High School category, Page 732
Highlands girls stay busy during undefeated start to season
The Highlands girls basketball team took advantage of the opportunity to get on the court in game action starting last Friday against Fox Chapel at the Freeport Tip-Off Tournament through Tuesday evening’s game against neighboring St. Joseph. The Golden Rams played four games in five days — Sunday was a...
Franklin Regional girls basketball shows promise in strong opening weekend
Franklin Regional girls basketball players are trying to learn a new system under coach Bernie Pucka, and if that means a few extra hours in the gym, so be it. They are committed to the cause after a good start to the season. After playing games last Friday and Saturday,...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Greensburg Salem developing depth
Greensburg Salem knows if it is going to compete with the top girls basketball teams in Section 4-5A, it can’t rely solely on the scoring of senior guard Abby Mankins and her sister, sophomore forward Kaitlyn Mankins. Offense will take the team only so far. There has to be more...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Jeannette prepared to carry on football coaching tradition
Jeannette is ready to hire a football coach. The district will vote on a recommended candidate at a special meeting Monday. Four finalists — all of whom graduated from Jeannette — were chosen, carrying on a traditional trait for recent hires. One of them will replace Roy Hall, who resigned...
Big Seven: Cornell, Rochester lead all-conference team, share top player awards
The Big Seven was competitive this fall, with every team winning at least two conference games. That depth is reflected in the all-conference team. Rochester’s Sal Laure was named both the offensive and defensive player of the year in the Class A conference, but the senior shared each award with...
Eastern: Leechburg, Clairton earn top individual awards on all-conference team
Leechburg quarterback Thomas Burke finished fifth among all WPIAL passers this season, earning the senior Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Eastern Conference. Burke finished with 2,232 passing yards and 18 touchdowns for the Blue Devils, who also had senior Eli Rich named the conference’s top lineman. Both...
Tri-County South: Top rushers Landan Stevenson, Colin Brady lead all-conference selections
Mapletown’s Landan Stevenson and West Greene’s Colin Brady play for small schools but they put up big numbers. The two running backs finished among the Top 10 rushers in the WPIAL this season, earning all-conference honors in the Class A Tri-County South. Stevenson, a junior, rushed for 1,725 yards and...
Allegheny: Steel Valley’s Nijhay Burt leads all-conference team as 2-way standout
Steel Valley’s Nijhay Burt rushed for more than 2,000 yards and scored 35 touchdowns, but Allegheny Conference coaches recognized the senior wasn’t only an offensive star. Burt earned both offensive and defensive player of the year honors in the WPIAL Class 2A conference along with first-team all-conference honors on both...
High school roundup for Dec. 13, 2021: Blackhawk coach earns 300th win
Blackhawk sank 13 3-pointers to earn coach Steve Lodovico his 300th career win in a 66-38 girls basketball nonsection victory over Class A contender Rochester on Monday night. Kassie Potts (18 points), Quinn Borroni (13) and Alena Fusetti (11) finished in double figures for the Cougars (3-0). Corynne Houser scored...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 13, 2021
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Monday’s results Mike Rettger Tournament (at Franklin Regional) Franklin Regional 53, Penn-Trafford 47 Baldwin 61, Woodland Hills 47 Nonsection Moon 55, Ambridge 28 Burgettstown 65, Bentworth 51 Highlands 61, Imani Christian 55 North Catholic 68, Hickory 44 McKeesport 85, Propel Braddock Hills 32 Armstrong 57,...
Franklin Regional stops Penn-Trafford in OT nail-biter, giving coach his 1st win
Jesse Reed’s first win at Franklin Regional may have aged the young coach some, but he will take it. “I’m 28 going on 48 after that one,” Reed said. The Panthers rallied from a slow start to edge past visiting Penn-Trafford, 53-47, in overtime Monday night in a see-saw first-round...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 14, 2021: Section rivalries to tip off
While a good chunk of WPIAL boys basketball teams will tip off section play Friday, four Class 6A Section 1 teams are set to begin section play with a bang less than a week into the 2021-2022 season. Two of the top players in the classification square off when Butler...
