Michael Love stories, Page 69

When the final buzzer sounded to conclude Plum’s WPIAL Class 5A first-round loss to New Castle in March, Plum boys basketball coach Mark Marino could take stock of what his veteran team was able to accomplish during a season filled with covid-related uncertainties. He also began to look to the...

Elsie Smith is ready for the bright lights in a central role for the Fox Chapel girls basketball team. A starter and key contributor since her freshman year, Smith, a 6-foot junior forward, said the time is now to step up her game as six seniors, including Valley News Dispatch...

The Fox Chapel boys basketball team T-shirt for this season bears just one word: focus. The “O” is in the shape of a basketball with the Foxes logo, while the “F” and “C” are in red, and the “US” is in white. Coach Zach Skrinjar said “focus” is the simple...

When Shaun Reddick took over as coach of the Burrell girls basketball team in June, it marked his return to that capacity for the first time since one season at the helm of the Bucs two decades ago. Very familiar with the Burrell girls basketball program in a number of...

Two years ago, the Burrell boys basketball team won just one game. The Bucs made strides last season in the midst of all of the covid uncertainty, improving to 9-10 overall and 5-6 in Section 1-4A. They suffered a WPIAL first-round loss to Central Valley. Coach Mike Fantuzzo said he...

The Apollo-Ridge boys basketball team was hit hard by graduation, as much of its starting lineup, including four players who played all 16 games and accounted for 819 of the 915 points the team scored last season, moved on. But coach Greg Fox said new opportunities have created competitive early-season...

Veteran Apollo-Ridge girls basketball coach Ray Bartha said he is cautiously optimistic about what direction his Vikings team can take this winter. “We’ve been working and practicing pretty hard,” said Bartha, who enters the second year of his second stint as coach. “Some things look pretty good some days, and...

Two seasons ago, as a sophomore on the Pitt-Johnstown men’s basketball team, Gateway graduate John Paul Kromka averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds a game as the Mountain Cats went 22-9 overall, 15-7 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and made it to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Kromka...

The Riverview boys cross country team was situated high in the PIAA Class A state rankings through the entirety of the fall season. The Raiders were ready to prove themselves in that capacity at the state championships in Hershey on Nov. 6. Riverview and Winchester Thurston battled again, and they...

The Plum girls soccer team accomplished many things in 2021 and finished with 21 victories through the regular season, WPIAL playoffs and PIAA tournament. Coach Jamie Stewart said the girls created an air of excitement among many in the Plum High School community with their play throughout the fall. But...

As sophomore Nick Allen stepped to the ball as Quaker Valley’s fifth shooter in a tiebreaking penalty kick shootout Friday afternoon, he found himself in the middle of a moment he had pictured for years. Allen converted his attempt past Lewisburg goalkeeper Tony Burns to send Quaker Valley players, coaches...

HERSHEY — The Avonworth girls soccer team was three minutes away from finishing off its first PIAA championship victory in its first appearance in Hershey. But Allentown Central Catholic scored two goals a minute apart in blustery and windy conditions as time wound down to rally for 2-1 victory and...

More than 400 student-athletes from schools throughout Western Pennsylvania gathered Wednesday morning to discuss their roles in creating a stronger leadership environment through sportsmanship both on and off the field. The 12th annual WPIAL Sportsmanship Summit at the Sen. John Heinz History Center in Downtown Pittsburgh gave students the opportunity...

The Mars girls soccer team is headed back to Hershey for a shot at its third straight PIAA championship. Sophomore Ainsley Ray headed home a corner kick from fellow sophomore Addi Girdwood with 10 minutes, 36 seconds left in the second half to lift the Planets past Plum, 1-0, in...

Brandon Mowry will not be back as Knoch’s football coach. The South Butler School District released a statement Tuesday announcing the move. “At this time, we have made the decision to move in a new direction with our football program,” the statement read.“We feel it is in the best interest...

Highlands has its basketball coaches. Corey Dotchin and Jason Kerr, junior varsity coaches and varsity assistants for the Golden Rams boys and girls teams, respectively, have been elevated to head coaching positions. They were hired at Monday’s school board meeting. “It is definitely a relief,” Highlands athletic director Drew Karpen...

The Plum girls soccer team had to endure a pair of 170-mile round trips — two excursions to Hollidaysburg’s Tiger Stadium, near Altoona — for the first two rounds of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs. Those trips, long as they were, did yield winning results: a first-round 3-1 victory over...

Class 3A Semifinals 7-2 Plum (21-2-1) vs. 7-1 Mars (18-0-1) 6 p.m. Tuesday at Shaler Titans Stadium, Shaler Middle School, Glenshaw Winner plays: Winner of 1-1 Radnor/12-1 Archbishop Ryan in championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday in Hershey Tuesday’s contest is a rematch of a 2-1 Mars victory in the...

Marissa Liberto Plum girls soccer Marissa Liberto can score a goal or two. She also loves setting up her teammates. The Plum senior forward/midfielder and newly minted All-WPIAL performer just wants to win soccer games. “Winning the game is all that matters,” said Liberto, who will help lead the 21-2-1...

Brady Sundin capped his high school cross country career on the state’s biggest stage. The Gateway senior joined the top runners in Hershey on Nov. 6 for the PIAA championships, and he placed 141st overall in the Class 3A boys race with a time of 17 minutes, 53.9 seconds. “He...

The Gateway junior varsity ice hockey team continues to navigate through the fall portion of its 2021-22 season, and the Gators added a point to its place in the standings with a 2-2 tie against North Hills on Nov. 8. Gateway rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to the Indians...

The Riverview football team took its lumps on the scoreboard throughout the 2021 season, but coach Trevor George said the mix of veterans and young talent never wavered in their attitude and dedication to pushing past any adversities they faced. “Whatever happened on game day, win or lose, they approached...

The Plum football team lost to Hampton by 28 points in the regular season. To some, that Greater Allegheny Conference result, 35-7 on Oct. 8 at Plum, might have been a foreshadowing of things to come when the WPIAL football playoff committee paired the Talbots and Mustangs for the Class...

The record-setting season for the Plum girls soccer team continues. The Mustangs trailed District 3 champion Mechanicsburg just two minutes into Saturday’s PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal at Hollidaysburg. But second-half tallies from junior Camryn Rogers and sophomore Ava Weleski lifted Plum into the state semifinals with a 2-1 win over...

Rochester and Springdale were knotted at seven at halftime of Friday’s WPIAL Class A quarterfinal at Freedom’s Jimbo Covert Field. But the Rams grabbed the lead early in the third and added a pair of scores in the fourth to finalize a 27-7 victory. “Springdale is a good football team....