High School category, Page 809
New Brighton driven by playoff near miss
Few teams in the history of WPIAL football, if any, have come as close to making the playoffs without getting in as New Brighton did last year. New Brighton and Laurel tied for second place in the Midwestern Athletic Conference at 5-2. The Spartans got in thanks to a victory...
Explosive running game sets tone for Neshannock
Neshannock senior Cam’Ron Owens has become one of the most dangerous running backs in the WPIAL. The route he took to that distinction had plenty of zigs and zags. At the start of preseason camp last year, the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder was competing for the Lancers’ starting quarterback job. Community spread...
Mohawk aims to pass less, win more
There was hope going into the 2020 season that Mohawk would be able to capitalize on the modest, two-game winning streak that ended the 2019 campaign. But that hope soon came unraveled as the covid pandemic struck and injury problems, especially on the line, emerged. “Last year was brutal as...
Hard-hitting linebacker leads Laurel
With coach Brian Cooper planning to add heavy doses of spread offense to his usual Wing-T attack, opposing defenses won’t know exactly what they’ll be getting from Laurel this season. Opposing ballcarriers know precisely what to expect, however. Pain. Courtesy of senior linebacker Luke McCoy. “He’s a special player,” Cooper...
Freedom ready to move forward, focus on fun
There’s one particular stat coach John Rosa would like to see Freedom lead the WPIAL in this season. Touchdowns? Yards? Turnovers? Sacks? Well, yeah, sure. What coach wouldn’t want that? But what Rosa really wants his team to lead the district in is smiles. “This game is about these kids...
Ellwood City building program, looking to get into win column
Ellwood City is getting tired of the goose eggs. The football program suffered its third consecutive winless season in 2020. The Wolverines have dropped 27 consecutive games and have not posted a victory since defeating Brentwood on Oct. 26, 2018. Third-year coach Joe Lamenza, however, feels two of the problems...
Offense gets facelift for defending WPIAL champion Beaver Falls
If he wanted to, Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone could have written his offensive game plan on a matchbook cover last season. Plan A: Hand the ball to 240-pound Syracuse recruit Josh Hough or 250-pound Edinboro recruit Shileak Livingston. There was rarely need for a Plan B. Add in Tyler...
High school football’s about to start in the A-K Valley? Sounds good to The Birdie
The Birdie Last season: 65-12 (84.4%) While flying through football camps across the Alle-Kiski Valley the last few weeks, The Birdie heard some of his favorite sounds. OK, not his No. 1 favorite sound. That would be the rumble of a pizza delivery driver’s truck pulling into his driveway. Not...
New generation of versatile, athletic linemen paves way for A-K Valley offenses
Brandon Lawhorn Moore doesn’t mind that his Kiski Area teammates and coaches call him “Beef.” It is a nickname that has stuck since sixth grade. “My history teacher had these beef jerky days every Friday, and I would be the only one who would bring in the beef jerky,” said...
Once-proud programs in Jeannette, Monessen fall on hard times
Jeannette and Monessen have a lot in common. They are small towns that are getting smaller. Both have seen a slow but steady decline in population since the turn of the century. Industrial growth has dwindled, and change has been met with a stiff arm as they forge ahead with...
The Birdie takes his shot at predicting records for Westmoreland County teams
The Birdie Last season: 72-23 (75.8%) A new football season has the Birdie smiling ear to ear, although you can’t quite see his smile because he still is wearing his mask. Good boy, Birdie. Pulling up a soap box, old yellow is in the mood to preach this preseason and...
Just making playoffs ‘not going to be good enough’ for Western Beaver
When a new player steps into the Western Beaver huddle for the first time, there’s a good chance coach Ron Busby has met him before. Just not necessarily recently. “Sometimes I don’t recognize them at first,” Busby said with a laugh. “They’re a lot bigger.” Busby is an elementary school...
