High School category, Page 926
Familiar face leads Penn-Trafford boys basketball into season
When Penn-Trafford district officials went searching for a new boys basketball coach after Jim Rocco resigned following five seasons, they were looking for someone familiar with the program. Doug Kelly, who was the P-T boys junior varsity coach in 2018-19, was hired in June. He was a P-T girls basketball...
Girls basketball preview: Gateway has firepower to contend in loaded section
The Gateway girls basketball team opened its season with a practice Nov. 20, the first day winter sports teams were permitted to do so in the WPIAL and throughout Pennsylvania. Then things came to a halt as Gateway suspended all athletic activities for two weeks — through Friday — as...
Riverview boys basketball expects to contend when team gets to full strength
The Riverview boys basketball team missed the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs last season, but it was within a few points of forging a different outcome. The Raiders finished section play with a 4-10 record, but three games were decided by two points or less. Learning from those experiences, veteran head...
Ongoing pandemic means changes to high school wrestling season in WPIAL, state
There could be massive changes to high school wrestling this season because of the ongoing pandemic. Some early season tournaments have been canceled, moved or are on hold. The WPIAL and PIAA tournaments also could see a drastic change if things involving the coronavirus don’t improve. If the effects of...
Shenango, Rochester top all-conference selections for Big 7 football team
Shenango and Rochester tied atop the Big Seven standings and had five players apiece earn first-team all-conference honors in the WPIAL Class A conference. Shenango’s Reis Watkins was named the top offensive player and Rochester’s Sal Laure received the defensive award in a vote of conference coaches. Union’s Aaron Gunn...
Riverview girls basketball team hopes to build off memorable season
Last season was one to remember for the Riverview girls basketball team. With a group of six seniors leading the way, the Raiders compiled a 15-10 overall record with several key section victories down the stretch in the regular season. A high-pressure, emotional win over Burgettstown followed in the first...
California leads Tri-County South with 9 all-conference football players
California running back Jaeden Zuzak, the WPIAL’s third-leading rusher this season, was among 45 players named all-conference in the Class A Tri-County South. The Trojans led with nine all-conference players. Zuzak rushed for 1,571 yards and 28 touchdowns for California (6-1, 6-0), which went undefeated in the conference. Trojans’ coach...
Head of the Class: Trib HSSN Football Player, Coach of the Year for each classification
Back in the day, when a student did well in the classroom, they were sometimes moved to the front of the class. Well this is the Trib HSSN version of that. Yes, consider this a virtual classroom. There were plenty of players and coaches who stood out for their performances...
10 Apollo-Ridge players earn 1st-team honors in Allegheny Conference
Apollo-Ridge running back Logan Harmon and lineman Greg Klingensmith were among 10 Vikings who earned first-team all-conference honors in the Class 2A Allegheny. Harmon, Klay Fitzroy and Keighton Reese were recognized on both sides of the ball, giving Apollo-Ridge a conference-leading 13 spots on the first team. Harmon also was...
Norwin girls basketball again set to contend for Section 1 title
Just as Norwin girls basketball was getting started this season, the Knights had to stop. When a team member tested positive for covid-19, the girls had to shut down for a week and could interact only via Zoom meetings. Coach Brian Brozeski did his best to keep the team engaged...
Tall, experienced group returns as Norwin boys seek trip to postseason
Everybody is back. They’re all seniors. And they’ve had more than a full season to get accustomed to their coach’s system. It all adds up to four words. Watch out for Norwin. “We’re leaps ahead of where we were at this time last year,” said second-year coach Buddy Valinsky, whose...
Beaver Falls’ Josh Hough, Laurel’s Mitch Miles earn top conference honors in MAC
WPIAL champion Beaver Falls earned seven first-team spots on the Midwestern all-conference team led by senior Josh Hough, who was named offensive player of the year. Hough, Beaver Falls’ Shileak Livingston and Laurel teammates Mitch Miles and Luke McCoy were named first-team all-conference for both offense and defense. Beaver Falls...
McGuffey quarterback, lineman, coach earn all-conference awards in Century
McGuffey quarterback Rocco Falosk and lineman Aiden Brookman each earned individual conference honors after leading the Highlanders to the Century title. They were among eight McGuffey players to earn all-conference honors. Falosk was named the conference’s offensive player of the year and Brookman was named the top lineman. The team...
