Bill Beckner stories, Page 168
Norwin notebook: Knights seniors make college choices
A pair of Norwin seniors made a commitment to Division II schools on the same day. Jayden Walker and Danielle Rosso will play baseball and basketball, respectively, at the next level, they announced. Walker, a 6-foot-3 left-handed pitcher and first baseman, gave a verbal pledge to Mercyhurst of the Pennsylvania...
Pine-Richland aerial attack too much for Penn-Trafford in Class 5A semifinals
Pine-Richland may have dropped in classification this season, but the Rams still seem to be in a class by themselves. The top-ranked team in the state in Class 5A, Pine-Richland used its go-to pass combination of quarterback Cole Spencer and Eli Jochem and its big-play offense to brush aside visiting...
WPIAL Class A boys soccer preview: No. 1 Greensburg Central Catholic vs. No. 2 Winchester Thurston
Class A Championship 2-Winchester Thurston (14-1) vs. 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (14-1) 3 p.m. Saturday, Antimarino Stadium, Gateway HS, Monroeville Coaches: Adam Brownold, Winchester Thurston; Tyler Solis, GCC How they got here: Winchester Thurston defeated Riverside, 6-0; Brentwood, 6-2; and Sewickley Academy, 2-1. GCC beat Aquinas Academy, 7-5; Eden Christian Academy,...
GCC tightens up on defense heading into boys soccer title match with Winchester Thurston
The Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer team might be dealing with a case of mistaken identity this postseason. Where are all of the finesse goals and breakout plays? The wide-open passing and constantly crashing the net? All right, so maybe WPIAL championship teams get critiqued more than others, but the...
Dane Beller’s golden goal lifts Mars past Franklin Regional in Class 3A title game
Mars and Franklin Regional are very similar teams, both in talent and playing style. They both play deliberate, possession soccer and look to create opportunities in the midfield. But top-seeded Mars switched to a more direct, attacking style in the second half, which produced more opportunities on net and ultimately...
No. 1 Pine-Richland will provide stiff test for Penn-Trafford defense
Chase Vecchio plays a hybrid, outside linebacker-cornerback position for Penn-Trafford. But the Warriors senior does not overstep his bounds when the opponent is driving. He covers his assigned area. “Everyone does their job on our defense,” said Vecchio, who has 34 tackles and two interceptions. “Nobody tries to do too...
For second straight year, GCC downs short-handed Springdale in Class A semifinalsVideo
Springdale coach Cesareo Sanchez said he wanted his team to “be careful on defense” heading into Wednesday night’s WPIAL Class A semifinal boys soccer game against top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic at Norwin. Sanchez knows how fragile opportunities can be this deep in the playoffs, and how things like ill-advised fouls...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsules: Nov. 5
Boys Class 3A Championship 2-Franklin Regional (16-2) vs. 1-Mars (17-0) 8 p.m. Thursday, Newman Stadium, North Allegheny, McCandless Coaches: Rand Hudson, Franklin Regional; Chris Knauff, Mars How they got here: Franklin Regional defeated Knoch, 7-0; Indiana, 4-0; and West Allegheny, 2-1 (OT); Mars defeated Laurel Highlands, 5-1; Hampton, 1-0; and...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Belle Vernon’s Devin Whitlock grabs headlines
Devin Whitlock’s importance to the Belle Vernon football team cannot be understated. The junior star who moved from receiver to quarterback is having a special season. As in, WPIAL player of the year-caliber stuff. He has led the Leopards (6-1) to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals Friday night at Aliquippa...
WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Nov. 4
Boys Class 4A Semifinals 4-Fox Chapel (11-3) at 1-Peters Township (12-1-1) 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, ClearEdge Stadium, McMurray Winner plays: Winner of 3-Norwin (11-0-2) at No. 2 Seneca Valley (12-1-1) in championship, 3 p.m. Saturday at North Allegheny Hat tricks: After earning a first-round bye, the Foxes scored six goals to...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Yough peaking at right time
File Yough under teams peaking at the right time for the WPIAL girls soccer postseason. The ninth-seeded Cougars (11-4) gradually are returning to full strength as they get set to play at No. 5 Avonworth (13-1-1) on Wednesday night in the semifinals. The Class 2A runner-up last year, Yough brought...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Norwin, Seneca Valley on collision course
The Norwin boys soccer team is back in the WPIAL semifinals for the second time in three years. If the third-seeded Knights (11-0-2) were going to play for a WPIAL Class 4A championship like they did in 2018, coach Scotty Schuchert knew one team would stand in their way: the...
