Michael Love stories, Page 73

Shawn Jesih has high hopes this season for the Gateway junior varsity ice hockey team, the organization’s highest-level squad in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League. The Gators, who haven’t fielded a varsity team since the days of Tyler Perhac, Jonathan Kasper, Cam Cacolice and Jordan Mardirossian a little more than...

Plum coaches put their faith in freshman Angelo Baleno on Friday at Highlands, and Baleno rewarded them. The young kicker delivered a 38-yard field goal in crunch time of the fourth quarter to lift the Mustangs to a come-from-behind 23-21 victory over Highlands in Greater Allegheny Conference action. The kick...

Deer Lakes is on a roll in the Allegheny Seven Conference. The Lancers stopped a 15-game losing streak in Week 3 with a 49-0 victory over Derry in its conference opener. Last week Deer Lakes shut out Valley, 6-0. On Friday, the Lancers made it three in a row with...

Golden Gloves boxing returns to Monroeville on Saturday evening. The Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League will host eight bouts at Gloria’s Gym on the second level of the Monroeville Mall. The bell time is 6 p.m., and doors open at 5:30 p.m. The 16 boxers who will compete for victories...

North Hills was in a precarious position late in the fourth quarter of its Northeast Conference opener with Kiski Area on Friday. The Indians trailed by three and were backed up into the shadow of their end zone. But the defense forced a turnover on downs, and quarterback John Green...

Class 5A Northeast Shaler (2-3, 0-0) at Fox Chapel (2-3, 0-0) 7 p.m. Friday, at James Burk Complex, O’Hara Township The Foxes hope to bounce back after a 48-28 loss to Class 5A No. 1 Moon last Friday. The setback halted a mini two-game win streak (Plum, Franklin Regional). A...

Nick Curci Apollo-Ridge, Jr., RB/LB Curci returned to the lineup against Burrell and was an impact player in both the running and passing games. He carried the ball 11 times for 150 yards and three touchdowns and added four catches for 126 yards and two scores. Defensively, Curci recorded a...

Ally Bauer won a WPIAL Class 2A doubles championship last year with sister Brooke. The Knoch junior hoped to add singles gold to her portfolio last Friday at North Allegheny High School. But Sewickley Academy’s Ashley Close had other ideas. Close defeated Bauer, 6-3, 6-3, to claim the title. Despite...

The Kiski Area girls soccer team finds itself in the middle of a playoff chase in Section 1-3A. The Cavaliers are tied for fourth place in the section at 3-3 and are 5-6 overall heading into the second half of section play, which begins Thursday at Franklin Regional. Coach Mike...

The defending Section 2-2A champion Shady Side Academy girls soccer team scored just one time in Monday’s Section 2-2A contest on the turf at Burrell’s Buccaneer Stadium. But that one score near the midway point of the first half was all the Bulldogs needed for a 1-0 victory. “We knew...

The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 4 top-10 rankings Monday, and there are changes at the top in both Class 4A and Class 3A. Shaler, which went 3-0 last week and swept past undefeated North Allegheny in a Section 1 clash, is the new No. 1 team...

The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League’s 40 organizations continued regular-season play over the weekend. The regular season is set to conclude this weekend with games Saturday and Sunday. Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League Scores Week 6 Sept. 25-26 CLASS AAA Division I (5th-6th grade) Trinity 41, Seneca Valley 13 Washington...

The Gateway boys soccer team finds itself right in the mix for a playoff spot in Section 4-3A as it gets into the second half of section play this week. Coach Bernie Stiles said the team is working well together and is learning from all the ups and downs the...

Brady Sundin didn’t have the 2020 cross country season he had hoped. “It wasn’t ideal,” said Sundin, who finished the season with what he said was a less-than-desired 108th-place finish in the Class 3A boys race at the WPIAL championships at White Oak Park. “I think I had overtrained from...

Thomas Burke is in a lead role for one of the higher-octane offenses in the WPIAL. Leechburg leads Class A in points at 46 per game. The Blue Devils hit 41 in a victory over Eastern Conference rival Springdale on Friday. Burke, a senior in his first year at quarterback...

Michael Komaniak is dangerous. The opponents of the Washington & Jefferson senior forward know that all too well. Point Park saw that first-hand Sept. 1. The Presidents team co-captain and Riverview graduate made his presence felt throughout the nonconference season opener. Komaniak factored into all three goals in W&J’s 3-2...

The Plum boys soccer team is off to a strong start as it has plans to contend for the Section 4-3A championship and make some noise in the WPIAL playoffs. Through eight games, the Mustangs stood at 6-2 overall and 5-1 in section play. “Every game, we are looking to...

Leechburg didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard against visiting Springdale in an Eastern Conference matchup Friday at Veterans Memorial Field. On a flea flicker, Blue Devils quarterback Thomas Burke found a wide open Logan Kline for a 55-yard score. Just like that, Leechburg had the lead. “We told...

Once was nice for Bethel Park’s Mia Gorman. Twice is much better. The senior standout captured her second straight WPIAL Class AAA championship Friday afternoon at North Allegheny with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Peters Township junior Kat Wang. “It’s exciting. Senior year. Two in a row,” Gorman said. “It’s...

Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference Knoch (1-3, 0-1) at Armstrong (2-2, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, NexTier Bank Complex, Manor Township The River Hawks went for the win last Friday against Hampton, but a 2-point conversion pass with 39 seconds left fell short in a 21-20 loss to the Talbots …...

Thomas Burke Leechburg, Sr., QB/CB The Blue Devils’ veteran performer had a big game last week against Clairton, throwing for 360 yards and three touchdowns against three interceptions. It was the most passing yardage accumulated in the WPIAL for Week 3. Burke, who hopes to help Leechburg return to the...

A youthful Burrell girls soccer team navigated through all of the covid-related changes last fall, won eight out of 12 games and finished 7-2 in Section 2-AA play. The Bucs capped their season in the WPIAL quarterfinals. Despite losing a couple of key players to graduation, a lot of talent...

The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League’s three classifications braved warm conditions over the weekend and completed 58 games in Week 5. Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League Results - Sept. 18-19 CLASS AAA Division I (5th-6th grade) Hempfield 48, Albert Gallatin 12 Rostraver 26, Greater Latrobe 0 Trinity 47, Montour 6...

Vaun Ross had a record-setting day for Allegheny against Wabash on Saturday. The Valley graduate and Gators sophomore receiver tied a 52-year-old school record for catches. He hauled in 14 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in Allegheny’s 36-28 loss. Ross’s scoring catch, his first of the season and...

The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its WPIAL girls top-10 poll for Week 3 on Monday, and there is a change at the top in Class 3A. Hampton is the new No. 1 after sweeping Deer Lakes in a nonsection matchup Sept. 13 and topping last week’s Class 3A...