Bolstered by 5 WPIAL championship teams, Quaker Valley captures Class 4A Trib Cup
Mike Mastroianni was in a no lose situation in this year’s race for the Trib HSSN Cup in Class 4A. He is the athletic director and boys basketball coach at Quaker Valley while he lives in the Montour school district. Those two schools finished first and second, with Mastroianni’s Quakers...
A-K Valley teams adjust to changes in basketball alignment
Basketball in the A-K Valley will have a bit of a different look next winter. The WPIAL board of directors approved section alignments for the next two-year cycle in boys and girls basketball on June 13. Several A-K Valley teams were impacted. Here’s a look at some of the changes:...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for May 23, 2022: Rematches set for baseball playoffs
Welcome to Semifinals Monday in the 2022 WPIAL baseball playoffs. Unless your team is in classes 6A or 4A, then it’s Welcome to Quarterfinals Monday. Whether it’s the second or third round, the recurring theme is rematches. Of the 16 scheduled games, 11 are matchups between teams that faced each...
Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week for May 15, 2022
Following an 8-2 start to the 2022 baseball season, Knoch hit a rut as April turned to May. A four-game losing streak killed the Knights’ chances at a Section 1-4A title and saw them slipping toward the middle of the pack in Class 4A. Winning three of four games last...
Stallsmith’s 6-RBI game helps Knoch beat Burrell in Section 1-4A
Burrell took Game 1, but the Knoch baseball team returned the favor in a big way Friday afternoon in a Section 1-4A rematch at sun-splashed No Offseason in Russellton. Jacob Stallsmith doubled, singled and drove in six runs as the Knights collected 12 hits in a 15-5 victory over the...
Knoch’s Maddie Boyer named Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Maddie Boyer Knoch, 5-10, Sr., Guard As a freshman, Maddie Boyer helped the Knoch girls basketball team make the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. The Knights suffered a first-round loss to Elizabeth Forward. Two years ago, Boyer increased her role at both ends of the court, and Knoch increased its standing...
Fox Chapel’s Eli Yofan takes Valley News Dispatch Boys Basketball Player of the Year honors
Eli Yofan Fox Chapel, 6-2, Sr., Guard Eli Yofan averaged 19.3 points throughout the 2021-22 boys basketball season, but he was limited for most of Fox Chapel’s WPIAL Class 6A title game against North Hills early last month at the Petersen Events Center. But as he did all season, the...
Former Cager Classic MVP Corey Smith now coaching in all-star basketball game
Kiski Area coach Corey Smith has come full circle with the Cager Classic. He was the East MVP in 2002, an assistant under Greg Hutcherson and now the head coach for the East as the Cager Classic returns after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The event...
Trib 10 teams head to Hershey for PIAA championship games
Three boys and two girls WPIAL basketball teams saw their dreams of merging gold and chocolate together come to an end last week with a loss in the PIAA semifinals. However, nine district teams have booked their hotels and are heading east in search of a state championship…and chocolate. While...
2022 WPIAL Class 4A softball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamonds after the 2020 season was canceled because of the covid-19 shutdowns. Softball was a success throughout as the WPIAL crowned four new champions, and Laurel and West Greene remained on top in Class 2A and A. District softball...
2022 WPIAL Class 4A baseball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamonds after the 2020 season was canceled because of covid-19 shutdowns. Baseball thrived throughout the WPIAL as six new champions were crowned, some in dramatic fashion. That success carried over to the state playoffs as WPIAL teams captured two...
A-K Valley PIAA playoff capsules for March 12, 2022
Today’s games Boys Class 6A Second round Allderdice (20-7) vs. Fox Chapel (25-1) 2 p.m. Saturday, AHN Arena, Peters Township High School Coaches: Zach Skrinjar, Fox Chapel; Devin Crummie, Allderdice Winner plays: Winner of Northampton (20-7)/Warwick (21-6) on Tuesday in quarterfinals (Site and time TBD) Layup lines: Fox Chapel won...
Knoch girls win 1st PIAA playoff game in program history
Three was the magic number for the Knoch girls basketball team in its PIAA Class 4A first-round home game Wednesday evening against District 9 champion St. Marys. The Knights, playing in the program’s first PIAA game, hit 15 3-pointers, including 10 in the first half, and took control early en...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 9, 2022: More PIAA opening round matchups
The opening round of the PIAA basketball postseason is set to conclude Wednesday. The spotlight will shine on boys 6A, 3A and 2A first-round games, along with girls 5A, 4A and A state playoff openers. Inner city battle One of the Class 6A opening-round matchups could be considered a Crummie...
