High School category, Page 1161

5 things to watch in high school football for Week Zero

Scrimmage or schedule a game? When WPIAL football teams first were given that choice four years ago, the response was split down the middle. There were 61 teams that scrimmaged and 61 that played a Week Zero game. Now, their choice appears clear. Ninety-eight of the 119 WPIAL teams have...
Highlands boys soccer set to contend for postseason berth under 1st-year coach

The Highlands boys soccer team qualified for the WPIAL playoffs four straight seasons from 2001-04. The Golden Rams haven’t reached the postseason since. They missed out by one game in the Section 1-3A standings both last year and in 2017. They were edged by Indiana both times. But with nine...
Latrobe girls soccer team ready for next step

After making incremental progress last fall and finishing with two wins in challenging Section 3-4A, the Latrobe girls soccer team is looking to take another step forward this season. The Wildcats return nearly their entire roster, and coach Jamie Morrison said she is encouraged by the preseason. “The chemistry that...
Pytlak grows into 2-way talent for Yough football

Russell Pytlak has been a work-in-progress type of player for coach Scott Wood and his staff at Yough. Not that he needed much grooming. Pytlak’s talents were evident at an early age. If and when he caught up to his body, he’d be a handful for opponents. A player brimming...
Highlands girls soccer hungry after last year’s playoff near-miss

Two points. That’s all that separated the Highlands girls soccer team from a spot in the WPIAL Class AA playoffs last season. But the Golden Rams hope to change their fortunes this season and return to the postseason for the first time since 2016. “We have the desire to win....
Ross takes on leadership role for young Valley team

Leadership is a quality every coach looks for in his players. They look for players who can step up when the game is on the line or someone who leads with his voice and actions, a player who holds teammates to higher standards. Valley’s Vaun Ross is ready to step...
Penn-Trafford’s Sherwin to play baseball at Bucknell

Anthony Sherwin tried to find a reason to choose a different college. He looked for faults in his leading pursuer. But he kept circling back to more positives. Bucknell was the place to continue his baseball career. “I chose Bucknell because I thought it was the best fit for me,”...
WPIAL football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the new coaches

The South Hills has some new faces this fall. Gone from the sidelines are two longtime coaches, Upper St. Clair’s Jim Render and Bethel Park’s Jeff Metheny. Both resigned this past winter, along with Mt. Lebanon’s Mike Melnyk, who led the Blue Devils for seven seasons. Taking their place are...
McKeesport football team returns plenty for triple-option offense

Matt Miller isn’t one to predict conference title wins or WPIAL championship triumphs. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t hold his team to a high standard, though. Like always, McKeesport’s fourth-year football coach expects success out of a team coming off a season in which it went 9-3 overall and 5-2...
New coach with winning ways ignites optimism at California

Four months ago, the California football program was shrouded in uncertainty. Pressed with the desire to spend more time with his family, Darrin Dillow, the Trojans’ coach for the past four seasons, resigned. California, which figured to build upon a 6-5 season, was left without a firm direction, as players...
Youthful Elizabeth Forward aims to reload after 8-2 season

After three straight winning seasons, a pair of playoff appearances and back-to-back conference championships, Mike Collodi acknowledges the upcoming football season will be different than in years past at Elizabeth Forward. Entering the season, the fifth-year coach has 48 players on his roster, a number much larger than recent past;...
Bentworth confident it can build on last season’s success despite graduation losses

When a team is struggling, sometimes a shakeup helps. A change in the lineup, a change of scenery or a different pre-game ritual can help to turn a team’s fortunes. For the Bentworth football team, the change it needed came via a move from the Class 2A Century Conference to...
South Allegheny football team eager for fresh start after 2018 collapse

Success in sports often can often be fleeting. A winning formula quickly can turn sour when injuries and adversity hit, spiraling wins into losses in an instant. That was the hard lesson South Allegheny’s football team had to learn last year as it watched a 4-1 start turn into a...
Time for young core of Serra Catholic football team to rise up

Pat Brennan, Khalil Smith, Bernard Lawson, Matt Ulishney, Noah South and Mark Banner. Those are half of the 12 seniors the Serra Catholic football team is aiming to replace this season. “We had a couple of guys we groomed through the system that were key for us,” Serra Catholic coach...
Successful summer makes Frazier eager to get started under new coach

If Greg Boggs, Frazier’s new football coach, was hoping to show his team proof of concept, he didn’t have to wait long. Frazier won the Fayette County seven-on-seven championship over the summer, a first for these Commodores. It wasn’t football in pads, but the taste of success has Frazier feeling...
Puzzle pieces need placed for talented Charleroi

There’s something surrounding the Charleroi football team that hasn’t been there the past few seasons: a semblance of mystery. Last season, the Cougars were carried by 10 seniors and a high-powered offense to the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals. This season, they return eight seniors with plenty of winning experience to...

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