Paul Schofield stories, Page 16

A good summer playing baseball for Flood City Elite helped Hempfield junior Dylan Firmstone get seen and receive a scholarship offer from Penn State. Firmstone turned that offer into a commitment Wednesday. He cannot officially sign until his senior season. “I liked the new coaches and the direction they want...

Team rankings Class 3A Team (This year’s record) Last week’s ranking 1. Trinity (3-0) 2 2. Connellsville (1-0) 3 3. Canon-McMillan (0-0) 1 4. Franklin Regional (10-0) 5 5. North Allegheny (7-2) 7 6. Norwin (7-3) 8 7. Plum (4-2) 6 8. West Allegheny (5-0) 10 9. Latrobe (3-2) 9...

While the Powerade Wrestling Tournament continues to bring in nationally ranked teams and receives top attention, the Southmoreland Holiday Classic continues to grow and get stronger. This year’s tournament at Southmoreland features its largest and most competitive field (38 teams) in the 24-year history of the event. The tournament will...

It might have just been a nonsection wrestling match Monday at Derry, but for the Trojans, beating neighboring rival Latrobe meant a lot. The Trojans won seven of 12 bouts and got pins from freshman Mason Horwat (160 pounds) and senior Nathan Barkley (189) to upset the Wildcats, 31-25. Derry...

It was a battle of Franklin Regional High School graduates Sunday in the finals of the Senior National Men’s Freestyle Championship in Fort Worth, Texas. Spencer Lee, a 2017 grad, defeated 2011 grad Nico Megaludis, 6-2, in the finals. Lee had two first-period takedowns and added another takedown in the...

Penn-Trafford’s swimming teams are off to a good start to the 2023-24 season. The Water Warriors own wins against Gateway and Greensburg Salem, and coach Dave Babik has been impressed in the early going. “Our win over Gateway is indicative of the strides we have made with our returning swimmers...

First team Da’sjon Craggette Southmoreland, RB, Sr. The senior turned in a brilliant season. He rushed for 1,462 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 122 yards. Samir Crosby Greensburg Central Catholic, WR/QB/DB, So. This super sophomore caught 31 passes for 623 yards, rushed for 634...

Nate Papuga School: Derry Class: Senior Sport: Basketball Claim to Fame: The 6-foot-1 senior guard is averaging 30 points in helping Derry to a 5-1 start. He has scored 30 or more points in four games. Why is Derry off to a hot start? We’re playing together. We’re jelling as...

Franklin Regional has a new swimming coach, and he’s inherited a young team. Dan Taylor, who recently coached at Fox Chapel, takes over for Vic Santoro, who resigned after the 2022-23 season. Taylor is a teacher in the Franklin Regional School District at the middle school. He once served as...

Frazier won a wrestling match Wednesday and did it without three-time PIAA Class 2A champion Rune Lawrence. The fourth-ranked Commodores recorded seven pins and defeated Southmoreland, 44-33, in a Section 2 battle for first place. Lawrence weighed in and was dressed for the match, but he was there to root...

Burrell completed in the McCallie (Chattanooga, Tenn.) Invitational and returned home with three champions and a second-place team finish. Winning titles for the Bucs were Cam Baler (113 pounds), Cooper Hornack (144) and Issac Lacinski (175). Baker defeated Axel Ritchie of McCallie, 5-2, in the finals. Baker had a pin...

Class 3A Top 10 Team (This year’s record) Last week’s ranking 1. Canon-McMillan (0-0) 1 2. Trinity (3-0) 2 3. Connellsville (1-0) 3 4. Waynesburg (0-0) 4 5. Franklin Regional (5-0) 5 6. Plum (3-2) 6 7. North Allegheny (2-1) 7 8. Norwin (7-3) 8 9. Latrobe (2-1) 9 10....

Belle Vernon returned home from Mechanicsburg on Saturday night after winning its second PIAA Class 3A title and partied one last time this year at “The Beach” (James Weir Stadium). The team received a fire truck parade to the stadium, where it rang the victory bell one last time before...

With the graduation of the team’s top two pitchers, Nolan Marasti and Dylan Grabowski, Penn-Trafford baseball coach Lou Cortazzo knew he had to get some younger pitchers some work. So Cortazzo got the Warriors into two leagues, played 31 games (going 27-4) and ended up winning the West Penn Fall...

Things are starting to line up for Penn-Trafford senior Antolena Damico. She recently committed to play golf at Washington & Jefferson College and pursue a degree in dentistry. She wants to be an orthodontist and plans on majoring in biology and chemistry. Damico, who carries a 4.6 grade point average,...

MECHANISBURG — There was no suspense in this year’s PIAA Class 3A championship. Belle Vernon made sure of that with another dominating performance starting with the opening kickoff. Anthony Crews scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, and the Leopards (13-1) won their second consecutive state title with a convincing...

After beginning the season 1-4, the Franklin Regional hockey team has turned things around. The Panthers have won three consecutive games and are playing their best hockey of the season, according to coach John Winebrenner. “We made a bunch of lineup adjustments, and the team is playing with confidence,” he...

After Northwestern Lehigh rallied to defeat Wyomissing in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals, Tigers coach Josh Snyder told his team “Why not us.” Northwestern Lehigh (15-0) is having a historic season and qualified for the state championship game for the first time in school history. They defeated Wyomissing, 33-24, after...

Another Fayette County school district has decided not to accept a football schedule from the WPIAL. Connellsville Area School District’s board voted 9-0 to withdraw from the WPIAL in football for the next two seasons. Connellsville joins Albert Gallatin, Uniontown and Brownsville in playing an independent schedule. Butler has also...

They needed the rulebook to decide Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 2A Section 6 match between Greensburg Salem and Valley. The match ended deadlocked at 30-30, but after the official looked at the scorebook, Valley was awarded the victory for most matches won, 6-5. Greensburg Salem coach Randy Parsley actually cut Valley...

Penn-Trafford sophomore Dylan Barrett (114) and senior Hayden Coy (145) captured titles at the Hickory Invitational on Dec. 2. Barrett (5-0) record four first-period pins and then defeated Northwestern’s Micah Rodriguez by technical fall, 18-3 (5 minutes, 27 seconds), in the finals. Coy (5-0) rolled to easy wins in his...

Class 3A Top 10 Team (Last year’s record) Last year’s rankings 1.Canon-McMillan (0-0) 1 2. Trinity (0-0) 2 3. Connellsville (0-0) 3 4. Waynesburg (0-0) 4 5. Franklin Regional (0-0) 5 6. Plum (0-0) 6 7. North Allegheny (0-0) 7 8. Norwin (4-1) 8 9. Latrobe (0-0) 9 10. Kiski...

There will be a new person coaching the Penn-Trafford girls volleyball team next year. Longtime coach Jim Schall said he felt it was time to step away. It will allow him to spend more time with his family (wife Nancy and children Patrick and Kate) and focus more on the...

There will be a new person coaching the Penn-Trafford girls volleyball team next year. Longtime coach Jim Schall said he felt it was time to step away. It will allow him to spend more time with his family (wife Nancy and children Patrick and Kate) and focus more on the...

Franklin Regional wrestling coach Matt Lebe said he has a good feeling about his team, especially when it counts once January begins. That’s when he feels his lineup will be set. The Panthers were co-Section 3-3A champions with Norwin and Penn-Trafford last season and Lebe sees another tight race. He...