Jerin Steele stories

A few weeks ago, Freeport coach John Gaillot started seeing his defense hit like the team a couple years ago that won a conference championship. On Friday, the Yellowjackets defense exceeded even Gaillot’s expectations. The Yellowjackets had five sacks and forced a pair turnovers to spoil Highlands’ homecoming with a...

The phrase “next man up” is used by many teams as a rallying cry, but the Freeport boys soccer team has had to manage more bumps and bruises than most. A total of 19 players have been in the starting lineup because of injuries forcing some shuffling around, but there’s...

The Pittsburgher 100 has been on the dirt racing calendar for 36 years, but the goal for a new ownership group at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial is to put the event back on the map. The new owners, Blair and Tabby Cress, are doing so by making this...

Being a senior, Finn Kichi knew this season at Pine-Richland was his final opportunity to prove what he can do on a soccer field. What he’s shown is that he can be a prolific finisher. Kichi had 11 goals in Pine-Richland’s first 10 games, which put him in the top...

Before the season started, Jared Slimm took a picture of the Pine-Richland girls golf banner in the gymnasium and shared it with his players. “The only year on there was 2016,” Slimm said. “Our overall team goal this year was to put another year on there.” It came down to...

To get to the 48 points coach Bob Lilley has forecasted as a benchmark to get into the postseason, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds needed four wins and a draw in their last five games. Well, the Hounds used up that draw early by squandering a lead. A second-half goal by Birmingham...

Deer Lakes keeps making history. This historic night, though, came from lessons of the past. Trailing by 13 points at halftime may have been too much to overcome for a Lancers team five or so years ago, but on this night, there wasn’t a deer-in-the headlights look. Instead, led by...

With only three returning starters and a move up from Class 3A to 4A, it was a bit unknown coming into the season how the Plum boys soccer team would adjust. Through the first half of section play, it’s gone pretty well. The Mustangs have built on their recent history...

A program on the rise was up against one of the established favorites in girls volleyball when Mars hosted Freeport on Tuesday night, and the Fightin’ Planets showed they are a force with which to be reckoned. Mars built big leads early in sets and went on to secure a...

A week that started with the coach resigning ended with a victory for the Shady Side Academy football team. The Bulldogs defeated Class 2A Allegheny conference foe Apollo-Ridge, 40-32, on Saturday afternoon at their annual homecoming game at Michael J. Farrell Stadium. Chuck DiNardo, who had coached the Bulldogs for...

Georgia Rottinghaus has two older sisters, Molly and Ella, that she looked up to growing up and that included watching them play field hockey. Both Molly and Ella made an impact on the Pine-Richland field hockey program and Georgia has continued to build on the legacy the family has in...

The Pine-Richland girls volleyball team will host its annual “Spike Out Cancer” event Oct. 3 during a home match against North Allegheny. The event will start at 6 p.m. It has become an annual fundraising event since Angela Seman took over the Rams program in 2021. Various activities will be...

With Penn State football coach James Franklin in attendance, future Nittany Lion Xxavier Thomas showed he can make an impact in every aspect of the game Thomas caught two touchdown passes, returned a punt 83 yards for a score and had an interception on defense all in the first half...

Another year and another opportunity for Deer Lakes boys soccer to win a section title. Matchups with an old rival and a newcomer to Section 1-2A next week will go a long way toward determining if the Lancers will add hardware to their collection. They play at North Catholic on...

It’s been another superb season thus far for Pine-Richland girls tennis, and for the most part, it’s been without the team’s strongest player. Caroline Prisk, who qualified for states as a freshman last season, has only played in a handful of matches because she’s been focusing on playing junior tournaments...

Emme Kline has been playing soccer since she was 3 years old, and she’s always wanted to play college soccer, but that dream came into focus in 2020. With the down time that came during the covid shutdowns that year, Kline spent a lot of time in her backyard practicing....

Saturday night’s High Limit sprint car race at Lernerville Speedway turned into a battle of survival for the leader. First it was Corey Day, who crashed while leading. Then, Brent Marks suffered a flat tire and lost the top spot. The final test, however, was left for Tyler Courtney. Courtney...

Deer Lakes football coach Tim Burk got his birthday wish. But before Lancers could blow out the candles on a victory, one more play needed to be made. With Freeport driving down the field in the final two minutes for a potential tying score, the Deer Lakes defensive line stuffed...

Coming off a state quarterfinal appearance in Class A, the Burrell boys soccer team moved to 2A this fall. Though it’s a step up for the Bucs, it might not be as big as one would assume. For Bucs coach Andrew Kariotis, the biggest difference is internal. That’s because a...

With former striker Albert Dikwa making his return to Highmark Stadium, it was the newest forward for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds who made the biggest impact. Bertin Jacquesson, who was acquired via loan from Real Salt Lake of MLS on Wednesday, scored in first half stoppage time and the Hounds picked...

The road to the playoffs in Section 1-4A girls volleyball has always been tough, but the addition of North Catholic for 2024 has made the group even stronger. Add in the fact that only three teams from the section will qualify for a postseason berth instead of four, like in...

The pair of victories the Pine-Richland football team earned to start the season were welcomed results, but it’s the development that has occurred during them that has Jon LeDonne and his coaching staff excited. The Rams have a young offense that is coming together fairly quickly, scoring 57 points in...

It wasn’t that long ago that Mario Liberati played for the Springdale boys soccer team. He was a senior on the 2017 Dynamos team that went to the WPIAL final. Seven years later, he’s back at his alma mater as the team’s new coach, and he sees some similarities between...

Mac Miller has been a strong wrestler at Pine-Richland with a 69-17 record in two years, and in his varsity debut as the featured running back on the football team, he showed he can be a force on the gridiron as well. Miller, a junior, rushed for 234 yards and...

Pine-Richland’s incredible run in WPIAL field hockey continued last year with a fifth straight Class 3A title. With 10 seniors and nine starters returning, the Rams look to be the favorite again, but they know there’s a lot of work to be done to increase the streak to six. “I...