Bill Beckner stories, Page 135
Norwin notebook: Tiebreakers keep Knights out of football playoffs despite big win
WPIAL mathematics when it comes to tiebreakers can make your head spin and your blood pressure rise, especially if you’re a team trying to get into the football playoffs. Take Norwin. The Knights (3-6, 1-5) put together one of their best games of the season, toppling No. 5-ranked Canon-McMillan, 16-7,...
Norwin closes season with victory over Hempfield
Mathematically, Norwin is out of playoff contention. The Knights didn’t want to hear that, though, in the regular-season finale. If they were going out, they wanted to go out with a bang. Motivated to close the season with back-to-back wins — and get their fourth victory after winning three games...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Oct. 30, 2021
WPIAL soccer playoff capsules Saturday’s games Boys Class 4A Quarterfinals 6-North Allegheny (14-5) at 3-Norwin (14-1-1) 2 p.m. at Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: Winner of 10-Butler (14-5)/2-Peters Township (14-1-1) on Tuesday (time, site TBD) in semifinals Notes: North Allegheny had won 9 of 10 heading into the...
14 WPIAL boys soccer players earn all-state recognition
Fourteen WPIAL players were announced Friday as Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association all-state selections. Several of them have led their teams to a win or two in the WPIAL playoffs. The picks include Franklin Regional senior Anthony DiFalco; Seneca Valley senior Nathan Prex and junior Beaux Lizewski; Butler senior Landon Mohney;...
Postseason prowess pays off as Peters Township ousts Latrobe in Class 4A quarters
A truck carrying a ladder drifted into the lane occupied by the Peters Township girls soccer bus as the team traveled to its playoff game Thursday night. The ladder clipped the side mirror of the bus and broke it off, causing the team to pull over. Duct tape and some...
Westmoreland football notebook: GCC will take on different look in WPIAL playoffs
Greensburg Central Catholic has clinched a spot in the WPIAL Class A football playoffs, but the team the Centurions roll out in the opener might be unrecognizable compared to the one fans have seen all season. That is because the Centurions have to sit five transfers, all two-way starters, for...
Gannon, Shippensburg ranked atop PSAC women’s basketball preseason poll
Defending conference champion Gannon and Shippensburg are the favorites to win titles in the Pennsylvania State Athetic Conference West and East divisions, according to preseason coaches polls. Gannon went 13-1 in a season shortened by the covid pandemic, a year after the Golden Knights finished 25-6. Gannon returns key players...
Shippensburg, IUP tabbed as favorites in PSAC men’s basketball preseason poll
After averaging 77.6 points and going 24-7 last season, including an 18-4 mark in conference, the Shippensburg men’s basketball team is expected to repeat in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division. IUP, meantime, is the favorite to win the West Division. Shippensburg brings back three starters, including grad student...
Franklin Regional rallies from 2-goal deficit, beats Kiski Area in WPIAL 3A quarterfinals
An early two-goal deficit can stun some teams in the WPIAL soccer playoffs. It seemed to inspire Franklin Regional. Let’s just say the Panthers took offense to it. The third-seeded Panthers responded in waves after an early charge from No. 6 Kiski Area, scoring five consecutive goals on the way...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Oct. 28, 2021
Thursday’s games Girls Class 4A Quarterfinals 5-Norwin (13-4) at 4-Seneca Valley (14-3-2) 6:30 p.m., NexTier Stadium, Jackson Township Winner plays: Winner of 9-Fox Chapel (9-7-1)/1-North Allegheny (16-0-1) on Monday (time, site TBD) Notes: Norwin has overcome a number of injuries tto stay in the thick of the 4A title chase....
Westmoreland soccer notebook: GCC’s Winnor out for playoffs
If Greensburg Central Catholic makes another WPIAL title run in girls soccer, the Centurions will have to do so without senior Bethany Winnor. The senior midfielder and New Hampshire recruit is out after having surgery on her right ankle on Friday. She is expected to miss four months. “I had...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 9
Class 6A Norwin (3-6, 1-5) at Hempfield (2-7, 0-6) 7 p.m. Friday, Spartan Stadium, Hempfield Norwin appeared to keep flickering playoff hopes alive with a 16-7-win last week over Canon-McMillan. Dom Barca ran for 124 yards and scored two touchdowns, including a school-record 95-yard run. Joey Castle kicked a 32-yard...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill’s Wolf leads pack at PSAC cross country championships
The pack was chasing a Wolf at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference cross country championships at Kutztown. At least that was the case down the stretch. Seton Hill senior Sydney Wolf became the first woman in school history to win a PSAC final as her final 300-meter push gave her...
