Chris Harlan stories, Page 94

The Big 33 Football Classic’s Super Bowl streak continues with help from a former WPIAL athlete. All 54 Super Bowl matchups have included at least one former player from the high school football all-star game, a streak that San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Kevin Givens and kicker Robbie Gould, and...

WPIAL rankings Girls basketball Class 6A 1. Bethel Park, 13-0, 1 2. Norwin, 11-2, 2 3. North Allegheny, 11-3, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 12-3, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 9-4, NR Out: Baldwin (10-5, 5) Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 15-0, 1 2. Woodland Hills, 13-2, 2 3. Trinity, 11-2,...

WPIAL rankings Boys basketball Class 6A 1. Fox Chapel, 15-0, 1 2. Butler, *10-4, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 11-4, 3 4. Pine-Richland, *9-4, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 13-2, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn Hills, *11-2, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 10-4, 4 3. Shaler, 11-4, 2 4. Mars,...

The WPIAL has already requested a weekend at Heinz Field for the football finals, but it’s too early to say which classifications will play their championships at the North Shore stadium. That’s because this is a realignment year for the PIAA, a resorting of teams that occurs across the state...

High school basketball teams from seven states are headed to Woodland Hills this weekend for the Martin Luther King Weekend Stand Against Violence Showcase, a four-day event that features 41 boys and girls varsity games. The showcase starts Friday. In the field are two teams that are ranked nationally. The...

District 10 accepted Butler’s football team as an associate member Wednesday after the WPIAL endorsed the move. The WPIAL board had previously rejected the football team’s request to leave District 7 and join District 10, but later sent a letter in support of this limited arrangement. As an associate member,...

WPIAL football will have some smaller conferences and handpicked nonconference matchups next season, but schools don’t want a radical overhaul. A significant majority of WPIAL schools preferred “Proposal 1” for football realignment, a plan that maintains six classifications and separates schools according to enrollment size rather than geography. School administrators...

The PIAA competitive-balance rule seems particularly harsh on lower-income communities like Aliquippa, said athletic director Brandon LeDonne, where residents tend to be more transient. “Parents change jobs, guardianship changes, living situations change,” LeDonne said. “Sometimes they change like some of us change underwear. It’s kind of unfortunate.” The new rule...

West Allegheny baseball star Austin Hendrick, ranked as the top high school bat in the country, is expected to hear his name called early in this summer’s MLB Draft. How early? Well, Baseball America released a mock draft on Monday that predicted the left-handed hitting outfielder going seventh overall to...

Shenango sophomore Emma Callahan climbed to the top of the national shot put rankings this weekend. Callahan won the Youngstown State Open high school indoor meet Saturday with a 47-foot, 11-inch throw that ranked as the nation’s longest girls shot put distance this season, according to Milesplit.com stats. Three of...

WPIAL girls basketball rankings Class 6A 1. Bethel Park, 11-0, 1 2. Norwin, 9-2, 2 3. North Allegheny, 9-1, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 10-2, 5 5. Baldwin, 9-3, NR Out: Upper St. Clair (8-3, 4) Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 13-0, 1 2. Woodland Hills, 10-2, 2 3. Trinity, 9-2,...

WPIAL rankings Boys basketball Class 6A 1. Fox Chapel, 12-0, 1 2. Butler, 9-4, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 10-3, 3 4. Pine-Richland, 9-3, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 12-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn Hills, 9-2, 1 2. Shaler, 9-3, 3 3. Mars, 8-2, 4 4. Chartiers Valley,...

With two starters out with injuries, Upper St. Clair could’ve easily explained away a lackluster effort Friday night, but the Panthers made sure that wasn’t necessary. Upper St. Clair showed its depth, made eight first-half 3-pointers and defeated Bethel Park, 67-50, for a key Section 2-6A victory. USC junior Luke...

The Winter Jamfest to End Domestic Violence, a five-game basketball showcase, will bring out-of-state talent to Montour’s gym Saturday. The event begins at noon and the final game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students and seniors. The schedule starts with three WPIAL...

Derrick Davis hasn’t decided his college future yet, but he knows where he’ll be next January. The Gateway junior announced Tuesday that he accepted an invitation to the Under Armour All-American Game, a high school football all-star game in Florida. The game features the country’s top college recruits and is...

West Allegheny is searching once again for a new football coach. Chris Lucas, who stepped in last year and coached the Indians for one season, resigned Friday for family reasons, West A athletic director Dave McBain said. The school district will talk first with internal candidates and then interview outside...

Sophomore wrestler Hunter Robison, who’s ranked second in the state, has transferred to Quaker Valley. Robison, who arrived in late December from General McLane near Erie, will be eligible to compete starting next week, Quaker Valley athletic director Mike Mastroianni said. PIAA rules mandate that midseason transfers sit out 21...

WPIAL football teams will play games closer to home next season, one way or another. The WPIAL revealed two football realignment options Wednesday night, one that keeps the current six-classification format and another that would change things drastically. But either option would eliminate many of the long bus rides schools...

The WPIAL revealed two football realignments options Wednesday night, one that only tweaks the current format and another that would change the landscape drastically. Now, WPIAL schools must choose. Football coaches and administrators gathered in the North Hills Middle School auditorium Wednesday to discuss conference and schedule options for the...

Butler high jumper Sami Taoufik started his TSTCA indoor track season Saturday with an early-season victory that has him ranked second nationally. The senior cleared 6 feet, 8 inches and was among 14 WPIAL athletes that won individual events at the TSTCA opener in Edinboro. Indoor track season is just...

WPIAL rankings Boys basketball Class 6A 1. Fox Chapel, 10-0, 1 2. Butler, 7-4, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 8-3, 3 4. Pine-Richland, 8-2, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 10-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn Hills, 6-2, 1 2. Trinity, 9-2, 2 3. Shaler, 7-3, 3 4. Mars, 6-2,...

WPIAL rankings Girls basketball Class 6A 1. Bethel Park, 8-0, 1 2. Norwin, 7-2, 3 3. North Allegheny, 6-1, 2 4. Upper St. Clair, 6-2, 4 5. Mt. Lebanon, 8-2, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 9-0, 1 2. Woodland Hills, 7-2, 4 3. Trinity, 7-2, 2 4....

The WPIAL awarded 48 football titles during the past decade and most of them went to the same 10 coaches. Combined, Bill Cherpak, Eric Kasperowicz, Mark Lyons, Tom Nola, Bob Palko, Joe Rossi, Terry Totten, Wayne Wade, Art Walker and Mike Zmijanac collected 34 WPIAL titles. The rest of the...