High School category, Page 760
North Allegheny swimming brings back retired coach to replace Patrick Wenzel
Citing personal reasons, title-winning North Allegheny swimming coach Patrick Wenzel resigned this fall after leading the WPIAL’s top program for eight years. The Tigers swept the WPIAL boys and girls titles in each of Wenzel’s eight seasons as coach, and the girls enter this winter as reigning state champions. To...
Big, physical offensive line makes Penn-Trafford offense go
It’s no secret the Penn-Trafford football team likes to run the football. Senior running back Cade Yacamelli and quarterback Carter Green have rushed for more than 2,200 yards and scored 30 touchdowns between them. Yacamelli has rushed for 1,290 yards and 16 touchdowns, and Green has 916 yards and 14...
Moon’s Mia Cochran named Pennsylvania cross country runner of the year
Moon senior Mia Cochran picked up a huge honor when the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association named her the girls athlete of the year. Cochran was also named first-team All-State after winning her third consecutive PIAA Class 3A cross country title. She was joined on the first team by...
Trib HSSN football players to watch for 2021 Week 12
Here are four WPIAL high school football players to watch in Week 12: Sean FitzSimmons Central Valley, sr., DE/DT FitzSimmons, a Pitt recruit, has been a driving force behind Central Valley’s undefeated season. The Warriors’ defense has limited opponents to 6.9 points per game. They rolled to a 48-6 win...
George Guido: Have teams that shared a home field ever won WPIAL titles in the same season?
For those who remember the American Top 40 radio show, here’s a Casey Kasem-like question for WPIAL football. Moon and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart both play home games at Moon Tiger Stadium, and both are still alive in the WPIAL playoffs. Have there ever been two WPIAL football...
Just like the teams, Chick’s Picks makes her way to WPIAL football championships
Welcome to Week 12. As Chick’s Picks continued her cruise on the Highway to Heinz this week, she ran into a bit of a detour along the way. After programming her crystal ball’s GPS, Chick’s Picks noticed that an unexpected stop had been added to her route. Then, Chick’s Picks...
Westmoreland County football notebook: Central Catholic QB set for Norwin homecoming
Payton Wehner hoped he could pilot Central Catholic back to the WPIAL finals so the Vikings could chase down a third straight Class 6A championship. But the sophomore quarterback was hoping to play at Heinz Field. “You know, when I heard it wasn’t going to be at Heinz, I was...
Through the years: Kiski Area won thriller in 1971 playoffs
Each Friday throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look back at the games, players and events that are part of local scholastic history. In a history-making WPIAL playoff game where all undefeated teams were admitted to the postseason for the first time, Kiski...
No surprises when Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson meet in anticipated rematch
When Belle Vernon and Thomas Jefferson meet Friday in a WPIAL Class 4A semifinal, there won’t be anything to hide. The teams know pretty much exactly what the other wants to do. It’s just a matter of who can stop it. The Leopards (9-0) and the Jaguars (8-2) met Sept....
6 finalists announced for 3rd Bill Fralic Award
Finalists were announced this week for the third annual Bill Fralic Memorial Award, which recognizes the top senior football lineman in the WPIAL. There are six finalists — one from each classification — and the winner will be announced Dec. 4 at a pancake breakfast at Longue Vue Club in...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 17, 2021
High schools Field hockey PIAA playoffs Championship Saturday’s schedule Class 3A Emmaus vs. Lower Dauphin at Whitehall, 3 p.m. Class 2A Twin Valley vs. Gwynedd Mercy at Whitehall, 12:30 p.m. Class A Wyoming Seminary vs. Oley Valley at Whitehall, 10 a.m. Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Finals Saturday’s schedule Mt....
Trib 10: One team falls out of power rankings in 2nd week of WPIAL playoff action
It was nearly a perfect week for the teams ranked in the Week 11 edition of the Trib 10 power rankings. Nine of the teams were victorious in their playoffs games with only No. 8 Hampton getting bounced from the chase for district gold and the HSSN power rankings. There...
GCC soccer coach gives birth, coaches team to PIAA final 11 days later
Olivia Kruger watched the WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship game Nov. 5 at Highmark Stadium from a hospital bed, shortly after delivering her 8-pound, 4-ounce bundle of joy, James Thomas Kruger. The baby was born minutes after kickoff. Just 11 days later, she had a much better view of...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Search begins for next Jeannette football coach
The search has begun for Jeannette’s next football coach. With the resignation of longtime coach Roy Hall official, the district is taking applications through Nov. 19. Superintendent Matt Jones said interviews will begin after that time, but there is no hard deadline to get a coach in place. The district...
