Bill Beckner stories, Page 134
Greensburg Central Catholic girls go for WPIAL repeat in title game vs. Steel Valley
Nobody told Greensburg Central Catholic’s girls soccer players a WPIAL repeat would come easy. The Centurions have found that out for themselves in the last two rounds of the Class A playoffs. For every finesse goal they have scored, teams have punched back and tailed them all the way to...
WPIAL title game shaping up to be classic between Greensburg CC, Winchester Thurston boys
If there is one thing Rob Fabean wasn’t afraid to do when he took over the Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer team, it was experimenting. He has been a soccer mad scientist, configuring systems that best fit his personnel against particular opponents. The formations he has used in games look...
Westmoreland County football notebook: Monessen writes feel-good playoff story
Monessen wasn’t supposed to be a playoff team. Truth be told, many believed the Greyhounds would not recover from a 2020 season that saw roster numbers dip to new lows and the season end with three straight forfeits. But new coach Wade Brown has the Greyhounds, who were 0-7 last...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff capsules for Nov. 5, 2021; GCC goes for title sweep
Girls Class A Championship 3-Steel Valley (17-3) vs. 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (15-1) 6 p.m. Friday, Highmark Stadium, Station Square, Pittsburgh Coaches: Bill Abraham, Steel Valley; Olivia Kruger, GCC How they got here: Steel Valley — Defeated 14-Riverview, 12-0; 6-Chartiers-Houston, 6-1; and 2-Springdale, 1-0; GCC — Defeated 16-Eden Christian, 9-0; 8-Riverside,...
With state playoff berth on the line, Franklin Regional tops Plum in shootout
A quickly scribbled together crib sheet that coaches drew up during the second overtime helped Franklin Regional extend its season. Although this wasn’t cheating. It was precise execution. The piece of paper had all the answers sophomore goalkeeper Aryan Selokar needed for the shootout session against Plum on Wednesday night...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 10
Class 5A First round 12-Franklin Regional (3-7) at 5-Penn Hills (6-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Andrew Yuhas Stadium, Penn Hills Winner plays: At 4-Gateway (7-3) in the quarterfinals Nov. 12, 7 p.m. Franklin Regional can thank its thrilling, 41-40 comeback win over Latrobe for its playoff berth. The Panthers finished fourth...
Westmoreland girls soccer playoff capsule for Nov. 4, 2021
Today’s game Girls Class 2A Consolation game Shady Side Academy (12-2-1) vs. Southmoreland (14-2-2) 6:30 p.m., Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Notes: The winner takes third place in the WPIAL and advances to the PIAA tournament, which begins Tuesday, to play the District 10 champion. Shady Side Academy, a longtime...
Westmoreland HS notebook: Franklin Regional’s DiFalco to play in All-American game
Franklin Regional soccer standout Anthony DiFalco has had a decorated high school career. He’s won just about every individual award possible, from All-WPIAL and All-State honors to All-America status. He has two WPIAL championships, a runner-up finish and two PIAA semifinal appearances. Now, the gifted forward will get to play...
Saint Vincent picked for top spot in PAC women’s basketball preseason poll
After winning its second women’s basketball conference championship last year, Saint Vincent is the favorite to repeat. The Bearcats begin the season No. 1 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Saint Vincent, coached by Jimmy Petruska, now in his 12th season, finished 10-0 (7-0 PAC) in a shortened...
Westminster heads up PAC preseason men’s basketball poll
A championship in the spring is just as impressive as one in the winter, as Westminster showed last season. The Titans finished 11-1 in a truncated 2020 season and raised the trophy in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. That run of success has the team on top of the PAC Men’s...
Greensburg Central Catholic gets wild OT win over Eden Christian
Carlo Denis said he heard a defender say, “Oh, no.” Seconds later, Greensburg Central Catholic was saying, “Oh, yes.” Denis, the Centurions’ standout junior forward, took a throw-in from junior Jacob Umbel as time ticked down in overtime Tuesday night. He then spun around a defender and touched the ball...
Cal U football moves to No. 3 in national rankings
Cal U rose a spot to No. 3 in the latest American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll, equaling the Vulcans’ highest ranking in the poll. The Vulcans (8-0, 5-0 PSAC), who are coming off a 42-14 win over Seton Hill, are one of four undefeated teams in Division II...
