High School category, Page 945
South Fayette golfer emerging as one of WPIAL’s top players
Summer camp is usually a time for kids to do some hiking, swimming, biking and perhaps create a craft or two. Summer camp for 9-year-old Caroline McConnell is where she learned to play golf. “I started with the sport at a summer camp out at Scally’s,” McConnell said. “I have...
Playoff loss hard to handle after brilliant season for Bishop Canevin girls soccer
One and done. It’s the beauty of the high school sports postseason. It’s also a painful reminder for all the qualifying teams that only one school is left at the end to raise the championship trophy. The bitterness of a postseason loss is a little easier to swallow when a...
Condensed season proved challenging for Baldwin football
One word that perhaps aptly defines the Baldwin football season is “condensed.” Due to postponements as a result of covid-19 shutdowns, the Fighting Highlanders played an abbreviated schedule of only five games. After a promising 27-7 nonconference win Sept. 11 against Hollidaysburg, the purple and white went 1-3 in Class...
Playoff berth caps successful season for Baldwin boys soccer
The Baldwin boys soccer team compiled a 6-2-1 regular-season record to clinch a WPIAL Class 4A playoff berth for a second consecutive season. “Considering the number of injuries and other circumstances we dealt with this season, I think getting into the playoffs ended up being a good achievement,” said Dave...
Sewickley Academy Panthers are hoping to reach their peak during the postseason
Throughout its regular season, the Sewickley Academy boys soccer team had just two blemishes on its record — a loss and a tie — and both came against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Now, after beating No. 11 Chartiers-Houston, 3-0, in the first round of the WPIAL Class A...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Oct. 31, 2020
Field hockey WPIAL playoffs Class 3A Championship Wednesday’s schedule Pine-Richland vs. Peters Township at Fox Chapel, 6:30 p.m. Class 2A Championship Monday’s schedule Penn-Trafford at Fox Chapel, 7:30 p.m. Class A Championship Monday’s schedule Shady Side Academy vs. Ellis School at Fox Chapel, 5 p.m. Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A...
Behind special senior class, Apollo-Ridge headed to WPIAL semifinals for 1st time
Apollo-Ridge football coach John Skiba remembers going to a junior high banquet for the group that became his current seniors after they completed an undefeated season. He told them if the core group of guys such as Logan Harmon, Jake Fello, Klay Fitzroy, Keighton Reese and Dom Reiter stayed together,...
High school roundup for Oct. 31, 2020: Peters Township boys grab OT win in WPIAL quarters
Andrew Massucci scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime to lift No. 1 Peters Township (12-1-1) to a 2-1 victory over No. 9 Baldwin (8-7-1) in the WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer quarterfinals Saturday afternoon. Alex Grim also scored for Peters Township, which moves on to play No. 4...
Knoch girls tennis wins state title in dominant performance
The Knoch girls tennis team faced far more pressure this year than it would in a normal season. In an effort to streamline the playoff process as a coronavirus safety measure, only the WPIAL champion received a berth into the PIAA field. The top three teams usually qualify. Therefore, there...
A-K Valley high school football notes: Springdale succumbs to grueling schedule
Not many teams get the chance to say they faced the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 teams in their respective classification in one season. That was the case for Springdale this year. The Dynamos led No. 3 Jeannette for most of their Eastern Conference matchup before losing 36-28,...
Many happy returns for Belle Vernon, Jeannette, Penn-Trafford
One thing the three remaining high school football teams from Westmoreland County have in common is their abilities to score points in a variety of ways. Belle Vernon, Jeannette and Penn-Trafford do not just rely on high-powered offenses. Each has scored touchdowns on defense and special teams. Those are the...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys fight off Eden Christian upset bid in Class A quarterfinals
Ricco Ciccarelli could hear Greensburg Central Catholic coach Tyler Solis say, “I think you got it,” as his attempted cross kept curling closer and closer to the net. What started out as a pass intended for the far post turned into a perfect strike just under the crossbar and the...
Springdale boys score 5 second-half goals to pull away from Seton LaSalle
Springdale’s boys soccer team spent the first half of its quarterfinal match against Seton LaSalle trying to get a feel for the Rebels’ tactics. That approach led to a scoreless first 40 minutes at Peters Township as the teams vied for a berth in the WPIAL Class A semifinals. In...