2021 Western Pa. high school football schedule, broadcasts for Week 12
WPIAL Class 6A finals Saturday’s schedule Mt. Lebanon (11-0) vs. Central Catholic (9-2) at Norwin, 7 p.m. (HSSN, 1020 AM, 95.3 FM) WPIAL Class 5A semifinals Friday’s schedule Moon (11-0) vs. Penn Hills (8-3) at North Allegheny, 7 p.m. (HSSN*) Penn-Trafford (9-2) vs. Pine-Richland (7-4) at Gateway, 7 p.m. (HSSN*,...
Through ups and downs, Pine-Richland back in WPIAL semifinals against Penn-Trafford
Don’t let Pine-Richland’s record fool you. The reigning PIAA and WPIAL Class 5A champions are a talented football team despite the twists and turns of the past 11 months. Now they find themselves back in the WPIAL semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday against No. 2 Penn-Trafford (9-2) at Pete Antimarino...
Belle Vernon receivers don hard hats for matchup with Thomas Jefferson
Belle Vernon players wear practice jerseys with three words emblazoned on the back of them. The words are big and bold, deliberate and gold — like the turf at James Weir Stadium. “Do Your Job.” There is more to the job of the team’s wide receivers than meets the eye....
The Birdie makes Heinz Field plans while picking Westmoreland County playoff games
Last week: 3-0 (100%) Season: 95-37 (71.9%) ^ Like some of the teams he follows regularly and predicts outcomes for, the Birdie doesn’t consider a season a success unless he makes it to Heinz Field. The Westmoreland County pigskin pro has every intention of taking a trip to the North...
Student-athletes learn to ‘respect the game’ at WPIAL Sportsmanship Summit
More than 400 student-athletes from schools throughout Western Pennsylvania gathered Wednesday morning to discuss their roles in creating a stronger leadership environment through sportsmanship both on and off the field. The 12th annual WPIAL Sportsmanship Summit at the Sen. John Heinz History Center in Downtown Pittsburgh gave students the opportunity...
Kiski Area hockey team proving itself in early part of season
The Kiski Area hockey team lost several key players, including Michael Rayburg and Jonathan Ayres, from a team that made back-to-back PIHL Class A semifinals appearances. If they needed any evidence that they can still play with the top teams in the league, last Thursday’s game against Fox Chapel was...
WPIAL Sportsmanship Summit to be live streamed Wednesday on TribLive HSSN
Athletes from dozens of Western Pennsylvania high schools will gather Wednesday morning at the Heinz History Center for the annual WPIAL Sportsmanship Summit, which will be streamed live on TribLive HSSN. This is the 12th year for the event, scheduled from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Former Steelers defensive lineman Brett...
Lincoln Park basketball standout LA Pratt commits to Duquesne
Lincoln Park basketball standout LA Pratt will play his college ball close to home. The 6-foot-5 point guard announced his verbal commitment to Duquesne via his social media accounts Tuesday afternoon. Pratt averaged 13 points per game for Lincoln Park last season, helping the Leopards to a 19-6 record, a...
North Allegheny tops Shaler, earns 5th consecutive trip to state volleyball finals
North Allegheny will try for No. 5. Already a four-time defending state champion, the NA girls earned a trip to the volleyball state finals for the fifth year in a row after defeating rival Shaler, 3-1, in a PIAA Class 4A semifinal Tuesday night at Fox Chapel. The Tigers rallied...
Clutch goalkeeping sends Hampton past West Allegheny, into state finals
When Zach Panza’s attempt hit the crossbar and put Hampton on the brink of elimination in round four of penalty kicks, Talbots goalkeeper Thomas Bradfield admitted he thought his high school career was over. It was an understandable thought because the odds of making consecutive saves in penalty kicks aren’t...
Westmoreland County girls athlete of the week: Derry’s Jane Huss
Jane Huss School: Derry Sport: Cross country Class: Freshman Claim to fame: Huss finished 68th out of 264 girls in 21 minutes, 13 seconds, improving her time of 21:31 from the WPIAL meet, at the PIAA Class 2A cross country championships Nov. 6 on the Parkview Course in Hershey. Huss...
