High School category, Page 961
Pine-Richland receiver having breakthrough season
Pine-Richland junior Alex Gochis has found himself in a situation he didn’t anticipate: playing alongside and excelling with Eli Jochem, one Pennsylvania’s top receiving prospects. Through three games, Gochis had 15 receptions, 208 yards and three touchdowns. That’s one fewer catch and touchdown than Jochem. “It’s awesome to have a...
Pine-Richland field hockey goalie thrives in starting role
Sadie Baratka knows what it’s like to face North Allegheny in overtime, and she made sure not to do it again. With her team up 1-0 with four minutes to go, Baratka lost track of the ball, which was deflected 15 feet away to the waiting sticks of two Tigers...
Gateway runners turn focus to postseason invitational success
The Gateway boys and girls cross country teams are in the stretch run to the WPIAL championships in two weeks, and the Gators hope to take advantage of both practices and competition to sharpen their focus. “The kids have the potential to do well,” an optimistic Gateway coach Tom LaBuff...
Carlynton cross country runner on comeback trail after hip surgery
Upon the conclusion of his sophomore school year at Carlynton in June 2019, Desmond Corrado was planning to spend the summer running and preparing to be one of the top distance runners in the district. But his plans to climb the WPIAL cross country ladder for his junior season went...
Bishop Canevin AD thinks fast to fill last-minute hole in football schedule
When it comes to high school football in Western Pennsylvania, it truly is a weekly event. Every school district is different, but most athletic directors normally have the same long list of things they need to do during the week to prepare for their school’s next football game that weekend....
New-look Thomas Jefferson girls soccer team building momentum
The Thomas Jefferson girls soccer program has enjoyed notable success in recent years. The Jaguars qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for a sixth straight year in 2019. Jason Vozar resigned as head coach following the season, and his assistant, Sean Richter, was hired. Richter, 46, took over a team that...
Penn-Trafford volleyball beginning to rise
Penn-Trafford girls volleyball coach Jim Schall predicted he’d learn a lot about his team the last week of September. His squad met a tough challenge, including two matches against Section 3-4A leader Oakland Catholic and a match against rival Norwin. Penn-Trafford went 2-2 during the week, defeating Hempfield and Norwin...
Turowski brothers hope to lead Penn-Trafford to WPIAL golf title
Things didn’t go as planned for the Turowski brothers at the WPIAL Class AAA individual golf championships Oct. 6 at South Hills Country Club. Both had tough rounds and fell short of finishing in the top 10 to advance to the PIAA championship Oct. 19. Alex Turowski, a senior, was...
High school scores and summaries for Oct. 10, 2020
Football Saturday’s results WPIAL Class 5A Allegheny 6 Peters Township 27, Moon 3 Class 2A Midwestern Freedom 44, Ellwood City 6 Class A Eastern Leechburg 35, Bishop Canevin 13 Saturday’s summaries Class 5A Allegheny 6 Peters Township 26, Moon 3 Peters Township 3 9 7 7 —26 Moon 3 0...
High school roundup for Oct. 10, 2020: Peters Township playmakers overwhelm Moon
Peters Township used a pair of big-play touchdowns and a strong defensive effort to cruise to a Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference victory Saturday night. Logan Pfeuffer threw for 300 yards and two long touchdown passes to lead the Indians (5-0, 3-0) to a 26-3 victory over Moon (3-2, 1-2)...
Leechburg beats Bishop Canevin, moves 1 win from 400 in school history
Even though Leechburg will miss the WPIAL playoffs for the 32nd straight season, the Blue Devils have plenty for which to play. Leechburg won the 399th football game in school history Friday with a 35-13 victory over Bishop Canevin at Dormont Stadium. With victories in the final two games against...
A-K Valley high school football notebook: Burrell receiving corps pumps life into offense
Burrell quarterback Alex Arledge lit up the airways last season, throwing for 2,462 yards and 27 touchdowns. But at the end of the season, Arledge’s arsenal emptied as the Bucs graduated nearly every skill-position player, and Burrell coach Shawn Liotta had to find a way to replace 3,600 yards of...
