High School category, Page 850
Laurel Highlands prevails in toe-to-toe battle with Southmoreland
Southmoreland matched Laurel Highlands score for score, but the rushing attack of Rodney Gallagher and Eric Allen was too much for the Scotties in the Mustangs’ 28-21 victory on Friday at Russ Grimm Field. Gallagher ran for 157 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns and Allen added 149 yards...
Kiski Area takes advantage of Franklin Regional’s mistakes to come away with win
Kiski Area capitalized on several gaffes by Franklin Regional for a 24-14 win Friday night in a Class 5A nonconference matchup in Vandergrift. Kiski (2-0, 0-0) returned two interceptions for touchdowns and recovered a fumble deep in Franklin Regional (1-1, 0-0) territory,which led to a field goal. The second pick-6...
Indiana grounds Burrell, sails to decisive victory
With 100 yards of plush two-tone green field turf surrounded by a bright cosmic blue track, Buccaneer Stadium’s new makeover gives the illusion the Burrell football team is playing on an island. The Bucs’ ship never set sail Friday night and stayed grounded as Indiana put up 22 second-quarter points...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Sept. 2, 2021
High schools Football Thursday’s result Nonconference Perry Traditional Academy 34, Uniontown 0 Friday’s schedule Nonconference Aliquippa at Beaver Falls, 7 p.m. Allderdice at Oak Glen, W.Va., 7 p.m. Apollo-Ridge at Avonworth, 7 p.m. Avella at Fort Cherry, 7 p.m. Beaver at Central Valley, ppd. Belle Vernon at Chartiers Valley, 7...
Perry blanks Uniontown to kick off Week 1
Quarterback Ahmad Arrington had a hand in a pair of long first-half touchdowns, leading Perry Traditional Academy to a 34-0 victory over Uniontown (0-1) in nonsection football Thursday night at Cupples Stadium. In the second quarter, Arrington scored on a 43-yard run and hit Nate Cutler with a 63-yard scoring...
5 things to watch in WPIAL football Week 1: Teams roll with covid cancellations
If high school football teams were hoping covid shutdowns were left behind in 2020, this week shows they’re not gone yet. In all, four Week 1 matchups were canceled. Scheduled games between Riverview and Chartiers-Houston, Beaver and Central Valley, Hopewell and Blackhawk, Butler and Erie High, and Westinghouse and Kirtland...
Jeannette football team to wear helmet decals to honor late coach Mucci
Thinned-out Jeannette will honor the memory of one of its all-time great football coaches Friday night as players wear special “JM” helmet decals for the late Joe Mucci. Jeannette (0-1) hosts Sto-Rox (1-0) at 7 p.m. at McKee Stadium. The Jayhawks’ coach from 1968-85, Mucci died last December from complications...
Trib HSSN don’t-miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 1
In what we hope is not a flashback to last year, five area high school football games slated for this holiday weekend have been postponed due to covid-19 related issues. Beaver at Central Valley, Hopewell at Blackhawk, Riverview at Chartiers-Houston, Kirtland (Ohio) at Westinghouse and Butler at Erie have been...
Through the years: Burrell’s Cole Bush thwarts Valley comeback
Each Friday throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look back at the games, players and events that are part of local scholastic history. Cole Bush scored on a 2-yard run to lift Burrell to a 23-16 overtime win at Valley in 2011. The...
Mt. Pleasant junior Casey Shaffer plays on despite death of his mother; ‘She would have wanted me to’
As he surged through the line and wrapped up a Burrell ball carrier for his first tackle of the game — and season — Casey Shaffer could hear a familiar cheer. It was faint, but it rang so true in his ears — and in his heart. His mother had...
A-K Valley girls volleyball preview: Freeport seeks 17th straight section title
In the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s preseason poll for Class AAA, four of the top six girls teams in the rankings are the ones who finished in a four-way tie for last year’s Section 5-AAA title. Leading the way is No. 2 Freeport, which won its 16th straight section...
No imposters here: Chick’s Picks has your Week 1 WPIAL football winners
Amidst the controversy unraveling this week about the football program at the alleged “fake” high school, Bishop Sycamore, Chick’s Picks reflected on a time when she, herself, was duped by an imposter. The year was 2003. Chick’s Picks was still relatively new to prognosticating, but her tremendous success early in...
