High School category, Page 993
A-K Valley football players to watch for Week 9
Zach Fields Plum, sr., WR/DB The Mustangs defense turned McKeesport over five times in last week’s WPIAL Class 4A first-round win. Fields produced two of those turnovers with a pair of interceptions, giving him three picks on the season. He added seven tackles, increasing his total to 30. Max Matolcsy...
Westmoreland County football players to watch for Week 9
Cole Weightman Belle Vernon, jr., LB This all-state wrestler is the second-leading tackler for Belle Vernon. He has one interception and five quarterback sacks. The Belle Vernon defense, which has allowed 77 points and recorded four shutouts, will face a tough challenge on the road at Aliquippa. Mason Frye Penn-Trafford,...
Chick’s Picks: Like everything else, making predictions isn’t easy in 2020
As we know by now, 2020 looks a little different. This year’s version of different includes the WPIAL football playoffs, as not all classifications are on the same postseason schedule. Chick’s Picks was attempting to set her crystal ball’s parameters for this week’s predictions, which included one championship game and...
Plum focused on current Thomas Jefferson team, not Jaguars’ past success
The Plum football team Friday will play its first WPIAL semifinal game since 1996. On the other sideline will be Thomas Jefferson, the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A champion that owns eight WPIAL and four PIAA crowns since 2004. The Jaguars have made at least the WPIAL semifinals every...
Old school meets new school when Rochester, Jeannette collide
Two traditional Class A powers square off Friday in the WPIAL football semifinals, each using different philosophies on offense. No. 2 Rochester (7-1) uses the old-school approach — smash-mouth football. Against Springdale, the Rams ran 69 plays and 68 were on the ground. No. 3 Jeannette (7-1) uses the new-school...
Trib HSSN football players to watch in Week 9
Here are four WPIAL football players to watch for during Week 9: Terrell Booth Serra Catholic, jr., WR/OLB Booth (5-11, 175) caught seven passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 7 Serra Catholic upset No. 2 McGuffey, 21-14, in the WPIAL Class 2A opening round last week....
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 4, 2020
Field hockey WPIAL playoffs Class 3A Championship Wednesday’s result Pine-Richland 3, Peters Township 0 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...
High school roundup for Nov. 4, 2020: Freshman scores OT winner for North Catholic girls soccer
Freshman Lily Karsman scored the winning goal in overtime, leading No. 3 North Catholic (12-2-1) to a 2-1 victory over No. 2 Shady Side Academy (12-1) in a WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer semifinal match Thursday night. Senior Grace Billmann scored in the first half for North Catholic, the defending...
Peters Township boys soccer team wins in 2OT — again
Andrew Massucci might have a little magic in his shoe as for the second game in a row he scored the winning goal in the final seconds of the second overtime, this time to propel Peters Township to the WPIAL Class 4A championship. Massucci scored twice to lift No. 1...
Pine-Richland field hockey claims back-to-back WPIAL championships
Pine-Richland’s field hockey team can call itself a dynasty. The Rams won their second consecutive WPIAL Class 3A championship and third title in four years. “This feels amazing,” senior captain Elaina Camino said as she held on to the championship trophy. “Coming in as a freshman three years ago, I...
Avonworth surges late to defeat Yough in WPIAL semifinals
For nearly 38 minutes, Yough was on its heels but holding its own at Avonworth. However, two late first-half goals propelled the No. 5 Antelopes into the WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer finals with a 3-0 victory Wednesday night at Lenzner Field. Avonworth (14-1-1) will face North Catholic, which was...
GCC headed to volleyball finals after beating Beaver County ChristianVideo
The Greensburg Central Catholic girls volleyball team is headed back to the WPIAL Class A championship for the first time since 2016. That happened to be the first season Courtney Stynchula became the school’s coach. The Centurions won their third WPIAL title that season and went on to become PIAA...
Montour knocks off undefeated Plum in WPIAL Class 3A volleyball semifinals
Going into the WPIAL Class 3A girls volleyball semifinals against unbeaten Plum, Montour knew it would have to lean on its diverse offense. The Spartans did, serving well, scoring in a multitude of ways and going on big runs en route to a 3-1 victory to reach their second title...
