Dave Mackall stories, Page 15
Pitt’s defense earns revenge against offensive counterparts at 2nd scrimmage
First, it was the Pitt offense that stood out. This time around, the defense took center stage. The Panthers’ second scrimmage of the preseason has been tickling the senses of coach Pat Narduzzi — a defensive-minded guy, mind you — and creating a stir at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex ever...
Experienced line spells good news for Mt. Pleasant offense
This is a story about mutual respect and admiration, an examination of the tight bond of high school football teammates at Mt. Pleasant. There are cornerbacks and safeties. Outside and inside linebackers. Quarterbacks and linemen. Offensive linemen, that is. Speaking of which, Mt. Pleasant takes an abundance of experience into...
Mohawk in good position after ups and downs of 2022 season
At this time a year ago, the Mohawk football team was grappling with the effects of a hazing incident that resulted in disciplinary action for multiple students and forced the cancellation of the Warriors’ first two regular-season games. Fast-forward to the present. “We’re focused on the current season,” Mohawk coach...
Optimistic Mt. Pleasant eyes 5th consecutive playoff appearance
A total of 16 returning lettermen, including 13 starters on offense and defense combined, have the Mt. Pleasant community buzzing. With all that experience coming back, there’s hope among the faithful that this could be a special year. Coach Jason Fazekas, entering his seventh season, was his usual subdued self,...
New coach Brian Hanson wants a new identity for South Allegheny
Growing up in Lancaster County, Brian Hanson saw Western Pennsylvania high school football from afar. A former walk-on linebacker at Pitt, Hanson finds himself now coaching the sport in the WPIAL. “Good players on both sides of the state,” he said. “I think Western Pennsylvania has a way of making...
Playoff mainstay East Allegheny looking to take another step
Excuse Dom Pecora if he tends to fret at this time of year. Ultra competitive in nature, the East Allegheny football coach sizes up the demands of young players, many craving some proper direction. As the Wildcats prepared for another season, their streak of seven WPIAL playoff appearances loomed large,...
With plenty of starters returning, West Mifflin seeking breakout season
He won a state championship years ago at Steel Valley, and he’s been tasked to return West Mifflin’s status to a legitimate playoff contender. Rod Steele knows all too well the process, sometimes, is slowed. As he enters the fifth year as coach of a program that’s seen its share...
Trinity hoping to take a step forward with experienced roster
The positivity resonates throughout Dan Knause’s lingo: • “Make today count.” • “Team chemistry is so important.” • “Person-student-player,” in that order, he says. It’s been Knause’s calling card wherever he’s been, and it’s no different at Trinity, where he serves as assistant high school principal and is entering his...
Latrobe bows out of state Legion baseball tournament
Louie Amatucci, a rising senior at Latrobe, in at least one respect, is like many of his American Legion baseball teammates. He’s young and eager to return. “A lot of these guys are eligible to come back,” said the Latrobe Legion team’s leading hitter. Coincidentally, Amatucci’s older brother, Vinny, is...
Latrobe Legion falls to Paxton in 5 innings
One night after an impressive victory over Wesleyville, the Latrobe Jethawks got knocked down Tuesday in a five-inning shortened, 10-0 loss to Harrisburg Paxton in a winners’ bracket nightcap of four games in Pennsylvania’s American Legion State Tournament at Rosa-Oglietti Park in Derry Township. Latrobe, coming off that 7-1 victory...
Latrobe Legion advances to district final to face Bushy Run
Stop Jason Bush if you’ve heard him say this before: “A lot of people have baseball teams. No disrespect to anybody else, but I think we have a baseball program.” The Latrobe American Legion coach continued to abide by that axiom Sunday at Latrobe High School as his two-time defending...
Latrobe looks forward to hosting Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball tournament
Years of tossing batting practice to players on his Latrobe American Legion baseball teams has trained longtime coach Jason Bush to throw strikes. So, naturally, even at the ripe age of 51, Bush continues to play competitively — sort of, he mused — as a pitcher in the Latrobe-Derry Old...
After another run to PIAA tournament, Southmoreland softball looks ahead to promising future
Among Todd Bunner’s nuances is a habit of hand-writing his team’s season statistics on a homemade chart, a practice that defies logic in an era of electronic saturation. You could say Southmoreland’s old-school softball coach is set in his ways … And it’s not such a bad thing? After all,...
