Chris Harlan stories, Page 88

New Brighton receiver Jake Francona and Western Beaver linebacker Zach Altenbaugh earned MVP honors this season in the Midwestern Athletic Conference. The two seniors lead a coaches’ all-conference team announced Monday. Riverside senior Nate Sciarro appeared four times, earning all-conference honors as a wide receiver, defensive back, kicker and punter....

Penn Hills had nine players voted first-team all-conference by coaches including eight on the defensive side of the football. The Indians swept the defensive back spots with Dylan Bennett, Dontae Pollard, Aakeem Snell, Noel Roach and Anthony Grimes all making the list. Penn Hills’ Jon LeDonne repeated as conference coach...

bPenn-Trafford went undefeated in the regular season and dominated the Big East once again Monday in the all-conference voting. The Warriors had nine players earn first-team honors and John Ruane was named as the coach of the year. Conference coaches vote on the awards. The results were announced Monday. FIRST-TEAM...

Moon went from one conference win to a share of the Allegheny Eight title, a turnaround that earned Ryan Linn conference coach of the year honors. Co-champion Peters Township led with eight first-team players in voting conducted by conference coaches. The results were announced Monday. Bethel Park was second with...

Central Catholic, North Allegheny and Pine-Richland finished tied as tri-champions in WPIAL Class 6A, but the Vikings ran away with the all-conference vote. The conference coaches awarded first-team all-conference honors to nine Central Catholic players, including four linemen. North Allegheny placed six players on the first team and Pine-Richland had...

Two-time state cross country champion Patrick Anderson was named as the sport’s male athlete of the year by the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association. The Mt. Lebanon senior was among 10 WPIAL runners who earned all-state honors this week. North Allegheny’s John Neff was named as the girls coach...

Washington quarterback Zack Swartz, lineman Zakhi Marshall and coach Mike Bosnic won individual awards in the Class 2A Century. The Prexies led with seven first-team all-conference selections in a vote of coaches. Swartz was named as the conference’s top offensive player, Marshall was the top lineman and Bosnic earned coach...

With another celebration at Heinz Field, Central Catholic or Pine-Richland can call itself the team of the decade in the WPIAL’s largest classification. For now, both could make that claim. Each team has won the WPIAL’s largest classification three times since 2010, tying them with North Allegheny (2010-12) during that...

The WPIAL football playoffs often bring together unfamiliar teams, so their coaches spend hours studying one another on film. But that’s not always the case. Allegheny Eight co-champions Peters Township and Moon meet for the second time in six weeks Friday night in a Class 5A quarterfinal at West Allegheny,...

Mired in a 20-game losing streak, Butler’s football team might leave the WPIAL for an independent schedule next season. “We are considering it,” athletic director Bill Mylan said Thursday, “but we haven’t made any kind of decision one way or the other.” The school district’s administration will meet later this...

How much can change in 14 days? That’s what North Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon want to find out Friday night. Their WPIAL Class 6A semifinals are rematches from Week 9, with North Allegheny facing Pine-Richland for the second time in three weeks, and Mt. Lebanon facing Central Catholic. Neither was...

PIAA football teams learned Thursday which classification they’ll call home next season. Among those switching classes are defending WPIAL champions Pine-Richland and South Fayette, who both appear headed to Class 5A, while Baldwin will jump to the largest classification, according to information released by the PIAA. Updated class parameters —...

Former WPIAL basketball star Donovan “Puff” Johnson committed Tuesday night to North Carolina, choosing a school where older brother Cameron played. The 6-foot-7 standout watched closely as his brother became a Tar Heels star over the past two seasons, and that familiarity ultimately led him to Chapel Hill. “He enjoyed...

Peters Township and Moon, co-champions in the Allegheny Eight, will play for the second time in six weeks when they meet Friday night in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal at West Allegheny. The WPIAL revealed Week 11 playoff sites Monday. Moon won 21-13 at home in Week 6. But that’s...

McGuffey waited 25 years for Friday night’s celebration. West Greene waited 26. New Brighton waited 18. Cornell had waited forever. Sometimes, a WPIAL playoff win arrives only once in a generation, a fact McGuffey junior Evan Wright and a few of his teammates understand well. McGuffey’s wait ended when the...

North Hills and Upper St. Clair haven’t played one another in nearly a decade, but a first-round matchup has stirred some nostalgia. “It seemed like back in the day, that’s who we were matched up with quite a bit,” said North Hills coach Pat Carey, a 1988 graduate. “That’s back...

North Hills’ Rowdie Rooters, the team’s famed hilltop cheering section, hasn’t celebrated a home playoff game at Martorelli Stadium in almost a decade. But when the WPIAL football playoffs start Friday night, North Hills will be among the teams playing on home turf, an advantage that’s proven to be significant....

Friday’s forecast predicts drier weather, but Thursday’s rain was enough to force two WPIAL football playoff games to be moved off grass. The WPIAL announced that Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Clairton will play their Class A first-round game at West Mifflin. They were schedule to play at...

The Cornell football team was hoping to play its first home playoff game since 1983, but a rainy forecast has changed those plans. Instead, Cornell and California will play at 7 p.m. Friday at West Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. The Raiders affectionally call...

Choosing the No. 1 seeds was maybe easier than usual for the WPIAL football committee with one exception: Class 2A. There, the committee had three undefeated teams to pick from. Avonworth (10-0) played the strongest schedule with wins over six playoff teams. Burgettstown (9-0) had the stingiest defense, allowing only...