Chris Harlan stories, Page 101

Central Valley traveled 13 miles to play its first conference road game this season and only nine miles for its second, matchups with Beaver County rivals Blackhawk and Beaver Falls. This week, they’re road Warriors. A 70-mile drive each way awaits Central Valley on Friday night. The Warriors have reserved...

A WPIAL hearing scheduled Wednesday for the Allderdice and Connellsville boys soccer teams has been postponed. The hearing was delayed at Allderdice’s request, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. A new date wasn’t immediately set. The WPIAL board voted unanimously last week to investigate allegations that the two boys soccer...

Citing a lack of healthy players, Shady Side Academy notified Apollo-Ridge on Monday that it will forfeit this week’s football game. Shady Side athletic director Gene Deal called the decision heartbreaking. The Indians started the season with 23 names on the roster but finished last week’s game with only 14...

Is there a WPIAL conference more volatile than the Northern? Even defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A champion Penn Hills has felt its share of close calls this season. The Indians remain undefeated in the conference, but they’ve won the past two weeks by 11 points combined. After rallying to...

WPIAL Football Class 6A 1. Pine-Richland, 5-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 5-0, 2 3. Central Catholic, 4-1, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 3-2, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 2-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 4-1, 1 2. Peters Township, 5-0, 2 3. Gateway, 4-1, 3 4. Penn Hills, 4-1, 4...

Representatives from Connellsville and Allderdice will meet next week to address allegations that the schools’ boys soccer teams used racial and anti-gay slurs. The WPIAL scheduled the hearing for Wednesday afternoon in a meeting room at the Pittsburgh Plaza Hotel, executive director Tim O’Malley said. The WPIAL board voted unanimously...

Bob Palko wants to build Mt. Lebanon into the “well-oiled machine” that his West Allegheny program was, but first, all of the parts have to be assembled correctly. “We’re trying to put the right pegs in the right holes,” Palko said. “We’re just trying to find out what our personality...

Clairton will try to do something that Mohawk, Rochester, Bishop Canevin and California couldn’t. The Bears will attempt to score against Laurel’s so-far perfect defense. The Spartans have shut out their first four opponents this season by a combined score of 135-0. In this era of high-scoring offenses, a dominant...

Citing a lack of healthy players, Bishop Canevin announced that it will forfeit this week’s football game against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. The Class A Big Seven Conference teams were scheduled to play Saturday night at Dormont Stadium. “Several of our players have been diagnosed with concussions and...

The WPIAL wants two football coaches suspended for a scrimmage next season for violating preseason heat acclimatization rules. Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta and Aliquippa’s Mike Warfield violated PIAA rules when their teams worked out in full equipment in early August, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. The only equipment...

The WPIAL ruled Seton LaSalle transfer Tyler Buzalka eligible for football season following a hearing Monday in Green Tree. The WPIAL board initially had concerns that the sophomore might have followed former Ringgold football coach Mike Zmijanac, who was hired at Seton LaSalle last December. But in a split vote,...

The WPIAL is calling in Connellsville administrators for the second time in two years to face allegations that the school’s boys soccer team targeted an opponent with racial slurs. A year ago, it was Penn Hills that made those accusations. This time, Allderdice parents are accusing Connellsville soccer players of...

A couple of weeks after adding a Michigan State basketball offer, North Allegheny freshman Jasmine Timmerson received one from a school much closer to home. Timmerson announced a Robert Morris offer this week, raising her Division I total to four. She won’t play her first high school game for a...

Rochester sophomore Corynne Hauser, who helped the Rams win a WPIAL girls basketball title last winter, received her third Division I offer this week. The 5-foot-7 point guard announced an offer from Duquesne, which joined Robert Morris and Youngstown state on her list. Hauser averaged 14 points as a freshman...

Football standouts Brian Eyerman and Alex Papson are among 11 former North Allegheny athletes who’ll be inducted next month into the school’s sports hall of fame. Joining them are Bill Brown (cross country, track), Matthew Buerger (swimming), Kristin Huysman-Grabill (field hockey, softball), Brian Levey (soccer, basketball), Briana Pittman (rowing), Andrew...

WPIAL Football Class 6A 1. Pine-Richland, 4-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 5-0, 2 3. Central Catholic, 3-1, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 3-1, 5 5. Seneca Valley, 1-3, 4 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 4-0, 1 2. Peters Township, 4-0, 2 3. Gateway, 3-1, 3 4. Penn Hills, 3-1, 4...

When McKeesport coach Matt Miller was a senior in 1991, the Tigers had around 85 names on the football roster. This year, his team has 47. What isn’t lost on Miller is that when he walks the halls at the high school, there are far fewer students than there once...

If Avonworth quarterback Park Penrod throws a touchdown or scrambles for a first down, his name won’t echo through the stadium Friday night. Instead, the Oak Hill Field announcer will recognize Avonworth graduate Richard McCormick, an Army soldier who was killed in action in Vietnam. Penrod is among nine Avonworth...

Mars coach Scott Heinauer took time during film study to praise a run by Nick Spotti that gained exactly zero yards. Spotti ran hard, but didn’t have the football. Instead, he sold the fake really well, Heinauer said, drawing the defense away from teammate Teddy Ruffner, who rushed for 328...

The Ivy League added another WPIAL lineman Wednesday when Central Catholic’s Thomas Hartnett committed to Dartmouth. The senior announced his commitment on Twitter. Hartnett (6-3, 290) plays center for the Vikings, who are ranked third in WPIAL Class 6A. He also listed offers from Albany, Brown, Penn and VMI. He’s...

Jeannette and Avella school administrators discussed moving this week’s football game to a different date or time, but ultimately agreed to play the game as scheduled. The teams will play at 7 p.m. Friday at McKee Stadium. Avella had raised concerns in the wake of last week’s fatal shooting outside...