High School category, Page 940
Bishop Canevin football eager to take next step
A traditionally strong football program hit rock bottom in 2019. A 26-12 win over Northgate in Week Eight last season helped Bishop Canevin avoid a winless season. The Crusaders finished 1-9 and was staring at another coaching change, their fourth in four years. However, the Crusaders responded to new coach...
Successful Thomas Jefferson football season not without its hiccups
Nightmarish is defined as “frightening or unpleasant.” Exasperating is another word that comes to mind. For the Thomas Jefferson football team, the start and finish of its 2020 regular season aptly fit the definition, albeit for very different reasons. Its season opener was postponed because of covid-19 issues. At the...
5 things we learned: Central Catholic coach Terry Totten climbs list with 6th WPIAL title
Only three football coaches have won more WPIAL titles than Central Catholic’s Terry Totten, but he hasn’t spent any time contemplating his place in league history. “Maybe when it’s over, someday I’ll think about that,” he said Friday night, while crediting his assistant coaches and players for the team’s success....
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 7, 2020
Cross country Boys PIAA championships At Hershey Park Class AAA Individual: 1. Brady Bigger, State College, 16:07; 2. Devon Comber, Harboro Horsham, 16:10; 3. Graham Thomas, Penn Manor, 16:14; 4. Aiden Barnhill, Downingtown West, 16:19; 5. J. Henry Lyon, Williamsport, 16:24; 6. Cole Adams, York Suburban, 16:33; 7. Scott Nalepa,...
Let’s geaux Beaux: Sophomore powers Seneca Valley past Peters Township in Class 4A finals
With just under five minutes to go in the second overtime of the Class 4A WPIAL championship match Saturday, Beaux Lizewski found the ball bouncing in the box in traffic. The Seneca Valley sophomore chested the ball down, dribbled around the goalkeeper and calmly put it into the back of...
Tested by Brashear, Westinghouse responds with dominant City League semifinal showing
After giving up its first touchdown from scrimmage of the season early in the second quarter, Westinghouse had a powerful response. Darius Bruce returned the ensuing kickoff for a score and the Bulldogs defense allowed only one more first down — which came on a penalty — to record a...
Moon’s Cochran, Shenango’s Medvit claim PIAA cross country titles
Mia Cochran and Carmen Medvit captured PIAA cross country championships Saturday in Hershey. Cochran, a junior from Moon, won her second Class AAA title by breezing in a time of 18 minutes, 28 seconds. Cochran is a two-time WPIAL champion. Medvit, a senior from Shenango, won her first Class A...
Allderdice sets tone early, tops University Prep in City League semifinals
All eyes were on Shakur Pack-Adams and the Allderdice Dragons as the senior quarterback led his team to a scrappy 25-21 victory over University Prep in the Pittsburgh City League semifinals on a glimmering, unseasonably warm fall Saturday afternoon at George Cupples Stadium on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Pack-Adams was the...
North Allegheny beats Shaler for 7th WPIAL girls volleyball title
Paige Miller volleyed one ball straight through Shaler Area’s block. The North Allegheny senior outside hitter also made sure to take her time and search for softer shots into open spaces on the court. Age and experience guided the Tigers Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School when North Allegheny captured...
A-K Valley high school football notebook: Semifinal loss ends historic season for Plum
Plum wrapped up its 2020 season Friday with a 20-17 loss to Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals, but the one defeat, Mustangs coach Matt Morgan said, takes nothing away from the record-setting performance of his team the entire season. Plum (8-1) won eight games in a season...
Peters Township tandem claims state tennis gold
For the second straight season, the Peters Township tandem of Kat Wang and Marra Bruce went to Hershey and came home with state gold. Wang and Bruce defeated District 1 champs Hana Nouaime and Alice Liang of Methacton in a three-set battle 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to win a PIAA Class...
North Catholic topples Ellwood City to capture 2nd WPIAL girls volleyball title in 3 years
Last season, the North Catholic girls volleyball team was a set away on three occasions from going back-to-back in championship opportunities, but ultimately fell to Freeport in five sets. The Trojans had gone up two sets to none, but faltered a bit late in a competitive match. This year, North...
