High School category, Page 760
After snapping postseason drought, Leechburg takes aim at playoff victories
Leechburg has spent much of the last month checking off goals attained. First winning season since 1991 — check. First time in the WPIAL playoffs since 1988 — check. First eight-victory season since 1980 — check. And now, the first home playoff game in the 75-year history of Leechburg Veterans...
Ligonier Valley begins new chapter in WPIAL football playoffs
Ligonier Valley’s football team will open a new chapter in its school’s history. The ninth-seeded Rams will play their first WPIAL playoff game when they travel to Beaver County to take on No. 8-seeded South Side in a Class 2A first-round contest. Ligonier Valley rejoined the WPIAL prior to the...
Shady Side Academy captures 4th straight WPIAL field hockey title
Betsy Gorse returned to Shady Side Academy for her second stint as head coach four seasons ago, and the move turned out in the best way for both her and the school, as the Bulldogs won their fourth consecutive WPIAL Class A championship Saturday by defeating Aquinas Academy, 1-0, at...
Penn-Trafford gets past Fox Chapel to win 6th straight WPIAL field hockey crown
Since WPIAL field hockey moved to three classifications in 2016, Penn-Trafford has had a stranglehold on the 2A championship. That story didn’t change tonight at W&J’s Cameron Stadium on Saturday, as the Warriors defeated Fox Chapel 1-0 to capture their sixth consecutive title. Penn-Trafford’s sensational sophomore Ava Hershberger scored the...
Breaking down the 2021 WPIAL football playoffs
Class 6A Favorite: Mt. Lebanon hasn’t won a WPIAL title or reached the finals since 2000, but the Blue Devils seem ready to end that drought. The senior trio of QB Joey Daniels, WR Eli Heidenreich and RB Alex Tecza lead an offense that averages 37.6 points — best in...
Early goal carries North Allegheny to 1-0 win over Norwin
A single goal and sound defense can still carry a tune in the WPIAL soccer playoffs. Always has. Sixth-seeded North Allegheny proved that Saturday afternoon when the sixth-seeded Tigers jammed up No. 3 Norwin for a 1-0 victory in a WPIAL Class 4A boys quarterfinal game at Norwin Knights Stadium....
WPIAL reveals football playoff brackets, surprises with No. 1 seed in 2A
In the span of a year, Steel Valley went from a one-win season to the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL football playoffs. The Ironmen rebounded from a 1-5 record a year ago to win the Allegheny Conference title this fall with an undefeated record. That comeback story earned Steel...
Allderdice shocks 2-time defending champion Westinghouse for City League title
Heading into the City League championship, Westinghouse was the two-time defending champion going against an Allderdice team that it beat by 29 points in their first meeting Sept. 18. Things didn’t go their way, however, this time around. Allderdice (4-5) knew it needed to lean on its defense to have...
Greensburg Central Catholic blanks Springdale but loses top scorer to red card in quarterfinals
When Greensburg Central Catholic and Springdale meet in the boys soccer playoffs, the teams see red. GCC is headed back to the WPIAL Class A boys soccer semifinals for the fourth straight year, but it came at a price after another chippy match. The top-seeded Centurions shut out No. 8...
Springdale clinches playoff spot with shutout win over rival Riverview
Springdale had to wait until the final day of the regular season to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. But the Dynamos made the most of their opportunity, converting three short drives into touchdowns en route to a 35-0 victory over Riverview on Saturday at Oakmont’s Riverside Park. Springdale (6-4, 3-4)...
George Guido: Familiar teams return to WPIAL football playoff field
Familiar faces and some newcomers dot the WPIAL football playoff field. The amazing run by Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson continues. The Quips and the Jaguars, who met in the Class 4A finals last season, are in the WPIAL postseason for the 27th straight season. In fact, Aliquippa is in the...
Southmoreland edges neighborhood rival Mt. Pleasant in WPIAL girls soccer quarterfinals
There weren’t many surprises during Saturday’s WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal soccer match between crosstown rivals Mt. Pleasant and host Southmoreland. The seventh-seeded Vikings and second-seeded Scotties split their regular-season series at a game apiece, and each team came into Saturday’s match expecting a tightly defended, physical match. Both teams delivered...