Firing on all cylinders, Seneca Valley drills Norwin to reach Class 4A title game
It is always a coach’s dream to see his team playing its best heading into the biggest game of the year. It’s another thing to put the ball in the net five times in a semifinal match. Second-seeded Seneca Valley scored five unanswered goals to defeat previously unbeaten Norwin, 5-1,...
Plum girls soccer reaches Class 3A finals with another 1-0 win over West Allegheny
It was déjà vu for the Plum girls soccer team. For the second year in a row, the Mustangs topped West Allegheny, 1-0, in a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal. With Wednesday’s home victory, they now will get another crack at winning the program’s first WPIAL championship. “There’s literally no better...
For second straight year, GCC downs short-handed Springdale in Class A semifinalsVideo
Springdale coach Cesareo Sanchez said he wanted his team to “be careful on defense” heading into Wednesday night’s WPIAL Class A semifinal boys soccer game against top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic at Norwin. Sanchez knows how fragile opportunities can be this deep in the playoffs, and how things like ill-advised fouls...
Aly Kindelberger, Franklin Regional shut down No. 1 Beaver in Class 3A volleyball semifinals
Franklin Regional showed up to Beaver High School with plenty of passion Wednesday night and knocked off previously unbeaten and top-seeded Beaver to advance to the WPIAL Class 3A girls volleyball championship. “Passion, defensive prowess and Aly Kindelberger took away their offense completely,” Franklin Regional coach Mike Feorene said. “They...
WPIAL will start winter sports on time
With the first practices only weeks away, the WPIAL won’t make any changes to the winter sports schedule after receiving mixed feedback from schools. The WPIAL last month sent a questionnaire to schools to gauge readiness for basketball, wrestling and other practices to start next month. The answers were “all...
OLSH girls soccer looks to slow down high-scoring GCC in WPIAL title game
When Greensburg Central Catholic collides with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship Thursday at Gateway, it will be a battle of opposites. The No. 1 Centurions feature a high-powered offense that averages 7.9 goals per game. The No. 6 Chargers (12-2) have...
Trib 10: Ranked teams clash in second week of WPIAL playoffs
All 10 teams in last week’s HSSN football power rankings were home in Week 8, and all 10 scored victories to keep their district championship hopes alive. However, while there are no changes to the Trib 10 this week, that certainly won’t be the case next week. The challenges become...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsules: Nov. 5
Boys Class 3A Championship 2-Franklin Regional (16-2) vs. 1-Mars (17-0) 8 p.m. Thursday, Newman Stadium, North Allegheny, McCandless Coaches: Rand Hudson, Franklin Regional; Chris Knauff, Mars How they got here: Franklin Regional defeated Knoch, 7-0; Indiana, 4-0; and West Allegheny, 2-1 (OT); Mars defeated Laurel Highlands, 5-1; Hampton, 1-0; and...
Deer Lakes, Shady Side Academy prepare to settle score in 3rd matchup of season
In the past four years, the No. 2 Deer Lakes Lancers and No. 1 Shady Side Academy have met 10 times: eight times in the regular season, and twice in the postseason. On Thursday at North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium, the teams will meet for the third time this season with...
A-K Valley soccer playoff preview: Nov. 5
Today’s game Class AA Championship 2-Deer Lakes (14-1) vs. 1-Shady Side Academy (14-2) 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Newman Stadium, North Allegheny, McCandless Coaches: Dan Yates, Deer Lakes; Ed Ellsworth, Shady Side Academy How they got here: Deer Lakes defeated Southmoreland, 7-0; South Park, 1-0 (OT); and Mt. Pleasant, 7-1; Shady Side...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Belle Vernon’s Devin Whitlock grabs headlines
Devin Whitlock’s importance to the Belle Vernon football team cannot be understated. The junior star who moved from receiver to quarterback is having a special season. As in, WPIAL player of the year-caliber stuff. He has led the Leopards (6-1) to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals Friday night at Aliquippa...
WPIAL singles, doubles champions to begin quest for state titles
The PIAA singles and doubles tennis tournaments kick off Wednesday for the four WPIAL champions at the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford. All four quarterfinals matches are set to begin at 11:30 a.m. Knoch senior Laura Greb, the four-time WPIAL Class AA singles champion, opens against District 6 champion Alyssa...
