High School category, Page 1075
Southmoreland makes PIAA girls basketball playoffs debut to remember
Having never been to the PIAA girls basketball playoffs, Southmoreland wasn’t quite sure what was in store Saturday afternoon in its state tournament debut. Would there be nerves playing in front of another large crowd? Of course. Was the thought of a potential trip-up lurking in the shadows? Maybe a...
New look, same goals for Burrell softball team
It’s a new season with a new coach, new uniforms and a newly revamped home field. About the only thing that’s not new for Burrell is a 14-year streak of making the WPIAL playoffs. After many years as a well-regarded assistant coach at Valley and Burrell, Rick Nealer has embarked...
Franklin Regional softball blending youth, experience
Franklin Regional’s softball team is hoping to carry its momentum from last season. The Panthers advanced to the WPIAL semifinals in Class 5A last spring, when they lost 4-2 to West Allegheny. The Indians went on to claim their third straight championship. Franklin Regional finished 13-9 overall and 10-4 record...
Back from injury, Josh Russell’s 3-pointers lift USC over Allderdice in PIAA 1st roundVideo
Upper St. Clair’s unofficial team motto was: “Let’s get Russ in uniform one more time.” After senior Josh Russell broke his foot in January, his USC teammates wanted their basketball season to last long enough so he could return to the court. On Saturday, he repaid the favor and earned...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Derry’s Bushey to golf at Cal (Pa.)
Derry senior Aidan Bushey did not start playing competitive golf until high school, so in the beginning of his budding career he had no idea the sport would be so beneficial to his future. He looks back fondly on the first time he put a tee in the ground and...
After winning section title a year ago, Franklin Regional baseball has bigger goals
The Franklin Regional baseball team sailed into uncharted waters in 2019. After a run of four consecutive second-place section finishes, the Panthers made the jump to the top spot. FR captured the Section 1-5A championship with a 12-0 record, leapfrogging Gateway (9-3), Fox Chapel (7-5) and Kiski Area (6-6). Not...
Latrobe’s Kilkeary wins another stunner at PIAA tournament, advances to finals
HERSHEY — Latrobe freshman Vincent Kilkeary continued his stunning run through the PIAA Class AAA individual wrestling tournament. Now he finds himself in the finals Saturday night at the Giant Center. Kilkeary scored 11 points in the third period and rallied for a thrilling 14-10 victory against tournament favorite Ty...
Frazier’s Lawrence looking to become 3-time PIAA winner
HERSHEY — Frazier senior Thayne Lawrence’s high school wrestling career will come to an end Saturday at Giant Center. The big question is whether he will become a three-time PIAA champion. It won’t be easy as he faces last season’s 145-pound champion, Andrew Cerniglia, in the 160-pound showdown at 2...
High school roundup for March 7, 2020: Cornell cruises past Saltsburg
The Cornell boys basketball team bounced back in a big way on Friday night. A week after falling short in the WPIAL championship game, the Raiders routed Saltsburg, 74-29, in the first round of the PIAA Class A tournament at Kiski Area. The Raiders (19-7) held the Trojans (13-12) to...
First round of PIAA basketball playoffs continues Saturday
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Two area boys basketball teams that were on opposite sides of the emotional hoops scale only 10 days ago meet Saturday in the opening round of the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball playoffs. City League runner-up Allderdice was...
High school scores, schedules for March 6, 2020
High schools Basketball Boys PIAA playoffs First round Class 6A Saturday’s schedule Methacton (24-2) vs. Harrisburg (15-10) at Norristown HS, 7:30 p.m.; Abraham Lincoln (13-10) vs. Bensalem (19-7) at South Philadelphia, 2:30 p.m.; Roman Catholic (16-10) vs. Coatesville (20-6) at Cardinal O’Hara, 2:30 p.m.; Wilkes-Barre (16-10) vs. Pennridge (18-8) at...
Serra Catholic girls bow out of PIAA postseason
After suffering losses in the district playoffs, both Serra Catholic and Penns Manor returned to the floor in search of a bounce back effort in the PIAA Class 2A playoffs Friday evening. The teams were jittery early, as would be expected in a one-and-done scenario. The Comets found a way...