Greensburg Central Catholic repeats, wins 5th WPIAL boys soccer championshipVideo
It wasn’t that Greensburg Central Catholic became complacent after a high-speed start against rival Winchester Thurston. The Centurions sprinted to a three-goal lead, but with 61 minutes of soccer remaining and the Bears more than capable of making that lead disappear, it was time to get serious. “Naturally, when you’re...
Campus visit convinces Gateway’s Derrick Davis to pick LSU
Derrick Davis visited Louisiana around the age of 8 for a youth track meet. He finished 17th in the country in the 100-meter dash, an early glimpse of the athleticism that has made him a coveted college football recruit. But even then, he remembers, he really liked the Bayou State....
Franklin Regional tops Montour for 1st WPIAL girls volleyball championship
Aly Kindelberger hammered the volleyball onto the court Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School before being overwhelmed by a swarm of her teammates. The 6-foot-1 Franklin Regional senior didn’t mind the slide across the floor as the Panthers’ celebrated the biggest win in program history with a dogpile. By topping...
Westmoreland football notebook: Jeannette-Clairton meet again for WPIAL Class A title
For the third time in six years, Class A heavyweights Clairton and Jeannette will meet for a WPIAL championship. Clairton wiped out Shenango, 55-16, and Jeannette handled Rochester, 40-13, in Friday night’s semifinals. It will be a rivalry renewed — a rematch many anticipated, including the coaches, after Clairton defeated...
Mars captures 7th WPIAL girls soccer title
The Mars girls soccer team is golden again. The Fightin’ Planets won the seventh WPIAL title in program history and their second in as many seasons with a 1-0 victory over Plum in the Class 3A final Saturday at North Allegheny. “I think if anyone tells you it gets old,...
Bishop Canevin wins 4th straight WPIAL volleyball title hours after coach’s death
On Friday, Bishop Canevin’s volleyball and athletics community learned of the death of 14-year head coach Kevin Walters. Walters, who took over at Bishop Canevin after a rough year that saw the team go 1-18 in 2006, crafted a sensational coaching record. His teams made the playoffs every single season,...
Clutch goal from Jayden Sharpless lifts North Catholic past Avonworth in Class 2A title game
In the early portion of Saturday’s WPIAL Class 2A championship game, North Catholic standout junior Jayden Sharpless said she was a little too amped up when she fired a free kick well over the goal from 30 yards out. The second time she got a free kick chance, Sharpless made...
North Journal notebook: North Allegheny girls volleyball returns to WPIAL final
The North Allegheny girls volleyball team found itself in a familiar position Saturday — playing for a WPIAL Class 4A title. The Tigers advanced to a fourth straight championship match after defeating Moon, 3-0, in the semifinals Nov. 4. They won by scores of 25-22, 25-23, 25-15. Mia Tuman had...
Penn Hills cross country team picking up steam
The Penn Hills boys cross country team had a young core this season that finished strong, which provides coach Lee Zelkowitz with optimism for years to come. Sophomore Austin Stuchul was the Indians’ top runner this season. Stuchul finished in 140th place with a time of 19:15 at the WPIAL...
Franklin Regional football finds positives in challenging season
If Greg Botta has his choice, he’d be preparing his Franklin Regional football team for a playoff game instead of cleaning his condominium in Myrtle Beach. But Franklin Regional had its streak of 16 consecutive seasons of playing in the WPIAL playoffs stopped this season after finishing 4-3 overall and...
Hampton notebook: Strong boys soccer season ends in OT loss to No. 1 Mars
Hampton senior Corey Scherer needed some time to ease the sting of a 1-0 double-overtime playoff loss to nemesis Mars. “We all gave it our best,” he said. “We just happened to come up short.” When Mars’ Dane Beller scored in the 107th minute of their WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal...
Hampton football takes huge step forward
Hampton senior lineman Dawson Dietz stood along a chainlink fence at Aliquippa’s Carl Aschman Stadium, wearing a muddy uniform and a smile. “It was so exciting to go from two wins for the last three years (to the playoffs),” he said. “It’s crazy to be able to be here and...
Young Penn Hills roster shows competitive fire during rebuilding year
Coach Jon LeDonne knew it was going to be a tough matchup when No. 7 Penn Hills faced No. 2 Gateway in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs Oct. 30. However, LeDonne was encouraged with how the young Indians competed against the Gators as they lost, 14-0....
