High School category, Page 983
Pennridge edges North Allegheny in double overtime for PIAA Class 4A crown
HERSHEY — Sometimes, there’s a bitter side to “The Sweetest Place on Earth.” Despite a superb defensive effort, a huge game from junior keeper Megan Miller and plenty of resolve from the attack, North Allegheny’s first trip to the PIAA Class 4A girls soccer title match ended short of a...
Franklin Regional takes silver at PIAA Class 3A volleyball finals
SILVER SPRING TOWNSHIP — Franklin Regional’s dream season carried all the way to the PIAA Class 3A girls volleyball final, but the bubble burst quickly behind the power of Bethlehem Catholic. The Golden Hawks earned a 3-0 sweep of the Panthers by game scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-17 on...
Pine-Richland headed to Hershey after wild win over Governor MifflinVideo
HOLLIDAYSBURG — “It was over” when Pine-Richland stumbled off the bus and let Governor Mifflin score the first three touchdowns. “It was over” when the Rams threw three interceptions, lost a fumble and misplayed a punt. “It was over” when the team from Berks County held a daunting 22-point lead...
Lewisburg too much for Deer Lakes boys soccer in state title game
Throughout the 2020 season, the Deer Lakes boys soccer team has taken pride in forcing its style of play on opponents. On Saturday, in the PIAA Class 2A championship game at Hersheypark Stadium, it was Lewisburg (22-0) that dictated how the game would flow. From the first whistle, Lewisburg dominated...
North Catholic girls soccer falls in first PIAA championship game appearance
North Catholic goalie Andrea Bean did everything she could during the Trojans’ first PIAA championship appearance on Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium. But with just under 20 minutes remaining in their contest against Bloomsburg, Panthers forward Rylee Klinger drew a penalty and Bucknell commit Paige Temple buried her attempt into the...
Hampton bowlers aiming high with deeper rosters
The Hampton bowling team is turning to a familiar face for a season the likes of which it has never seen before. Coach Glenn Thomas, who started the program five years ago, returns to the helm after last year’s coach, Bob Wallace, stepped away because of covid-19 concerns for his...
Shady Side Academy field hockey caps season with improbable run to PIAA semifinals
The Shady Side Academy field hockey team has made its fair share of PIAA playoff appearances since winning its first WPIAL title in 1993. But SSA could never find its way out of the quarterfinals and into the semifinals. Actually, not many WPIAL teams have been able to do so...
Fox Chapel’s Nate Lazzara caps high school career with all-state, all-WPIAL recognition
Throughout the 2020 high school soccer season, the Fox Chapel boys soccer team had a player to rely on when a goal was desperately needed. Senior forward Nate Lazzara fit that role perfectly for the Foxes, who finished 11-4 and fell just short against No. 1 Peters Township, 2-1, in...
Pro baseball dreams carry Penn Hills catcher to Maine
Penn Hills senior catcher Josh Zambito has dreams of playing baseball professionally. Zambito took a step towards that goal by deciding where he was going to play collegiate baseball. After a tiring virtual recruitment process, Zambito signed his letter of intent Nov. 11 to play baseball at Maine. Zambito, who...
Penn Hills’ A’Lysa Sledge signs on with UMass Lowell
A’Lysa Sledge has known for months where she wanted to play basketball at the collegiate level. The Penn Hills senior made it official Nov. 13 when she signed a national letter of intent to attend UMass Lowell next season. The 5-foot-11 standout was mulling an offer from Niagara and also...
Plum volleyball team savors remarkable turnaround season
Plum entered this season with the expressed goal of reaching the WPIAL Class 3A girls volleyball playoffs. Wait. The playoffs? Plum went 3-21 in Class 4A section play the previous two years, including 0-12 in 2018. Turns out the Mustangs sold themselves short. Led by All-American middle hitter Makayla Jackson,...
Norwin Star high school notebook: Athletes in wide array of sports sign letters of intent
At the start of the NCAA signing period, Norwin had an abundance of college signees who will further their athletic careers in various sports and at various college levels. Twenty-seven athletes made their commitments official in 12 sports. In soccer, Anna Durmis (William & Mary), Maddy Rose (Duquesne), Kennedy Soliday...
Murrysville Star high school notebook: Franklin Regional baseball standouts pick colleges
National Letter of Intent Day often brings out the best in high school sports programs. That was the case at Franklin Regional last week, when some of the Panthers’ top baseball players made official commitments to college programs with a simple signature. Four senior baseball players inked with college programs,...