Loaded Sto-Rox chasing elusive title
There were a lot of new faces for Sto-Rox in 2020 as the team that lost to Clairton in the 2019 Class A title game braced for what might be a bumpy ride moving up to Class 2A in 2020. However, it was the young Vikings who turned a season...
South Side’s first priority for 2021: Stay healthy
South Side coach Luke Travelpiece has turned into a big believer in the law of averages. After the way last season went, his team’s injury luck has to even out, doesn’t it? Thanks to some season-ending injuries, some week-to-week injuries and covid testing, the Rams started six offensive line combinations...
Seton LaSalle looking for stability, improvement after coaching shuffle
Interim coach Chris Siegle is hoping to restore stability to the Seton LaSalle football program. The senior athletes on the 2021 squad have had four head coaches in their varsity careers, starting with Rob Carter in 2018, followed by Mike Zmijanac the past two seasons. Mauro Monz was hired to...
Carlynton looks to turn corner in more normal season
The Carlynton football team won its season opener for a third straight year in 2020, albeit via forfeit when Sto-Rox could not field a team for its Class 2A Three Rivers Conference opener. The Cougars also ended last season with a convincing victory over Riverview. In between, though, were losses...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 20, 2021
Golf WPIAL Boys Friday’s results Class 2A Section 2 Derry 229, Ligonier Valley 239 Medalists: Hunter Jurica (D), 39; Logan Smith (LV), 42 Nonsection North Allegheny 203, Blackhawk 222 Butler 211, Kiski Area 227 Medalists: Tyler Figlioli (B), 43; Campbell Curry, Jason Buczak (KA), 42 Armstrong 214, Knoch 223 Medalists:...
‘The Dude’ abides on Ligonier Valley offensive line
Before the 2020 season, Ligonier Valley football coach Roger Beitel talked to a few college coaches about their opinions about offensive linemen. The Rams were returning a two-year starter at center in Jude Grzywinski and Beitel was considering moving him to another position. The coaches advised Beitel to be strong...
2021 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the tight ends
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top tight ends for the 2021 season. 1. Charlie Kreinbucher Butler Senior, 6-5, 230 Kreinbucher is a strong pass catcher and blocker committed to Akron, but few WPIAL football...
Senior linebacker making name for himself at Kiski Area
Anyone who plays football at Kiski Area is bound to receive a nickname from head coach Sam Albert and his coaching staff. For Brayden Dunmire, his ability to deliver the goods early in his varsity career earned him the moniker “Stick.” “When he was a freshman, I put him in...
Plum plans encore after historic season
Plum football enters this fall in a position it hasn’t been in since 1983: defending conference champion. The Mustangs had a banner year in 2020, going undefeated in the Greater Allegheny Conference, and they were within three points of knocking off eventual state champion Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL semifinals....
Big, experienced line leads charge for Mars
Mars senior left tackle Matt Detisch spent this offseason doing bear crawls on a big hill at his home. “I would take a 100-pound sandbag and I’d walk it up and down a bunch of times until I’m tired,” he said, “almost puking.” The 6-foot-7, 290-pound Detisch and the Mars...
Knoch determined to get back to winning ways
There is optimism in Saxonburg. Knoch football coach Brandon Mowry said his players — including nine starters back on both offensive and defense — carry the experiences of a challenging 2020 season with them and are using it to propel themselves this fall. “We played a lot of underclassmen last...
Indiana pushing for winning season
Like so many coaches, Brandon Overdorff has so many questions. Are we big enough? Are we strong enough? Are we fast enough? Can we compete? Indiana, currently the easternmost WPIAL member school, is preparing to chase another winning season, something that has escaped the Indians in Overdorff’s first three years...
Highlands looks to leave playoff drought in past
Chandler Thimons enters his third year as the Highlands starting quarterback hoping to help snap the Golden Rams’ five-year playoff drought. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound signal caller said he developed a high degree of optimism through the team’s work in the offseason. “This team has a really special bond this year,”...
