High School category, Page 780
Jeannette transfers lead Greensburg Central Catholic to win over Jayhawks
Talk about a U-turn. Greensburg Central Catholic has four players with Jeannette ties: senior Taishaun Jamison (WR/DB), and juniors Ryan Kimmel (OL/DL), Jaydin Canady (RB/DB) and Amari Mack (WR/DB). So it must have been an interesting 24 hours for the transfers, who left Jeannette on Friday morning to go to...
Ligonier Valley pulls out thrilling win vs. Shady Side Academy
Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel joked he will need to visit his cardiologist after watching the last 24 seconds of Friday’s game against Shady Side Academy. If the emotions of the final sequence were measured, they probably would look like sharp, jagged lines on a heart monitor. The Rams went...
Franklin Regional can’t cool off Penn-Trafford
A cold front blew through Western Pennsylvania on Friday morning, cooling the unusually warm temperatures. What it didn’t do was cool the red-hot Penn-Trafford football team. The No. 2-ranked Warriors (7-2, 4-0) won their fifth consecutive game, scored on their first six possessions and blew out neighboring rival Franklin Regional,...
Highlands pulls away from Greensburg Salem for important Greater Allegheny win
On a rainy senior night at Greensburg Salem, the Golden Lions and Highlands had an important contest when it came to their playoff hopes. After a first quarter in which both teams traded punts, Highlands (6-3, 3-3) capitalized on Greensburg Salem mistakes, which gave the Golden Rams short fields on...
No. 1 Moon shuts out Bethel Park, clinches Allegheny Six title
Moon has a fondness for physical football, clock-consuming drives and 225-pound running backs. It’s a combination that worked again Friday night. But with their usual big-bodied back limited by an injury, tight end/defensive end Ben Bladel became the team’s battering ram and scored the first points in a 30-0 victory...
Pine-Richland comes through for victory over Kiski Area
The Kiski Area football team needed a win Friday at Pine-Richland to keep its WPIAL playoff hopes alive in the Northeast Conference. But for the Cavaliers, it wasn’t to be. Trailing by six in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, a fumbled snap and Pine-Richland recovery by defensive lineman...
Olsen, Armstrong run wild, hold off Plum
Armstrong is in the WPIAL playoffs for the fourth time in the school’s seven-season existence. But holding on for the clincher wasn’t easy. Up by 21 points with 3 minutes left in the third quarter, the River Hawks held off a furious Plum to beat the Mustangs, 35-28, in a...
Long 1st-half drive sparks North Hills to win over Fox Chapel
After neither team could get things going offensively against stout defensive play in the first half, North Hills took over in the middle of the second quarter with the worst field position for either team at its own 10-yard line. The drive that followed sparked the Indians to a 17-10...
Elizabeth Forward clinches conference title with resounding win over Southmoreland
The Southmoreland football team hit visiting Elizabeth Forward with some big body blows in the early part of Friday’s Class 3A Interstate Conference game Friday at Russ Grimm Field in Alverton. However, the Warriors took those body shots, then delivered plenty of their own as Elizabeth Forward recovered from a...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Games of Oct. 23, 2021
Saturday’s games Boys Class 3A 11-Gateway (10-8) at 6-Kiski Area (14-3) at 6:30 p.m. 3 p.m. at Shawn L. Kuhn Memorial Stadium, Vandergrift Winner plays: Winner of 14-Trinity (10-5-2)/3-Franklin Regional (13-3) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (site TBD) The Gators are in the postseason for a second consecutive season after placing...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Games of Oct. 23, 2021
Saturday’s games Boys Class 3A first round 8-Mars (12-4-2) at 9-Belle Vernon (13-4) 2 p.m. at James Weir Stadium, Belle Vernon Winner plays: Winner of 16-Indiana (10-8)/1-West Allegheny (18-0) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (site TBD) Mars is the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion. The Fightin’ Planets have overcome key graduation...
Championship streaks on the line for WPIAL field hockey playoffs
This year’s WPIAL field hockey tournaments have a lot on the line for the favorites in each classification. Pine-Richland is seeking a third straight title in Class 3A. Penn-Trafford is looking for a sixth consecutive crown in Class 2A, and Shady Side Academy is aiming for a four-peat in Class...
