Bill Hartlep stories, Page 15
Todd Haley-led Memphis Showboats shut out Pittsburgh Maulers
The Pittsburgh Maulers committed three turnovers and allowed a length-of-the field touchdown return en route to a 22-0 loss to the Memphis Showboats on Saturday afternoon in Memphis. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Maulers, who fell to 2-4 in the USFL season. Former Pitt kicker Chris...
PIAA will sponsor high school girls wrestling after unanimous approval
Advocates for high school girls wrestling in Pennsylvania had their collective arms raised Wednesday. The PIAA board of directors voted unanimously to sponsor girls wrestling as a sport, starting next winter. Members of SanctionPA have been working toward official sponsorship for the past three years, and after reaching the benchmark...
A-K Valley WPIAL baseball playoff capsules: Games for Thursday, May 18, 2023
WPIAL baseball playoffs Class 3A First round 1-Riverside (17-0) vs. 16-Valley (11-10) 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Seneca Valley Winner plays: Winner of 8-Freeport (14-5)/9-South Allegheny (12-7) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD) Players to watch: Ashton Schlosser, Riverside; Jacob Staraniec, Valley Extra bases: Behind 55th-year coach Dan Oliastro — the...
A-K Valley WPIAL baseball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, May 17, 2023
WPIAL baseball playoffs Class 5A First round 8-Fox Chapel (12-8) vs. 9-Mars (9-9) 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plum Winner plays: Winner of 4-Plum (13-7) and 13-Trinity (6-9) in quarterfinals (time, date, site TBD) Players to watch: Jeremy Haigh, Fox Chapel; Jacob Maple, Mars Extra bases: The Foxes finished third in...
A-K Valley WPIAL baseball playoff capsule: Games for Tuesday, May 16, 2023
WPIAL baseball playoffs Class 3A Preliminary round 16-Valley (10-10) vs. 17-Burrell (7-9) 6 p.m. Tuesday at Highlands Winner plays: 1-Riverside (17-0) Thursday in quarterfinals at Seneca Valley, 6:30 p.m. Players to watch: Wesley Schrock, Valley; Isaac Lasinski, Burrell Extra bases: The Section 3-3A rivals finished in a three-way tie for...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Leechburg’s Braiden Turiak, Plum’s Rayla Smith
Rayla Smith Class: Junior School: Plum Sport: Lacrosse Report card: Midfielder Rayla Smith scored seven goals and added an assist Monday in an 18-10 victory over North Hills. On Wednesday, she had five goals and four assists in helping the Mustangs to a 15-4 victory over Ellis School. She broke...
Deon Cain’s late kickoff return touchdown lifts Birmingham Stallions past Pittsburgh Maulers
The Pittsburgh Maulers looked to be in line for a second straight victory Sunday night. It took 11 seconds for that to change. Deon Cain’s highlight-reel 91-yard kickoff return with 6 minutes, 52 seconds remaining gave the defending USFL champion Birmingham Stallions a 23-20 win over the Maulers at Tom...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Valley’s Niko Heakins, Plum’s Taylor Lorish
Taylor Lorish Class: Senior School: Plum Sport: Softball Report card: Lorish hit a grand slam and had five RBIs to help Plum earn a 9-2 win over Fox Chapel in a Section 1-5A game Thursday. Lorish is batting over .450 this season for the Mustangs, who are in third place...
Pittsburgh Maulers’ Reuben Foster, Chris Blewitt earn USFL weekly honors
A pair of Pittsburgh Maulers were recognized Monday for their roles in helping their team to its first victory of the season Sunday afternoon. Linebacker Reuben Foster was named the USFL’s Defensive Player of the Week, while newly signed kicker Chris Blewitt was the USFL’s Special Teams Player of the...
Former Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt sets USFL record as Pittsburgh Maulers earn 1st victory of season
Chris Blewitt made quite an impact in his debut with the Pittsburgh Maulers on Sunday. But the former Pitt kicker had some help leading the Maulers to their first victory of the season. Blewitt connected on a USFL-record five field goals, and wide receiver Bailey Gaither scored the team’s first...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Burrell’s Katie Armstrong, Leechburg’s Owen McDermott
Katie Armstrong Class: Senior School: Burrell Sport: Softball Report card: Burrell senior pitcher Katie Armstrong struck out 30 batters in two victories this week to help the Bucs improve to 8-4 overall and 4-2 in Section 1-3A. The 2022 Valley News Dispatch Softball Player of the Year who had 257...
