High School category, Page 1162
New coach Cicero wants to build soccer culture at Jeannette
After only winning one game last season, the Jeannette boys soccer program looks to new coach Arthur Cicero this year. Cicero, a Saint Vincent graduate, was named coach in late July after Robert Rundle resigned during the offseason. Jeannette isn’t known for soccer, but Cicero is looking to create an...
Seton LaSalle football team hopes to rebound with new coach
Seton LaSalle is ready to get back to the top. The Rebels think they have the guy to take them there, too, in Mike Zmijanac. Zmijanac was coach at Aliquippa for 21 years and racked up a 237-36 record, along with six WPIAL championships and one PIAA title. When the...
Nowhere to go but up for Jeannette girls soccer under new coach
The Jeannette girls soccer program will have a new coach this season, but it will be a familiar name as Delaney Cortazzo takes over. Cortazzo, a 2013 Jeannette graduate, played soccer, basketball and softball for the Jayhawks. Cortazzo was named coach in late July after Brian Snively resigned. In college,...
Cognition meets connection, carrying Southmoreland offense to new heights
Receiver Riley Comforti knows how the route is supposed to be run. Quarterback Zach Cernuto understands where the football should be thrown. When the two converge, when cognition meets connection, it’s pure, big-play magic for Southmoreland. “The more reps they get, the better they are,” Southmoreland football coach Dave Keefer...
WPIAL football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the kickers
Sharing your field with a good soccer team can sometimes be a boost for football programs across the WPIAL. That’s because quite a few coaches have recruited soccer players as kickers. The two-sport athletes might not always available for football practice — pulled elsewhere by soccer games and other responsibilities...
WPIAL teams highlight Trib HSSN high school football preseason rankings
Whether you are a fan of your local district team or like to know what’s going on in high school football around Pennsylvania, the TribLive High School Sports Network has you covered this fall. We will once again rank the top WPIAL teams in each class every Sunday and follow...
PIAA upholds District 6 ruling on Ligonier Valley’s Kyle Silk
Unless Kyle Silk’s family pursues legal action, his senior football season is over before it started. The PIAA upheld District 6’s decision to deny Silk eligibility to play football at Ligonier Valley after he transferred from United in June. Silk, who lived in Robinson, moved with his father into the...
Burrell grad Fantuzzo returns to coach basketball at alma mater
Mike Fantuzzo enjoyed a great deal of success as a member of the Burrell boys basketball team more than a decade ago. Now, he hopes to generate the same success as the program’s next head coach. The Burrell School Board on Tuesday hired Fantuzzo to replace Shawn Bennis, who resigned...
Vokes hopes to use strength, speed to lift Springdale to success
After missing the WPIAL playoffs for just the second time in 17 seasons last year, the Springdale Dynamos are set to make a 2019 drive toward the postseason. One of nine returnees on offense is senior running back Christian Vokes, who missed several games last season with an injury, Vokes...
Freeport boys soccer confident it can compete in tough section
There have been plenty of good on-field moments the last few years for Freeport boys soccer, but one thing that always has stuck out for coach Dave Teorsky didn’t happen in a game. “One of the cool lines I can remember from a year or so ago was one player...
A-K Valley football Q&A with Kiski Area’s Jason Baker
In an effort to revamp his team, Kiski Area football coach Sam Albert dug into the depths of the high school to recruit student-athletes he believed could help improve their chances this season. When he did, he came out with a large target for his new quarterback this season. After...
A-K Valley football players to watch in Week Zero
Jake Blumer Leechburg, sr., RB/OLB The Blue Devils hope to begin this season the way they kicked off last year — with a victory over rival Apollo-Ridge. Expect Blumer, Leechburg’s leading rusher last year, to be at the heart of the gameplan on both sides of the ball. Last year,...
Valley’s 6-game winning streak on line in ‘Battle of the Bypass’
There’s never a lack of excitement when Burrell and Valley get together for the “Battle of the Bypass.” “Man, we are looking at it like it’s Burrell week,” Valley’s Vaun Ross said excitedly. “What week is it? It’s Burrell week! We’re excited, man. All of us, we’re hyped, and we...
