Chris Harlan stories, Page 74

Online classes await students at a number of schools this fall, but that wasn’t expected to keep their sports teams from competing. Now, they’re not so sure. Gov. Tom Wolf said schools choosing an online-only approach shouldn’t play sports in the fall, an informal announcement that left coaches, athletes and...

Penn Hills may become the second WPIAL school to drop its Indians nickname. The school’s Athletic Advisory Committee will discuss the recommendation Wednesday night, athletic director Steph Strauss said, but declined comment until after the meeting. “The school board will ultimately decide if they want to go that direction,” Strauss...

Now, it’s in writing. Aug. 1 is the date each year that college football teams are first able to give written scholarship offers to high school seniors, and many of the recruits shared them Saturday on social media. The Class of 2021 still can’t sign a National Letter of Intent...

The WPIAL revealed two football playoff options Friday, one if there are state playoffs this fall and another if they’re canceled in advance. Here’s the reason: If the PIAA championships are held in November as expected, the WPIAL playoffs must fit into a tight window between the regular season and...

The WPIAL delayed the start date for most fall sports, a decision executive director Amy Scheuneman compared to a two-hour delay on a winter morning. It’s better than a cancellation. The WPIAL notified school administrators Friday that football season won’t start until Sept. 10, the regular season will be reduced...

The start dates for WPIAL fall sports likely are changing. The board voted unanimously Thursday to trade the traditional start dates for a new “hybrid” option offered by the PIAA, meaning the WPIAL can establish later dates for each sport. The board hoped to give schools added flexibility as they...

The PIAA released a statement Thursday emphasizing that the current ban on spectators at high school sports events was imposed by Gov. Tom Wolf — not the PIAA. The clarification came a day after the PIAA board approved new covid-19 guidelines that said, for now, spectators won’t be allowed at...

Fall sports season might end earlier for some schools and start a little later for others. The PIAA board approved two proposals Wednesday that could alter the fall timeline, but for now everything remains as originally scheduled. One proposal gives the PIAA permission to reduce the number of qualifiers entering...

High school sports remain on schedule for the fall, but the new PIAA covid-19 guidelines approved Wednesday describe a season unlike any other. Most notably, there will be no spectators, unless the state Department of Education changes its position, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said. The 25 pages of return-to-competition...

The PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee strongly recommends starting high school sports on time, but Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine declined to endorse that decision Tuesday. Levine said the same covid-19 data that’s being used to determine how schools reopen should guide whether interscholastic sports are played in the fall....

Central Catholic transfer Langston Moses is eligible for next boys basketball season but ineligible to play in the postseason, the WPIAL decided Monday. The 6-foot-3 rising junior averaged 22 points for Winchester Thurston, which reached the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals and the PIAA first round last season. Moses is a...

The WPIAL might not use Heinz Field for its football championships this fall for multiple reasons. Holding the games there wouldn’t be affordable if the governor maintains a 250-person limit on gatherings, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said Monday, adding “we couldn’t even pay the bill for the lighting.” But...

Three WPIAL football players drew their first Division I offers from the same Ohio school. Dayton’s coaching staff extended offers last week to North Catholic’s Nick Maher and Seneca Valley teammates Jimmy Royal and Josh Miller. All three are rising seniors. Maher is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound wide receiver and linebacker....

The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association shared nine different scenarios with the PIAA in recent weeks, each with a different start date for the fall season. The scenarios describe how the high school schedule could be organized if the season needed to be delayed. There were two-week increments between each...

As Robert Morris transitions to a new basketball conference, it will do so with men’s coach Andy Toole signed for six more seasons. The university extended Toole’s contract through the 2025-26 season, athletics spokesman Ethan Woy confirmed Friday. Toole, 39, finished his 10th season as coach this winter. His career...

This was more than a job opportunity for Nick Lackovich, who was rehired Thursday as Aliquippa’s boys basketball coach. To him, this felt like vindication. Lackovich resigned as the Quips coach in 2016 when a dog-fighting investigation led to child pornography charges against him. Eight months earlier, he had celebrated...

The PIAA will release sport-specific guidelines for teams, coaches and officials next week, a key step in the return-to-play process for high school athletics. PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi described the guidelines as “things to consider while getting ready for competition.” They’ll reinforce social distance, mask wearing and sanitation, but...

There are days when Aaron Albert coaches football in the morning, sprints to his real estate job for a few hours and then heads to the ballpark for evening baseball. It’s hectic, but it sure beats sitting at home. “Life went from nothing for a lot a months to everything...

Get your Hershey’s chocolate ready. The PIAA basketball and wrestling championships are staying at Giant Center for at least four more seasons. The PIAA board approved winter championship sites for the 2020-21 through 2023-24 seasons this week with no changes. Both the team and individual wrestling tournaments return to Giant...

Middle school, junior high and junior varsity football coaches can eliminate kickoffs and punts this season, or turn their games into scrimmages, if they choose. The PIAA board approved a plan Wednesday that provides flexibility for coaches looking to teach rather than compete. The proposal was adopted as a one-year...