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team ekes out victory over Beaver
A driving, sideways rain made it hard for the teams to concentrate on each other Tuesday night at Mt. Pleasant. Marissa Garn clearly was focused on giving her team the lead, though, and moving on in the bracket. She blocked out the wet and wind and extended her team’s season....
Eighth grader Erica Gribble gets Division I basketball offer
Irwin’s Erica Gribble won’t play varsity basketball in the WPIAL until the 2022-23 season. But the promising backcourt standout and youngest sister of Norwin’s Gribble family already has a Division I scholarship offer. Gribble, an eighth grader at Greensburg Central Catholic, was offered by St. Joseph’s, where her older sister,...
Westmoreland County WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Oct. 27, 2021
Wednesday’s games Girls Class A Quarterfinals 8-Riverside (11-7) vs. 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (13-1) 6:15 p.m. at Fridley Field, Hampton Winner plays: Winner of 4-Bishop Canevin (15-0-1)/5-Freedom (13-4) on Monday (time, site TBD) Riverside won a back-and-forth playoff opener against No. 9 Winchester Thurston, 8-4. Emma Thellman and Megan Zelc scored...
Franklin Regional blanks pesky West Allegheny in Class 3A girls soccer opener
Sydney Lindeman and her Franklin Regional teammates were wary of 14th-seeded West Allegheny in their playoff opener. “They come from a tough section playing against teams like Mars so we knew it would be tough,” Lindeman said. “It wasn’t going to be easy.” Concerning words? Maybe. But not when they...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Oct. 26, 2021
Tuesday’s games Boys Class 4A First round 12-Penn-Trafford (9-7) at 5-Fox Chapel (13-3-1) 8 p.m. at James Burk Athletic Complex, O’Hara Winner plays: At 4-Canon-McMillan (13-2-1) on Saturday (time TBD) Notes: Penn-Trafford faded late in the season, losing five of its last six with shutouts against Norwin (1-0) and North...
Norwin ‘power couple’ patrols soccer sidelines
Scott and Caitlin Schuchert met on a soccer field. Because of course they did. “I remember we started coaching together and I went up to him and introduced myself,” Caitlin Schuchert said. “He was like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ We started hanging out and it kind of went from there. We...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg tennis players honored
Pitt-Greensburg’s queens of the court cleaned up when the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference postseason awards came out last week. Sophomore Emily Ruhlman was named the conference player of the year for the second straight season, and Doug Smeltzer was a co-coach of the year recipient. Six Bobcats players received first-...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoffs capsules for Monday, Oct. 25, 2021
Monday’s games Boys Class 2A First round 16-Yough (7-10) at 1-South Park (18-0) 6:30 p.m. at South Park Stadium, South Park Winner plays: Winner of 9-North Catholic/8-McGuffey at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (time, site TBD) Notes: Yough is back in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Cougars...
Westmoreland notebook: GCC grad Ritenour takes major steps toward college golf
If Ben Ritenour didn’t think he was ready for college golf coming out of high school, he probably does now. A 2020 graduate of Greensburg Central Catholic, Ritenour had an outstanding summer playing competitively, winning the Tri-State PGA Player of the Year in the Boys’ 17-18 age division. That came...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: GCC’s Dlugos boys play with heavy hearts
“RWG Pap” was written in bold, black lettering on the tape wrapped around Nate Dlugos’ wrist. The Greensburg Central Catholic junior quarterback/defensive back, his brother and teammate, Nick Dlugos, and their cousin, Danny Dlugos, went to Friday’s game at Jeannette with heavy hearts. Only hours before kickoff, they attended a...
Norwin hockey program moving in right direction
Norwin second-year hockey coach Mike Robinson lists his team’s strengths in this order: • Goaltending • Offensive ability • Leadership Put them together and the Knights have three stars that can potentially lead them to the PIHL Class A postseason. “Our goaltending already this year has come up big and...
Franklin Regional notebook: Girls golf team wraps up another strong season
Based on the level of competition at the WPIAL Class 3A girls team golf finals, coach Kane Daignault was thrilled to see his Franklin Regional team card a top-five finish. “You look around and there are so many good players and teams here,” Daignault said on Oct. 14 at Cedarbrook...