Sasko Classic returns at Belle Vernon to kick off soccer season
You know the WPIAL soccer season is here again when the name Paul Sasko appears on schedules. The Paul Sasko Kickoff Classic is back at Belle Vernon after it was canceled last season. The pandemic tightened the early part of the WPIAL schedule and organizers could not find a place...
Westinghouse football game canceled because of covid case
Friday’s scheduled football game between Westinghouse and Kirtland (Ohio) will not be played because of a covid case within the City League school’s program. According to a Pittsburgh Public Schools press release, a player who was with the team during its game against Seton LaSalle last Saturday tested positive. The...
Trib HSSN football players to watch for 2021 Week 1
Here are four WPIAL football players to watch for during Week 1: Ryan Angott Canon-McMillan, Sr., RB/LB Angott opened his senior season with a bang against neighborhood rival Trinity. He rushed for 163 yards and three scores on 17 carries as the Big Macs won 48-0. Last season, he rushed...
Westmoreland football notebook: Laurel Highlands’ Gallagher next test for Southmoreland
Southmoreland pulled somewhat of a surprise last week when it knocked off McGuffey. The fact the Scotties won was impressive, but how they did it was even more so: big plays and balance propelled them to a 47-22 victory. The final score echoed around the WPIAL. But the celebration must...
2021 Western Pa. high school football schedule for Week 1
Today Nonconference Uniontown at Perry Traditional Academy, 7 p.m. Friday Nonconference Aliquippa at Beaver Falls, 7 p.m. (HSSN*, 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 92.1 FM) Allderdice at Oak Glen, W.Va., 7 p.m. Apollo-Ridge at Avonworth, 7 p.m. Avella at Fort Cherry, 7 p.m. (HSSN, 95.3 FM) Beaver at Central Valley, canceled...
Trib 10: Gateway tops 1st power poll of season
Once again this season, teams across the WPIAL can flex their muscles when the Trib 10 power rankings are released each week. Could a Class 2A school beat most 6A schools? Probably not, but these rankings are more like fantasy booking to determine the elite teams each week in District...
A-K Valley football players to watch for 2021 Week 1
Calvin Heinle Kiski Area, Sr., WR/CB An all-conference selection last year who led the Cavaliers in receptions and receiving yards is back after recovering from a torn meniscus. Coach Sam Albert played Heinle sparingly in Friday’s Week Zero win over Butler, but he expects Heinle to carry a bigger load...
Highlands sophomore standout jumps into border battle with Valley
With running back Brock White on the shelf with a knee injury, Highlands was looking for someone to fill the backfield void. Enter Luke Bombalski. The sophomore ran for 133 yards and all four Highlands touchdowns as the Golden Rams opened their 54th football season with a 27-0 victory over...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 1
Nonconference Apollo-Ridge (0-1) at Class 2A No. 2 Avonworth (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Lenzner Stadium, Ohio Township Last year’s matchup, slated for Owens Field in Apollo, was canceled amidst covid schedule changes. Apollo-Ridge hopes to bounce back from Friday’s season-opening 28-22 home loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart....
Before picking A-K Valley winners, The Birdie investigates Bishop Sycamore
Last week: 9-3 (75%) Everyone knows The Birdie as a professional prognosticator, but he’s picked up some investigative reporting skills over the years, too. This week, he’s been sticking his beak into the Bishop Sycamore story. You know Bishop Sycamore, the alleged Ohio charter school with questionable credentials that played...
Westmoreland County football players to watch for 2021 Week 1
Gino Caesar Hempfield, Jr., RB/LB Caesar rushed for 110 yards, a touchdown and two 2-point conversions in the Spartans’ victory against Greensburg Salem. He also recovered a fumble and had numerous quarterback pressures. Anthony Govern Southmoreland, Sr.,QB/LB Govern rushed for 54 yards and three touchdowns and completed 8-of-15 passes for...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 1
Nonconference Class 4A No. 2 Belle Vernon (0-0) at Chartiers Valley (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Chartiers Valley Stadium, Bridgeville Belle Vernon beat Chartiers Valley in last year’s quarterfinals, 49-21. Choosing to play a second scrimmage instead of a Week Zero opener, highly touted Belle Vernon is ready to roll out...
Route 30 rivals square off when Norwin, Latrobe meet
Football coaches always say the most important week to see improvement is between a team’s first and second games. “It’s when you can have things on film in game situations and you can show the players what was good and what was bad,” Norwin coach Dave Brozeski said. “It’s a...
