Jonathan Bombulie stories, Page 3

Sydney Mitchell, the speedy center fielder for Hempfield’s softball team, always figured she’d wear Pitt colors someday. She will do that in the fall, but the route she took had some twists and turns in it. As Thanksgiving of her senior year approached, Mitchell hadn’t received a scholarship offer and...

PIAA Class 2A softball championship Conwell-Egan (13-9) vs. Neshannock (25-0) 11 a.m. Friday at Beard Field, Penn State Road to the finals Conwell-Egan – The Eagles are the first team from the Philadelphia Catholic League to play for a state softball championship. The league joined the PIAA in 2008. Conwell-Egan...

PIAA Class 6A softball championship Spring-Ford (23-2) vs. Seneca Valley (16-6) 4 p.m. Friday at Beard Field, Penn State Road to the finals Spring-Ford – After losing to eventual champ North Penn in the semifinals and Haverford in the third-place game in the District 1 tournament, Spring-Ford came alive in...

PIAA Class 3A softball championship Lewisburg (19-3) vs. Avonworth (20-5) 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Beard Field, Penn State Path to Penn State Lewisburg – This is Lewisburg’s best softball season in decades. After winning the District 4 championship for the first time since 1996, the Green Dragons rolled to three...

PIAA Class 5A softball championship Pittston Area (24-0) vs. Armstrong (23-4) 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Beard Field, Penn State Path to Penn State Pittston Area – The District 2 champion Patriots have been a juggernaut all season, going 24-0 and outscoring opponents 239-28. They rolled through the state playoffs, beating...

WPIAL Class 2A softball championship 1-Neshannock (21-0) vs. 2-Frazier (17-0) 2:15 p.m. Friday at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) On the air: Trib HSSN (Video) Road to the finals Neshannock — The Lancers have been one of the most dominant teams in the WPIAL this season. Heading into the finals, they’re...

WPIAL Class 3A baseball championship 4-Mohawk (16-4) vs. 2-South Park (17-5) 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wild Things Park, Washington On the air: Trib HSSN (Video) Road to the finals Mohawk — The Warriors have been solid all season long but finished second behind Hopewell in Section 1 because they had...

WPIAL Class 3A softball championship 1-Avonworth (16-4) vs. 3-Deer Lakes (13-3) Noon Wednesday at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) On the air: Trib HSSN (Video) Road to the finals Avonworth — When the Antelopes lost their final three games of the regular season, it might have looked like the undefeated Section...

WPIAL Class 6A softball championship 4-Seneca Valley (12-6) vs. 7-North Allegheny (13-9) 2:15 p.m. Wednesday at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) On the air: Trib HSSN (Video) Road to the finals Seneca Valley — Sitting with a 6-6 overall record at the end of April, the Raiders hit the gas pedal...

WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship 1-Serra Catholic (22-0) vs. 7-Neshannock (17-6) 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park, Washington On the air: Trib HSSN (video) Road to the finals Serra Catholic — Through their first 21 games of the season, the top-seeded Eagles were undefeated and had outscored their opponents...

WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship 1-Mt. Lebanon (15-7) vs. 7-Upper St. Clair (12-8) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park, Washington On the air: Trib HSSN (video) Road to the finals Mt. Lebanon — The Blue Devils earned the No. 1 seed thanks to a 9-1 record in Section 2-6A,...

North Allegheny girls wrestler Leyna Rumpler made an impact on the national scene, winning a pair of matches and advancing to the quarterfinals of the U17 USMC Women’s National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this month. Wrestling at 65 kilograms, Rumpler rolled to a 10-1 technical fall in 1:28...

Last March, Beaver used a stingy defensive effort to hold down a talented Quaker Valley team in the Class 4A girls basketball finals, winning the program’s first WPIAL championship. Both the Bobcats and Quakers suffered significant graduation losses after that championship confrontation, though, leaving the field wide open heading into...

Class 4A is where the stars play in WPIAL boys basketball. Starting with defending champion Lincoln Park, most of the top teams in the class have at least one Division I prospect on the roster. By March, it might come down to which collection of talent comes together best as...

Because she was playing with her twin sister Lindsey, Emily Greb felt like she might have had a slight advantage over the field at the PIAA Class 2A doubles championships this weekend. Not because of some kind of twin magic, where each knows what the other is thinking via ESP....

The announcement that the WPIAL will bring some of its championship games back to Heinz Field this season after a one-year pandemic-related hiatus was greeted by many as good news. For a select few football programs, though, it’s more than good news. It’s motivation. “Absolutely,” Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone...

Pretty much everyone is glad 2020 is over. Nowhere is that truer than inside the Washington football program. Trying to replace one of the most successful senior classes in school history, the Prexies came into last season needing a little bit of time to reload. Instead, offseason workouts and preseason...

Few teams in the history of WPIAL football, if any, have come as close to making the playoffs without getting in as New Brighton did last year. New Brighton and Laurel tied for second place in the Midwestern Athletic Conference at 5-2. The Spartans got in thanks to a victory...

Neshannock senior Cam’Ron Owens has become one of the most dangerous running backs in the WPIAL. The route he took to that distinction had plenty of zigs and zags. At the start of preseason camp last year, the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder was competing for the Lancers’ starting quarterback job. Community spread...

With coach Brian Cooper planning to add heavy doses of spread offense to his usual Wing-T attack, opposing defenses won’t know exactly what they’ll be getting from Laurel this season. Opposing ballcarriers know precisely what to expect, however. Pain. Courtesy of senior linebacker Luke McCoy. “He’s a special player,” Cooper...

There’s one particular stat coach John Rosa would like to see Freedom lead the WPIAL in this season. Touchdowns? Yards? Turnovers? Sacks? Well, yeah, sure. What coach wouldn’t want that? But what Rosa really wants his team to lead the district in is smiles. “This game is about these kids...

If he wanted to, Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone could have written his offensive game plan on a matchbook cover last season. Plan A: Hand the ball to 240-pound Syracuse recruit Josh Hough or 250-pound Edinboro recruit Shileak Livingston. There was rarely need for a Plan B. Add in Tyler...

When a new player steps into the Western Beaver huddle for the first time, there’s a good chance coach Ron Busby has met him before. Just not necessarily recently. “Sometimes I don’t recognize them at first,” Busby said with a laugh. “They’re a lot bigger.” Busby is an elementary school...

South Side coach Luke Travelpiece has turned into a big believer in the law of averages. After the way last season went, his team’s injury luck has to even out, doesn’t it? Thanks to some season-ending injuries, some week-to-week injuries and covid testing, the Rams started six offensive line combinations...

Hockey nights in Pittsburgh will never be the same. After 46 years in the broadcast booth, the legendary Mike Lange has called his last Penguins game. The team announced Monday that Lange, 73, will not return to play-by-play duties when the season begins in the fall. Lange will continue to...