Josh Rizzo stories, Page 27
Penn Hills junior fights through injury to win national fitness competition
Jadyn Wright had put the time in and had built his routine around being dedicated to fitness. After a freak injury in rugby practice, the Penn Hills senior still had three Marine Corps National Physical Fitness Championship meets remaining to participate in. Wright planned to keep an eye on his...
Senior captain, talented underclassmen mix well for Fox Chapel girls soccer
Anna Troutman welcomed the opportunity to serve as a captain on the Fox Chapel girls soccer team. With the mix of players the Foxes have returning for this season, having strong leadership will be an important component for the team to return from the playoffs. The Foxes have an influx...
Chartiers-Houston hopes to turn hours in weight room into wins on field
Chartiers-Houston lineman Jack Heiser knows the Buccaneers are equipped to keep moving forward this season. Up and down the roster, Chartiers-Houston has been building strength to push forward. The Buccaneers slipped back to the pack last season, compiling a 5-5 overall record, which included a 2-5 mark in the Black...
Shady Side Academy hopes to ride attacking defense to quick start
Shady Side Academy senior linebacker Grant Dickey knows what it takes for the Bulldogs to get on track. When the defense attacks opponents, they want a relentless flow to the ball that creates chaos. In the back half of last season and the playoffs, Shady Side Academy was able to...
New offense breeds optimism for Fox Chapel QB Ben DeMotte
Ben DeMotte has found his responsibilities for the Fox Chapel football program to be ever-expanding. The 5-foot-8 senior quarterback is eager to help the program move forward after an 0-10 season last year. DeMotte also wants to help prepare the Foxes for their future. First-year Fox Chapel coach Dave Leasure...
With big-play weapons back, Shaler enters season with confidence
Keegan Smetanka feels comfortable that he can make the right read when he scans defenses. The senior quarterback demonstrated the Shaler offense is capable of producing plenty of big plays last year. Smetanka completed 54.7% of his passes, throwing for 2,151 yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. While the...
Penn Hills driven to return to playoffs after near miss last season
Penn Hills wide receiver/defensive back Cam Thomas doesn’t want to miss any opportunities. For the Indians’ football program to get back on track — and back in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs — Thomas believes wins will need to come through better execution. In Thomas’ case, he wants to create...
Fox Chapel gets fresh start with new coach
There’s no reason for the Fox Chapel football program to carry forward last season’s frustrations. Following an 0-10 season, there was significant turnover in the program. Longtime coach Tom Loughran stepped down, and Fox Chapel brought in former Springdale coach and Foxes assistant Dave Leasure to lead the program. Leasure,...
Fox Chapel grad to take lessons learned at Marines leadership course back to Bloomsburg tennis team
Fox Chapel graduate Lexi Quackenbush volunteered for an intense, six-week lesson on what it means to be a good teammate — the Platoon Leaders Class with the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., this summer. She hopes to take some of those lessons back with her to Bloomsburg University, where she...
Strong showing at AAU national tournament gives Shaler volleyball players a boost
Logan Peterson felt fortunate that the AAU boys volleyball national championships rolled around in early July. The Shaler senior right-side hitter, who plays for the 17U North United club team, was itching to get back on the court. The Titans lived up to heavy expectations by winning the WPIAL for...
Penn Hills notebook: Senior wrestler showing potential
Jeremy Packer couldn’t be happier to have five wrestlers with him at summer workouts. During his tenure at Penn Hills, the Indians coach has hoped to see the program continue to grow. Senior wrestler Julian Lavender has shown some of the spirit Packer has hoped to see. Lavender, who picked...
Fox Chapel wrestler tests himself with offseason competition
Landon Funk isn’t opposed to any way to keep himself connected with wrestling. What the Fox Chapel junior found this offseason was a unique dual meet competition to be involved with. Funk, along with teammates Alex Kaufman and Michael Worsen, competed in the Dark Horse Classic, a dual-style match at...