WPIAL football rankings for Week 5
Class 6A 1. North Allegheny, 4-0, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 2-2, 5 3. Central Catholic, 3-2, 2 4. Seneca Valley, 3-1, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 2-2, 3 Out: none Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 4-0, 1 2. Gateway, 2-0, 2 3. Peters Township, *3-0, 3 4. Penn-Trafford, 3-1, 4 5. South Fayette,...
5 things we learned in WPIAL Week 5
How will the WPIAL decide which football teams make the playoffs since covid-19 cancellations made the standings unbalanced? Week 5 didn’t make the answer any easier. The WPIAL football steering committee met last week and discussed that question at length, but the group’s recommendations won’t be revealed until after the...
Experienced Apollo-Ridge football team leans on offensive line
Apollo-Ridge senior quarterback Jake Fello threw for 142 yards and a touchdown in Friday’s 42-7 Eastern Conference victory over Shady Side Academy at Owens Field. Senior Keighton Reese caught the touchdown pass from Fello and finished with four catches for 76 yards, and fellow senior Klay Fitzroy added a pair...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Cancellation upends Penn-Trafford’s routine
Asked for his initial thoughts on the cancellation of Sunday night’s game at Gateway, Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane answered succinctly. “Depressing.” The Class 5A Big East heavyweights initially had their matchup postponed because Gateway had to cease operations after an athlete tested positive for the coronavirus. With Gateway returning from...
Improved offense adds new dimension to Shaler volleyball
Tia Bozzo doesn’t want to look at the start of Shaler Area’s girls volleyball season and think the culture has changed. No alteration was necessary. The Titans want to maintain their identity as a scrappy group. Shaler is doing it with more oomph behind its offense. After a 25-8, 25-18,...
No longer a freshman, senior Lucy Ream still making memories for Fox Chapel girls soccer
Fox Chapel’s Lucy Ream remembers the chants like they were yesterday. She was just a freshman, getting some of her first varsity minutes in a playoff game, and she had just done something that made the Fox Chapel student section go crazy. “I went in in the second half, and...
Plum runners look to finish season strong at postseason invitationals
Livia Paoletti understands she doesn’t have many high school cross country races left. So the Plum senior is taking nothing for granted over the final weeks of her final season. “I am so happy we are able to run, especially with all the uncertainty with covid the past couple of...
Junior Dean Cecere, Riverview learn from challenging early season slate
In Riverview’s Eastern Conference football game against Imani Christian on Oct. 2 at Graham Field in Wilkinsburg, Dean Cecere broke free on runs several times and turned in career-best marks on the stat sheet. The Raiders junior running back delivered 208 yards and his first three touchdowns of the season...
Norwin volleyball eyes extension of strange covid-19 season
Norwin senior volleyball player Brooke Gast still is adjusting to covid-19 times, where few fans, if any, are permitted in gymnasiums, and rally points hit gym floors with a pronounced echo. Substitutes wait in outside hallways until they are called into matches. There are masks, temperature checks and daily covid...
Norwin notebook: Football team puts seven-game skid in rearview mirror
A seven-game losing streak is no more for the Norwin football team. The Knights took care of No. 5-ranked Baldwin, 28-12, in Week 4 as senior Nick Fleming completed 10 of 16 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a score. Senior Connor Chrisman had five...
After strong section season, North Allegheny runners prepare for championship meets
When North Allegheny’s runners walked to the starting line wearing masks for their early-September scrimmage, coach John Neff wasn’t sure what to expect from cross country season under covid-19 conditions. Looking back, it all went fairly well. “It was not as different as I was afraid of, to be honest...
North Journal notebook: North Allegheny tennis earns playoff berth
North Allegheny girls tennis capped off section play last week by sweeping North Hills, gaining momentum ahead of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. The Tigers finished the regular season 6-6 overall and 6-1 in Section 2. The playoffs were slated to begin Monday, after deadline for this edition. “Playoffs are...
Franklin Regional’s ‘Super’ Mario Sarnic happy to be back on field
As Mario Sarnic lay motionless on the cold turf at Franklin Regional’s Panther Stadium, sound sucked from the complex, lights twinkling from a waiting ambulance, time stood still for the wide receiver and defensive back. “I looked up and saw my friends and the look on their faces wasn’t good,”...
