High School category, Page 727
Tweak to defense puts Deer Lakes boys basketball team in the zone
For the majority of his coaching career, Terence Parham has favored a stack 2-3 zone defense, but this summer, he and his assistant Albie Fletcher made a change to their tactics. The Deer Lakes boys basketball team is employing a 1-3-1 zone, and early returns show it has been a...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Youth no problem for Penn-Trafford
Senior night shouldn’t take very long at Penn-Trafford this year. Guard Maura Suman might feel a little lonely when the spotlight shines on her. She is the team’s only senior. The Warriors feature just three juniors, five sophomores and seven freshmen, an inexperienced but hungry rotation that isn’t backing down...
Derry’s Tiana Moracco attracting attention as she nears school scoring record
Derry knows how to apply and play against box-and-one defenses. The hybrid scheme comes naturally now because the Trojans girls basketball team is seeing more “junk” defenses as opponents try to slow down guard Tiana Moracco. That means they practice them routinely, and Moracco finds ways to shake loose from...
Trib HSSN Head of the Class: Player of the year in each of WPIAL football’s 6 classes
Back in the day, when students did well in the classroom, they were moved to the front of the class. With the return to school from virtual classrooms the year before, Trib HSSN is once again moving those prized students to the head of the class. There were plenty of...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 30, 2021
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Avella Tournament Cornell 58, Avella 56 Fort Cherry 48, Brownsville 43 McGuffey 56, Chartiers-Houston 50 Avonworth 80, Burgettstown 57 Brooke (WV) Tournament Consolation Bloom-Carroll (OH) 68, Cameron (WV) 32 Championship Mt. Lebanon 48, Brooke (WV) 39 Deer Lakes Tournament Consolation Steel Valley 52,...
Trib HSSN Top 21 Stories of 2021: St. Clair Six pulled off state playoff stunner
The year 2021 wasn’t one giant leap for mankind, but it was one big step back toward “normalcy” for all of us, especially the high school athletes from around the WPIAL. They were able to do what they love to do: compete on area fields, courts, mats and pools. They...
High school roundup for Dec. 30, 2021: Avonworth takes Avella Tournament title
Jordan Kolenda scored a game-high 20 points to lead Avonworth to an 80-57 boys basketball victory over Burgettstown in the championship game of the Avella Tournament on Thursday. Tournament MVP Rowan Carmichael added 16 points and Peyton Faulkner had 10 for the Antelopes (7-1). Jackson LaRocka and Austin Nease led...
Chartiers Valley finishes stretch of 4 games in 2 tournaments over 3 days with win at Latrobe
Playing four games in three days didn’t seem to bother the Chartiers Valley girls basketball team. Especially their starters. The Colts used more bus drivers this week than they did reserves in Thursday night’s WPIAL semifinal rematch against Latrobe, playing their starting five for most of the game in a...
3 WPIAL wrestlers emerge from star-studded field to win Powerade gold
Penn-Trafford senior Troy Hohman hadn’t won a big wrestling tournament before Thursday. But he did something that can elevate his career. Hohman escaped with 11 seconds left to defeat Malvern Prep sophomore Jack Consiglio, 4-3, in the 120-pound final at the prestigious 55th Powerade Wrestling Tournament to claim the biggest...
Top 10 A-K Valley sports stories of 2021
As 2021 opened, high school sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and throughout the region and state were on hold because of ongoing covid-19 uncertainties. Games, meets and matches eventually went ahead, and individual and team champions were crowned. The spring sports season returned after it was canceled in 2020 at...
Top 10 Westmoreland County sports stories of 2021
They lined roads and highways to welcome their championship teams home, the night sky glowing red with the flashing lights of fire trucks. Championship teams in football, wrestling, baseball, softball and other sports brought titles home to Westmoreland County. They lined fairways at Oakmont to watch their local boy chase...
Greensburg Salem pays tribute to boys basketball icon ‘Coach Paul’
He was a good basketball player at Springdale High School — enough so to earn a scholarship to Westminster — but Paul Sapotichne soon realized he wasn’t going anywhere with a basketball in his hands. So he decided to become a coach. “I’d always wanted to coach,” he said. Turns...