Offensive struggles continue for Pittsburgh Maulers in loss to New Jersey GeneralsVideo
The Pittsburgh Maulers continued to have struggles on offense Sunday afternoon, failing to cross the goal line for the second straight week. The Maulers managed just a field goal en route to a 20-3 loss to the New Jersey Generals in their home opener Sunday at Tom Benson Hall of...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Michael Hanz, Burrell’s Kadi Bauer
Kadi Bauer Class: Senior School: Burrell Sport: Track and field Report card: Distance running Bauer set a school record in the 1,600-meter run (5 minutes, 20.34 seconds) as the Bucs locked up second place with a 6-1 record in Section 4-2A and a spot in the WPIAL team playoffs. They...
PIHL girls hockey season begins 2nd season
The PIHL’s second season sponsoring a girls division begins Tuesday night. Here are five things to know: East ready to defend title The PIHL’s inaugural girls hockey season culminated with East defeating Central, 2-1, in the championship game on an overtime goal by Penn-Trafford’s Kylie McKenzie, at UPMC Lemieux Sports...
Defense, special teams shine but Pittsburgh Maulers fall to Breakers in opener
Reuben Foster walked the sideline with a black and gold sledgehammer late in the first half of the Pittsburgh Maulers’ season-opening game Sunday night. A first-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, the linebacker forced a fumble near the goal line that fellow linebacker Kyahva Tezino recovered for...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Sydney Selker, Kiski Area’s Dom DiNinno
Sydney Selker Class: Junior School: Freeport Sport: Softball Report card: Selker played a key role in two victories this week. She hit a walk-off RBI double in the seventh inning to lead Freeport to a 3-2 victory over Burrell in Section 1-3A softball Wednesday and also held the Bucs to...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Reese Skiba, Dustin Rape
Reese Skiba Class: Senior School: Freeport Sport: Track and field Report card: Freeport’s Reese Skiba won a pair of events Thursday at the Butler County Track and Field Invitational held at Freeport. She threw 33 feet, 6 inches in the shot put and 119-10 to set a personal and meet...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Hannah Hill, Burrell’s Kwade Kirchartz
Hannah Hill Class: Freshman School: Kiski Area Sport: Softball Report card: Kiski Area’s softball team is off to a 3-0 start, and second baseman Hannah Hill has been a major catalyst. The freshman went 3 for 3 with four RBIs in Tuesday’s 15-0 win over Woodland Hills. She then was...
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship breakdown: Lansdale Catholic vs. Blackhawk
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship Lansdale Catholic vs. Blackhawk Noon Saturday, at Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: WMBA-AM 1460, WBVP-AM 1230, WBVP-FM 99.3 Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: Lansdale Catholic 0; Blackhawk 4 (1999, 2000, ‘14, ‘15) Lansdale Catholic (27-2) Coach: Eric Gidney Probable starting...
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship breakdown: West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes 2 p.m. Saturday, Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN PIAA titles: West Catholic 0; Deer Lakes 0 West Catholic (19-10) Coach: Miguel Bocachica Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos. 0, Adam Clark, 5-10, sr., G...
Like Deer Lakes, West Catholic taking aim at 1st PIAA boys basketball title
Coach Miguel Bocachica says he’s just a guy who opens the gym at West Catholic Preparatory High School. He credits his players’ hard work as the primary reason the Burrs earned their first District 12 boys basketball title earlier this month and are set to play Deer Lakes at 2...
PIAA Class A girls basketball championship breakdown: Our Lady of Lourdes Regional vs. Union
PIAA Class A girls basketball championship Our Lady of Lourdes Regional vs. Union Noon Friday at Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN. Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: Lourdes 1 (1994); Union 0 Lourdes Regional (22-7) Coach: Mike Klembara Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos. 0, Masie...
Deer Lakes joins select group of A-K Valley basketball teams to reach PIAA finals
Chants of “We want chocolate” were music to the ears of the Deer Lakes boys basketball players Tuesday as they finished off a 61-56 victory over Penn Cambria in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals. The win earned the WPIAL champion Lancers (21-8) a trip to Hershey for their first appearance...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost, Kiski Area’s Parker Sterlitz
Kira Schrecongost Class: Sophomore School: Freeport Sport: Swimming Report card: Schrecongost earned a bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly (56.16 seconds) and finished sixth in the 200 individual medley (2:07.31) at the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships Wednesday and Thursday at Bucknell. The Freeport sophomore also helped the 200 medley...
2023 WPIAL Class A softball preseason breakdown
Union edged West Greene, 3-2, to capture its first WPIAL Class A softball title last season. The Scotties ended West Greene’s run of five straight WPIAL championships. Both teams advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals and are again expected to contend for the district title. Here is a rundown of the...

