Jerin Steele stories, Page 15

When Fred Soilis first was approached about becoming the Freeport girls basketball coach, he wasn’t sure if he would apply for the job. Eight years later, he is glad he did. But now he said it’s time for him to hand off the program to the next coach. After a...

All season, the Deer Lakes boys basketball team has prided itself on how deep its bench is. That depth was needed maybe more than at any time this year Saturday to keep the team’s historic run alive. Deer Lakes had nine players score, wore down Neshannock and turned a six-point...

There were times in the regular season where it seemed like Ringgold forward Kenneth Cadwallader was scoring goals for fun. He ended up being the PIHL Division 2 goals leader with 36, and he’s still having a blast putting the puck in the net in the postseason. Cadwallader scored a...

For three quarters Knoch scrapped, clawed and hounded Blackhawk on defense while making enough shots to keep a lead. That defensive effort carried over into the fourth, but a long dry spell on the offensive end doomed the Knights’ chances of pulling an upset. The Cougars held the Knights to...

Sarah Anne Shaffer realized a dream at the WPIAL swim meet when she crossed the finish line first at Pitt’s Trees Pool to win her first individual title. Shaffer, a sophomore at Pine-Richland, had the fastest seed time in 100 breaststroke going into the district meet and backed it up...

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has had a major impact on many youth hockey players in Western Pennsylvania and a couple of good examples are Pine-Richland seniors Ryan and Shawn Peacock. The Peacocks, who are twins, got their start on the ice at age 6 through Crosby’s Little Penguins Learn...

Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley felt there were times when his team needed an extra gear last season, but they couldn’t find it. The consequence was some inconsistent stretches in a season that ended in the USL Championship Eastern Conference quarterfinals with a loss in penalties to Louisville City. So,...

There were a few major upsets during the first night of the PIHL Penguins Cup quarterfinals Monday, but Armstrong made sure early on it wouldn’t be the next victim. The top-seeded River Hawks scored four times in the first period and continued to add on from there in a 12-1...

It wasn’t the season that the Pine-Richland boys basketball team hoped for, but it did end on a high note. The Rams capped a 6-15 season with a 76-72 win over playoff-bound Butler in their season finale on senior night. “It was a good way to end,” Pine-Richland coach Bob...

Dacia Lewandowski said she and her North Catholic girls basketball teammates ask themselves “What’s their why?” going into every game. The choice for their “why” going into the WPIAL Class 4A championship game was clear. “Our why was that we were the two seed and we took that personally,” Lewandowski...

Right before Christmas, Deer Lakes ended the longest winning streak in Pennsylvania boys basketball history at 74 when it traveled to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and won 70-55. Now the Lancers will be tasked with trying to end the Chargers’ WPIAL title streak when they face the four-time...

The last time Blackhawk played Quaker Valley, Quinn Borroni went off for 23 points, so with her out for the season due to injury, everyone else knew they had to step up if they were going to beat their rivals for a third time Tuesday night. Alena Fusetti led the...

Meleek Thomas is rated by several scouting services as one of the top sophomore boys basketball players in the country. Brandin Cummings is a Pitt commit as a junior. Both showed why they are prized recruits Monday night and helped Lincoln Park make another trip to Petersen Events Center. Thomas...

Highlands and Deer Lakes met the first weekend of the 2022-23 season, and though the Golden Rams ended up pulling away for an 88-74 victory, the final score wasn’t indicative of how tight the game was. Both coaches, Highlands’ Corey Dotchin and Deer Lakes’ Albie Fletcher, came away with confidence...

Baking soda, salt, magnesium and water. Those are the ingredients for what Dan Petcash calls his “secret stuff.” The name is a nod to the movie Space Jam and it’s also a formula Petcash, a Pine-Richland grad, credits for his breakout year at Binghamton. “It sounds kind of funny, but...

Pine-Richland seniors Max Heckert and Isaiah Kerns will get one last game on the football field together and take part in a prestigious event. Heckert and Kerns were selected to play for Pennsylvania in the annual Big 33 Classic high school all-star game. This year’s contest will be held at...

Greta O’Brien has had dreams of playing at the Petersen Events Center since watching her older sister Olivia play there with Vincentian in 2018. Thanks to her big second half on the scoreboard and a strong collective defensive effort, she and her Avonworth teammates will have that opportunity. O’Brien scored...

The WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball playoffs are chock-full of contenders, and Highlands showed why it is one of them in its first-round game Monday night. The fifth-seeded Golden Rams held No. 12 Elizabeth Forward without a field goal for the first seven minutes and ended up with five players...

Annamaria Samuels has a unique first name and sometimes it’s accidentally misspelled, which was the case on the WPIAL championship results sheet. Don’t expect to see many misspellings in the future, because Samuels certainly made a name for herself with her performance at WPIALs. Samuels, a sophomore at Pine-Richland, took...

The first two meetings with North Allegheny provided lessons for the Pine-Richland girls basketball team. The third meeting yields an opportunity to pull an upset. Pine-Richland received the seventh seed in the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs and will travel to No. 2 North Allegheny for a first-round matchup at 7...

Kiski Area’s valiant effort to pull a major upset ultimately fell short Friday night at North Hills. The No. 14-seeded Cavaliers led after three quarters, but No. 3 North Hills got key baskets from Royce Parham and Eric James down the stretch to escape with a 76-71 win in the...

On their senior spotlight questionnaire, most of the Freeport basketball seniors said their favorite moment in their career was going to Uniontown last year and earning a playoff win. If they can go down to Fayette County and pull another playoff stunner Monday, the spotlight pages might need to be...

Every year there are teams that surge late in the season and are dubbed a team nobody wants to meet in the playoffs. The Pine-Richland hockey team certainly fits into that category. The Rams started 2-7-1 in the basement of the Class 3A standings but have won eight straight to...

Joey Perry has had a connection with former Pittsburgh Pirates closer Jason Grilli, and that helped him find the right college to continue his baseball career. Grilli is a family friend and has helped Perry as a mentor on the mental side of baseball. He’s also a Seton Hall graduate...

As the Deer Lakes boys basketball team was celebrating senior night following its game Tuesday, word came in that Shady Side Academy had been upset by Derry. That meant the Lancers were guaranteed a split of the Section 3-3A title regardless of their outcome with the Bulldogs on Friday. That...