Slow start for Bethel Park, but strong finish lifts Black Hawks to PIAA 2nd round
While Peters Township was not exactly the most neutral site for a PIAA Class 6A girls basketball first-round game between Bethel Park and Governor Mifflin, the rims more than neutralized both offenses in the first half. Bethel Park trailed Governor Mifflin by two points in a low-scoring first half, but...
Hickory ousts New Castle from PIAA playoffs
One word kept sounding over a standing room only crowd at Slippery Rock University’s Morrow Field House on Friday night. Patience. Hickory delivered on coach Chris Mele’s orders in attacking the New Castle defense en route to a 58-48 victory in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs....
Crise leads Highlands past Harbor Creek in 1st round of PIAA Class 4A playoffs
Harbor Creek’s strategy is to keep the score low and pull out a close decision. The plan worked for more than three quarters Friday night before WPIAL Class 4A champion Highlands pulled away late to earn a 50-40 victory in an PIAA first-round game at Kiski Area High School. Leading...
Belle Vernon earns long-awaited PIAA tournament victory
For the first time since 1981, the Belle Vernon boys basketball team will play in a PIAA second-round game. The Leopards finished with four players in double figures and held on for a thrilling 65-60 win over District 9 champion Clearfield on Friday night at St. Marys High School. After...
Everett takes down Riverview girls in PIAA 1st round
JOHNSTOWN — The difference in Friday night’s PIAA Class 2A first-round game between Riverview and Everett was in the shooting. The Warriors used strong shooting from the floor while the Raiders struggled. The Warriors also used timely rebounding to bounce Riverview from the state playoffs 69-33. “They shot lights-out,” Riverview...
WPIAL champion Laurel Highlands bounced from PIAA tournament in 1st round
Laurel Highlands had grown accustomed to winning close games, almost to the point of expecting them to happen. Good, down-to-the-wire games had become their calling card in the playoffs. The Mustangs won’t blow you out, they said, but they’ll give you quite a show. Call it a law of averages...
Playing without star center Michael Carmody, Mars falls short in PIAA 1st-round game
After his team lost in overtime, battling without standout senior Michael Carmody, who was serving a one-game suspension, Mars boys basketball coach Rob Carmody told his players he was obviously disappointed, but he was glad they lost on a play made by a “winning player.” For most of the night,...
Derry’s Cymmerman will medal again at PIAA Class AA wrestling championships
HERSHEY — Derry junior Ty Cymmerman must wait another year to win a state title. That dream came to an end Friday in the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals when he lost to Tunkhannock senior David Evans, 17-8. But Cymmerman bounced back in the consolation rounds and earned his second consecutive...
Sean Snead’s 3-pointers lead Obama past Penn Hills in PIAA 1st roundVideo
A first-half shot can’t be called a game-winner, especially one that only ties the score, but the energy from Sean Snead’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer was felt long after halftime. “I was electrified,” said Snead, who scored a game-high 25 points with five 3s to lead City League champion Obama Academy past...
Derry softball’s playoff-victory hunt turns to new coach DePalma
Derry’s softball team will embark on a new era with first-year coach John DePalma at the helm. He has coached about half of the roster on traveling teams and wants to increase expectations around the program, which has lost in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons...
Derry baseball team expects progress after challenging seasons
Batting .350 and receiving all-section honors would be nice, but a section championship is at the top of Austin Siko’s wish list. Siko, the only senior on Derry’s baseball team, said he believes the Trojans are ready to contend after two losing seasons. “I 100 percent feel we can do...
Latrobe’s Kilkeary making big noise at PIAA Class AAA wrestling championships
HERSHEY — The smallest guys in the PIAA Class AAA wrestling championships are making some big noise. On a day where controversial calls cost Franklin Regional junior Carter Dibert and Waynesburg freshman Mac Church possible state titles Friday, Latrobe freshman Vincent Kilkeary, a 5-foot ball of thunder, rolled into the...
Westmoreland PIAA basketball preview capsules for March 7, 2020
Today’s games Boys Class 3A first round Ligonier Valley (23-3) vs. Carlynton (15-9) 1 p.m. at Greater Johnstown Winner plays: Winner of Fairview (23-2) and Beaver Falls (14-8) on Wednesday in second round Coaches: John Berger, Ligonier Valley; Mike Kozy, Carlynton Players to watch: Michael Marinchak, Ligonier Valley; Chauncie Mickens,...
