High School category, Page 992
WPIAL Class 3A girls soccer championship preview: No. 1 Mars vs. No. 2 Plum
Class 3A Championship 2-Plum (16-0) vs. 1-Mars (15-0) Noon, Saturday, Newman Stadium, North Allegheny HS, McCandless Township Coaches: Jamie Stewart, Plum; Blair Gerlach, Mars How they got here: Plum defeated Gateway, 6-0; Thomas Jefferson, 4-0; and West Allegheny, 1-0. Mars defeated Laurel Highlands, 13-0; Oakland Catholic, 6-0; and Montour, 6-0....
Knoch’s Mike Formica has high expectations for PIAA championship meet
Mike Formica stood on the top of the mountain Oct. 28 at White Oak Park as the newly crowned WPIAL Class 2A boys cross country champion. Now, the Knoch senior hopes to cap his high school career with one final solid run Saturday at the PIAA championships in Hershey. “I...
Plum girls soccer faces toughest task yet: A WPIAL finals rematch with unbeaten Mars
Before the Plum girls soccer team began the season Sept. 14, it assembled a collection of goals. It contained a series of steps, including returning to the top of the Section 3-3A standings and finishing the regular-season undefeated. Both of those boxes were checked. Then, the focus turned to a...
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Corinn Brewer eyes PIAA championship
Greensburg Central Catholic junior Corinn Brewer didn’t know why she tightened up at the WPIAL Class A cross country championships Oct. 28 at White Oak Park. She just knew early her chances of winning weren’t good. So she focused on doing her best and held on to place second. Last...
GCC tightens up on defense heading into boys soccer title match with Winchester Thurston
The Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer team might be dealing with a case of mistaken identity this postseason. Where are all of the finesse goals and breakout plays? The wide-open passing and constantly crashing the net? All right, so maybe WPIAL championship teams get critiqued more than others, but the...
North Allegheny cross country teams set for unique PIAA championship race
In a typical cross country meet, runners can see the competition ahead of them or hear their footsteps approaching from behind. That’s not true this year. Under covid-19 precautions, the PIAA championship will be run in multiple heats Saturday in Hershey, so North Allegheny coach John Neff gave his runners...
5 things to watch: WPIAL 6A finalists linked through their coaches
A chain connects Central Catholic and North Allegheny, but that’s not the only link between the two football teams. North Allegheny’s Art Walker coached Central Catholic from 1998-2004 and many of the Vikings’ current coaches are holdovers from his staff 16 years later. They’ll meet at 7 p.m. Friday in...
Trib HSSN’s WPIAL football playoffs primer for Nov. 6, 2020
Ten WPIAL football teams will punch their tickets to the championships tonight, while two others will battle for district gold. The WPIAL Class 6A championship game will be contested tonight at North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium, while teams in Class 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and A will take part in the...
WPIAL Class 6A football finals breakdown: North Allegheny vs. Central Catholic
WPIAL Class 6A football championship No. 1 North Allegheny vs. No. 3 Central Catholic 7 p.m. Friday, North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium On the air: TV: WPCW; Audio: TribHSSN.triblive.com Winner plays: Winner of McDowell vs. Erie High in PIAA quarterfinals, Nov. 13-14. WPIAL titles: North Allegheny 4 (1990, 2010, ’11, ’12),...
North Allegheny overcomes late goal to win Class 4A girls soccer title in overtime
With North Allegheny holding a one-goal lead with 32 seconds left in Thursday’s Class 4A girls soccer championship game, Butler gained its second penalty kick opportunity of the second half, and, unlike the first time, didn’t miss. Sophomore Sam Miller put the ball past Tigers’ goalkeeper Juliann Werner to tie...
North Allegheny, Central Catholic doubted if anyone would celebrate WPIAL 6A title
Seven times, North Allegheny coach Art Walker has taken a football team to the WPIAL finals. Central Catholic’s Terry Totten has the Vikings in the championship game for the eighth time. Combined, they’ve won 10 titles. As their teams prepare to meet Friday night in the Class 6A championship, both...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 5, 2020
Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Championship Friday’s schedule Central Catholic (5-2) vs. North Allegheny (6-0) at North Hills, 7 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Friday’s schedule Penn-Trafford (6-1) at Pine-Richland (7-0), 7 p.m.; Peters Township (7-0) at Gateway (5-0), 7 p.m. Class 4A Semifinals Friday’s schedule Belle Vernon (6-1) at Aliquippa...
Dane Beller’s golden goal lifts Mars past Franklin Regional in Class 3A title game
Mars and Franklin Regional are very similar teams, both in talent and playing style. They both play deliberate, possession soccer and look to create opportunities in the midfield. But top-seeded Mars switched to a more direct, attacking style in the second half, which produced more opportunities on net and ultimately...
