Josh Rizzo stories, Page 3

Aliquippa guard Josh Pratt felt comfortable at the start of the PIAA Class 3A boys basketball quarterfinal Saturday against District 6 champion Forest Hills. Collectively, the Quips seemed businesslike in their approach. Aliquippa turned up the heat defensively from the opening whistle and cruised to a 73-34 win at Armstrong...

Harran Zureikat wants to give precise answers to questions about kicks. Anyone talking about the Fox Chapel junior kicker should be prepared for his thoughts to turn to game-like scenarios immediately. For example, ask him what the longest field goal he can make is, and he needs more details. “In...

The Fox Chapel baseball team has the starting pitching to once again be in the mix for a section title. The Foxes hope the bats will follow. Fox Chapel’s rotation will be led by a one-two punch including West Virginia commit Blake Krushinski and Jeremy Haigh. “I think we have...

The first meeting between Burrell and Morgantown (W.Va.) during the PIHL varsity Division 2 season seems like a long time ago. The Buccaneers went to Morgantown on Oct. 10 and rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to eke out a 6-5 win. Luke Mink scored the game-winner...

Realignment presents challenges for many baseball teams around the WPIAL. That will be the case for some of the teams in the Alle-Kiski Valley this season. Valley baseball coach Jim Basilone lost three seniors who did a lot of pitching last season, but the Vikings still have their share of...

Saint Francis junior guard Chris Moncrief saw Daemar Kelly practice the situation he found himself in during the Northeast Conference championship game hundreds of times. There weren’t always cameras or opponents around, but Kelly wanted to be the guy who could make big shots. Kelly, a Penn Hills graduate, stuck...

Michele Stiller was excited to have the opportunity to take over the Penn Hills softball program. Stiller, a 2012 Penn Hills graduate, was confident the pipeline supplying the varsity program was in good shape. “There is a lot of good coaching at the middle school and rec level,” Stiller said....

Michael Worsen was cutting weight in a frenzy. The Fox Chapel senior wrestler got the call 36 hours ahead of the PIAA Western Regional that he was being put into the 121-pound bracket as an alternate. Worsen immediately hit the sauna and did some running to drop close to five...

The bright yellow signs taped on the padded walls behind the batting cages inside the Fralic Center are impossible to miss. In large black letters, the Penn Hills baseball team has a blunt reminder of what they hope to avoid in the future. The signs read 0-22, of the Indians’...

Dan Casarcia was eager to help coach. When Casarcia joined the Plum track and field coaching staff in 1997, he was given a clipboard and told by Mustangs head coach Joe Ionta to write down each runner’s splits at the 1-mile mark. But when Casarcia reached the mile marker, he...

Mackenzie McIntyre has continued to inch toward her goal of being one of the best sprinters in the state. The Penn Hills senior earned her opportunity to showcase what she can do in front of the whole state at the Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association indoor state championships March...

Donovan Burnett, Naytel Mitchell and Ron Porter III were all selected to play in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association East-West Large School All-Star game. The three Indians senior football players are all moving on to play at the next level. Mitchell, a Sacramento State signee, rushed for over 1,000...

Fox Chapel wrestling coach Michael Frank said before the WPIAL Class 3A championships that he wasn’t sure how he felt about the PIAA adding a West Regional this season. All WPIAL wrestlers would now have an extra step to qualifying for the state tournament. The Foxes had one wrestler break...

The Fox Chapel indoor track team didn’t send any athletes to the state indoor track championships this season, but Foxes coach Tom Moul was pleased with the dedication of his roster. Michael Costello came to the Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet at Edinboro following a 3 1/2 hour drive following...

Josh Jackowski wanted to roll the dice. The rest of the South Allegheny boys basketball team came to a similar conclusion. When the Gladiators pressed, they were able to force a bad pass from Aliquippa’s Marques Council. Jackowski picked up the loose ball and scored on a layup with 29...

The Peters Township girls basketball team didn’t fold when a miracle half-court shot went in before the half. Nor did the Indians wilt when they entered the fourth quarter of the WPIAL Class 5A title game Friday night at Petersen Events Center trailing by six. The Indians turned up their...

Daemon Phipps flashed potential as a freshman for the Penn Hills wrestling team. The now-114-pound junior wrestler earned his spot at the WPIAL Class 3A championships for the first time by placing fourth at the Northern Section. Phipps is one away from equaling his career high in wins. He was...

The Penn Hills boys basketball team saw its season come to an end on the road at Peters Township. The Indians, who were the No. 11 seed, had a hard time scoring consistently during a 63-30 first-round loss Feb. 18. Calix Clark and Amon Hawthorne tied for a team-high six...

The path to qualifying for the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships has an extra step to the process this season. For the first time in the larger classification, wrestlers must qualify for a regional instead of going straight from the WPIAL tournament to states. Fox Chapel wrestling coach Michael Frank...

The Fox Chapel girls basketball team made its return to the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs after a three-year absence. The Foxes weren’t able to upend potential title hopeful Peters Township, but Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey was happy with the progress. The Foxes lost 66-58 and hope they have the...

Mohawk boys basketball junior guard Bobby Fadden sat back and waited for Vinny Pezzuolo, Blake Logan and Joey Nail to cause chaos. The Warriors wanted to make life difficult on an undermanned Southmoreland squad during a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal Friday night at North Catholic High School. Mohawk took advantage...

Isabella Sysak patrolled the top of the 3-point line with great interest in procuring the ball. The Bishop Canevin junior guard created chaos Monday night at Donald McGhee Fieldhouse. Sysak produced two steals and scored four points in the first 90 seconds to help spark the Crusaders to a 45-12...

Allderdice boys basketball coach Devin Crummie knew the shootaround wouldn’t be a picnic at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse the day before the City League championship game. The Dragons needed to be sharp for their battle with a worthy challenger in Obama Academy. “Everybody calls it a shootaround,” Dragons coach Devin Crummie...

Bailey White sported a wide smile as she grabbed the City League championship trophy Sunday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the win, White and the Allderdice girls basketball team left no doubt to their spot in the district’s hierarchy. The Dragons’ 52-45 win over Obama Academy was their second straight...

Grace Melocchi has been swimming year-round since she was little. One of the long-term goals of the Shaler senior swimmer surfaced when she made it to middle school. With Melocchi’s form in the pool, a coach mentioned that she would have a realistic shot at setting the school’s record in...