Bill Beckner stories, Page 5
Plum boys soccer clinches 7th straight section title after scoreless tie against Norwin
A section-championship boys soccer match didn’t get a victor, but it proved to be an ideal tune-up for the upcoming WPIAL playoffs. Norwin and Plum settled on a 0-0 draw on a cold Thursday night at Mustang Stadium in their second Section 1-4A game of the season. Even with the...
Westmoreland County H.S. football notebook: Penn-Trafford shows flair for dramatic
Penn-Trafford is showing a penchant for late-game flair. Just like they did against Moon earlier in the season, the fifth-ranked Warriors rallied in the second half last week to get past rival Gateway, 33-23, in Class 5A Big East play. Gateway took a 23-7 lead into halftime before the Warriors...
Ayres sets program shutout record as Franklin Regional girls top Elizabeth Forward
Addison Ayres saves most of the shots she faces, but the Franklin Regional senior goalkeeper couldn’t save herself after Wednesday night’s game. As the Panthers gathered in their customary circle after a 5-0 Section 4-3A girls soccer victory over visiting Elizabeth Forward, Ayres didn’t see junior teammates Grace Copeland and...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Franklin Regional getting healthy, building momentum
Franklin Regional is getting healthy. That could be bad news for other boys soccer teams in WPIAL Class 3A. “The more we start to get healthy, the more depth we have,” Panthers coach Nick White said. “When we put guys in, the level doesn’t drop.” Senior Keaton Sheetz and sophomore...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: As section title shows, ‘Norwin is back’
Norwin has secured its first outright section championship since 2019, a sure sign the Knights (12-2) are back to being WPIAL title contenders again. “Yes, Norwin is back,” junior Siena Ali said. Senior Nicole Bown and her classmates on the team have seen both ends of the spectrum. When they...
Norwin clinches 1st outright section title in 6 years with win over Penn-Trafford
Fifth-ranked Norwin secured its first outright section championship since 2019 and ran its winning streak to 11 with a 1-0 victory over Penn-Trafford on Monday night in a Section 1-4A girls soccer game teeming with playoff atmosphere at Norwin Knights Stadium. The longtime Westmoreland County rivals staged another one of...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad David Newsom wins Grove City Invitational
With sophomore David Newsom out in front as the medalist, the Saint Vincent men’s golf team won the Grove City Invitational at Grove City Country Club. Newsom, a Penn-Trafford graduate, shot 3-under-par 69 to win the individual title by two shots. The lefty finished with six birdies and carded a...
High school notebook: Westmoreland cross country championships set for Wednesday
The Westmoreland County Coaches Association Cross Country Championships will be Wednesday at Westmoreland County Community College. The boys varsity race begins at 3 p.m., followed by girls varsity at 3:40 and junior varsity at 4:20. Returning champions are the Norwin boys and girls (3A), and the Greensburg Salem girls (2A)...
Westmoreland high school athletes of the week, Oct. 5, 2025: Franklin Regional’s Allyssa Velasquez, Penn-Trafford’s Jordan Tucek
Allyssa Velasquez School: Franklin Regional Class: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Velasquez has emerged as one of the top goal scorers in the WPIAL. She is second in Westmoreland County in goals — to Morgan Gesinski of Mt. Pleasant — with a career-high 18. She had back-to-back hat tricks...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Crosby, Brown go toe-to-toe in rivalry game
Samir Crosby didn’t get a win in what was likely his final game at Jeannette, but the elusive senior star from Greensburg Central Catholic still put on a show in front of his hometown family and friends. A day after getting cleared to play after suffering a concussion two weeks...
Franklin Regional notebook: Soccer teams looking to bounce back
The Franklin Regional soccer teams were looking to rebound from section losses that bumped both from the Trib HSSN rankings. The boys (11-2, 5-2) moved into the No. 5 spot in Class 3A for the second time this season but dropped a 1-0 decision to Penn-Trafford. The defeat ended a...
Jeannette holds off rally by GCC, Crosby for crucial Eastern Conference win
Two lifelong friends who grew up together in Jeannette had another blast playing backyard football against each other, trading big runs and pass plays in the latest chapter of the Jeannette-Greensburg Central Catholic rivalry. Jeannette and Kymon’e Brown won the first half. Greensburg Central Catholic and Samir Crosby won the...
