Dave Mackall stories, Page 9
Robert Morris loses exhibition to Villanova ahead of season opener
Robert Morris fell to Villanova on Sunday in a charity exhibition tune-up for the Colonials’ regular-season men’s basketball opener next week at West Virginia. Despite three RMU players scoring in double figures, led by Josh Omojafo’s 15 points, the Colonials came away an 87-73 loser to the Wildcats at Finneran...
Greensburg Central Catholic volleyball eyes return to WPIAL final
Greensburg Central Catholic’s pursuit of a fourth WPIAL girls volleyball championship and first in eight years begins in earnest Tuesday night in the Class A semifinals against Eden Christian at Peters Township’s AHN Arena. It’s one last chance for a veteran GCC lineup to reach the top. “I’m very excited...
Fueled by young standouts, Latrobe hockey seeks return trip to Penguins Cup final
Latrobe’s remarkable run at a Penguins Cup hockey championship a year ago was fueled by a hard-charging freshman who led the surprising Wildcats in scoring. A year later, center Joey Crimboli hasn’t missed a beat. He’s not the only one. “There’s (at least) two guys who are phenomenal on our...
Franklin Regional edges Armstrong, now must get serious for playoffs
Lance Getsy loves his team, loves his players. All of them. But even after Franklin Regional’s thrilling 29-26 victory Friday night over Armstrong, the Panthers football coach wishes they’d turn serious now that the WPIAL playoffs are upon them. “They take things for granted,” Getsy said, forcing a smile after...
Mt. Pleasant seals 6th straight trip to playoffs with win over Derry
Mt. Pleasant is headed to the WPIAL playoffs for a sixth consecutive time. Cole Chatfield passed for 210 yards before leaving the game with an injury, Jarett Garn figured in most of Mt. Pleasant’s scoring and the Vikings used a lightning-fast start Friday night at Viking Stadium to beat Derry,...
Fox Chapel senior among runners picking up wins at rain-softened TSTCA cross country meet
After a stretch of cold, damp weather this week, the sun broke through Thursday just in time for the annual Tri-State Track Coaches Association Cross Country Championship Meet at White Oak Park. Conditions on the 5,000-meter course near the border of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties were soft but not muddy....
Robert Morris picked 9th in Horizon League men’s basketball preseason poll
Two days after sharing the court as a speaker with Arkansas’ John Calipari, Gonzaga’s Mark Few and others at a regional clinic, Robert Morris men’s basketball coach Andy Toole learned Tuesday where his team would land in the latest Horizon League preseason poll. Coming off a disappointing 6-14 league record...
Valley grad B.J. Flenory inducted into New Hampshire’s Diversity Hall of Fame
Baron “B.B.” Flenory’s namesake is following his father’s legacy. But in a different sort of way. B.B. Flenory, the former Duquesne University basketball star whose life experiences continue to amaze, is himself amazed at the path his son, Baron “B.J.” Flenory, a former University of New Hampshire football star, has...
Investor Tull, Rize Sports draw star-studded list of basketball coaches to clinic aimed at growing game
Rize Sports, the massive, multi-million-dollar, four-court basketball facility just off Ohio River Boulevard in Leetsdale, isn’t just about billionaire investor Thomas Tull’s generous funding of the building’s construction in 2023. The Steelers part-owner and entrepreneur who lives in nearby Edgeworth — emphatically — doesn’t want it to be. Instead, Tull...
Greensburg Salem making playoff push with victory over Derry
Ty George’s second season as Greensburg Salem’s football coach is developing into a potential game-changer for the playoff-starved Golden Lions program. Despite a recent skid. Kai Brunot scored two touchdowns, and the Greensburg Salem defense limited Derry to 84 yards of total offense as the Golden Lions ended a three-game...
Duquesne men’s basketball picked 8th, women 6th in Atlantic 10 preseason poll
It took just two seasons for Duquesne forward David Dixon to feel the rush of winning consistently in college basketball games. Far from satisfied, even after being part of consecutive 20-win seasons at Duquesne for the first time since 1971 and ’72, Dixon dreams of yet another run at success....
Penn-Trafford rings Victory Bell in win vs. Gateway
If Penn-Trafford running back Tasso Whipple was playing as though it would be his last high school football game against archrival Gateway, that’s because it was. And Whipple left everything on the field Friday night, running every which way against the Gators. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior gained 249 yards and...
