High School category, Page 1217
Beth-Center football team will lean on young core
When it comes to the WPIAL playoffs, Beth-Center football is a familiar face. After routing Frazier, 36-0, in last year’s regular-season finale, the Bulldogs made their 16th straight WPIAL Class 2A playoff appearance. The Bulldogs carried a 7-4 record into the first round, where they lost 49-0 to Steel Valley...
High school scores for Aug. 19, 2019
High schools Golf Boys Monday’s results WPIAL Class AAA Section 3 Shaler 237, North Hills 239 Medalist: Logan Marshalek (NH), 40 Section 5 Moon 205, Blackhawk 208 Medalists: Hunter Woodward (B), 37; Nathan Schachner (M), 38 Section 8 Mars 204, Highlands 254 Medalist: Blake Bartolo (M), 38 Shady Side Academy...
Freedom must replace large senior class to reach playoffs for 4th straight season
After Freedom made the WPIAL playoffs for a school-record third consecutive season, sustaining the streak will be in the hands of new coach Greg Toney. Toney was named coach in December after athletic director John Rosa served as interim coach the last four games of the season following Russ Barley’s...
Derek Moye eager to guide Western Beaver football team
Derek Moye is short on football coaching experience. His only job as a coach, in fact, was last season when he oversaw the receivers at PIAA Class 3A champion Aliquippa. But he is a veteran when it comes to playing the game. He parlayed a standout career at Rochester into...
Daily improvement, consistency are keys to success for Ellwood City
Four head coaches in four seasons can certainly lead to a lot of inconsistencies in a program. Joe Lamenza hopes he’s the right man for the job. The 1996 Ellwood City graduate was hired in December to coach his alma mater. The veteran coach has eight years of head coaching...
Shenango roster young but experienced
A quality football team usually has a good combination of youth and experience on its roster. For Shenango, after a season where at times seven or more freshmen were starting, youth and experience come as a package deal. “We have a lot of experience,” second-year coach Jimmy Graham said. “It’s...
Riverside to rely on veteran QB Ben Hughes
For most teams, a winning record and a trip to the playoffs would be seen as a successful season. Not for Riverside. The Panthers finished 2018 with a 6-4 overall record, falling to Charleroi in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. However, after finishing 6-1 in the Midwestern...
Veteran New Brighton looks to continue upward trend
Through five weeks of the 2018 season, New Brighton had 1-4 record. What had the look of a third consecutive year of missing the postseason took a complete turn in the right direction. The Lions went 4-1 down the stretch. “The second half of the year we just kept gaining...
Neshannock looks to bounce back from ‘disappointing’ season
High school football coaches talk about it all the time: Every game is meaningful. Neshannock found that out in 2018 after finishing fifth in the Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference, one game out of a playoff spot behind Riverside. The difference was the Lancers’ Week 1 loss to the Panthers...
New Mohawk starters carry torch into new season
Mohawk’s 2018 season was one of the best in program history. The Warriors were co-champions of the Class 2A Midwestern Conference and won a home playoff game before falling in the quarterfinals to Charleroi. The conference championship and playoff victory were the first for the squad from Bessemer since 2005....
Moon basketball star Donovan Johnson joining brother Cameron in Arizona
Moon basketball star Donovan “Puff” Johnson is joining older brother Cameron in Arizona. Johnson, whose senior season here was in question, has enrolled at powerhouse Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, his father said. The decision to transfer was made Monday, he said. “It’s a very, very good school,” Gil Johnson said....
WPIAL position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the cornerbacks
There’s no major college recruit on this list like last year when Aliquippa’s M.J. Devonshire, North Allegheny’s Joey Porter Jr. and Penn Hills’ Daequan Hardy topped the cornerback rankings. That was one of the WPIAL’s best classes in years. Devonshire is now at Kentucky while Porter and Hardy are at...