Tim O’Rourke named new boys basketball coach at Greensburg Central Catholic
Familiarity won’t be a problem for new Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball coach Tim O’Rourke. He’s had maroon in his blood for some time. A former girls assistant and junior high boys and girls coach at the school, O’Rourke is primed to take over after the summer resignation of Christian...
Fiery Franklin Regional boys get revenge against Belle Vernon with resounding win
Franklin Regional had its annual campus bonfire Thursday night. Shortly after the fire department doused the flames, the boys soccer team went out and smoked Belle Vernon. Aidan Alexander and Michael Hillebrand each scored two goals as the fifth-ranked Panthers avenged an earlier loss to the visiting Leopards in dominant...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Injuries could impact Eastern Conference clash
Forget the stat sheet. Take a look at the injury list. The biggest question mark in the 36th football meeting between Jeannette (3-3, 1-2) and Greensburg Central Catholic (3-3, 1-2) is who has more questionable players. Both teams had standout wide receivers sustain injuries last week. For Jeannette, it was...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Injuries could impact Eastern Conference clash
Forget the stat sheet. Take a look at the injury list. The biggest question mark in the 36th football meeting between Jeannette (3-3, 1-2) and Greensburg Central Catholic (3-3, 1-2) is who has more questionable players. Both teams had standout wide receivers sustain injuries last week. For Jeannette, it was...
Norwin girls soccer keeps rolling, shuts out Latrobe
Norwin girls soccer coach Ashley DeVito had a name for her team’s defensive mission before Wednesday night’s Section 1-4A game at Latrobe. “Operation Clean Sheet” was a success. The Lady Knights were met with little resistance as they pinned up their eighth shutout of the season with their 10th consecutive...
Westmoreland County high school football matchups for 2025 Week 6
Here’s a look at the don’t-miss matchups for Week 6 in Westmoreland County: Class 5A Big East Gateway (2-4, 2-1) at No. 5 Penn-Trafford (5-1, 1-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Harrison City Last week: Armstrong 29, Gateway 28; Penn-Trafford 33, Plum 14 Last year’s meeting: Penn-Trafford 32, Gateway 13...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Scrappy Norwin still in title hunt
Don’t count Norwin out of the Section 1-4A boys soccer title race just yet. The Knights, who had dropped back-to-back one-goal games, rebounded with two straight section wins, the second one a dandy against a team it previously tied. Yes, the Knights have learned how to win close games. Tyler...
Mt. Pleasant boys control possession, shut out Yough in key section showdown
Yough and Mt. Pleasant play with contrasting styles. Yough is more direct and physical, while Mt. Pleasant is organized and tactical. The latter approach prevailed in the teams’ second Section 4-2A boys soccer matchup of the season. Playing a near perfect game schematically and tilting the field, Mt. Pleasant blanked...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Quality over quantity works for Latrobe
Soccer teams in the WPIAL’s largest classification generally are not supposed to have problems with depth. Benches are expected to be deep, and fresh lineups are meant to be common. Not at Latrobe. The girls soccer Wildcats are making their way through another season in Class 4A with only 18...
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team continues to roll with 3-0 win over Deer Lakes
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer coach Rich Garland called it his team’s best effort of the season. He will get no argument from Deer Lakes. The fourth-ranked Lady Vikings rang up their 10th shutout of the season and stayed on track for a Section 4-2A title with a 3-0 victory over...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent QB/WR duo among best in NCAA Division III
Saint Vincent is developing one of the top pass-and-catch combinations in NCAA Division III. Junior quarterback Jake Phillips (Hempfield) and junior wide receiver Chris Downs were at it again Saturday in another shootout in the PAC. The Bearcats (1-3) are flat out slinging it around. Phillips completed 35 of 54...
Western PA quarterbacks among nominees for National High School Football Hall of Fame
The ballot for the fourth class of the National High School Football Hall of Fame again will have Western Pennsylvania flavor. Of course, it has its share of quarterbacks. The 52 nominees for the Class of 2026 include Pittsburgh Steelers greats Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw; former WPIAL...
Norwin girls cross country team racing toward what it hopes is a state-title season
Norwin is lining up wins like it lines up runners at the starting line. Methodically, the Lady Knights are pulling away from the pack with landslide victories. The state’s No. 1-ranked girls cross country team in the preseason is building momentum to go for its first WPIAL title since 2009...
