High School category, Page 748
Trib HSSN state football rankings for Dec. 7, 2021
The stage is set for the final six high school football games in the state as we conclude the 2021 season this week in Hershey. Six PIAA champions will be crowned Thursday through Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium with at least three new champions and a possible three repeat winners. St....
A-K Valley Class 3A wrestling preview: Led by Lehigh recruit, Kiski Area reloads
The Kiski Area wrestling team had some youth in its lineup last year, but it still was able to win the Section 1-3A title. The Cavaliers did lose a couple of key wrestlers to graduation in state medalists Sammy Starr and Braden Roscosky but have plenty of returners that are...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 6, 2021
High schools Football PIAA playoffs Class 6A Championship Saturday’s schedule St. Joseph’s Prep (11-2) vs. Mt. Lebanon (14-0) at Hershey, 6 p.m. Class 5A Championship Friday’s schedule Imhotep Charter (11-1) vs. Penn-Trafford (12-2) at Hershey, 7 p.m. Class 4A Championship Thursday’s schedule Bishop McDevitt (12-1) vs. Aliquippa (12-1) at Hershey,...
High school roundup for Dec. 6, 2021: Ruffner nets 2 for Upper St. Clair
Colin Ruffner scored two goals in the second period to lead Upper St. Clair to a 4-3 victory over Mt. Lebanon in PIHL Class 3A hockey Monday night. Greyson Bayer and Charlie Sweet also found the back of the net for Upper St. Clair (4-5). Hollis Whalen scored a third-period...
Belle Vernon sophomore Quinton Martin picks up third Big Ten offer
Picture this: Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin and Cade Yacamelli of Penn-Trafford lining up in the same backfield or defensive secondary at Wisconsin a few years down the road. You never know. Now that Martin has a scholarship offer from the Big Ten Badgers — Yacamelli is already committed to play...
Trib HSSN Football Player of the Week for Dec. 6, 2021
Most teams at all levels of football prefer to defer receiving the football until the second half when they win the coin toss. That has been a standard practice for the Mt. Lebanon football season this year — until Saturday. “Normally we defer, but we knew we wanted to get...
Standout sophomores have Yough boys basketball team ready to compete
It’s hard for Yough boys basketball coach Jim Nesser to hold back his excitement for the upcoming season. But the veteran coach, while not predicting a section title, feels his young Cougars are ready to take a giant step forward after struggling in 2020-21 and finishing 3-13 overall and 0-6...
Upsized roster boosts enthusiasm in Valley girls basketball program
There was an unfamiliar sight at a Valley High School girls practice last week — players. After struggling with player turnout so often over the past few years, the Vikings had 14 girls on the floor practicing and 22 listed on the roster under new coach Marta Regus. Regus has...
Yough girls look to build on last year’s success
When Mike Gerdich took over the girls basketball program at Yough in 2017, he inherited a team that won one game and hadn’t won a section game in five seasons. And while the section losing streak extended to 99 consecutive games before it ended with a victory against Ligonier Valley...
Midwestern: Laurel’s Luke McCoy, Beaver Falls’ Mekhi Clark top all-conference team
Laurel running back Luke McCoy, who ranked among the WPIAL rushing leaders this season, was honored three times by Midwestern coaches in all-conference voting. McCoy was named Offensive Player of the Year and earned all-conference honors on both sides of the ball. He rushed for 1,720 yards and 30 touchdowns....
New coach, returning starters look to get Valley boys basketball back on track
The Chuck Crummie coaching tree continues to sprout limbs, this time all the way to New Kensington and Arnold. John Stone, who played and coached under Crummie at Central Catholic, has now taken over the Valley basketball program. Crummie won 653 games in 39 seasons at Central Catholic. “I played...
Trib HSSN 2021-22 WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball preseason breakdown
Last March, Beaver used a stingy defensive effort to hold down a talented Quaker Valley team in the Class 4A girls basketball finals, winning the program’s first WPIAL championship. Both the Bobcats and Quakers suffered significant graduation losses after that championship confrontation, though, leaving the field wide open heading into...
Trib HSSN 2021-22 WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball preseason breakdown
Class 4A is where the stars play in WPIAL boys basketball. Starting with defending champion Lincoln Park, most of the top teams in the class have at least one Division I prospect on the roster. By March, it might come down to which collection of talent comes together best as...
