Chris Harlan stories, Page 65

North Hills boys basketball coach Buzz Gabos has plans for the 10th, 11th and maybe even 12th player on the team’s bench. They won’t all just sit there. After enduring a 31-day layoff, this season will require a group effort, especially in the early weeks, said Gabos, who intends to...

After practicing just four times since late November, Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David could only wonder what his basketball team might look like this season. There were out-of-sync plays in Friday’s opener and moments that felt sluggish, but the third quarter was vintage Blue Devils: 3-pointers, defense. It was all...

Worried? Skeptical? Angry? Choose your emotion, but WPIAL athletes and coaches were understandably nervous in the middle of December when Gov. Tom Wolf paused interscholastic sports for three weeks. Nobody was certain winter sports would resume any time soon. However, Friday is finally game day, so expect a collective cheer...

Uniontown is leaving WPIAL football for an independent schedule, a decision school administrators hope can spark a struggling program. The football team has lost 34 consecutive games, a losing streak that started in 2016. “This decision will allow the football program to have a restart,” said Daniel Bosnic, assistant to...

After a three-week pause of interscholastic sports, it’s time to push “play.” Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday his administration’s ban on extra-curricular activities won’t be extended, allowing high school teams statewide to resume their seasons next week. His covid-19 order expires at 8 a.m. Monday. The order kept sports teams...

The PIAA remains committed to crowning team wrestling champions this winter, but for now it doesn’t know when or where. The PIAA board voted Tuesday to postpone its team tournament until a date to be determined. The team tournament was delayed until after individual state champions are crowned March 12-13,...

Help has arrived for high school teams that fell behind schedule on their preseason practices. PIAA rules require 15 preseason workouts before starting competition, but the board Tuesday cut that number to 10 for teams this winter. As a result, many athletes will begin their winter seasons days sooner than...

Undefeated Central Valley was unmatched this season, a dominance that was rewarded in all-state voting Tuesday. Warriors quarterback Ameer Dudley was named the state’s Player of the Year in Class 3A, four teammates earned all-state honors and Mark Lyons was named Coach of the Year in a vote of Pennsylvania...

A month after winning a WPIAL football title, Beaver Falls teammates Josh Hough, Mitchell Myers and Tyler Jones have reason to celebrate again. The three seniors were among seven WPIAL players and one City League athlete who earned Class 2A all-state honors Tuesday in a vote of Pennsylvania football writers....

Jeannette brothers Brett and Brad Birch, who combined to lead the Jayhawks to a WPIAL title, are together again. Teammate James Sanders is there, too. They were among seven WPIAL players named all-state Tuesday in a vote of Pennsylvania football writers. Brad Birch, a freshman who passed for 1,676 yards...

WPIAL basketball teams can forget about playoff scenarios this winter. Everybody’s already in. The basketball playoffs will be an open tournament and include all teams willing to participate, the WPIAL board decided Monday. Picking playoff qualifiers would be a difficult task if covid-related cancellations leave section standings unbalanced, so this...

The WPIAL wrestling committee wants subsection tournaments added to the individual postseason schedule this winter as the league adjusts to covid-19 restrictions. The move would let additional wrestlers compete in the postseason while also complying with a PIAA directive to limit brackets to no more than eight athletes. “Everybody would...

Will the PIAA let athletes skip practice? Some coaches hope so. Currently, rules require all teams to complete 15 preseason practices before starting regular-season competition, but the PIAA board on Tuesday will consider reducing that number to 10. If not, that practice requirement could become a hindrance for teams that...

Conference champion North Catholic was rewarded with nine first-team spots on the all-Allegheny Seven football team, and three Trojans earned individual awards in a vote of coaches. North Catholic quarterback Joey Prentice was named the conference’s offensive MVP and teammate Mathias Benson earned the defensive award. Jack Friel was honored...

WPIAL Class A finalists Jeannette and Clairton combined to earn 19 first-team spots on the all-Eastern Conference football team in a vote of coaches. Clairton led with 10 including senior running back and linebacker Dontae Sanders, who earned two individual awards as both the conference’s top offensive and defensive player....

For the fourth year, the NCAA allowed college football recruits to sign early, making their commitments official in mid December rather than early February. The early signing period was added in 2017. A number of WPIAL seniors took that opportunity Wednesday and then celebrated on social media. Here’s a look...

Matt McDonough and Robby Jones knew there would be some wide eyes in the gym, so they offered words of advice to their North Allegheny teammates about new basketball coach Dan DeRose. “We let everyone know his style and how he can yell a little bit,” McDonough said. “But he...

PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said he doesn’t believe this “pause” of interscholastic sports will drag on for months like the shutdown last spring. “I take them for their word that it’s a pause,” Lombardi said Friday, a day after Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration halted practices and contests statewide until...

With covid-19 cases increasing statewide, Gov. Tom Wolf “paused” interscholastic and recreational sports Thursday, one day before high school teams were scheduled to start their winter schedules. Once the order takes effect Saturday, teams cannot practice or compete until Jan. 4. College and professional sports were allowed to continue. “The...

The PIAA will let winter sports start Friday as scheduled over pleas from school administrators asking to delay as covid-19 cases rise. The Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Principals Association sent separate letters to the PIAA prior to the board’s online meeting Wednesday. According to the PASA...

This will surely be a boys basketball season like no other. WPIAL teams are set to tip off Friday and embark on a masked journey through a schedule likely to change many times as the year progresses. Teams all have hopes of hoisting a WPIAL championship trophy in March, much...

This will surely be a boys basketball season like no other. WPIAL teams are set to tip off Friday and embark on a masked journey through a schedule likely to change many times as the year progresses. Teams all have hopes of hoisting a WPIAL championship trophy in March, much...

“Mask or no mask” has become a WPIAL dilemma. Some school districts will require athletes to wear masks during competition this winter and others will not, a disagreement likely to cause conflict and maybe cancellations. For now, there is no WPIAL or PIAA guideline, so the issue is left for...

Two WPIAL teams went unbeaten from start to finish, remarkable seasons that included lopsided wins, running clocks and record-setting stats. Ultimately, WPIAL champions Central Valley and Pine-Richland both celebrated undefeated state titles in Hershey. Their dominance — outscoring opponents by more than 400 points — is represented here in the...