Norwin boys soccer charges into WPIAL Class 4A semifinalsVideo
With a wall of six defenders and a goalkeeper lined up across the front of the cage, creating a situation he had never faced before, Caleb Yuricha stepped to the top of the 6-yard box. Then junior then did what strikers do: He struck. Yuricha flicked a shot left of...
5 things we learned in opening round of WPIAL football playoffs
Sto-Rox’s coach LaRoi Johnson has a bundle of 2-point plays he will call in any situation, but with Friday’s game on the line, he summoned his sophomore kicker. Johnson admits even he wouldn’t have predicted that’s how his Vikings would win their WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal. Yet, Adam Devine made...
Westmoreland high school football notes: P-T, Pine-Richland meet for just 2nd time, and stakes are high
Penn-Trafford at Pine-Richland is an intriguing matchup in next week’s WPIAL Class 5A semifinal. Two well-structured, well-coached programs with a winning tradition. “We’re both like the New England Patriots because everything is so in order,” Warriors quarterback Ethan Carr said. “Things don’t change much.” But similarities aside, there isn’t much...
WPIAL announces sites for boys, girls soccer championships
North Allegheny and Gateway will be host sites for the WPIAL boys and girls soccer championships. The WPIAL announced the locations Saturday for eight title games set for Thursday and Saturday. The championship games usually are played at Highmark Stadium at Station Square, but the venue was not used this...
Fox Chapel scores early to take down Upper St. Clair 6-0
Heading into their WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal matchup with No. 5 Upper St. Clair on Saturday, longtime Fox Chapel coach Erik Ingram said his boys felt healthy, most importantly, and battle-tested after playing a grueling schedule that included Seneca Valley, North Allegheny and Butler. It showed throughout the 80-minute contest...
Competitive section prepared Fox Chapel boys soccer for playoff push
The Fox Chapel boys soccer team has tested itself against tough competition all season long. The Foxes played No. 2 Seneca Valley, No. 6 North Allegheny and No. 10 Butler twice this season and came away with an overall record of 10-3 and received the No. 4 seed in the...
Pine-Richland’s Waryanka pulls double duty as force on defense, reliable kicker
Most teams don’t account for blocking the kicker on returns, but a player such as Zach Waryanka doesn’t give them much of a choice. He does, after all, top Pine-Richland’s charts in tackles. “He’s awesome,” coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “I think he’s the only ‘mike’ linebacker that wears one football...
Pine-Richland girls soccer sends off successful group of seniors
Pine-Richland’s girls soccer team had an early exit from the playoffs, a 1-0 loss to Moon, but the players weren’t quite ready to disband. Two days after their season officially ended, the Rams held one more practice filled with more ghouls than goals. “I think every senior is getting ready...
Despite missing out on trip to state meet, Riverview boys proud of 2nd-place finish
Under normal WPIAL cross country circumstances, the Riverview boys team would be heading to Hershey this weekend to compete with the best in the state. But when the PIAA announced new qualifying parameters amid the coronavirus pandemic, it created a unique situation where only the district champions would qualify. Riverview,...
Plum slowpitch softball excited for future
The Plum slowpitch softball team was unable to solve second-seeded Seneca Valley in a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League quarterfinal Oct. 24 at Mt. Lebanon. The Mustangs reached that point with a first-round victory over West Allegheny, but the Raiders ended Plum’s season with a 15-5 win. “We had a...
Norwin notebook: Covid-19 quarantine keeps Knights out of volleyball playoffs
Norwin qualified for the WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs but did not compete because it had to quarantine for 14 days because of possible covid-19 exposure. The quarantine lasted until Nov. 2, after the playoffs began, so the Knights had to give up their spot, coach Mary Ellen Ferragonio said. Hempfield...
North Allegheny celebrates 4th WPISL championship
Players and coaches sprinted from the dugouts, swarming teammates on the field in celebration. There were hugs and tears of joy all around. The North Allegheny slow-pitch softball team had just captured its first Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League title since 2011, defeating rival Seneca Valley, 21-10, to commence a...