Mars stands in way of 3-peat for Franklin Regional boys soccer
With the Highmark Stadium experience a been-there-done-that kind of thing for the Franklin Regional boys soccer team, the Panthers are just focused on winning another game. Their next game, though, happens to be the WPIAL Class 3A championship, and a win would mean a third straight title for the Panthers....
Anthony DiFalco’s OT goal lifts Franklin Regional over West Allegheny, into WPIAL final
With teams as evenly matched as West Allegheny and Franklin Regional, differences in high-stakes playoff games against one another usually are subtle to the casual observer. It can be a miscue here or a bad bounce there that decides a winner. But other game-changing plays can be more glaring —...
Girls All-WPIAL soccer teams announced
The All-WPIAL girls soccer selections are out for the 2020 season. All-state picks for the girls, as well as All-WPIAL boys players, are expected to come out next week. Here is the list of honorees by schools: Class 4A Butler Gabby Boden, Sr., F Sam Miller, Sr., F Chloe Weiland,...
WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Monday’s semifinals
WPIAL soccer playoff previews Boys Class AAA Semifinals 3-West Allegheny (15-1) at 2-Franklin Regional (15-2) 6:30 p.m. Monday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 13-South Fayette (11-4-1) at 1-Mars (16-0) in WPIAL championship, 8 p.m. Thursday (site TBD) Hat tricks: West Allegheny and Franklin Regional met in the last...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Franklin Regional boys soccer meets familiar foe
So they meet again. Franklin Regional (15-2) and West Allegheny (15-1) have become quite familiar with one another in the boys soccer postseason, and the teams will clash again at 6:30 p.m. Monday in a semifinal game in Murrysville. The playoff rivals played each other in the past two WPIAL...
Norwin boys soccer charges into WPIAL Class 4A semifinalsVideo
With a wall of six defenders and a goalkeeper lined up across the front of the cage, creating a situation he had never faced before, Caleb Yuricha stepped to the top of the 6-yard box. Then junior then did what strikers do: He struck. Yuricha flicked a shot left of...
Westmoreland high school football notes: P-T, Pine-Richland meet for just 2nd time, and stakes are high
Penn-Trafford at Pine-Richland is an intriguing matchup in next week’s WPIAL Class 5A semifinal. Two well-structured, well-coached programs with a winning tradition. “We’re both like the New England Patriots because everything is so in order,” Warriors quarterback Ethan Carr said. “Things don’t change much.” But similarities aside, there isn’t much...
WPIAL announces sites for boys, girls soccer championships
North Allegheny and Gateway will be host sites for the WPIAL boys and girls soccer championships. The WPIAL announced the locations Saturday for eight title games set for Thursday and Saturday. The championship games usually are played at Highmark Stadium at Station Square, but the venue was not used this...
Norwin notebook: Covid-19 quarantine keeps Knights out of volleyball playoffs
Norwin qualified for the WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs but did not compete because it had to quarantine for 14 days because of possible covid-19 exposure. The quarantine lasted until Nov. 2, after the playoffs began, so the Knights had to give up their spot, coach Mary Ellen Ferragonio said. Hempfield...
Franklin Regional boys soccer accomplishing preseason goals
Franklin Regional arranged some objectives early in the boys soccer season like it was laying out a new outfit for the first day of school. Winning the section was first on the list. Bringing home a third consecutive WPIAL title was there, too, a little farther down. Only it wasn’t...
Penn-Trafford’s defense does talking against Upper St. Clair in rout
With two high-scoring offenses meeting Friday night at Warrior Stadium, some expected a shootout. Penn-Trafford shot down that notion. The fourth-seeded Warriors took the air out of No. 5 Upper St. Clair and produced a pair of 100-yard rushers in a relatively painless 35-7 victory in a WPIAL Class 5A...
Westmoreland County WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Oct. 31
Boys Class 4A Quarterfinals 6-North Allegheny (13-3-1) at 3-Norwin (10-0-2) Noon Saturday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: Winner of 10-Butler (11-5-1) at 2-Seneca Valley (11-1-1), 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (site TBD) in semifinals Hat tricks: Norwin has been off since Oct. 19 with a first-round bye. The Knights are...
14 from WPIAL make all-state in boys soccer
The WPIAL boys soccer postseason is winding into the semifinals and a number of title contenders feature some of the best players in the state. Fourteen WPIAL players made the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State list, announced Friday morning. Among the selections is Franklin Regional junior forward Anthony DiFalco,...
