Thomas Jefferson , Page 9

Trib HSSN Football Player of the Week for Week 10

In hockey, they call it the spin-a-rama. The action of making a full turn while skating with the puck. Central Valley junior running back Landon Alexander turned Martorelli Stadium into his personal ice rink Friday in helping his team to a second straight WPIAL Class 3A football championship. Alexander spun,...
WPIAL football champions learn opponents, locations for PIAA quarterfinals

The PIAA has released the dates, sites and times for the semifinal football games coming up Friday and Saturday. Of the five WPIAL champions crowned this past weekend, two will be home, one will be playing at the home site of their opponent and two will play at neutral sites....
Thomas Jefferson stops Aliquippa in OT in WPIAL finals dream matchup

If there was any uncertainty on Thomas Jefferson’s sideline, it was about the high school rules for overtime. Nobody on the roster had experienced it before. Jaguars coach Bill Cherpak couldn’t remember the last time he was involved in an overtime game. “I was like, ‘If they score do they...
Aliquippa brings ‘massive’ line into Class 4A final against Thomas Jefferson

When Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak talks about Aliquippa’s linemen, he doesn’t compare them with any group he coached to a WPIAL title. His guys were never that big. Instead, Cherpak points to a different football team that wears black and gold. “Their line is as big as the Steelers. I’m...
WPIAL Class 4A football championship breakdown: Aliquippa vs. Thomas Jefferson

WPIAL Class 4A football championship No. 1 Aliquippa vs. No. 2 Thomas Jefferson 1 p.m. Saturday, North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium On the air: Audio stream at TribHSSN.triblive.com Winner plays: District 10 champion Oil City (9-0) or District 1 champion Upper Moreland (5-1) in the PIAA semifinals, Nov. 20-21. WPIAL titles:...
Trib HSSN’s high school football championships primer

The WPIAL will host four football championship games Saturday after holding the Class 3A final Friday night. The Pittsburgh City League also will contest its championship game Saturday afternoon. Here’s a look at Trib HSSN’s pre-game coverage and where you can see and hear all the action this weekend: Class...
WPIAL football championship factoids: From the North Side to the North Hills

With district football championship games being split between Newman Stadium at North Allegheny and Martorelli Stadium in West View, this is the first time no title games have been played at either Heinz Field or Three Rivers Stadium since 1982. Thirty-eight years ago, the district crowned North Hills the Division...
Chick’s Picks grateful for another WPIAL football season

Another WPIAL football season is nearly in the books. After more than two decades of prognosticating, Chick’s Picks has never seen a season quite like this one. This season had no Highway to Heinz. This week does not look like a typical championship week at all. Chick’s Picks even had...
PIAA announces sites, times for football state semifinals

Central Catholic’s first opponent in the state playoffs will have a home-field advantage. Erie McDowell will host the WPIAL champion Vikings in a PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal at 1 p.m. Saturday. The PIAA traditionally has used neutral sites but changed its policy this year to adapt to coronavirus conditions. Now,...
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....
Thomas Jefferson rallies past Plum to return to Class 4A championship gameVideo

Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak breathed a sigh of relief in the minutes after Friday’s 20-17 home victory over Plum in a WPIAL Class 4A semifinal. The Jaguars rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit and held the Mustangs off the scoreboard in the second half. “This time of the year,...
Birdie ready to hit the road to follow Plum, Apollo-Ridge in WPIAL playoffs

Last week: 4-1 (80%) Overall record: 63-12 (84%) The Birdie was flustered as he was getting ready for Friday night’s semifinal football games. “Honey! Where are my driving gloves?” the Birdie screamed to Mrs. Birdie as he dug through a bin in the basement. After two teams were knocked off...
Plum focused on current Thomas Jefferson team, not Jaguars’ past success

The Plum football team Friday will play its first WPIAL semifinal game since 1996. On the other sideline will be Thomas Jefferson, the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A champion that owns eight WPIAL and four PIAA crowns since 2004. The Jaguars have made at least the WPIAL semifinals every...
Thomas Jefferson bounces back from loss, routs Mars in Class 4A

If there was any thought Thomas Jefferson was in trouble in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs after dropping its regular season finale to McKeesport, the Jaguars quickly squashed that notion Friday night. No. 2 TJ got three first-half passing touchdowns from Jake Pugh, two to Preston Zandier and one to...
Plum girls blank TJ, advance to WPIAL semifinals

Neither a steady rain nor Thomas Jefferson could prevent the Plum girls soccer team from advancing in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs Thursday evening. The undefeated Mustangs scored twice in the first half and added two more goals in the second half to post a 4-0 quarterfinal win, their third...

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