Michael Love stories, Page 72

Brady Walker had a front-row seat for a wild college football game Oct. 2. The Gateway grad, a starting junior quarterback for Saint Vincent, helped lead the Bearcats to a come-from-behind 42-40 Presidents’ Athletic Conference victory over Case Western Reserve. Saint Vincent trailed 14-0 after the first quarter but came...

When the final horn sounded on Plum’s 10-0 rout of Section 3-3A rival and WPIAL playoff contender Penn Hills on Oct. 12, the Mustangs had clinched their third consecutive section championship. It hoped for a clean sweep of section play in its section finale against second-place Oakland Catholic last Thursday....

The North Allegheny field hockey team is a youthful bunch with many new starters after 10 seniors graduated from last year. After some growing pains early in the season with a 2-4 start in some challenging games in and out Section 1-3A, the Tigers, coach Michelle Couch said, have hit...

Penn Hills recorded three touchdowns in the second half of Friday’s Class 5A Northeast Conference game at Fox Chapel. The scores broke open a tied score at halftime. Julian Dugger found brother Jaden for three touchdowns, and the quarterback added a rushing score as the Indians finished off a 28-7...

The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League playoffs are just around the corner as the regular season concludes Sunday with four doubleheaders. Shaler and Montour are tied at the top of the standings at 10-4. Both teams have concluded their regular-season schedules. Bethel Park (9-3) has a chance to leapfrog the...

Class 5A Northeast Kiski Area (5-2, 0-2) at Shaler (2-5, 0-2) 7 p.m. Friday, Lou Rettig Stadium, Shaler Township Kiski Area will attempt to bounce back from a pair of losses after an 5-0 start. The Cavaliers came up short last Friday in a 35-21 setback to Fox Chapel. Cavaliers...

Angelo Cicco Apollo-Ridge, Sr., RB/WR/DB/KR The Vikings varsity veteran does a little bit of everything for his team. He has 176 combined rushing and receiving yards through six games, and has made 20 tackles on defense. A primary kickoff returner, Cicco has brought back 17 for 306 yards, an average...

Tyler Stoczynski won 131 games in nine seasons, including 108 over the past six years, as the Highlands boys basketball coach. That run came to an end Tuesday evening when he informed the team and the Highlands administration that he would be stepping down from the position. Stoczynski, who helped...

The Plum girls soccer team has displayed its usual dominance through the regular season, and the two-time WPIAL Class 3A finalists have their sights set on another strong postseason run. But before the Mustangs, 14-1 overall after Tuesday’s 10-0 victory over Section 3 playoff contender and rival Penn Hills, can...

Duane Brown was a double-edged sword that cut through the Clarion football team Saturday. The IUP junior punt returner and receiver from Apollo-Ridge earned Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors after totaling 75 yards on three punt returns in a 58-21 victory over the Eagles....

The top teams in each classification — Shaler (Class 4A), Hampton (Class 3A), North Catholic (Class 2A) and Bishop Canevin (Class A) — held strong this past week as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 6 WPIAL girls rankings Monday morning. Shaler upped its Section 1 record...

The Riverview boys cross country team has set several top goals for itself this season, and the deep group of runners checked one of the boxes last week by capturing a fourth consecutive section championship. The Raiders completed an undefeated Division II, Section 4 dual-meet season at 9-0 with a...

The Plum boys and girls cross country teams have their eyes focused on preparation for the WPIAL Class AAA championships in a couple of weeks at Cal (Pa.). The Mustangs were able to test their progress with competition at last week’s Division I, Section 4 championship meet at Northmoreland Park....

As a quarterback, Max Rocco appreciates the work of the center along the offensive line. The Monroeville resident and senior starter at Serra Catholic has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to anchor the line from his time as a center for one year on the Gateway middle school team....

The Gateway boys and girls cross country teams have their eyes focused on preparation for the WPIAL Class AAA championships in a couple of weeks at Cal (Pa.). The Gators were able to test their progress with competition at last week’s Division I, Section 4 championship meet at Northmoreland Park....

For the second year in a row, sisters from Knoch rule the roost in WPIAL Class 2A doubles. Last year, it was Brooke and Ally Bauer taking home gold. On Thursday, it was sophomore twins Emily and Lindsey Greb who put it all together to capture a championship. The Grebs,...

Class 5A Northeast Fox Chapel (3-3, 1-0) at Kiski Area (5-1, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Richard Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township Fox Chapel opened conference play last Friday with a 28-14 victory over Shaler. The Foxes have won three of four after an 0-2 start. Their three losses have come to...

Dom Beyer Plum, So., RB/LB A consistent piece of the defensive puzzle for the Mustangs, Beyer has recorded 38 tackles and a sack in five games of his debut season as a key varsity performer. He made 10 tackles, nine solo, in last Friday’s 23-21 win over Highlands which put...

The Deer Lakes girls soccer team is on the cusp of clinching its fifth straight trip to the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, but coach Frank Accetta doesn’t want his players to slow down as they enter the stretch run in the regular season. That stretch run begins Wednesday at Freeport....

When Katie and Nance Conlon, coaches of the Highlands and Knoch girls tennis teams, respectively, met for their teams’ Section 3-AA match last week, daughter and mother had another chance to reconnect their love of the game and reminisce about how it has played such a strong part in their...

The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its latest WPIAL girls top-10 polls Monday morning, and there is a new No. 1 team in Class AAA. Hampton, which leads Section 5-AAA with a 7-0 record, takes over the top spot this week, unseating Thomas Jefferson. The Jaguars, at 7-0 and...

The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League’s regular season continued over the weekend with Week 7 games. The league concludes the regular season Saturday and Sunday before the playoffs begin Oct. 16-17. Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League Scores Week 7 CLASS AAA Division I (5th-6th grade) Washington 39, West Allegheny 6...

The Plum girls volleyball team ended the first half of Section 1-3A play in a three-way tie for the section lead with Franklin Regional and Indiana. Each team sported 6-1 records. Franklin Regional defeated Indiana, 3-2, in the section opener for both teams, while the Indians swept Plum, 3-0. Then...

For the first time this season, Matt Morgan was able to deliver a victory speech. The Plum head coach’s winning address to his players came shortly after the final horn sounded signaling the end of a 29-0 victory over Mars on Sept. 24. The Mustangs had come close the week...

The Gateway girls soccer team earned an important point in the chase for the top spot in Section 1-3A with a 1-1 tie against Hampton on Sept. 28. The game marked the beginning of the second half of section play. The Gators, who upped their section mark to 4-2-1 with...