High School category, Page 618
Valley turns new leaf, looks to junior QB Goodwin
New coaching staff, new schemes, new defense and new uniforms. The Valley Vikings hope they’ve found a new way to move up in the Allegheny 6 Conference standings. After a 1-5 record in 2021 conference play, 2-8 overall, Valley is seeking a new winning formula. “We’re working hard, and we’ll...
Through the Years: Highlands’ rally sealed 1997 win vs. Freeport
Each Friday throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look at the players, coaches and events that shaped our scholastic legacy. Joe Signorella passed for a touchdown and scored another as Highlands came from behind to defeat Freeport, 14-10, on Aug. 29, 1997, at...
A-K Valley girls soccer preview: Plum driven to add to impressive resume
The WPIAL girls soccer championship games will be back at Highmark Stadium for the second year in a row, and Plum hopes to again reserve a spot in the Class 3A game in early November. Runners-up to Mars the past two seasons — 2020 at North Allegheny and last year...
A-K Valley boys soccer preview: Plum sets sights on breakthrough season
The Plum boys soccer team has been agonizingly close to breaking through the last few seasons. Last year, a pair of 2-1 losses — to West Allegheny in the semifinals and Franklin Regional, on penalty kicks, in the consolation game — denied the Mustangs a shot at WPIAL gold and...
2022 City League preview: Allderdice aims to defend its title but will be tested
Competition will again be stiff among City League football teams this fall. Allderdice capped off a thrilling 2021 league season by upsetting two-time reigning champion Westinghouse to win the City title for the third time in the past five seasons. The Dragons have played for the title in four of...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 24, 2022
High schools WPIAL Golf Wednesday’s results Boys Class 3A Section 1 Latrobe 202, Indiana 205 Medalists: PJ Germano, Jack Sacriponte (L) 38, Trevor Todd, Harrison Martineau (I) 39 Penn-Trafford 192, Norwin 202 Medalist: Nick Turowski (PT) 34 Hempfield 201, Armstrong 232 Medalists: Nick Eberhardt, Caleb Prola (H) 39 Section 2...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2022 Week Zero
Dom Dininno Kiski Area, sr., WR/DB The Cavaliers senior has emerged as a main target in the passing game and hopes to make his mark in Friday’s opener against Plum. Dininno also is one to watch on the defensive side of the ball. He earned Class 5A Northeast Conference second-team...
Contrasting Plum, Kiski Area set to kick off season by renewing rivalry
Two schools that are in contrast to each other will open the season Friday. Plum will return an experienced team, while Kiski Area has plenty of key players to replace due to graduation. “They had a pretty good senior-led team last year; I know they’re replacing a lot,” Plum coach...
A-K Valley’s don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week Zero
Nonconference Armstrong at Valley 7 p.m. Friday, at Valley High Memorial Stadium, New Kensington Armstrong is led by the arm and legs of senior Cadin Olsen, a Penn commit. Olsen threw for 28 touchdowns and added 16 rushing scores in 2021. The River Hawks hope to qualify for the WPIAL...
While making picket signs, The Birdie makes his A-K Valley Week Zero picks
In these volatile times, the Birdie spent the offseason becoming radicalized. No longer will he stand by on the sidelines and watch the very fabric of our American way of life be threatened. “Don’t tell me to stick to sports,” our favorite fierce, feathered political activist sneered. “These are life-or-death...
2022 Western Pa. high school football schedule for Week Zero
Friday Chambersburg Peach Bowl Showcase Bishop Canevin vs. Steelton-Highspire at Chambersburg, 5:30 p.m. Freedom Bowl at Hall of Fame Stadium, Ohio Central Catholic vs. St. Edward, Ohio, 8:30 p.m. Nonconference Allderdice at North Allegheny, 7:30 p.m. (HSSN) Armstrong at Valley, 7 p.m. Beaver Falls at Blackhawk, 7 p.m. (HSSN*, 1230...
