High School category, Page 64
Penn Hills notebook: Steelers bring in former Indians star
Daequan Hardy walked into the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room Nov. 5 and saw some familiar faces. At Penn State, he played with Joey Porter Jr. and Pat Freiermuth. This summer with the Buffalo Bills, one of his teammates was safety Daryl Porter Jr. The person that Hardy had the longest...
With patience, determination, Fox Chapel girls march into state playoffs
The Fox Chapel girls soccer team hasn’t had to worry about battling through another version of the WPIAL tournament through the first few rounds of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs. That’s exactly how Foxes coach Carlo Prati prefers things to shake out. Fox Chapel knocked off District 10 champion Harbor...
Pair of Fox Chapel players cap season with all-conference honors
The Fox Chapel football program has many markers it would like to hit on its way back to respectability. Foxes coach Dave Leasure was happy to cap the season, where Fox Chapel finished 3-7 overall and 0-5 in the Northeast Conference, with Harran Zureikat and Max Melocchi earning all-conference honors....
Playoff goal still remains for improving Penn Hills boys soccer program
Kevin Truman wanted to find a way to help the Penn Hills boys soccer program find a way back to the WPIAL playoffs. While the Indians’ coach felt like they had made tremendous progress, they couldn’t find enough punch on offense to emerge from Section 1-4A. What Penn Hills hopes...
Runners from Riverview, Plum reach goals at PIAA cross country meet
Ashton Saunders enjoyed the view from the medal stand at last year’s PIAA Class A cross country championships in Hershey. The goal in his return Nov. 1 was to not only get back to that position but also stand a little closer to the top. Both were achieved as the...
‘Such a special feeling’: Late-season surge keyed Plum’s postseason berth
After a 14-13 Northeast Conference loss to North Hills in Week 6, the Plum football team stood at 2-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Some thought the Mustangs were dead in the water. But Plum coach Matt Morgan, his coaching staff, and his players carried on, taking one game...
Shady Side Academy girls focus on team success, win program’s 1st cross country state title
Shady Side Academy girls cross country coach Jeff Perlis talked to Charlotte Barker and Josephine Lenart the night before the PIAA Class A championship race to discuss strategy. Both girls were among the favorites to cross the finish line first. Lenart and Barker had traded wins at meets back and...
Aliquippa’s defense stands tall in avenging loss to New Castle, seals return to WPIAL final
When Aliquippa went back and watched film of a Week 5 loss to New Castle, the Quips made a point to count their missed tackles. That wasn’t much fun since they counted more than 50. “It was terrible,” senior linebacker Lester Longmire said. “But at the same time, it’s good...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 7, 2025
High schools Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Friday’s results Central Catholic 44, Canon-McMillan 7 North Allegheny 35, Norwin 17 Championship Nov. 15 schedule Central Catholic (10-1) vs. North Allegheny (8-3) at Pine-Richland, 6:05 p.m. Class 5A Quarterfinals Friday’s results Moon 20, Penn-Trafford 13 Peters Township 42, Bethel Park 14...
Washington defense leads way in playoff win over South Allegheny
No. 4 South Allegheny was looking to continue its magical run and reach the WPIAL semifinals for the first time since 1977. But No. 5 Washington and its defense had other plans. The Prexies were dominant defensively, scoring a pair of touchdowns on turnovers in the first half and riding...
Central Catholic pulls away from Canon-McMillan to reach 7th straight WPIAL title game
For the seventh straight season, Central Catholic will play for a WPIAL Class 6A championship next weekend after a dominating 47-7 win over Canon-McMillian at West Mifflin on Friday night. The top-seeded Vikings (10-1) have won four WPIAL titles since the classification was formed in 2016, including a title last...
Trib HSSN’s 2025 Week 11 top performers for passing, rushing, receiving
Top performers for Week 11 of high school football in Western Pennsylvania. Passing 263 - Joey Felitsky, North Catholic (13 of 15) 232 - Kymon’e Brown, Jeannette (13 of 29) 228 - Cam Walter, Woodland Hills (16 of 24) 225 - Ryan Messina, Elizabeth Forward (23 of 34) 217 -...
High school football roundup for Nov. 7, 2025: Khalil Taylor’s 4 TDs guide Pine-Richland past Shaler
Khalil Taylor scored four touchdowns as No. 1 Pine-Richland earned a convincing 42-10 victory over No. 8 Shaler (4-8) in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals Friday night. Taylor, a Division I recruit, scored on a 90-yard kickoff return, a 30-yard pass from Aaron Strader, a 9-yard interception return and an...