Section title provides highlight for Franklin Regional girls volleyball
Despite coming into the season as defending WPIAL champion, the Franklin Regional volleyball team took nothing for granted. Winning the first section title in program history was a difficult task that required a season’s worth of hard work. “We have always said that no one is going to hand us...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Warriors return to WPIAL field hockey final
Penn-Trafford’s field hockey team reached the WPIAL Class 2A finals again by defeating Latrobe, 1-0, in the semifinals Oct. 26. The Warriors were to face Fox Chapel on Oct. 30 at Washington & Jefferson College for the title. Delaney Shusko scored in the first quarter on an assist by Delaney...
Franklin Regional hockey eyes title that got away
Franklin Regional came up a little short in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League Class 2A finals in 2021. The Panthers fell 2-0 to Baldwin. But with 10 starters returning, including their top seven forwards, the Panthers have their eye on the title that eluded them. “I hope we continue to...
Hampton girls tennis takes step forward
There was only one way to go for the Hampton girls tennis team this season. After a winless, covid-strained campaign in 2020, and with at least a half-dozen returning players, the Talbots anticipated having a bounce-back season. Among the players back from last year were junior Abi Green, sophomore Elena...
Hampton marches into WPIAL football playoffs
Each Saturday morning, the Hampton football team gathers for its weekly film study to break down the previous night’s game. After a quick workout, the players settle in, munching on bagels and other food, to watch the replay. So far it’s been two thumbs up. “It’s a different mood this...
Coach who laid groundwork for Fox Chapel’s soccer success discusses sport’s growth
With Fox Chapel in the WPIAL boys soccer playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season, it’s a good time to have a conversation with the man who was instrumental in putting the program on the map. Jim Perry started as an assistant in 1964 under coach Ed Boyle and took over...
Fox Chapel hockey leaving last season’s struggles in the dust
It didn’t take long for the resurgent Fox Chapel hockey team to exceed its wins total from last season. The Foxes went to 5-0 on Oct. 25 with a 5-3 victory over Hampton in a Class A Northeast Division game at Valencia’s Frozen Pond Arena. In last year’s covid-delayed season,...
Norwin notebook: Tiebreakers keep Knights out of football playoffs despite big win
WPIAL mathematics when it comes to tiebreakers can make your head spin and your blood pressure rise, especially if you’re a team trying to get into the football playoffs. Take Norwin. The Knights (3-6, 1-5) put together one of their best games of the season, toppling No. 5-ranked Canon-McMillan, 16-7,...
North Allegheny notebook: Slow-pitch softball team falls in semifinals
North Allegheny’s slow-pitch softball made a run to the WPISL semifinals Oct. 24, but fell short to Bethel Park, 9-6. Megan Quinlan knocked in two runs, and Helen Katyal had four RBIs in the loss. North Allegheny defeated Baldwin, 13-2, in the quarterfinals. Reilly Spitz and Katyal each hit an...
Unsung line coach has helped North Allegheny win battles in trenches for 3 decades
Who decided that the running backs and wide receivers are called skill-position players? North Allegheny line coach Mike Buchert strongly disagrees. “When we divide up, they’ll say, ‘Skill guys over here and linemen over there.’ I get my guys together and say, ‘There are no if, ands or buts about...
Trib HSSN to unveil 2021 WPIAL football playoff pairings Saturday night
After an exciting final weekend, WPIAL football teams are turning their attention to the postseason. Tonight on the TribLive High School Sports Network, high school football fans will get a look at their team’s path through the playoff bracket. Like last fall, the traditional WPIAL football pairings meeting that draws...
2021 WPIAL bracketology: Don Rebel, Chris Harlan predict football playoffs
For the second year in a row, football coaches won’t crowd into a Green Tree ballroom to see the WPIAL playoff brackets announced. Instead, the brackets will be revealed in a video livestream at 6 p.m. Saturday on TribLive HSSN. While we wait for the official brackets to be released,...
WPIAL Clinched for Oct. 29, 2021: Football playoff fields nearly set
The 2021 WPIAL playoff field is nearly set. One playoff berth in both 2A and A will be determined Saturday, hours before the brackets are unveiled on the WPIAL Football Playoff Pairings Show on Trib HSSN on Saturday at 6 p.m. Here is a rundown of the teams that have...
