High School category, Page 1092
Gateway wins field-position battle with Peters Township for 7th WPIAL titleVideo
Gateway didn’t score a point in the final 20 minutes Saturday night, but ultimately they didn’t need any. Senior quarterback Bryson Venanzio built a lead with two first-half touchdowns and then watched his Gators play championship-caliber defense to defeat Peters Township, 21-20, in a rain-drenched WPIAL Class 5A final at...
Libertore leads a more balanced Hempfield girls basketball team
Hempfield has a player it can lean on in senior Sarah Liberatore. But to win in a difficult Section 2-6A, the Spartans are going to come at teams with all five players on the floor. The Spartans enter this season with an even mix of experience and youth, and coach...
Hempfield hopes pushing pace results in postseason push
Higher expectations? Yes. Higher tempo and higher scoring? Hempfield boys basketball hopes those will lift them to loftier goals. The Spartans bring back an experienced group from a team that went 10-12 last season, and coach Bill Swan and his players believe they have a good idea of what needs...
Record-breaking Mt. Pleasant swimmer Heather Gardner commits to Liberty
Mt. Pleasant senior Heather Gardner is a year away from competing for the Liberty women’s swimming team, but already her times would rank her among top performers in its conference, Flames coach Jake Shellenberger said. Gardner, 18, signed a letter of intent to the Division I school in Lynchburg, Va....
WPIAL Class 2A final notebook: Avonworth doesn’t have to share trophy this time around
Avonworth is now 1-1-1 in WPIAL titles games after Saturday’s 28-6 victory in the Class 2A final over Washington at Norwin High School. The Antelopes tied Union Area, 13-13, in the 1959 title game at Geneva College’s Reeves Stadium and dropped a 26-14 decision to Clairton in 2014 at Heinz...
Avonworth’s Jax Miller puts on a show in WPIAL championship victory over Washington
Avonworth relied on the big men up front and the legs of senior running back Jax Miller to record a 28-6 victory over Washington to claim the WPIAL Class 2A championship Saturday at Norwin High School. It’s the second title for the Antelopes, who were declared co-champions with Union after...
Gateway, Peters Township big-play offenses will test 5A’s stingiest defenses
Gateway’s Derrick Davis can take a screen pass to the end zone at any time, and Peters Township’s Josh Casilli is just as dangerous with the football in his hands. Combined, they have 50 touchdowns. Their big-play offenses will share the field at 6 p.m. Saturday for what could be...
Turnovers in WPIAL final put anticlimactic end to strong season for Pine-Richland
While the dust has settled from its 10-7 loss to Central Catholic in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game, the sting of losing such a closely contested, high-stakes matchup against a rival remains for the Pine-Richland football team. For the most part, the Rams accomplished what they set out to...
Herald Spotlight Athlete: Fox Chapel’s Carissa Shepard
Carissa Shepard, a sophomore on the Fox Chapel girls tennis team, could be one of the top players in the WPIAL next year. Playing at the No. 2 spot in singles this season, she helped lead the Foxes to the PIAA Class AAA championship and a second-place finish at the...
WPIAL playoffs the goal for Shady Side Academy boys basketball
The Shady Side Academy boys basketball team finished last season with a 9-12 record and lost to Lincoln Park in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. Despite losing four players to graduation, coach David Vadnais believes the Indians have a good shot at returning to the postseason....
Senior class put stamp on Penn-Trafford girls soccer program
Sarah Nguyen, Megan Giesey and Emma Rain are familiar faces in the Penn-Trafford girls soccer program. The seniors were four-year starters for the Warriors, who took second place in Section 3-AAAA, advanced to the WPIAL playoffs and finished with a 12-7 record. “Having three girls that have started since they...
Successful season falls short of ultimate goal for Penn-Trafford
The Penn-Trafford football team has high standards, and with that comes championship aspirations. So, when the clock hit zeros Nov. 15 and a 28-10 loss to Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals marked the end of the road for the Warriors, it provided a tough ending to an...
Thomas Jefferson finally clears Cathedral Prep hurdle
The referee held his hands only a few inches apart. Facing fourth and inches at its own 40, that was the distance Thomas Jefferson needed for a first down late in Friday night’s fourth quarter. It also represented just how close the Jaguars were to finally defeating three-time defending state...