Trib HSSN Football Team of the Week for Dec. 13, 2021
When the high school football season hits November and December, every team left is talented. So what separates the teams that come up short, those that settle for silver, from those special groups that bring home the gold? Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane seems to have found the reason is Warriors...
LaRoi Johnson resigns as Sto-Rox football coach, athletic director
Football coach LaRoi Johnson, who led Sto-Rox to the WPIAL finals twice in his four seasons, said he resigned Monday as coach and athletic director. The Vikings went 37-9 under Johnson and finished as WPIAL runner-up in 2020 and ’19. The team went 12-1 this season and reached the WPIAL...
Trib HSSN football player of the week: Dec. 13, 2021
In 10 regular season games, Central Valley running back Landon Alexander rushed for 1,362 yards, an average of more than 136 yards per game. Then, in five district and state playoff games, he proved why he was Alexander the Great. The senior capped off his incredible postseason and his scholastic...
Kiski Area runner Miller caps season with All-American honors at Nike meet
Kiski Area’s Eliza Miller capped her successful cross country season with a bold exclamation point. The talented sophomore athlete placed eighth at the Nike New York/Northeast Regional Championships held Nov. 27 at Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls. “This was my first year running at Nike for high school,” Miller said. “I...
Westmoreland County senior spotlight: Greensburg Central Catholic’s Cole Spivak
^ Greensburg Central Catholic’s football team might have lost its first-round playoff game to OLSH, but the fact that the Centurions even played is remarkable. Two line coaches for GCC, Joe Oslosky and B.J. Farrell, died days before the game, and coach Marko Thomas was left with a decision: forfeit...
A-K Valley senior spotlight: St. Joseph’s Stella Swanson
Stella Swanson started playing volleyball as a freshman at St. Joseph. By the end of her sophomore season, she was a third-team all-section selection. A year later, she was awarded second-team honors. With her high school volleyball career recently completed, the 5-foot-7 senior outside hitter can celebrate being a first-team...
This week on Trib HSSN: Week of Dec. 13, 2021
The torch has been passed. We say farewell to the fall sports season and focus on all things winter sports this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. We continue our dive into the 2021-2022 high school basketball season with video and audio coverage of nearly 40 boys and...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Dec. 13, 2021: Section basketball to tip off
It’s only four days into the new WPIAL basketball season, and already, the first section game is set for Monday. Section 2-6A will cut the ribbon on district section play when Upper St. Clair hosts Canon-McMillan in girls basketball. These two teams were on opposite ends of the spectrum in...
High school sports scores, schedules for Dec. 12, 2021
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Sunday’s results Midland Tournament Blackhawk 63, Ellwood City 53 Lincoln Park 96, East Liverpool (Ohio) 74 Montour 76, Rochester 46 Monday’s schedule Mike Rettger Tournament (at Franklin Regional) Penn-Trafford at Franklin Regional, 7:30 p.m. Woodland Hills vs. Baldwin, 6 p.m. Nonsection Ambridge at Moon, 7:30...
Inexperience, early road games to present challenge to Sewickley Academy boys basketball
Sewickley Academy’s road gear is firmly in place. The SA boys basketball team is not slated to play its first home game until Jan. 7 in a section test with Springdale. It’s the exact opposite of last year when SA did not compete in an away game until mid-January. Of...
With new coach, revamped lineup, Quaker Valley girls basketball looks for smooth transition
Last season, the Quaker Valley girls basketball team, seeded No. 2, qualified for the WPIAL finals for the first time before losing to No. 1 Beaver, 44-29. Will the Quakers be able to take that next step forward in 2021-22? Well, first things first. Quaker Valley is aiming for a...
With smaller roster, Penn Hills bowling team focused on development
Angela Hepler never envisioned being the head coach of the Penn Hills bowling team. But when the Indians didn’t have anyone else interested in coaching the program, Hepler stepped in so her son, Nick, would have an opportunity to bowl for the high school like his sister did. Penn Hills...
Penn Hills trio to wear red, white, blue at ball hockey world championships
Lou O’Connor quickly got the idea that trying out for the USA U16 ball hockey team wasn’t going to be an easy ride. Roster spots would be earned. The Penn Hills freshman who plays forward and defense was pushed to see what he was made of. “The first tryout was...