Burgettstown seeks back-to-back Three Rivers Conference titles
Burgettstown is ready for another memorable year, similar to the one it put together last season. The Blue Devils went 10-0 during the regular season but lost 7-6 to Freedom in the second round of the WPIAL Class Class 2A playoffs. Fifth-year coach Mark Druga believes the key to last...
MVP lineman Bauer in leading role for Brentwood
The centerpiece of the Brentwood football team is a 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior lineman. Luke Bauer, along with being named first-team all-conference on offense and defense last year, was voted as the most valuable lineman in the Class 2A Three Rivers Conference. “He won it hands down,” coach Kevin Kissel said....
South Side looks to build on trip to WPIAL title game
The South Side Rams had championship DNA coursing through their veins during the 2018 season. The Rams went 8-3 last year and advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A championship game to take on Steel Valley. There, they were routed by the Ironmen, 48-6, who won their second championship in the...
Piccinini out to change culture for Carlynton football
Rich Piccinini is one of the few football coaches in the WPIAL who knows what it is like to be in the playoffs with Carlynton. He was the Cougars’ offensive coordinator in 2001, the last time the team qualified for the postseason. To put that in perspective, as Piccinini embarks...
Consistency could key season for Greensburg Salem girls soccer
When Greensburg Salem girls soccer coach Michael Rhea surveys his team, he sees a hard-working group with the potential for a couple of explosive scorers. He also sees a freshman class willing to learn, but with several players stuck on the basics. One thing Rhea wishes he saw was more...
Talent-infused Greensburg Salem boys soccer team eyes 1st for program
A whitewashing against eventual state champion West Allegheny in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs meant Greensburg Salem finished with a losing record. In many ways, however, last season was a resounding success. Thanks to a 7-5 record in Section 3, the Golden Lions qualified for postseason...
Deer Lakes looking to build on historic 2018 season
The Deer Lakes girls soccer team won’t be short on fire power in 2019. A year after winning their first section title and advancing to the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in a decade, the Lancers return nine starters and two all-WPIAL selections, including 2018 Valley News Dispatch Player...
Plum’s Matolcsy hopes to build on solid sophomore season as 2-way playerVideo
Max Matolcsy led the Plum football team last year in receiving yards and touchdowns, total tackles and interceptions. He capped his sophomore season with Class 5A All-Foothills second-team honors at outside linebacker. But the numbers Matolcsy, along with the rest of the Mustangs, was most concerned with were the ones...
Krevokuch grows into expanded role in Norwin offense
If the Norwin football team hopes to qualify for the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs this season, then the Knights will need a big season from senior quarterback Jack Salopek. But for the Knights to be successful, the young receiving crew needs to grow up quickly. Two players who caught passes...
Newly-led Summit Academy to play 5 of 6 top seeds from last year
Joe Marak might only be in his first year as head coach at Summit Academy, but it’s just like home to him. “My father taught here and my uncle worked here,” Marak said. “I feel like I’ve been around here my whole life. It’s like a family tradition.” Marek will...
Steel Valley adjusts to new coach, shorthanded roster
Maroon and gold is the new blue and gold for new Steel Valley coach Ray Braszo as the long-time coach will once again walk the home sideline at Ironmen Stadium. Braszo isn’t concentrating on the past and how he got there, he’s more focused on trying to lead Steel Valley...
After roster turnover, Shady Side Academy to rely on speed
The Shady Side Academy football team won its first 10 games before falling to South Side Beaver in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs a year ago. Third-year coach Chuck DiNardo will have to replace several key members of that team, including quarterback Skyy Moore and explosive receivers Dino Tomlin and...
East Allegheny hopeful for playoff 3-peat
East Allegheny was a spectator of the WPIAL football playoffs from 2012 to ‘15. The Wildcats turned the tide and have enjoyed postseason trips the past three years, including a trip to the Class 2A quarterfinals in 2017. It might not sound like much, but EA finishing fourth in the...
