Josh Rizzo stories, Page 10

The defending WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer champions are dropping down a class, but Fox Chapel coach Carlo Prati knows that repeating as champions likely won’t be any easier in Class 3A. Defending PIAA champion Moon, returning WPIAL champion South Fayette and perennial state power Mars will all have something...

Raymond Ager III enjoys being part of a team. While playing for the Steel City Bobcats, an adult football league team at Friendship Park, Ager saw the Penn Hills girls volleyball team practicing. “I saw the girls working out up there, and I asked what they were doing,” Ager said....

Clairton defensive back Taris Wooding and the Bears’ crushing defense didn’t worry much about the offense. With Wooding and his teammates patrolling the secondary, Steel Valley’s offense wasn’t gaining any territory. The Ironmen didn’t score any points on offense, allowing the Bears to survive three turnovers of their own for...

Frank Fabian isn’t sure who halted Highlands quarterback Menage Lucas’ twisting effort at the goal line. But the Armstrong football coach said his kids told him it was Markayne Duncan who stopped a diving Lucas inches short during a 2-point conversion attempt in the first overtime of a 38-37 Week...

Tony Ruscitto knew that Jonah Sussan only became a quarterback due to default. When Beth-Center needed the now-senior and three-year returning starter to play under center, Sussan was happy to oblige his 84-year-old veteran coach. Ruscitto chose to create a program to help develop signal callers. For the past few...

Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Friday. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Bentworth and California previews will be published later in the week. Sawyer Kramer is always working toward pursuing the football. Avella’s...

Steve McCormick has worked to make every member of the Keystone Oaks football team versatile. With only 30 players on the roster, the Golden Eagles can’t afford to have many specialists. McCormick wants to ensure that when injuries happen, they aren’t catastrophic. That’s why the Golden Eagles have been learning...

Blake Krushinski has a clear path forward for his baseball career. By committing to West Virginia to play baseball before his junior season at Fox Chapel, Krushinski can focus on self-improvement. One of his first goals is to add 15 to 20 pounds before he graduates. Krushinksi, a right-handed pitcher,...

Donnie Militzer wanted to be proactive following a nightmarish 2023 season. Toward the end of the season, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s football program was only dressing 17 or 18 players. Militzer went to athletic director Mike McDonald in the offseason with a request. He needed more players. The...

Shady Side Academy coach Chuck DiNardo would like to see the Bulldogs learn from the adversity they faced last season. During the last two weeks of the regular season, Shady Side Academy had a pair of six-point losses that impacted its playoff seeding. “Being in tight games like that is...

The fourth quarter isn’t going to be the time when the Fox Chapel offensive line folds up its tent. The Foxes have spent most of the offseason building their physical capability to push the pace with their opponents. Fox Chapel plans to employ its run-heavy wing-T attack for 48 minutes....

Logan Carlisle won’t fret too much about the McGuffey football program bumping up to Class 3A this season. The Highlanders have a large senior class with players accustomed to playing both ways. Carlisle, a senior quarterback, believes that McGuffey has the mentality to carry its success into the Western Hills...

The Penn Hills boys soccer program will need time to grow together. First-year coach Kevin Truman started an under-19 team over the past few months to allow players to gain experience. With a roster that included players as young as 13 and some 16 or 17, the team was able...

Fox Chapel senior offensive tackle Blake Kuhn believes the Foxes have put in plenty of work to halt a lengthy losing streak. But for the time and effort to build into something greater, Fox Chapel needs victories. The Foxes last won a game in 2021 when they upended Upper St....

Joe Rispoli doesn’t want anyone to think the Shaler football team’s transition to a new generation of players will mean a dip in performance level. Rispoli represents what the Titans hope can lead to success. They have a number of versatile players who can handle many jobs. Rispoli, a senior...

Turning the page to a new quarterback wasn’t going to be easy for the Penn Hills football program. For the previous four seasons, the Indians could depend on Julian Dugger, now a freshman at Pitt, to lead the offense. Dugger passed for 4,984 yards and ran for 1,939 yards during...

David Fuhrer doesn’t have to worry about ramping up for his first season on the George Mason men’s golf team. Fuhrer spent all summer building up his confidence. The Fox Chapel graduate has found that belief in himself on the junior circuit. Fuhrer has won three tournaments this summer and...

Colleen “Chaos” Davis initially saw her entrance into boxing as a way to channel her aggression as a teenager. But when Davis went from a more fitness-oriented routine to a professional mindset, there were changes that had to be made. Davis, 33, felt like she already had a few pieces...

Penn Hills Midget Football Association CEO James Bradley has seen plenty of action at Turner Friendship Park this summer. Bradley, who works to help maintain the football field in addition to other volunteer duties, has been amazed by the increased attendance at the park after a splash pad was installed...

Fox Chapel softball coach Chris Olbrich doesn’t anticipate being among the first teams to use the one-way communication devices given the go-ahead nationally. The National Federation of State High School Associations approved a rule change in early July that would allow high school softball coaches to use one-way communication devices...

The Pittsburgh Elite flag football team will be well-represented at the NFL Flag National Championships on July 18-21 in Canton, Ohio. Three of the organization’s travel teams, the 9U, 12U and 13U teams, all won regional championships. The organization, which runs an in-house league that plays at Linton Middle School,...

Marty Matvey has the tools at his disposal to be ambitious when it comes to the Fox Chapel girls basketball team’s summer league. The Foxes coach is appreciative of how the district supports his desire to grow what has become a burgeoning fall and summer league for basketball players looking...

Kevin Truman would like to win soccer games when he takes over as head coach of the Penn Hills boys soccer team this fall. However, Truman believes his job will go beyond what happens in the field. Truman, who is the senior pastor at McKeesport Alliance Church and has five...

David Fuhrer didn’t have it easy. But after five playoff holes, Fuhrer won something several other family members accomplished last Wednesday at Fox Chapel Golf Club. Fuhrer, a Fox Chapel graduate and incoming freshman at George Mason, became the third member of his family to win the C.R. Miller Memorial...

Dave Leasure saw a referendum on how the Fox Chapel community was responding to the rebuilding process. During the early part of summer, Leasure said the high school program saw more kids come out for workouts and commit to playing than last year. During Leasure’s first summer in charge, he...