High school sports scores for Dec. 3, 2020
High schools Hockey Thursday’s results Class AAA Canon-McMillan 3, Cathedral Prep 1 Class AA Hampton at Armstrong (n) Hempfield 6, Shaler 2 Mars 6, Latrobe 3 Thomas Jefferson at Mars, ppd. Class A Blackhawk 3, Beaver 1 Greensburg Salem 5, Fox Chapel 2 Class B Carrick 6, Neshannock 3 Connellsville...
High school roundup for Dec. 3, 2020: Hempfield hockey tops Shaler
Aiden Dunlap and Nicholas Bruno each had two goals and two assists to lead Hempfield to a 6-2 victory over Shaler in a PIHL Class AA game Thursday night at Kirk Nevin Arena. Gino Antimarino and Jacob Holtzman also scored for the Spartans, who improved to 4-0 and are in...
Sto-Rox, Western Beaver lead Three Rivers all-conference football team
Sto-Rox and Western Beaver, which tied atop the Class 2A Three Rivers standings, led the all-conference voting with six first-team players. Diontae Givens of Sto-Rox and Western Beaver’s Daquan Bradford shared the defensive MVP award in a vote of conference coaches. Sto-Rox’s Josh Jenkins and Brentwood’s Aiden Wardzinski shared the...
Westmoreland notebook: Norwin’s Giansante back on recruiting trail
Anthony Giansante isn’t ready to give up on playing Division I football. In fact, he might be more enthusiastic now than before he started getting scholarship offers. Giansante, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman from Norwin, is back on the recruiting trail, proactively reaching out to schools that had already recruited him...
Mars’ Blair Gerlach, George Williams of Seneca Valley tabbed state’s top coaches
Blair Gerlach directed the Mars girls soccer team to back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA championships. He also doubled up on one of the state’s top honors. Gerlach was named the Class AAA coach of the year by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association, becoming the first repeat winner in the classification since...
Mt. Pleasant girls hope to benefit from experience this season
At the high school level it’s a rarity for a team to have its entire roster back from the previous season, but it’s a welcomed reality for longtime Mt. Pleasant girls basketball coach Scott Giacobbi. The Vikings did not graduate anyone and bring back a group of five seniors and...
Mt. Pleasant boys basketball enters season under new leadership
T.J. Kravits had just finished his season coaching at Marion Center. Being a basketball fan, he looked at the schedule and decided to take a trip to Mt. Pleasant to see a game against Geibel. At the time he didn’t know he was seeing his future team play, but he...
Plum girls looking to take next step with experienced, talented roster
The Plum girls basketball team was on the brink of the first section title in school history last season but fell a game short. After a loss in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs to Penn Hills, the Mustangs finished their season 14-7. It was their first...
Plum boys looking to develop consistency, return to playoffs
The Plum boys basketball team just missed out on a playoff appearance last season. The Mustangs were hovering between fourth and fifth place in Section 3-5A and needed crucial wins down the stretch to secure their first playoff berth since the 2015-16 season. They dropped three of their final five...
Pittsburgh Public Schools postpones City League winter sports until January
Pittsburgh Public Schools has delayed the start of winter sports in the City League until at least January. According to a news release Thursday, the district’s athletic committee met the day before and recommended postponing basketball, wrestling and all other winter sports seasons. The district said the committee will reconvene...
Elizabeth Forward leads Interstate all-conference vote with 8 first-team picks
Elizabeth Forward celebrated the second undefeated regular season in school history, an achievement that was rewarded in the all-conference voting. Senior defensive end Chase Whatton was named Defensive MVP in the Class 3A Interstate, and seven teammates also earned first-team honors in a vote of conference coaches. The Warriors’ Mike...
Central Valley sweeps individual awards on Northwestern 6 all-conference team
Much like during the season, Central Valley again stood atop the Northwestern Six, this time in the all-conference voting. The undefeated WPIAL and PIAA champions earned 14 first-team spots in the Northwestern Six and swept the individual awards as well in a vote of conference coaches. The Warriors won every...