Westmoreland County Campus Clippings: Seton Hill women’s basketball team headed to Montana
The Seton Hill women’s basketball team will open the season earlier than usual, and more than halfway across the country. After last season was canceled because of the covid pandemic, the Griffins are stretching out and hitting the road. The team will get things started at the D2CAA Tip-Off Classic...
Westmoreland County WPIAL soccer playoff capsule for Nov. 3, 2021
Boys Class 3A Consolation game Plum (17-3-1) vs. Franklin Regional (15-4) 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Pete Antimarino Stadium, Gateway, Monroeville • The winner of this third-place game between Section 4 foes will advance to the PIAA playoffs, which begin next Tuesday around the state. Fourth-seeded Plum took top-seeded and undefeated...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Nov. 2, 2021
Tuesday’s WPIAL soccer playoff games Boys Class A Semifinals 5-Eden Christian (17-2-1) vs. 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (14-3) 6 p.m. at Titan Stadium, West Mifflin Winner plays: Winner of 11-Riverside (9-9)/2-Winchester Thurston (17-0-1) in WPIAL championship, 8 p.m. Friday at Highmark Stadium Notes: Eden Christian has emerged as a possible challenger...
Girls soccer coaches announce All-WPIAL teams
The WPIAL girls soccer playoffs have surged into the semifinals with some of the district’s top players leading the way. The league’s coaches have identified many of those players with their 2021 All-WPIAL list. Here are the players who were selected (in alphabetical order by school): Fiona Mahan, Fr., MF,...
Westmoreland County soccer notes: GCC preps for WPIAL semifinal without top scorer
Greensburg Central Catholic will be a man down when it takes on Eden Christian on Tuesday night in the WPIAL Class A semifinals. A key man. How the Centurions respond to playing without senior midfielder Mason Fabean could determine if they get to play for a third straight championship. Fabean,...
Fralic Award committee close to choosing finalists
The great Bill Fralic would have been 59 on Halloween. The hulking lineman who struck fear in opponents when he played at Penn Hills, Pitt and in the NFL left an indelible legacy that lives on through an award in his name. For the third straight year, the William P....
Westmoreland campus clippings: Franklin Regional grad Palmer Jackson on Haskins Award watch list
If golf had a Heisman Trophy, this would be it. The Fred Haskins Award has been given out for 52 years to the country’s most outstanding collegiate golfer. Palmer Jackson could be the next recipient. Jackson, a junior at Notre Dame and a Franklin Regional graduate, was one of 15...
Hampton dispatches Franklin Regional boys soccer team in semis
Franklin Regional has enjoyed deep playoff runs in recent seasons, winning two WPIAL titles in three years. But during the Panthers’ recent run of success, they had only faced Hampton one other time in the boys soccer postseason. The Talbots decided it was time to steal some of the Panthers’...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Monday, Nov. 1, 2021
Monday’s WPIAL soccer playoff games Boys Class 3A Semifinals 3-Franklin Regional (15-3) vs. 2-Hampton (17-1) 8 p.m. at Pete Antimarino Stadium, Gateway, Monroeville Winner plays: Winner of 4-Plum (17-2-1)/1-West Allegheny (20-0) in WPIAL championship at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Highmark Stadium Notes: With a frenzied comeback, Franklin Regional raced...
Westmoreland H.S. soccer notebook: Franklin Regional boys winning with offense
With 56 shutouts across the last four seasons, Franklin Regional has developed a reputation as one of the top defensive programs in WPIAL boys soccer. But with the team playing a more fast-paced, attacking style, offense has come to the forefront: Watch this team share the ball and make passes...
Early goal carries North Allegheny to 1-0 win over Norwin
A single goal and sound defense can still carry a tune in the WPIAL soccer playoffs. Always has. Sixth-seeded North Allegheny proved that Saturday afternoon when the sixth-seeded Tigers jammed up No. 3 Norwin for a 1-0 victory in a WPIAL Class 4A boys quarterfinal game at Norwin Knights Stadium....
Greensburg Central Catholic blanks Springdale but loses top scorer to red card in quarterfinals
When Greensburg Central Catholic and Springdale meet in the boys soccer playoffs, the teams see red. GCC is headed back to the WPIAL Class A boys soccer semifinals for the fourth straight year, but it came at a price after another chippy match. The top-seeded Centurions shut out No. 8...
Section title provides highlight for Franklin Regional girls volleyball
Despite coming into the season as defending WPIAL champion, the Franklin Regional volleyball team took nothing for granted. Winning the first section title in program history was a difficult task that required a season’s worth of hard work. “We have always said that no one is going to hand us...
