freeport girls soccer team faced a sizeable deficit to rival Deer Lakes. The Yellowjackets trailed the Lancers 2-0 and appeared headed to a defeat in their Section 2-2A opener. But something sparked with the Freeport...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Sept. 21, 2022: North Allegheny, Seneca Valley collide in girls soccer
The first day of autumn brings another warm day throughout the district, as well as a red-hot matchup on the pitch in WPIAL Class 6A girls soccer. Before the mercury drops in the days ahead, the first big clash between Section 1-6A powers North Allegheny and Seneca Valley will take...
Trib HSSN State Football Rankings for Sept. 20, 2022
As tidal waves of surprises crashed down on the heads of WPIAL top-ranked teams in Week 2, the rest of the elite teams in the state were closing out victories, making for little movement in the weekly Trib HSSN state football rankings this week. Central Catholic in 6A, Gateway in...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Southmoreland’s Olivia Cernuto out for season
Southmoreland senior standout Olivia Cernuto is done for the season with a right knee injury. Cernuto, a talented forward who will finish her career with exactly 100 goals, was injured last Monday during a home game against Yough. She had 18 goals this season for the Scotties (7-0, 4-0), the...
Section-opening loss drives Latrobe girls to find higher gear
When Latrobe was tripped up by top-ranked Plum, 4-2, in its Section 3-3A girls soccer opener, the sky was falling, but only briefly. Was Plum that good? Was Latrobe better than it showed? Was Class 3A this tough? The Wildcats took a long look in the mirror. “It was a...
Defending champ, freshman sensation earn WPIAL girls tennis top seeds
Defending champion Ashley Close of Sewickley Academy has earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming WPIAL Class 2A girls singles tennis championships. The two-day event will begin with the first round, quarterfinals and semifinals matches Wednesday and conclude Thursday with the district championship and consolation matches. Close won’t have...
Drop in classification doesn’t change underdog mentality for Latrobe volleyball
In volleyball at Latrobe — no matter the classification, the ranking, the opponent — longtime coach Drew Vosefski has continued to preach a singular theme: “Go into every match as if you’re the underdog.” There’s something to prove against other teams with similar pride, Vosefski maintains. “Your opponent isn’t just...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Greensburg Central Catholic’s Max Szekely
With high school sports starting all across the WPIAL, every team has one common goal in mind: to win a championship. But not every team is in the position of Greensburg Central Catholic’s boys soccer team this year, where they’re coming off their first WPIAL championship loss in three seasons....
Senior-heavy lineup helps Hempfield volleyball build on playoff appearance
As the season got underway, Hempfield was looking to build on last season’s WPIAL playoff appearance in girls volleyball, but the current lineup remained a work in progress. Through four matches, second-year coach Ashten Flynn was beginning to get a better understanding of her team’s tendencies following the defections of...
