High School category, Page 1218
Veteran players hope to lead Apollo-Ridge back to playoffs
The Apollo-Ridge football team, youthful over the past couple of seasons, returns experience at several key positions this fall, and coach John Skiba said the Vikings are pointing in the right direction for a return to the WPIAL playoffs. However, an improvement on last year’s 2-8 record, he added, will...
Avonworth hopes to challenge in Allegheny Conference with new QB Penrod
Playing quarterback for Avonworth will provide Park Penrod plenty of opportunities to shine. Penrod saw that while backing up Derek Johncour, who passed for 2,694 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. “I know the offense like the back of my hand,” Penrod said. “I know how it’s run. I didn’t...
Coach Rod Steele makes West Mifflin roster battle for jobs in 1st season
A few days of heat acclimation and a week of camp wasn’t enough time for Rod Steele to pick starters. As West Mifflin approaches its season opener, there are at least four running backs in his rotation for carries and a handful of wide receivers still vying to start. That’s...
High school sports broadcasts on tap this week
Let the games begin! It’s the start of the 2019-20 high school sports year this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video and audio coverage of Week Zero of the new scholastic gridiron season with 37 WPIAL and District 6 high school football broadcasts on...
Reigning section champ Storkel serves notice for Greensburg Salem tennis
Greensburg Salem senior girls tennis player Kasey Storkel will have a shiny new serve when the Golden Lions open the season Monday, one she hopes will lift her to the top of the WPIAL. “After I went to states, I practiced with my aunt (Seton Hill coach Kim Kissell),” Storkel,...
Beaver Falls football team looks to turn 2018 success into championship
In 2016, for the first time since 1984, Beaver Falls celebrated a WPIAL championship. In defense of the title in 2017, the Tigers won one game. However, last year, Beaver Falls bounced back to win nine games before falling to eventual Class 3A champion Aliquippa in the semifinals. This year,...
Waynesburg to ride talented backfield in Tri-County West
The Waynesburg backfield will have some familiar faces in it this fall; they just might not be lined up in the same places. Senior Caleb Shriver will shift from quarterback to tailback, as junior Darnell Johnson moves back under center after recovering from a knee injury that cost him his...
South Park ready to rebound with experienced group
South Park football coach Marty Rieck isn’t one to make excuses for shortcomings, but the fact of the matter is that his team was young last season. The Eagles had only four seniors a year ago and as a young team they went through trials and tribulations en route to...
Quaker Valley redesigns offense, keeps playoff goals intact
Quaker Valley was already going to have a thinner-than-usual roster this season, and then its starting quarterback moved to another state in July. Senior Cameron Wolf said the Quakers will still aim for another deep postseason run. “Every team is going to be different year-to-year, and we understand that,” Wolf...
Keystone Oaks will turn to young players to try to make run at playoffs
Late last summer, Keystone Oaks was the talk of the town. When autumn came in Week 5, the Golden Eagles’ season turned upside down. Keystone Oaks won its first four games and was 2-0 in the Class 3A Tri-County West Conference before back-to-back overtime losses to Central Valley and Quaker...
New coach Weiss wants Hopewell to compete, be physical
Four-to-six, A-to-B. That phrase has become a team motto for the Hopewell Vikings in 2019 behind first-year coach Matt Weiss. “You will hear four-to-six, A-to-B all the time at our practices,” Weiss said. While it comes off as puzzling to those who may not be too familiar with the game,...
Central Valley expects to be in contention again
In less than a decade on the scene, Central Valley has established itself among the WPIAL’s elite football programs. In 2010, the Center-Monaca merger became the first school in 44 years to win a WPIAL title in its inaugural season. The Warriors made at least the semifinals the first six...
Mt. Pleasant working to rebound after 2-win season
How do you erase the memory of a sad season? Turn around the record, of course. Jake Johnson and the Mt. Pleasant Vikings are hoping to begin that process in their high school football opener Friday night against Southmoreland. “We all know we don’t want to feel like we did...
Burrell boys soccer wants to muscle way into WPIAL playoffs
Starting as an underclassmen provided invaluable experience for junior midfielder Nicholas Kariotis. Having several members of the Burrell boys soccer team in similar situations allowed them to grow together. Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, they were, at times, outmuscled last season. “With us getting older, we have become more mature,” Kariotis...
Burrell girls soccer, 1st-year coach building upon solid foundation
Frank Nesko does not want to put too many expectations on the Burrell girls soccer team. As the Buccaneers’ first-year coach, Nesko wants to continue building on the program’s solid foundation. During the past two seasons, Burrell lost in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals. The Buccaneers, who finished last season...
Leechburg searching for right combination at middle linebacker
The human heart has two ventricles. One side pumps blood into the lungs, and the other pumps blood into the aorta. With expectations running high after the Blue Devils’ most successful season in almost three decades, and the team returning all but three starters on defense, there’s a gaping hole...
WPIAL position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the linebackers
The top linebackers in the WPIAL and City League always include some of the area’s best all-around athletes. They often are two-way players who are standout stars on defense and also make an impact on offense. For instance, Aliquippa’s Zuriah Fisher caught a touchdown and a pair of 2-point conversions...
Uniontown football team on quest to rebound from winless season
After a nightmarish winless season, Uniontown’s Cedric Lloyd is determined to get the Red Raiders program back on track. Uniontown was 0-10 last season, 0-8 in the Class 3A Big East Conference. The Red Raiders yielded an average of 56.5 points. “We were very young last year, and we’re young...
Freeport hopes to reload for another playoff run
Last year, the Freeport football team came close to putting its stamp on a Class 3A Big East Conference championship. The Yellowjackets lost to Derry in overtime, and they had the lead late in the fourth quarter against Elizabeth Forward before the Warriors rallied for the winning score. Derry and...
With Shoaf gone, Yough looks to spread the wealth on offense
Much to the chagrin of the Yough football program, the Dustin Shoaf era is over, and it’s time for new players to take the football and carry it into the future. “We’re going to miss Shoaf, but we have some good guys coming back,” Yough coach Scott Wood said. “Our...
Mt. Pleasant eyes return to winning ways
A stretch of productive seasons that began shortly after the turn of the century earned Mt. Pleasant repeated postseason trips before the Vikings’ fortunes went south the past two years. In other words, it’s time to refocus. “We want to make sure the culture is right after our disappointing year...
WPIAL runner-up Derry turns focus to future after special season
Derry coach Tim Sweeney doesn’t like to look back. He’s all about the present. He doesn’t want his team to live on the Trojans’ past success. In 2018, Derry reached the WPIAL Class 3A championship game at Heinz Field. Even though the Trojans lost to Aliquippa, the experience gave the...
Deer Lakes adopts ‘why not us?’ mantra in quest for playoff berth
Tim Burk is a Deer Lakes guy through and through, so he took great pride in watching the Lancers’ boys soccer team make a run to the state championship game and the boys basketball team win the first PIAA playoff game in school history and advance to the quarterfinals. Now...
After near misses, North Catholic focused reaching championship game
When you come as close to playing for a championship as North Catholic football has only to see it slip away, it’s hard not to look back at the small moments that swayed the game. Two years ago, it was a tight, 19-14 loss to Washington in the Class 2A...
Burrell vows to ‘play fast,’ push the tempo
When the Burrell offense takes the field this season, don’t blink, because you might just miss the entire offensive series. Second-year coach Shawn Liotta wants to light up the scoreboard and “play fast,” a saying that has been established as this year’s team motto. “We want to push the tempo,”...