Rule change would allow high school catchers to receive signs from bench via device
Fox Chapel catcher Mitchell Epstein hopes to hear voices during his senior season on the diamond. The National Federation of State High School Associations approved a rule revision during its June 4-6 meeting in Indianapolis that would allow for the use of a one-way communication device between a coach in...
Carolina RB Miles Sanders stays connected to area with football camp at Woodland Hills
Miles Sanders has traveled well beyond his Woodland Hills roots, but his home base always was the Keystone State. Until now. After attending Penn State and spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles, Sanders signed a four-year, $25 million free-agent contract with the Carolina...
Penn Hills club team to get up-close look at professional rugby
The Penn Hills club rugby team has been steadily building its reputation since the program’s inaugural season following the pandemic. Coach Matt Rosemeyer has been looking to help grow the program by encouraging his players to keep involved in the sport. Many members of the Big Red team will be...
Penn Hills flag football teams learn lessons on road to nationals
The Penn Hills Youth Football and Cheer Association football program is happy to have several flag football teams headed to nationals. What Larry Fielder, who coaches the 10U team that recently won the NFL Flag Pittsburgh Steelers Regional Tournament regional competition and will represent the Steelers at the Pro Bowl...
Fox Chapel softball standout meets new challenges in 2nd season with Israeli national team
Izzy Zober will be playing in several international softball tournaments this summer. The 12-year-old Fox Chapel resident’s newest challenge will be trying to hang with the older age group. Zober will be a part of Israel’s 18U national team for the women’s softball European championship in Prague, Czech Republic. The...
Julian Dugger, Penn Hills teammates shine at Pitt passing camp
This offseason has left many people around the Penn Hills football program itching for the 2023 season to start. The Indians will get that opportunity when they host Seneca Valley in Week Zero action Aug. 25 at home. After missing the playoffs last season, second-year coach Charles Morris was excited...
Youth baseball returns to Aspinwall with popular Tee Ball league
Being involved in the new Aspinwall Tee Ball league was appealing for many reasons to community resident Steve Wein. Aspinwall’s Little League program had long folded and opportunities for younger kids to be involved in baseball meant traveling to different municipalities. Wein, who has three kids, liked the idea of...
Illal Osumanu, Riverhounds rally to keep USL streak alive
Illal Osumanu laid to rest questions about whether the Pittsburgh Riverhounds could come from behind without their top attacker. Osumanu headed home a Burke Fahling free kick in the 91st minute to help the Riverhounds rally from a halftime deficit to beat the San Diego Loyal SC, 2-1, on Saturday...
Basketball championship highlighted 2022-23 school year for Penn Hills sports
The 2022-23 school year produced more than a few memorable moments for Penn Hill athletic programs. The Indians had a productive year and in one case, the boys basketball program was able to add to the school’s trophy case. Here’s a look at a few of the moments that made...
Back from ankle injury, Aaron Donald happy to work with kids at 4th annual camp
Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald had a new topic to talk about during his Living in the Pocket Youth Skills Football Camp on Saturday at Highmark Stadium. How to recover from an injury. The Penn Hills and Pitt product is on the mend for the first time in...
Fox Chapel athletes wrote success stories during 2022-23 school year
Fox Chapel had plenty of team and individual successes during the 2022-23 school year. When it comes to the Foxes sports programs, there were plenty of memorable moments to reflect on and a few somber moments for the school’s supporters. Here’s a look at a few notable events that happened...
Penn Hills football program honors coach Ron Graham for 30 years of service
The Penn Hills football team still has plenty of time left on the calendar before the Indians open up the 2023 regular season by hosting Seneca Valley. But Penn Hills coach Charles Morris and the school took some time recently to celebrate one of the program’s cornerstones. on June 5,...
Penn Hills notebook: 4-time WPIAL champion wrestler dies in car crash
The Penn Hills wrestling community lost one of its greatest champions due to a car accident June 3. John Dasta was a four-time WPIAL champion and a PIAA champion. He finished with a career record of 135-6-1. Dasta won at least 30 matches in all four seasons with Penn Hills....