Century: 9 Washington players named all-conference, Davoun Fuse voted MVP
Washington’s Davoun Fuse proved himself to be a dual-threat quarterback by passing for 11 touchdowns and running for 14 more, results that earned the junior MVP honors in the Class 2A Century Conference. In all, Washington garnered nine first-team spots on the all-conference team and earned three individual honors after...
Three Rivers: Sto-Rox leads conference honors with 9 players on 1st team
Sto-Rox outscored Three Rivers opponents 201-12 this season, a dominance that saw quarterback Josh Jenkins and running back Jaymar Pearson named Offensive co-MVPs in the Class 2A conference. In all, the Vikings had nine players earn first-team all-conference honors, and LaRoi Johnson was named as the conference’s top coach after...
Hempfield spirit team starts strong with 4 1st-place finishes
Hempfield’s competitive cheerleading team appears to be a heavy favorite to repeat as WPIAL Class 3A Large Division champion in 2021-22. The Spartans have participated in four events this season with spectacular results — four first-place finishes — and are looking forward to the WPIAL championships set for Jan. 8...
A-K Valley represented at WPIAL championships at Heinz Field
Though no Alle-Kiski Valley teams made it to Heinz Field for this year’s finals, there was still representation related to the Class 5A game. Bruce Crivaro of Lower Burrell, a Valley High School graduate, was on the officiating crew for the game between Penn-Trafford and Moon. He was joined on...
Ligonier Valley coach reflects on up-and-down football season
Two years of football are in the books in Ligonier Valley’s return to the WPIAL after a 50-year run as a member of District 6, where the Rams had established themselves as a consistent contender for the PIAA playoffs. Ligonier Valley reached the District 6 Class 2A championship game each...
Brad Bestic ready to guide St. Joseph athletics in new role
St. Joseph has found its man to guide the athletic department. On Nov. 1, Brad Bestic was hired as the new St. Joseph athletic director and comes to the position ready to lead the school’s teams to the next level. “I’m just really excited, to be honest,” said Bestic, 32....
Westmoreland Senior Spotlight: Norwin’s Riley Zimmerman
The Norwin boys soccer team’s regular season ended with 14 straight wins, propelling the Knights into the playoffs hungry to make a run. Their season ended in a 1-0 loss to North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals, but the season-ending news wasn’t all bad as two Norwin players...
A-K Valley senior spotlight: Freeport’s Lexi Schrecongost
Lexi Schrecongost Freeport swimming The reigning WPIAL Class 2A champion in the 100-yard breaststroke is well aware of the challenges of defending her crown. Freeport senior Lexi Schrecongost rose to the top of the District 7 field last winter, claiming a gold medal in 1 minute, 6.03 seconds. Now, she...
High school sports schedules for Dec. 6, 2021
High schools Football PIAA playoffs Class 6A Championship Saturday’s schedule St. Joseph’s Prep (11-2) vs. Mt. Lebanon (14-0) at Hershey, 6 p.m. Class 5A Championship Friday’s schedule Imhotep Charter (11-1) vs. Penn-Trafford (12-2) at Hershey, 7 p.m. Class 4A Championship Thursday’s schedule Bishop McDevitt (12-1) vs. Aliquippa (12-1) at Hershey,...
Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko returns to PIAA football finals with heavy heart
The mood at Mansion Park Stadium was jubilant as Mt. Lebanon’s football team won a state semifinal for the first time in school history, yet amid the celebration coach Bob Palko held back tears. “It’s humbling. Very humbling,” he said. “I’d rather be there (in Hershey) with my buddy, but...
Trib HSSN football team of the week: Dec. 6, 2021
The story is well-known now. Aliquippa, a Class A school in enrollment that has always faced the challenge and played up in class in AA and then 3A upon expansion to six classifications in 2016, has spent the last two years forced to play up in Class 4A by the...
This week on Trib HSSN: Week of Dec. 6, 2021
The short ride on the Road to Hershey concludes at the same time the winter sports schedule tips off this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. The PIAA football championships take place over three days in Hershey, and HSSN has audio coverage of four of the state title...
