High School category, Page 763
A-K Valley WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Oct. 28, 2021
Today’s games Girls Quarterfinals Class 4A 9-Fox Chapel (9-7-1) at 1-North Allegheny (16-0-1) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Newman Stadium, McCandless Winner plays: Winner of 4-Seneca Valley (14-3-2)/5-Norwin (13-4) on Monday in semifinals (site and time TBD) Notes: Fox Chapel, the third-place team from Section 3 behind Latrobe and Norwin, secured a...
Trib 10: Tough year for defending WPIAL champs in power rankings
My, how the top cats from a year ago have fallen in 2021. Defending WPIAL champions Pine-Richland in 5A, Beaver Falls in 2A and Jeannette in A struggled out of the gate, and while the Rams and Tigers have rebounded, they remain absent from the Trib 10. Now 4A defending...
Westmoreland soccer notebook: GCC’s Winnor out for playoffs
If Greensburg Central Catholic makes another WPIAL title run in girls soccer, the Centurions will have to do so without senior Bethany Winnor. The senior midfielder and New Hampshire recruit is out after having surgery on her right ankle on Friday. She is expected to miss four months. “I had...
There’s no disguising Birdie’s ability to pick Westmoreland County winners
Last week: 8-4 (66.7%) Season: 79-31 (71.8%) With a fingernail flick, a piece of candy corn soars across the office and hits a copy editor on the back of the head. “It’s good!” the Birdie shouts, raising his fists into the air and disturbing a lifestyles writer and a news...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 9
Class 6A Norwin (3-6, 1-5) at Hempfield (2-7, 0-6) 7 p.m. Friday, Spartan Stadium, Hempfield Norwin appeared to keep flickering playoff hopes alive with a 16-7-win last week over Canon-McMillan. Dom Barca ran for 124 yards and scored two touchdowns, including a school-record 95-yard run. Joey Castle kicked a 32-yard...
With TJ out of picture, Belle Vernon, McKeesport battle for conference crown
When people talk about which team will win the Big Eight Conference, the conversation usually is centered on Thomas Jefferson, which has won the past two WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A titles. But that’s not the case this year. The conference title will be decided by the winner of Friday’s...
Westmoreland County football players to watch for 2021 Week 9
Kory Ansell Southmoreland, sr., OL/DL Ansell has 54 tackles, 10 tackles for losses, five quarterback sacks and three fumble recoveries this season. The senior also has received interest from numerous colleges. He will try and help the Scotties lock up a playoff berth at South Park on Friday night. Dan...
2021 Western Pa. high school football schedule, broadcasts for Week 9
Friday WPIAL Class 6A Central Cath. at Canon-McMillan, 7 p.m. Mt. Lebanon at Baldwin, 7 p.m. North Allegheny at Seneca Valley, 7 p.m. (HSSN) Norwin at Hempfield, 7 p.m. (HSSN, 107.1 FM) Class 5A Allegheny 6 Moon at West Allegheny, 7 p.m. (HSSN, 92.1 FM, 1460 AM) Peters Township at...
The Birdie writes the perfect pregame speech before making A-K Valley Week 9 picks
Last week: 12-1 (92.3%) Overall: 70-26 (72.9%) This is a big week in high school football. No point denying it. For many teams, it’s win or go home. A playoff spot hangs in the balance. For others, it’s about momentum heading into the playoffs. For still others, it’s the last...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 9
Class 5A Northeast Conference Penn Hills (5-3, 3-1) at Kiski Area (6-3, 1-3) 7 p.m. Friday, at Richards Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township Penn Hills can clinch a share of the conference championship with a win Friday. The Indians put themselves in position last Friday with a 40-3 victory over Shaler....
Stakes are high for clash between Freeport, Deer Lakes
A year ago, Deer Lakes was putting its equipment away after enduring an 0-7 season. Now, the Lancers are hoping to keep their gear handy for a while. Deer Lakes has emerged as a WPIAL playoff contender from the Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference. It’s win-and-you’re-in Friday as the Lancers...
A-K Valley football players to watch for 2021 Week 9
Devin Beattie Burrell, So., RB/DB Beattie is one the many young players who have helped keep the Bucs alive for a WPIAL playoff spot heading into the final week of the regular season. Last week against Derry, he ran nine times for 82 yards and scored two touchdowns in a...