Pine-Richland’s stout run defense faces star tailback in PIAA 5A semifinals
Here’s what makes Pine-Richland’s semifinal opponent dangerous: “They’ve got one of the top junior tailbacks in the country,” Rams coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “If that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what does.” Pine-Richland will get a close look at Governor Mifflin’s Nicholas Singleton at 1 p.m. Saturday when...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 20, 2020
Field hockey PIAA playoffs Championship Saturday’s schedule Class 3A Emmaus vs. Central Dauphin at Whitehall HS, 3 p.m. Class 2A Archbishop Carroll vs. Palmyra at Whitehall HS, 12:30 p.m. Class A Wyoming Seminary vs. Greenwood at Whitehall HS, 10 a.m. Football PIAA playoffs Semifinals Class 6A Saturday’s schedule Central York...
Another mercy rule win punches Central Valley’s ticket to Hershey
ALTOONA – It takes a special kind of dedication and discipline to have a successful season during a pandemic, and at least some on the Central Valley football team think that’s given the Warriors the little extra edge they needed as they attempted to make it back to the PIAA...
Jeannette uses huge second half to roll Reynolds, wrap up trip to state finalsVideo
TRANSFER — Reynolds played Jeannette tough in the first half of Friday’s PIAA Class A semifinal. But a 12-minute outburst by the Jayhawks in the third quarter quickly turned a close game into a rout and had the District 10 champions thinking about the winter season. Jeannette (10-1) scored 27...
Wilmington stops Beaver Falls in battle of unbeatens
Quarterback/safety Caelan Bender made some big plays Friday night for the Wilmington Greyhounds. But the biggest were two second-half plays that lifted Wilmington to a 20-18 victory over Beaver Falls in a PIAA semifinal at Geneva College’s Reeves Stadium. With the Greyhounds leading 13-12, Bender eluded a sack by Tigers...
Pitt extends offer to Belle Vernon freshman Quinton Martin
Major Division I college football schools are expected to take interest in Belle Vernon freshman Quinton Martin over the next few years. Pitt is the first in line. The Panthers offered Martin, a 6-foot-3, 180-pounder who played running back, receiver and defensive back for the Leopards this season. Belle Vernon...
Defending champion Thomas Jefferson routs Oil City, returns to PIAA 4A final
Thomas Jefferson had the football 10 times Friday night and scored nine touchdowns, an almost-perfect performance that has the Jaguars headed back to Hershey. TJ teammates Preston Zandier and Conner Murga reached the end zone three times each as the defending state champion steamrolled Oil City, 62-0, in a PIAA...
Paul Newberry: High school coach makes stand during pandemicVideo
For Mark Rose, football is more than a living. It’s a way of life. But it’s not worth dying for. Rose has become a lonely but powerful voice: a longtime high school coach — one of the more successful in football-mad Alabama — who finds it ludicrous to be carrying...
Second-half rally lifts unbeaten Mars boys soccer to program’s first state title
All season long, the Mars boys soccer team was led by its defense. Mars had only allowed eight goals in 20 games, but when District 3 champion Northern scored the ninth in the first half of the PIAA Class 3A championship on Friday at Hersheypark Stadium, the Fightin’ Planets knew...
Franklin Regional volleyball on cusp of first state title
It’s been a season of firsts for the Franklin Regional girls volleyball team. The team won its first WPIAL championship and is making its first trip to the PIAA championship game. Will the season end with another first? Senior Aly Kindelberger thinks so. “I think we’re playing with great confidence...
Faith Christian stops state title bid for Greensburg Central Catholic boys
HERSHEY — Seth Skowronek took a vicious soccer-ball-to-the-face hit early in the game, and blood began to run from his nose. He was woozy and shaken. The Greensburg Central Catholic senior defender, though, refused to leave the final soccer game of his career. “I had to push through it,” Skowronek...
PIAA soccer championships preview: Saturday’s games
Boys Class 4A Seneca Valley (16-1-1) vs. Neshaminy (13-1-2) 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey Coaches: George Williams, Seneca Valley; Tom Foley, Neshaminy State titles: Seneca Valley 0 (second appearance); Neshaminy 3 (1982, 1984, 1994) How they got here: Seneca Valley defeated State College, 6-0, and Cumberland Valley, 1-0; Neshaminy...