Sky’s the limit for Pitt-Greensburg outfielder after brilliant freshman season
You can call him Jim Bob or even by his real name, if you like. But please, don’t refer to James Domer as Jim or Jimmy or any other variation. It’s not that Pitt-Greensburg’s sensational freshman outfielder wouldn’t answer to those names, but virtually no one uses them to refer...
Chartiers-Houston playoff run ended by District 6 champ Claysburg-Kimmel
Since claiming its only state championship in softball in 2010, Chartiers-Houston has been close to winning another one several times. The Buccaneers made a run to the semifinals in 2017 and to the quarterfinals in 2019. And they advanced that far again this season. But it ended there for the...
Freeport grad Jarrett Heilman’s star on the rise after another brilliant season at Mercyhurst
At any level of baseball, there are pitchers (i.e. throwers) and there are pitchers (i.e. the real McCoys). In other words, the real McCoys put some thought into the matter. It’s not just, “wind up and fire darts.” Which brings us to Jarrett Heilman, the former Freeport right-hander who continues...
Southmoreland softball team can’t generate offense in loss to Chestnut Ridge
FISHERTOWN, Pa. — Southmoreland’s bats remained virtually silent in the postseason for a second time in a row Monday, and the Scotties’ softball season ended with a 4-1 loss to Chestnut Ridge in a PIAA Class 3A first-round game. Chestnut Ridge (17-3), champion of District 5, moves on to play...
Neshannock softball juggernaut rolls on with WPIAL 2A final win over Laurel
Neshannock’s dizzying 46th consecutive softball victory Thursday turned out to be such a special one. And, oh, don’t the Lancers know it. Earning back-to-back WPIAL championships with a 12-2 rout of crosstown rival Laurel in the Class 2A final at PennWest California’s Lilley Field was enough to set off a...
Union outslugs Carmichaels to win back-to-back WPIAL Class A softball titles
Union softball coach Doug Fisher wasn’t about to dwell on the unpleasant elements of his team’s 10-8 victory over Carmichaels, giving the Scotties their second consecutive WPIAL Class A championship. Instead, he wanted to savor the end result. Top-seeded Union (17-3) overcame an early four-run deficit, sidestepped six errors and...
North Catholic finds peak playoff form, sweeps Latrobe in boys volleyball semifinal
The stage appeared a bit too bright Tuesday night for top-seeded Latrobe at the WPIAL Class 2A boys volleyball semifinals, and No. 4 North Catholic could sense it. The Trojans took control of the best-of-five match early, putting the Wildcats on their heels and seizing a 3-0 victory at Gateway...
Bishop Canevin baseball wins defensive playoff battle over Leechburg
Bishop Canevin and Leechburg, two high-scoring Class A baseball teams, found the runs hard to come by Monday in their WPIAL quarterfinals game at Highlands, but No. 6 Canevin managed to score more. Kole Olszewski limited No. 3 Leechburg to three hits, and Bishop Canevin’s defense shined as the Crusaders...
Seton Hill baseball team sweeps Mercyhurst, advances to NCAA Super Regional
Late Friday afternoon, SHU Baseball Complex on the campus of Seton Hill went eerily silent shortly after Mercyhurst stunned the 13th-ranked Griffins baseball team with a walk-off grand slam to send Seton Hill into the losers’ bracket at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region II Tournament. It meant the Griffins...
Seton Hill baseball team stays alive in NCAA Regional with rout of East Stroudsburg
Survive to play another day. Seton Hill on Saturday shook off a devastating loss a day earlier to Mercyhurst and remained alive in the NCAA Division II baseball playoffs with a 10-4 rout of East Stroudsburg at the Atlantic Region tournament at SHU Baseball Complex in Greensburg. The Griffins (46-11),...
Mercyhurst stuns Seton Hill with walk-off grand slam in NCAA baseball regional
As gut-wrenching losses go on a 1-to-10 scale, this one was a 10. “I know the character of our team, but we’ve never experienced a loss like this on this stage in this season,” Seton Hill coach Marc Marizzaldi said Friday, moments after Mercyhurst’s Luke Jackson hit a walk-off grand...
Ace lefty Enzo Lio lifts Riverview past Charleroi in Class 2A 1st round
Riverview entered the WPIAL baseball playoffs as an unheralded No. 10 seed, but the Raiders had their ace lefty on the mound in the first round Thursday against No. 7 Charleroi. That’s usually a recipe for success. Enzo Lio pitched 5 2/3 effective innings before reaching the 100-pitch count limit...