Kemon Spell tips scales in favor of McKeesport in 4A semifinal win over Thomas Jefferson
When McKeesport and Thomas Jefferson met in early September during the regular season, there was one key component missing from their spirited rivalry. The Jaguars won, but both teams knew that the absence of five-star superstar Kemon Spell, who left the game after three carries due to a nagging ankle...
Upper St. Clair shakes off early deficit to put away Woodland Hills
Upper St. Clair trailed Plum in its first-round WPIAL playoff victory last week before defeating the Mustangs. The Panthers dealt with a similar start this week at the Wolverena, falling behind by two touchdowns in the first quarter. Again the Panthers were undaunted, at one pointed rattling off 26 unanswered...
Moon flips script on No. 4 Penn-Trafford, advances to WPIAL semifinals
Moon was driving early in the fourth quarter when Tigers quarterback Andrew Cross scrambled on third-and-9 from the Penn-Trafford 34. Warriors linebacker Landyn Stikkel punched the ball out from behind and it came loose from the quarterback’s hands and hit the turf. Instead of an apparent fumble and recovery by...
Clairton survives scare from Jeannette in WPIAL quarterfinals
Going into a game when the Clairton football team is one of the participants, one can expect the scoreboard is going to show crooked numbers early and often. As the WPIAL Class A quarterfinal matchup between the No. 2 Bears and No. 11 Jeannette Jayhawks went into halftime, the numbers...
QB Joey Felitsky gets redemption as North Catholic tops No. 4 Elizabeth Forward in quarterfinals
Last season, North Catholic quarterback Joey Felitsky threw a crucial interception that allowed Elizabeth Forward to kick a game-winning field goal in their WPIAL quarterfinal game. As he walked off the field, Trojans coach Chris Rizzo said that “without a doubt” his quarterback was going to get another shot at...
Work on special teams keys No. 3 Central Valley’s quarterfinal victory over Highlands
Highlands and Central Valley were separated by just four points in the early stages of the third quarter of their WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal Friday at Central Valley’s Sarge Albert Stadium. That is when things changed. Spurred on by a couple of key special teams plays, the No. 3 Warriors...
Big 2nd half fuels North Allegheny’s win over Norwin in WPIAL Class 6A semifinals
The Norwin football program has made nice strides over the years. But there were still things on their bucket last that they had not achieved before Friday’s WPIAL Class 6A semifinal at North Allegheny Newman Stadium. The Knights never had won a conference title, defeated North Allegheny, reached the WPIAL...
Freshman QB sparks Western Beaver past Apollo-Ridge in WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals
Western Beaver freshman Amari Marshall didn’t expect to be a quarterback coming into the preseason. But when the program lined up for its first night WPIAL Class 2A postseason game, Marshall was under the gun and ready to try and help the Golden Beavers make history. No. 2 Western Beaver’s...
Avonworth dominates Freeport on way to WPIAL quarterfinal win
The Avonworth Antelopes thundered past the Freeport Yellowjackets in a 56-7 stampede that sent them galloping into their fifth consecutive WPIAL semifinal. Dimitri Velisaris spearheaded Avonworth, slicing through the Freeport defense for 110 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries. Velisaris scored from 45 yards and 26 yards on Avonworth’s...
A-K Valley PIAA soccer playoff preview capsules for Nov. 8, 2025
PIAA soccer playoffs Boys Class 4A Quarterfinals 1-2 Abington (19-2-3) vs. 7-1 Fox Chapel (17-2) 1 p.m. Saturday, Trojan Stadium, Chambersburg Winner plays: Winner of 3-1 Warwick (19-2-1)/7-2 Seneca Valley (18-3) on Tuesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Carter Shannon, Abington; Rocco DiDomenico, Fox Chapel Corner kicks:...
Westmoreland County PIAA soccer playoff preview capsule for Nov. 8, 2025
PIAA boys soccer playoffs Class 3A Quarterfinals 7-2 Franklin Regional (19-4) vs. 3-1 Conrad Weiser (25-0-1) 5 p.m. Saturday, Mansion Park Stadium, Altoona Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 West Allegheny (15-6)/8-1 Allderdice (15-5) on Tuesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Coaches: Nick White, Franklin Regional; Derek Long, Conrad Weiser Players...
New PIAA classification parameters move 11-time WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson to 5A football
One of the WPIAL’s strongest football classifications is adding an 11-time champion next season when Thomas Jefferson moves up to 5A. The PIAA released updated classification parameters for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, a key step in the realignment process that occurs every two years. The parameters list the...
