Bill Beckner stories, Page 134

With a quiet demeanor, the Southmoreland boys basketball team practices with masks on while the coach looks on wearing a face shield. The facial coverings are a sign of the times, but the Scotties are getting used to them. And the shield has not changed the way coach Frank Muccino...

Reaching the WPIAL finals for the first time and going two rounds deep in the state playoffs made Southmoreland one of the darlings of WPIAL girls basketball last season. Their story caught the eye of starving fans in town, neighboring spectators and even casual observers who appreciate good teams come...

The Big 5/6 Conference, which recognizes the accomplishments of teams and athletes in the WPIAL’s largest classifications, announced all-star teams for football. A number of local players made the lists, including in Class 6A where Hempfield senior center Sean Knight and the Norwin trio of senior lineman Anthony Giansante, senior...

Pine-Richland teammates gave Miguel Jackson the nickname, “Smoke,” when he was a sophomore because they often caught him saying, “They don’t want no smoke.” It became his catchphrase, a warning of sorts that meant opponents would do better not to mess with him on the football field. They used to...

Anthony Giansante isn’t ready to give up on playing Division I college football. In fact, he may be more enthusiastic now than before he started getting scholarship offers. Giansante, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman from Norwin, is back on the recruiting trail, proactively reaching out to schools that had already recruited...

Amanda Kalin and Makenna Marisa were exceptional talents when they played basketball in the WPIAL. They were all-around players who could shoot it, drive it and defend it — Kalin at Pine-Richland and Marisa at Peters Township. But they also had something else in common: They both were clutch. Their...

Just as Norwin girls basketball was getting started this season, the Knights had to stop. When a team member tested positive for covid-19, the girls had to shut down for a week and could interact only via Zoom meetings. Coach Brian Brozeski did his best to keep the team engaged...

Everybody is back. They’re all seniors. And they’ve had more than a full season to get accustomed to their coach’s system. It all adds up to four words. Watch out for Norwin. “We’re leaps ahead of where we were at this time last year,” said second-year coach Buddy Valinsky, whose...

Anthony Giansante isn’t ready to give up on playing Division I football. In fact, he might be more enthusiastic now than before he started getting scholarship offers. Giansante, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman from Norwin, is back on the recruiting trail, proactively reaching out to schools that had already recruited him...

Blair Gerlach directed the Mars girls soccer team to back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA championships. He also doubled up on one of the state’s top honors. Gerlach was named the Class AAA coach of the year by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association, becoming the first repeat winner in the classification since...

Player of the year Ellie Coffield Mars, Sr., MF With both arms raised high, Ellie Coffield stretched the PIAA championship trophy toward the sky, her face framed in pure joy on a cold November night in Hershey. The Mars senior standout and her teammates reveled in winning another state title,...

Chuck Tragesser always knew he wanted to play golf collegiately. But he was unsure of where or what level. He just knew he had the game to compete at a higher level and waited for an opportunity to come along. The Franklin Regional senior had a breakout year, one that...

Jayla Wehner went from having doubts about a season happening to earning a starting spot on the Marian women’s basketball team. The Norwin graduate and college freshman has become an important backcourt player for Marian, a private school in Indianapolis that fields a prominent NAIA program. With covid-19 lurking at...

Over the last two seasons, Tom Brush had a firm rotation for the Hempfield girls basketball team. Unless there was foul trouble or an injury, the lineup didn’t change much. But this season, the Spartans could look different from game to game. “We’ve had a pretty set rotation here,” Brush...

Hempfield is in somewhat of a unique situation. While its boys basketball team lost six seniors, it returns two of its top three scorers. Seniors Christian Zilli (12 points per game) and Michael Hosni (10.8 ppg) are back to lead the Spartans (12-11), who finished second in Section 3-6A and...

Jayden Walker was finally ready to pitch again last spring, nearly a year after shoulder surgery to fix a damaged labrum. The hard-throwing lefthander was chomping at the bit and pounding his glove in anticipation of taking the mound again. But that was when the covid-19 pandemic had just begun...

Franklin Regional decided the best way to navigate a pandemic during a sports season was to keep playing — and keep winning. The fall sports season, which lived in the shadow of covid-19, turned out to be one for the mantle at Franklin Regional. A number of teams celebrated lengthy...

Perspective is a trigger word this season around the Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball program. Third-year coach Sam Salih, who works as a behavior specialist, has used Zoom meetings and team gatherings to help guide his players through the country’s turbulent times. With uncertainty surrounding this season, the coach has...

The final score is all but burned into their collective mind. Eden Christian 66, Greensburg Central Catholic 56. And just in case it isn’t, Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball coach Christian Hyland has a stark reminder on his office wall. “We have the article from that loss framed above my...

Franklin Regional girls soccer coach Scott Arnold calls Sydney Lindeman a leader by example. The junior midfielder does not have to say much to inspire her teammates. Her skilled game does most of the talking. They often follow the pace she sets. “Syd’s teammates love and respect her,” Arnold said....

Blake Zubovic has watched and learned. He has put in the time while learning the nuances of Division I college football. On Saturday, the Pitt offensive lineman earned his chance to make an impact with the first-teamers. Zubovic (6-foot-4, 320 pounds), a Belle Vernon graduate who redshirted in 2018 and...

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...