Westmoreland County girls athlete of the week: Penn-Trafford’s Ava Hershberger
Ava Hershberger School: Penn-Trafford Sport: Field hockey Class: Sophomore Claim to fame: Hershberger, who has 37 goals this season, scored four times and had two assists to lead Penn-Trafford (14-0) to a 9-0 win over Latrobe in a Class 2A win Oct. 19. Hershberger’s four goals set a single-season goal...
Hempfield girls golf team savors successful 1st season, plans encore
Like trying to fly a ball out of a deep bunker, Katie Miller Gee took a bit of a blind swing this year. But, as she has done often in her life, it seems like she just might have hit an impressive shot. Miller Gee is the first coach of...
Freeport runners ready to compete at WPIAL championships
Cross country runners across Western Pennsylvania have been gearing up for the WPIAL championships set for Thursday at Cal (Pa.). Two teams that hope to contend for top finishes in Class 2A are the Freeport boys and girls. Freeport’s boys squad logged an 8-1 record to place second behind Riverview...
A-K Valley girls athlete of the week: Deer Lakes’ Ashley McAdams
Ashley McAdams Class: Senior School: Deer Lakes Sport: Soccer Report card: McAdams had a hat trick in a 6-0 nonsection win over Keystone Oaks last week. She also had a goal in the Section 2-2A finale, a 4-3 win over Burrell. Earlier this season, McAdams had a four-goal game in...
Alumni from Leechburg’s last playoff trip in 1988 following Blue Devils’ success
The longest WPIAL football playoff drought was extinguished Friday night with Leechburg’s decisive, 66-6 rout over Imani Christian. The Blue Devils will be in the WPIAL Class A playoffs for the first time since 1988, when Leechburg finished in second place in the Eastern Conference and traveled to Lawrence County,...
High school roundup for Oct. 26, 2021: Landon Mohney’s big night lifts Butler past Central Catholic
Landon Mohney had a hat trick, moving to the top of the school’s career goal-scoring list with 65, to lead No. 10 Butler to a 4-0 victory over No. 7 Central Catholic (8-6-1) in a WPIAL Class 4A first-round boys soccer playoff game Tuesday. Including his 35 career assists, Mohney...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Oct. 26, 2021
High schools Field hockey WPIAL playoffs Class 3A Semifinals Tuesday’s results Pine-Richland 2, Peters Township 1 North Allegheny 4, Hempfield 1 Finals Saturday’s schedule Pine-Richland vs. North Allegheny at Washington & Jefferson, 7 p.m. Class 2A Semifinals Tuesday’s results Penn-Trafford 1, Latrobe 0 Fox Chapel 2, Upper St. Clair 0...
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team ekes out victory over Beaver
A driving, sideways rain made it hard for the teams to concentrate on each other Tuesday night at Mt. Pleasant. Marissa Garn clearly was focused on giving her team the lead, though, and moving on in the bracket. She blocked out the wet and wind and extended her team’s season....
McKenzie Pritts comes up big for Yough in win over Deer Lakes
Yough has relied heavily on the offensive prowess of junior McKenzie Pritts this season. The star forward, who verbally committed to Robert Morris last month, found the back of the net 23 times during a regular season slate in which the Cougars won 12 games and finished third in Section...
Southmoreland girls soccer team advances to WPIAL quarters
The Southmoreland girls soccer team defended its home turf and showed why it’s the No. 2 seed in Class 2A with a 6-0 victory over West Mifflin on Tuesday night at Russ Grimm Field in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. The Scotties (13-1-2) play the winner of Tuesday’s...
Eighth grader Erica Gribble gets Division I basketball offer
Irwin’s Erica Gribble won’t play varsity basketball in the WPIAL until the 2022-23 season. But the promising backcourt standout and youngest sister of Norwin’s Gribble family already has a Division I scholarship offer. Gribble, an eighth grader at Greensburg Central Catholic, was offered by St. Joseph’s, where her older sister,...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Oct. 27, 2021: Seeds look different in volleyball playoffs
The opening round of the 2021 WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs concludes with first-round matches in Class 3A and 2A. What a difference a year makes, especially for the top seeds in the district 3A girls volleyball playoffs. Last year, Beaver was the top seed and reached the semifinals before falling...
Trib HSSN State Football Rankings for Oct. 26, 2021
Eight might be great, but nine is fine as scholastic high school football teams prepare to conclude October football and their regular season this weekend. Only two teams lost their grip on a spot in the HSSN state weekly rankings with Week 8 losses: defending PIAA champion Thomas Jefferson in...