A-K Valley PIAA basketball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Boys Class 6A 3-7 Cumberland Valley (19-7) at 7-1 Fox Chapel (24-1) 6 p.m. Wednesday Coaches: Zach Skrinjar, Fox Chapel; David Vespiognani, Cumberland Valley Winner plays: Winner of 8-1 Allderdice (19-7)/7-3 Central Catholic (18-6) Saturday in the second round (site and time TBD) Layup lines: Cumberland Valley earned a spot...
Knoch girls basketball team regroups for 1st trip to PIAA playoffs
Usually, a high school team coming into a large venue such as Petersen Events Center or the old Civic Arena had trouble adjusting to the surroundings with no wall behind the baskets and other factors. Knoch, however, was the opposite Saturday. The Knights played well for nearly three quarters until...
A-K Valley girls athlete of the week: Knoch’s Nina Shaw
Nina Shaw Class: Junior School: Knoch Sport: Basketball Report card: Shaw scored 15 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter to help Knoch earn its first ever trip to the WPIAL girls basketball finals in a 56-45 win over Southmoreland on Tuesday in the Class 4A semifinals. Shaw...
Unbeaten Blackhawk surges past Knoch in WPIAL Class 4A title game
After Blackhawk hit just 12 of 31 shots over three quarters, Cougars coach Steve Lodovico had one bit of advice for his girls Saturday. Keep shooting. The advice worked as the Cougars hit all seven field goal attempts in the fourth period to pull away from Knoch, 55-35, and win...
2022 WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball championship breakdown: Blackhawk vs. Knoch
WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball championship No. 1 Blackhawk vs. No. 3 Knoch 3 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com; Audio: WBVP-AM 1230, WBVP-FM 99.3, WMBA-AM 1460, WISR-AM 680, FM 107.5 WPIAL titles: Blackhawk 7 (1996, ‘97, ‘99, 2000, ‘11, ‘14, ‘15); Knoch 0 Blackhawk...
Undefeated Blackhawk stands in way of Knoch girls’ bid for 1st WPIAL title
Knoch was one of the pioneering girls basketball programs in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Now, the Knights are vying for a championship to call their own. Third-seeded Knoch (21-2) will face Blackhawk (23-0) in the Class 4A title game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Petersen Events Center. It will be the...
Knoch girls hold off Southmoreland, reach WPIAL title game for 1st time
The Knoch girls basketball team reached the WPIAL semifinals last year for the first time in program history, but it fell one win short of its goal of reaching the championship game and an opportunity to play for the gold. But the Knights weren’t going to be denied in their...
AK Valley WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games for Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Boys Class 6A Semifinals 2-Fox Chapel (22-1) vs. 3-Central Catholic (18-5) 8 p.m. Tuesday, AHN Arena, Peters Township High School Winner plays: Winner of 1-North Hills (23-0)/4-Mt. Lebanon (16-8) Saturday at 7 p.m. in championship game at Petersen Events Center Layup lines: Fox Chapel turned away Pine-Richland, 77-67, in the...
Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games for Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Semifinals Boys Class A 4-Greensburg Central Catholic (18-3) vs. 1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-0) 8 p.m. Tuesday at Gateway Coaches: Christian Hyland, Greensburg Central Catholic; Mike Rodriguez, OLSH Winner plays: Winner of 3-Carlynton (20-2)/2-Fort Cherry (22-2) in championship 1 p.m. March 5 at Petersen Events Center Layup lines:...
PIAA-playoff bound Knoch beats Montour in WPIAL Class 4A semifinals
The Knoch girls basketball team will play in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals for the second straight season. After a 15-day break from competition, the No. 3 Knights opened the playoffs in the quarterfinals Friday night and scored a 67-48 home victory over No. 6 Montour. “We had our two...
A-K Valley WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games of Friday, Feb. 25, 2022
BOYS Class 4A Quarterfinals 7-Pine-Richland (12-11) at 2-Fox Chapel (21-1) 7 p.m. Friday Winner plays: Winner of 6-Butler (13-9)/3-Central Catholic (17-5) Tuesday in semifinals (site and time TBD) Layup lines: Pine-Richland had no trouble with No. 10 Bethel Park in a 64-41 first-round victory. Joey Dudkowski, who came into the...