Chris Harlan stories, Page 47

Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 4-0, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 5-0, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 6-0, 3 4. Norwin, 5-1, 4 5. Butler, 5-1, NR Out: Baldwin (5-2, 5) Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Chartiers Valley, 4-1, 1 2. Trinity, 5-0, 2 3....

The Pine-Richland football coaching job is open for the second time in six months. Steve Campos, who stepped into a heated controversy last summer to lead the team, resigned Wednesday after one season as head coach. Lingering health issues led to his decision, said Campos, who recently underwent knee replacement...

The WPIAL’s largest football classification just keeps getting smaller. WPIAL Class 6A had eight teams this fall, but that number is likely shrinking to five before next season with Hempfield, Norwin and Baldwin all dropping to 5A, according to information from the schools. The new cutoff for Class 6A football...

In an attempt to boost middle-school enrollment, Sewickley Academy inadvertently ran afoul of PIAA recruiting rules with a multi-part video highlighting the school’s academics, arts and athletics. As one video, there wouldn’t be an issue. But because the three were presented separately, the WPIAL found Sewickley Academy had violated PIAA...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny 3-0, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 4-0, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 4-0, 3 4. Norwin, 3-1, 4 5. Baldwin, 4-1, NR Out: Peters Township (2-3, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Chartiers Valley, 3-0, 1 2. Trinity, 4-0, 3...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. North Hills, 3-0, 3 2. Central Catholic, 2-0, 4 3. Fox Chapel, 3-1, 2 4. North Allegheny, 4-0, NR 5. Butler, 3-1, 5 Out: Pine-Richland (1-3, 1) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. New Castle, 3-0, 1 2. Laurel Highlands, 3-0, 2...

When coach Dan Heckert started a girls wrestling program a year ago at North Allegheny, he hoped someday the sport might become sanctioned by the PIAA and have teams at schools across the WPIAL. That idea just took a step closer to reality. The PIAA earlier this year created a...

Matt McDonough had a ticket to see the new Spider-Man movie, but his own heroics almost made him late. The North Allegheny senior hit a game-tying 3-pointer with eight-tenths of a second left to force overtime, where the Tigers defeated visiting Pine-Richland, 74-70, Friday night in Section 1-6A boys basketball....

The excitement of signing day used to be limited to February, but that changed five years ago when the NCAA added an early signing period for Division I football. Now, most of the top recruits sign in mid-December. A number of WPIAL and City League seniors took that opportunity Wednesday,...

The Big Seven was competitive this fall, with every team winning at least two conference games. That depth is reflected in the all-conference team. Rochester’s Sal Laure was named both the offensive and defensive player of the year in the Class A conference, but the senior shared each award with...

Leechburg quarterback Thomas Burke finished fifth among all WPIAL passers this season, earning the senior Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Eastern Conference. Burke finished with 2,232 passing yards and 18 touchdowns for the Blue Devils, who also had senior Eli Rich named the conference’s top lineman. Both...

Mapletown’s Landan Stevenson and West Greene’s Colin Brady play for small schools but they put up big numbers. The two running backs finished among the Top 10 rushers in the WPIAL this season, earning all-conference honors in the Class A Tri-County South. Stevenson, a junior, rushed for 1,725 yards and...

Steel Valley’s Nijhay Burt rushed for more than 2,000 yards and scored 35 touchdowns, but Allegheny Conference coaches recognized the senior wasn’t only an offensive star. Burt earned both offensive and defensive player of the year honors in the WPIAL Class 2A conference along with first-team all-conference honors on both...

Football coach LaRoi Johnson, who led Sto-Rox to the WPIAL finals twice in his four seasons, said he resigned Monday as coach and athletic director. The Vikings went 37-9 under Johnson and finished as WPIAL runner-up in 2020 and ’19. The team went 12-1 this season and reached the WPIAL...

HERSHEY — The state’s competitive-balance rule is working as originally intended, despite Aliquippa football’s strong objections to playing bigger schools, says the PIAA’s top administrator. “In my opinion, they have no legitimate complaint,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said “as seen by winning a state championship this year, and last...

HERSHEY – There’s a new champion in PIAA Class 6A football, which surely surprises much of the state. “It’s a surprise to everybody but us,” said Mt. Lebanon senior Alex Tecza, who scored three times Saturday night, including two touchdowns in a 90-second fourth-quarter span as the Blue Devils celebrated...

PIAA Class 6A football championship Mt. Lebanon vs. St. Joseph’s Prep 6 p.m., Saturday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: KDKA-AM (1020), KDKA-FM (100.1), WJPA-FM (95.3); Streaming audio: tribhssn.triblive.com PIAA titles: Mt. Lebanon 0; St. Joseph’s Prep 6 (2013, ’14, ’16, ’18, ’19, ’20) Mt. Lebanon (14-0)...

PIAA Class 3A football championship Central Valley vs. Wyomissing Noon, Saturday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: WKPL-FM (92.1), WBVP-AM (1230), WBVP-FM (99.3) and WMBA-AM (1460); Streaming audio: tribhssn.triblive.com PIAA titles: Central Valley 1 (2020), Wyomissing 1 (2012) Central Valley (14-0) Player to watch: Sean FitzSimmons FitzSimmons...

Nobody was too surprised to see St. Joseph’s Prep in Hershey. Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko certainly wasn’t. “They’ve been there, what, nine years in a row?” he said. Close. The Philadelphia Catholic League team is making its fifth consecutive appearance in the state finals and the eighth in nine...

HERSHEY — Serra Catholic punched and pulled at the football all afternoon, but the Eagles couldn’t wrestle the state championship from Southern Columbia’s steely grip. Southern Columbia rushed for nearly 400 yards, scored nine touchdowns and celebrated a record-tying fifth consecutive PIAA Class 2A title Friday with a 62-25 victory...

HERSHEY — Aliquippa has a Class A enrollment, yet the small-school Quips were crowned Thursday night as the best 4A football team in the state. In a word, their coach called it “unbelievable.” Freshman running back Tiqwai Hayes, who’s quickly becoming the school’s next superstar, rushed for 141 yards and...

PIAA Class 2A football championship Serra Catholic vs. Southern Columbia 1 p.m. Friday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN PIAA titles: Serra Catholic 0; Southern Columbia 11 (1994, 2002, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘15, ‘17, ‘18, ‘19, ‘20) Serra Catholic (15-1) Player to watch: Ryan Brooks Brooks is...

PIAA Class 5A football championship Penn-Trafford vs. Imhotep Charter 7 p.m. Friday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: KDKA-AM (1020), KDKA-FM (100.1), WHJB-FM (107.1); Streaming audio: tribhssn.triblive.com PIAA titles: Penn-Trafford 0; Imhotep Charter 1 (2015) Penn-Trafford (12-2) Player to watch: Cade Yacamelli The Wisconsin recruit has done...

PIAA Class 4A championship Aliquippa vs. Bishop McDevitt 7 p.m. Thursday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: WKPL-FM (92.1), WBVP-AM (1230), WBVP-FM (99.3), WMBA-AM (1460); Streaming audio: tribhssn.triblive.com PIAA titles: Aliquippa 3 (1991, 2003, ‘18); Bishop McDevitt 1 (1995) Aliquippa (12-1) Player to watch: Tiqwai Hayes Each...

At 6-foot-4 and 345 pounds, Aliquippa’s Naquan Crowder fits in nicely on one of the heaviest offensive lines in the state, but a commitment made by the team’s linemen to improve their fitness has him feeling lighter on his feet. That’s good news for the Quips, because they’ll likely ask...