High school roundup for Dec. 29, 2021: Chartiers Valley girls beat 2 ranked opponents in 1 day
The Chartiers Valley girls basketball team turned in a unique daily double Wednesday, defeating one ranked opponent in a 1 p.m. tip-off, hopping on a bus for a 60-mile trip and defeating another ranked foe in a 6:30 p.m. game. The Colts, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, began the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 29, 2021
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Apollo-Ridge Tournament Consolation River Valley 60, Apollo-Ridge 40 Championship Leechburg 66, Neighborhood Academy 38 Aquinas Academy Tournament Consolation Geibel 80, Trinity Christian 54 Championship Keystone Oaks 75, Aquinas Academy 74 Avella Tournament Fort Cherry 72, Cornell 28 Brownsville 71, Avella 46 Avonworth 65,...
Kiski Area boys basketball needs 3 overtimes to defeat Knoch
Knoch entered the second game of its three in the Kiski Area Holiday Classic with a 2-5 record. But the Knights didn’t play like a 2-5 team against the 7-1 host Cavaliers. Ultimately, Kiski Area was able to push through in the third overtime to record a 52-50 victory, Dom...
Pitt recruits forming bond at Powerade Tournament
As Mac Stout walked off the mat after recording a fall at the 55th Powerade Wrestling tournament, he was greeted by his brothers, Luke and Kellen. After he took a few more steps, he fist-bumped Mt. Pleasant senior Dayton Pitzer. Stout and Pitzer, along with Hempfield’s Briar Priest, Latrobe’s Jack...
Penn-Trafford boys reach .500 with win vs. Franklin Regional
A heavy dose of Noah Wright early was enough to offset a big helping of Caden Smith late as the Penn-Trafford boys basketball team avenged an earlier loss to Franklin Regional. Wright, a fiery senior guard, scored 13 of his career-high 24 points in the first quarter for Penn-Trafford, which...
Knoch girls basketball team again leans on defense in win over Kiski Area
Nina Shaw loves to put the ball in the hoop. But the junior guard also gets excited when she and her Knoch teammates are able to play strong defense. That was on display again Wednesday evening against Kiski Area at the Kiski Area Holiday Classic. For the second time in...
Powerade notebook: Training center takes off
When Norwin wrestling coach Kyle Martin and assistant Jarod King started the Knights Regional Training Center this summer, they had a five-year plan. The center, for wrestlers in 250-mile radius, is to help prepare wrestlers for the world and Olympic teams in freestyle and Greco Roman. Overwhelming success has put...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 30, 2021: Closing the books on an eventful 2021
Welcome to the final day of high school sports in 2021. It took a while to get going this year. Due to a mandated shutdown by Gov. Tom Wolf, the winter high school sports season was “on break” from Dec. 12, 2020 through Jan. 7, 2021. The year 2021 was...
Trib HSSN Top 21 Stories of 2021: Goalposts keep moving for Aliquippa football
The year 2021 wasn’t one giant leap for mankind, but it was one big step back toward “normalcy” for all of us, especially the high school athletes from around the WPIAL. They were able to do what they love to do: compete on area fields, courts, mats and pools. They...
Fox Chapel girls grab momentum with tournament win over Deer Lakes
In a game featuring several scoring runs, the Fox Chapel girls basketball team had the biggest one at a crucial point to take control of its Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament matchup with Deer Lakes on Wednesday afternoon at Shady Side Academy. Ahead by just two points with a little more...
Mt. Lebanon tops Class 6A all-state football team as Bob Palko, Alex Tecza win individual awards
Mt. Lebanon won its first state title behind a veteran coach, a dynamic offensive trio and toughness at the line of scrimmage. Those elements all were recognized Wednesday when the Class 6A all-state football team was announced. Blue Devils coach Bob Palko was named the state’s 6A coach of the...
10 WPIAL players earn all-state in 5A, Penn-Trafford’s John Ruane named top coach
After winning its first WPIAL and PIAA football titles, Penn-Trafford has more reason to celebrate. Warriors coach John Ruane was named the PIAA Class 5A coach of the year on Wednesday, and three Penn-Trafford players earned all-state honors. Quarterback Carter Green, running back Cade Yacamelli and offensive lineman Declan Ochendowski...
WPIAL lands 14 on 4A all-state team; Aliquippa’s Tiqwai Hayes, Mike Warfield earn top honors
If Tiqwai Hayes’ next three seasons are anything like his first, the Aliquippa freshman has an exciting future ahead. Hayes, who rushed for 1,746 yards and scored 23 touchdowns this season, was named Wednesday as the state’s Class 4A Player of the Year after leading the Quips to a PIAA...