Central Catholic’s Johnathan Opalko makes another game-winning kick to down State College
Whether it’s on a soccer pitch or a football field, when the game is on the line, Central Catholic’s Johnathan Opalko wants the ball on his foot. For the second straight week, Opalko drilled a game-winning field goal. Last week, it was a 40-yard kick at Heinz Field to capture...
High school scores, summaries and schedule for Nov. 22, 2019
Football WPIAL Championships Saturday’s schedule Class 5A Peters Township (12-1) vs. Gateway (11-2) at Norwin, 6 p.m. Class 2A Washington (13-0) vs. Avonworth (13-0) at Norwin, noon PIAA playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Friday’s results Central Catholic 24, State College 21 Downingtown West 48, Coatesville 36 St. Joseph’s Prep 45, Nazareth...
Young Greensburg Salem girls basketball looks for playoff return
To reach the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs for the second consecutive season, third-year coach Rick Klimchock must find a scoring punch. The Golden Lions finished 12-11 last season and ended the campaign with a 51-37 postseason loss to McKeesport. Gone from that team through graduation is Megan Kallock, who averaged...
Fox Chapel boys basketball team rallies around defense
At the end of practice, most teams come together in a circle, put their hands in and say one, two, three and then their team name. The Fox Chapel boys basketball team puts its own twist on it. They say, “One, two, three, defense!” To those who follow the Foxes,...
Greensburg Salem boys out to surprise opponentsVideo
A late-season losing streak of seven games derailed plans of a second consecutive WPIAL playoff appearance for the Greensburg Salem boys basketball team. The Golden Lions were 3-4 in Section 1-5A and were in line for a playoff run until a couple injuries occurred. “We were down to six or...
Memorable moments from a championship night for Thomas Jefferson
The Thomas Jefferson football team won its fourth WPIAL title in five years with a 41-7 victory over Belle Vernon in the Class 4A championship game Nov. 16 at Heinz Field. Here’s a chronological look from the sidelines at the game’s most memorable moments. FIRST QUARTER • The game’s opening...
Thomas Jefferson makes itself at home at Heinz Field
Heinz Field has become a second home for the Thomas Jefferson football program. The Jaguars have advanced to the WPIAL finals five years in a row and 11 times in Bill Cherpak’s legendary 25-year coaching career. The top-seeded TJ gridders, who own a remarkable 85-1 record with 34 shutouts since...
New coach works to instill confidence in talented Fox Chapel girls roster
When Marty Matvey arrived to take over the Fox Chapel girls basketball program this summer, he quickly realized there was talent from top to bottom in the lineup. His goal from that point forward has been to put that talent in the best possible position to be successful on the...
WPIAL Class 5A football final primer: Gateway vs. Peters Township
WPIAL Class 5A championship No. 2 Gateway (11-2) vs. No. 5 Peters Township (12-1) 6 p.m. Saturday, Norwin Knights Stadium On the air: TribHSSN.triblive.com; 95.3 FM Coaches: Don Holl, Gateway; T.J. Plack, Peters Township Winner plays: The winner of District 12 champion Archbishop Wood (9-3) in the PIAA semifinals Nov....
WPIAL survey asks: Should every football team make the playoffs?
Would you be interested in every WPIAL football team making the playoffs? That’s one of nine questions the WPIAL asked member schools in a survey that will shape schedules, conferences and playoff formats for the 2020 and 2021 football seasons. Today was the deadline to respond. The WPIAL would need...
Roster out for ESSMC WPIAL Girls Soccer Classic
Players have been named for the first East Suburban Sports Medicine Center WPIAL Girls Soccer Classic on Saturday at Franklin Regional’s Panther Stadium in Murrysville. The showcase event begins at 1 p.m. There could be one or two all-star games, depending on the turnout. The event is for All-WPIAL and...
WPIAL Class 2A football finals primer: Washington vs. Avonworth
WPIAL Class 2A championship No. 1 Washington (13-0) vs. No. 2 Avonworth (13-0) Noon Saturday at Norwin Knights Stadium On the air: TribHSSN.triblive.com; 95.3 FM Coaches: Mike Bosnic, Washington; Duke Johncour, Avonworth Winner plays: Winner of District 10 champion Wilmington (11-0)/District 9 champion Ridgway-Johnsonburg (11-1) in the PIAA semifinals Nov....