3 defending champions awarded top seeds for WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs
A year after capturing WPIAL girls volleyball championships, North Allegheny, North Catholic and Bishop Canevin will try and defend their titles as No. 1 seeds for the 2021 playoffs. The Tigers (Class 4A), Trojanettes (2A) and Crusaders (A) were awarded top seeds Friday by the WPIAL volleyball committee. Freeport earned...
5 things to watch in Week 8: Home field at stake for WPIAL 1st round and quarterfinals
There’s no place like home, especially in the playoffs. This fall that home-field advantage is a bigger factor than usual since the WPIAL decided to extend that perk to higher-seeded teams for both first-round and quarterfinal games. The WPIAL informed schools this week. So, a matchup like Friday’s between Fox...
Winless a year ago, Bethel Park challenges Moon for conference title in Allegheny Six
A year after going winless, the Bethel Park football players have a chance this week to call themselves champions of the Allegheny Six. This, without question, is the team’s biggest game in quite a while when No. 1-ranked Moon (8-0, 3-0) hosts Bethel Park (5-3, 3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday,...
High school scores, summaries and schedule for Oct. 21, 2021
High schools Cross country Thursday’s results Tri-State Track Coaches Association Championship Boys Class 3A Top 20: 1. Drew Griffith, Butler, 16:13.57. 2. CJ Singleton, Butler, 16:22.67. 3. Jack Bertram, North Allegheny, 16:25.31. 4. Noah Petersen, Seneca Valley, 16:39.71. 5. Brett Kroboth, Peters Township, 16:43.87. 6. Jacob Puhalla, Moon, 16:56.50. 7....
Allderdice wins rematch with Brashear, returns to City League championship
Using Jaerone Parker as a wildcat quarterback was a new wrinkle Allderdice added to its game plan this week while preparing to face Brashear for the second time in eight days. Last time, Parker largely played only defense. “They didn’t know what they were going to get this week,” said...
High school roundup for Oct. 21, 2021: Franklin Regional wins finale to grab share of section title
Led by 12 kills from Ella Evans and eight each from Lexa Yankauskas and Lily Alisesky, Franklin Regional defeated Plum, 3-1, in Section 1-3A girls volleyball Thursday night. The win gives the Panthers (12-2) a share of the section title with Plum (12-2) and Indiana (12-2). Postseason brackets will be...
WPIAL Clinched for Oct. 21, 2021: Girls volleyball
The 2021 WPIAL girls volleyball regular season has come to an end as 72 teams have earned a ticket to ride into the postseason starting next week. The top four teams in each section qualify for the district playoffs. All teams tied for a playoff spot in which head-to-head does...
Ringgold sophomore repeats, runners get WPIAL preview at Tri-State cross country meet
Cross country runners competing in the WPIAL championship on Oct. 28 were able to preview the Cal (Pa.) course Thursday at the annual Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet. Because covid-19 forced the WPIAL to find a new home — White Oak Park — in 2020, many underclassmen got to test...
Trib HSSN don’t-miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 8
Welcome to Week 8, as the “stretch run” of the WPIAL football season continues. Twenty-eight district football teams have punched their ticket to the 2021 WPIAL playoffs with many more expected to clinch this weekend. Don’t miss the latest WPIAL football playoff picture article on Trib HSSN on Sunday as...
Trib HSSN football players to watch for 2021 Week 8
Here are four WPIAL high school football players to watch in Week 8: Bobbie Boyd Jr. McKeesport, Jr., RB Boyd (5-9, 163) ran for 173 yards and a touchdown as McKeesport beat Laurel Highlands, 42-7, last week. The Tigers (7-1, 4-0) face another tough test in the Class 4A Big...
Sorry NFL fans, Chick’s Picks’ crystal ball is reserved for H.S. football prognosticating
Welcome to Week 8. As a long-time local celebrity, it is not often that Chick’s Picks is star struck. This past weekend, however, was an exception. Chick’s Picks was invited to take part in the Steelers halftime celebration honoring recent Hall of Fame inductees. All of her years of fame...
Through the years: Huge crowd watched unbeaten Kiski Area, Hempfield meet in 1971
Each week 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 what has been called the largest crowd ever at Davis Field, some 9,500 fans watched the battle of unbeatens...
Westmoreland County high school football notes: Southmoreland preps for massive game
Southmoreland coach Dave Keefer and his staff have prepared for some meaningful games since they took over in 2018. “There were some big ones that first year,” Keefer said. “We had a big one (against McGuffey) two years ago. This one Friday ranks right up there.” Southmoreland (6-2, 3-1 Class...