Deer Lakes edges Shady Side Academy in penalty kick thriller, wins first WPIAL title
The Deer Lakes and Shady Side Academy boys soccer teams were all knotted up in head-to-head matches over the past four years as they met Thursday to decide the WPIAL Class 2A boys championship. The teams split their season series with Shady Side winning the first and Deer Lakes the...
Belle Vernon facing ultimate challenge in No. 1 Aliquippa
Belle Vernon enters the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals facing what is likely its toughest test of the season. The No. 4 Leopards (6-1) hit the road to take on the top seed, Aliquippa (8-0). There’s a much longer history of WPIAL playoff performances by Aliquippa, but Belle Vernon has made...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls soccer wins WPIAL championship
Greensburg Central Catholic’s girls soccer team has had a relatively easy path through the season. The high-scoring Centurions averaged nearly eight goals per game, but Thursday in the WPIAL Class A championship game against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, three was enough. Senior Samantha Felder scored two goals, including...
WPIAL Class A playoff preview: Clairton, Shenango lean on star running backs
No. 5 Shenango (7-1) vs. No. 1 Clairton (7-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Norwin Knights Stadium at Norwin HS On the air: Video at TribHSSN.TribLive.com Coaches: Jimmy Graham, Shenango; Wayne Wade, Clairton Players to watch: Tino Campoli, Shenango (Jr., 5-11, 190, QB); Dontae Sanders, Clairton (Sr., 6-2, 235, RB) Last week:...
WPIAL Class 2A playoff preview: Can Serra Catholic pull off another upset at Sto-Rox?
No. 7 Serra Catholic (5-0) vs. No. 3 Sto-Rox (7-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium at Sto-Rox HS On the air: Video at TribHSSN.TribLive.com Coaches: Jose Regus, Serra Catholic; LaRoi Johnson, Sto-Rox Players to watch: Max Rocco, Serra Catholic (Jr., 6-0, 170, QB); Austin Jones, Sto-Rox (Jr., 5-11, 165, QB)...
WPIAL Class 3A playoff preview: Can anyone challenge defending champion Central Valley?
No. 4 Keystone Oaks (5-2) vs. No. 1 Central Valley (8-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Sarge Alberts Stadium at Central Valley HS On the air: Video stream at TribHSSN.TribLive.com Coaches: Greg Perry, Keystone Oaks; Mark Lyons, Central Valley Players to watch: Mark Hutchin, Keystone Oaks (Sr., 5-11, 175, WR/QB); Ameer Dudley,...
WPIAL Class 5A playoff preview: Gateway, Peters Township meet in title game rematch
No. 3 Peters Township (7-0) vs. No. 2 Gateway (5-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Pete Antimarino Stadium at Gateway HS On the air: Video stream at TribHSSN.TribLive.com and on WJPA-FM 95.3 Coaches: T.J. Plack, Peters Township; Don Holl, Gateway Players to watch: Luke Petrarca, Peters Township (Jr., 6-4, 230, TE/LB); Derrick...
Birdie maps out route to WPIAL title game for Penn-Trafford, Belle Vernon, Jeannette
Last week: 4-0 (100%) Season: 68-21 (76.4%) With only three local teams left in the WPIAL playoffs, the Birdie is savoring the moment. But he also is saving funds. “It’s incredible to have Penn-Trafford, Belle Vernon and Jeannette in the semifinals,” said the Birdie, who is 13-0 picking games the...
Apollo-Ridge prepared for taste of own medicine from Beaver Falls
For the first time in program history, Apollo-Ridge is in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals, and a huge challenge awaits. After taking down No. 5 Washington, 42-6, last week, the No. 4 Vikings (6-0) will face No. 1 Beaver Falls (8-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Geneva College’s Reeves Field....
Birdie ready to hit the road to follow Plum, Apollo-Ridge in WPIAL playoffs
Last week: 4-1 (80%) Overall record: 63-12 (84%) The Birdie was flustered as he was getting ready for Friday night’s semifinal football games. “Honey! Where are my driving gloves?” the Birdie screamed to Mrs. Birdie as he dug through a bin in the basement. After two teams were knocked off...
High school football schedule, broadcasts for Week 9
Friday WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Championship • Central Catholic (5-2) vs. North Allegheny (6-0) at North Hills, 7 p.m. (HSSN, 1020 AM) Class 5A Semifinals • Penn-Trafford (6-1) at Pine-Richland (7-0), 7 p.m. (HSSN*, 107.1 FM) • Peters Township (7-0) at Gateway (5-0), 7 p.m. (HSSN*, 95.3 FM) Class 4A...
No. 1 Pine-Richland will provide stiff test for Penn-Trafford defense
Chase Vecchio plays a hybrid, outside linebacker-cornerback position for Penn-Trafford. But the Warriors senior does not overstep his bounds when the opponent is driving. He covers his assigned area. “Everyone does their job on our defense,” said Vecchio, who has 34 tackles and two interceptions. “Nobody tries to do too...