Trib HSSN 2022 preseason WPIAL football rankings
WPIAL football rankings Preseason Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L 1. Central Catholic, 9-3 2. Seneca Valley, 7-4 3. North Allegheny, 7-5 4. Mt. Lebanon, 15-0 5. Canon-McMillan, 4-7 Class 5A 1. Gateway, 7-4 2. Penn-Trafford, 13-2 3. Penn Hills, 8-4 4. Pine-Richland, 7-5 5. Upper St. Clair, 6-5 Class 4A...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2022 Week Zero
Here are Westmoreland County’s high school football players to watch for Week Zero. Jackson Hutter Mt. Pleasant, Jr., RB/MLB The junior is expected to be more of an offensive threat in 2022 after averaging 7.1 yards per carry as a sophomore. He scored one touchdown and had a catch for...
Rivals Hempfield, Greensburg Salem to square off for 57th time
It’s only one game on the schedule, the first of the season. And in the grand scheme of things, it won’t impact conference standings for either team. But bragging rights will again be on the line between the football players, students and communities from Hempfield and Greensburg Salem. The 2022...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week Zero
Nonconference Burrell at Jeannette 7 p.m. Friday, McKee Stadium, Jeannette Burrell has dropped from Class 3A to 2A for the next two-year enrollment cycle. The Bucs return six starters on each side of the ball. Typically a pass-first team under coach Shawn Liotta, the Bucs will concentrate more on the...
Check out The Birdie’s hodgepodge of Week Zero picks in Westmoreland County
The Birdie has been called a lot of things (never late for dinner), but when he heard a coach refer to him as a “hodgepodge of nothingness” at a recent media day, his ears perked up. “You stole that from Dennis Eckersley! You’re caught, coach!” the Birdie told the culprit,...
2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the specialists
A remarkable WPIAL record is about to turn 20. It was two decades ago — Oct. 4, 2002 — when East Allegheny’s Josh Miller kicked a 55-yard field goal, a feat that still stands as the longest known in WPIAL history. Miller, a 6-foot, 170-pound soccer star who later played...
Springdale sophomore tight end poised for breakout season
Garrett Myers attended Redeemer Lutheran school in Penn Hills through eighth grade. The school doesn’t offer a football program. Basketball was Myers’ main sport. Football wasn’t in the picture for the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Springdale tight end and linebacker. “We moved into the area, and I saw a photo of the...
Junior receiver could be Southmoreland’s secret weapon this season
The “X” receiver could be Southmoreland’s X-factor this football season. Ty Keffer is out for football again for the first time since elementary school and the 6-foot-4, 190-pound junior could be a difference maker on both sides of the ball for the Scotties. “I have always been a big fan...
OLSH driven to return to WPIAL championship game with new coach
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart needed one more stop to make the WPIAL championship game. After losing to Rochester earlier in the season, the Chargers wanted vengeance on their conference foes. On fourth down, with the Chargers leading the semifinal contest 14-13, the Rams went in the shotgun formation....
Fort Cherry making strides in upholding program’s tradition
Three years removed from a winless season, coach Tanner Garry and the Fort Cherry Rangers are turning the ship around. Last season, the Rangers fell short of the playoffs but went 5-5 with a 3-4 conference record. When Garry, a former Fort Cherry quarterback, took over coaching duties in 2020,...
Cornell continues to earn place among WPIAL Class A elite
Cornell’s 50th anniversary season last year was a successful one. The Raiders finished 9-3 with a 6-1 conference record in the Class A Big Seven. Cornell’s success didn’t happen overnight. The program disbanded in 2012 returned in 2016. After a few seasons of struggles, the Raiders made the playoffs, winning...
Father-son coach-quarterback duo out to earn elusive playoff win for Chartiers-Houston
Terry Fetsko Jr. started in Chartiers-Houston’s program as a ballboy. Often Fetsko would travel with the team coached by his dad, who is in his 18th year as coach, to see away games. Playing quarterback for the program, as Fetsko did last season, was a nice honor. “I was always...
Carlynton working to end playoff drought
Twenty-one years. After finishing tied for third place in the 2001 Class AA Interstate Conference, Carlynton traveled to Reeves Field at Geneva College to battle heavy favorite Beaver Falls in the first round of the district playoffs. The Tigers, who eventually lost in the finals to Washington, had more than...
Burgettstown brings momentum into new Black Hills Conference
Burgettstown returned to the playoffs in 2021 for the sixth time in seven years thanks to a strong finish with three straight regular season must-wins. The Blue Devils finished 5-5 overall after falling to eventual champion Bishop Canevin in the Class A first round, but second-year coach Greg Marshall won’t...