South Allegheny rebounds from 1st loss, holds off scrappy Ligonier Valley
After No. 4 South Allegheny’s hiccup last week against No. 3 South Park derailed the Gladiators’ early season momentum, they got back to their winning ways Friday night, surviving another Allegheny Conference challenge — this time from unheralded Ligonier Valley. Ryan Cortes threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns to...
Robert Morris AD, Edinboro football coach share hometown bond as teams square off
Jake Nulph has had Saturday circled on his calendar from the moment he took over as football coach at Edinboro in 2020. Chris King isn’t surprised one bit. After all, Robert Morris’ athletic director figures that when you get a chance to return to your alma mater, you’re bound to...
Western Pa. high school slow-pitch softball continues growing, has hopes of future PIAA membership
The sound of crickets in the cool evening air as dew was settling on the grass served as a reminder of the annual rite of fall ball. With it, high school sports teams were getting into the swing. At a recent practice in the Carbon section of Hempfield Township, coach...
Luis Ortiz stymies Guardians as Pirates end 4-game losing streak
Luis Ortiz is quietly building a scoreless streak during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ free fall in the second half of the season. Ortiz enjoyed his second strong start in a row and a rattled bullpen ended a string of disappointing performances as the Pirates beat the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, 3-0,...
Pirates’ David Bednar discusses struggles, demotion
David Bednar’s struggles had reached epic proportions (the Pittsburgh Pirates ex-closer owned an ERA of 10.97 in 11 appearances in August). Since the All-Star break, the Bucs’ two-time all-star has been downright miserable after a first half that saw him convert 19 consecutive save opportunities during one stretch. But the...
Apollo-Ridge grad Nick Curci chooses to leave football, focus on track and field at Duquesne
For a time, football defined Nick Curci’s rule. Not much — if anything — exemplified it more than a tenacious approach to his senior year when he spearheaded a furious late-season rally that carried injury-stricken Apollo-Ridge to an improbable WPIAL playoff berth. He finished the year with 1,571 yards rushing...
Tre Cunningham Memorial Tournament brings communities together to honor former Jeannette 3-sport star
In Jeannette, the Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament honors the memory of one of the many Jeannette High School standout athletes, and on the fourth anniversary of the annual event, the Cunningham family again was showered with unbridled compassion. How good does that feel? Just ask Steve Cunningham, the father...
Mars boys lacrosse falls to Marple Newtown in deja vu PIAA championship game
STATE COLLEGE — There were no smiles. Just some consoling handshakes and hugs. The Mars Fightin’ Planets didn’t come here Saturday to play second fiddle again. They came to win their second state title in boys lacrosse, and they almost pulled it off. But for the second time in a...
PIAA Class 3A final another step on Shaler boys volleyball’s long road to the top
Light clapping turned to loud chants as the match wore on. Shaler’s top-ranked boys volleyball team was mowing down yet another opponent, making the 100-mile drive east to Altoona High School well worth the time for a dedicated posse of mainly white shirt-clad Titans fans. This was not North Allegheny...
Shaler boys volleyball sweeps Warwick to earn return trip to Class 3A state finals
ALTOONA — Shaler seniors Logan Peterson and Dante Palombo, best friends since their elementary school years, walked briskly through a doorway leading from a locker room to the playing court at Altoona Fieldhouse. With a bounce in their step, Peterson, with Palombo a few steps behind, anxiously smoothed down his...
Ligonier Valley softball edged in PIAA 1st round by Forest Hills
SIDMAN — Ligonier Valley’s players and coaches retreated to their dugout after quietly being retired in order in the seventh inning Monday by Forest Hills right-hander Avery Smiach. There was little to say. The Rams’ season was finished following a 3-2 loss to the District 6 champion Rangers in a...
Neshannock shuts out Bentworth to claim 3rd straight WPIAL Class 2A softball title
It’s a threepeat. Top-seeded and unbeaten Neshannock extended its run of consecutive WPIAL softball championships Thursday to three, and the Lancers again did it with stellar pitching and defense. Addy Frye tossed a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts, Gabby Perod drove in a pair of runs, and Neshannock blanked No. 2...
IUP baseball advances to Division II World Series
Steve Kline has been around baseball for a long, long time. The former relief pitcher’s elbow bone spurs are a testament to his longevity on the baseball diamond during 11 seasons with five major league clubs, and before that a lot of years in various loops from Little League to...
