High School category, Page 7

Last week: 10-1 Season: 80-18 (81.6%) The Birdie was reading a story in Tuesday’s paper about the first class of inductees into Pittsburgh Walk of Fame. He’s a big fan of Michael Keaton and Roberto Clemente and the rest, but he was annoyed by one of the criteria for induction....

Friday WPIAL Class 6A Central Catholic at Canon-McMillan, 7 p.m. Mt. Lebanon at Norwin, 7 p.m. North Allegheny at Seneca Valley, 7 p.m. Class 5A Allegheny Six Moon at South Fayette, 7 p.m. Peters Township at Bethel Park, 7 p.m. Upper St. Clair at Baldwin, 7 p.m. Big East Franklin...

Here’s a look at the don’t-miss matchups for Week 9 in Westmoreland County: Class 5A Big East Franklin Regional (1-8, 0-5) at Armstrong (3-6, 2-3) 7 p.m. Friday, NexTier Bank Athletic Complex at Armstrong Stadium, Manor Township Last week: Woodland Hills 55, Franklin Regional 7; Penn-Trafford 42, Armstrong 7 Last...

Last week: 11-2 Season: 89-25 (78%) The Birdie is feeling underappreciated as the regular season heads down the final stretch. “I come within a game of going undefeated two weeks in a row, and I hear nothing from my fanbase,” Birdie said, holding a Heisman pose in the center of...

How big is Friday’s Class 6A Conference battle between No. 5 Mt. Lebanon and No. 3 Norwin at Norwin Knights Stadium? GIGANTIC. The final two playoff berths are on the line for both teams. Norwin is looking to reach to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. If Norwin...

North Allegheny’s Michelle Weniger has witnessed a lot in her two decades as girls tennis coach, but nothing like this. The NA Hall of Fame coach was still looking for answers one day after a 3-2 loss to Hollidaysburg on Tuesday in the PIAA Class 3A team tournament in which...

Freeport earned a much-needed victory last Friday with a 49-19 triumph over East Allegheny on senior night at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium. The Yellowjackets had lost two in a row coming into the game, one in heartbreaking fashion and the other that was not as close against a Class 3A...

Carter French has designs on winning a WPIAL Class 2A cross country championship Thursday at White Oak Park. The Knoch junior, who placed fifth in last year’s Class 2A race, has raised his level this fall with several first-place finishes in meets and invitationals. Last week, he built up a...

Central Catholic offensive lineman James Halter committed Wednesday to Notre Dame, making him the second member of his family to choose the Fighting Irish. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound tackle is rated as a four-star prospect and ranked as the 10th-best junior in Pennsylvania, according to Rivals. He had nearly two dozen...

WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 2A Quarterfinals 5-Mt. Pleasant (15-4) at 4-Avonworth (16-2-1) 7 p.m. Thursday, Lenzner Field, Emsworth Winner plays: Winner of 9-Beaver (14-4)/1-South Park (18-1) in semifinals (date/time/site TBD) Players to watch: Grant Zahrobsky, Mt. Pleasant; Nate Kline, Avonworth Throw-ins: Mt. Pleasant, fresh off its first section title...

WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 2A Quarterfinals 3-North Catholic (16-1-1) vs. 6-Deer Lakes (15-3-1) 6 p.m. Thursday, Pine-Richland Stadium, Gibsonia Winner plays: Winner of 2-Quaker Valley (16-2-1)/10-Shady Side Academy (12-4-1) in WPIAL semifinals (time/date/site TBD) Players to watch: Justin Garvey, North Catholic; Peyton Kushon, Deer Lakes Throw-ins: North Catholic will...

Math may matter, but not when it comes to WPIAL football wild cards. This is the second year of the playoff format in which wild card teams are no longer determined by Gardner Points or the WPIAL tiebreaker formula. Now, 16 additional berths will have to wait until Selection Saturday...

The opening round of the WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs concludes Wednesday with the spotlight shining on first-round matches in Class A and 4A. There are only four sections in Class 4A girls volleyball with the top three teams qualifying for the postseason, setting up a field of 12 playoff teams....

The “Stretch Run” is nearly complete with one week left in the regular season, and while the mercury is starting to drop, the top football teams across Pennsylvania are heating up. The 30 teams that last week were ranked in the Trib HSSN state Top 5 were a combined 29-1...

High schools Field hockey WPIAL playoffs Class 3A Semifinals Wednesday’s schedule Norwin (3-9) at Pine-Richland (15-3), 7 p.m.; North Allegheny (4-7-3) at Mt. Lebanon (7-3-1), 7 p.m. Class 2A Wednesday’s schedule Upper St. Clair (3-7-3) at Peters Township (12-2-2), 7 p.m.; Latrobe (3-8-3) at Fox Chapel (11-3-3), 7 p.m. Class...

Returning to the WPIAL boys soccer semifinals was far from easy, even though Franklin Regional got there on Cruise control. Senior forward Cruise Lamanna made a sensational volley on a setup by junior Rory Bayne and scored a golden goal 1 minute, 38 seconds into the second overtime as the...

Francis Randiga scored the overtime winner, sending No. 8 North Allegheny to a 1-0 victory over No. 9 Central Catholic (10-5-3) in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer playoffs Tuesday. The Tigers (10-5-3) will face No. 1 Peters Township in the quarterfinals Saturday. Canon-McMillan 9, Hempfield...

Three years ago, the Avonworth girls soccer team denied Mt. Pleasant a WPIAL title by defeating the Vikings, 2-1, in the district title game. Fast forward to 2025, and the Vikings are hoping a tough first-round match with the Antelopes will be a springboard to a big postseason run, especially...

Norwin will get another shot to finally solve pesky Plum. After a 4-0 first-round win over Woodland Hills on Tuesday night, the sixth-seeded Knights (11-5-3) will play their section rivals — Plum (14-2-2) is the No. 3 seed — for a third time this season in Saturday’s WPIAL Class 4A...

The Burrell girls soccer team scored just one goal in its WPIAL Class 2A first-round game against Belle Vernon on Tuesday at Buccaneer Stadium. Junior Makiah Buchak found the back of the net with three minutes left in the first half. But that single tally was all the Bucs needed....

Television plans for the upcoming WPIAL football finals remain the same as last year, said the WPIAL administrator who oversees league championships. The four games played at Acrisure Stadium will again be televised through a partnership with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the two games played elsewhere will not. The WPIAL...

Springdale forward Hailey Marchlewski played a long ball from near midfield she hoped would put teammate Lacey Shondeck in a spot to score. Chartiers-Houston keeper Adrianna Rozzo came forward to attempt to play it forward. Rozzo didn’t hit it clean, and it rolled by her. She charged desperately after it,...

Fox Chapel junior Carson Kittsley has a chance to do something that has not been done in 84 years, win a PIAA golf championship three times. Kittsley and Elizabeth Forward senior Mya Morgan successfully defended their Class 3A titles Tuesday at Penn State University. Kittsley won in dramatic fashion. After...

The WPIAL will soon have a new administrator at the top. The board on Tuesday accepted WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer’s resignation and voted to promote chief operating officer Vince Sortino to the top spot. The move is effective Dec. 20. “It’s just time to retire,” Seltzer said. “You know...

WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 3A Quarterfinals 6-Chartiers Valley (11-4-1) at 3-Franklin Regional (16-3) 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 7-Mars (12-5-2)/2-Bethel Park (13-2-3) in semifinals (date, site TBD) Players to watch: Thomas Bridges, Franklin Regional; Vinny Dipietro, Chartiers Valley Throw-ins: Franklin Regional blanked Montour in...