Westmoreland County football Q&A with Latrobe’s Branden Crosby
When Branden Crosby transferred from Greensburg Salem to Latrobe as a freshman, Latrobe football coach Jason Marucco knew little about him. He saw Crosby had athletic ability but didn’t find him a regular position on the team until last season when the 6-foot, 160-pounder took the reins at quarterback. A...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in Week Zero
Dillon Ferretti Hempfield, sr., G/LB There are few players like Ferretti, a three-sport athlete who also wrestles and is an outstanding thrower on the track and field team. Ferretti led the Spartans in tackles last season with 114, including 12 for losses. He also had 51⁄2 sacks. As a sophomore...
‘Battle of Route 30’ pits Norwin, Penn-Trafford football teams in Week Zero
When the PIAA expanded to six classifications four years ago and decided to move the start of the playoffs up a week, it also allowed schools to eliminate their second scrimmage and play a game during Week Zero. Because many schools lost their rivalries during expansion, coaches and athletic directors...
Westmoreland County high school football don’t-miss matchups for Week Zero
Nonconference Greensburg Salem at Hempfield 7 p.m. Friday, Spartan Stadium, Hempfield Coaches: Dave Keefer, Greensburg Salem; Rich Bowen, Hempfield Players to watch: Trent Patrick, Greensburg Salem (Sr., 5-9, 230, QB/LB); Nathan Roby, Hempfield (5-7, 155, RB/DB) Last year: Greensburg Salem (4-7, 4-3), fourth place in Class 4A Big 8 Conference,...
The Birdie opines on Week Zero, Westmoreland County matchups
Four years after its inception, Week Zero remains a confusing proposition, even for Mr. Birdie. He gets questions from readers all the time about the official/unofficial start of the season. Why doesn’t everyone do it? Do the games really count? How are Antonio Brown’s feet? (OK, the last one might...
A-K Valley high school football don’t-miss matchups for Week Zero
Nonconference Allderdice at Kiski Area 7 p.m. Friday at Richard J. Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township Last year: Allderdice, 6-5, 4-1 City League; Kiski Area, 3-8, 2-5 Class 5A Northern Conference Coaches: Jerry Haslett, Allderdice; Sam Albert, Kiski Area Players to watch: Solomon Johnston, Allderdice (Jr., 6-4, 325, OL/DL); Justin Hessom,...
The Birdie gets ready for Week Zero by picking A-K Valley winners
Unlike past years, The Birdie is unsure about his season-opening picks. The Birdie was sitting in on the weekly high school football planning meeting and just couldn’t keep his big beak silent. It was new quarterbacks this, young players that and he went on and on about Week Zero games....
Even without LeDonne in attendance, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland excited for clash of champions
Jon LeDonne won’t take a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains or listen to some Smokey Robinson on his free Friday night. He probably will stay at home and watch his Penn Hills football team play Pine-Richland online or on his television. It’s a marquee matchup between the defending WPIAL...
Week Zero high school football schedule
Friday Western Pa. vs. Everyone Showcase At North Allegheny Friendship Collegiate Academy (D.C.) at North Allegheny, 8 p.m. Theodore Roosevelt (D.C.) vs. Erie, 5 p.m. At Wolvarena Avalon vs. Baldwin, 5 p.m. York William Penn vs. Central Catholic, 8 p.m. Nonconference Allderdice at Kiski Area, 7 p.m. Apollo-Ridge at Leechburg,...
Sidney Shemanski hopes to guide young Freeport girls soccer to section title
Sidney Shemanski will begin the first leg of the three-part finale to her Freeport athletic career this fall with the girls soccer team. It has been a decorated career in soccer, basketball and track and field for the reigning Valley News Dispatch Female Athlete of the Year. While it is...
Ligonier Valley looks to maintain level of success in District 6
Ligonier Valley has been one of the best teams from District 6 over the past four seasons. The Rams are 49-6 in that span, including a 40-3 mark the past three seasons that include three consecutive Heritage Conference titles and three straight District 6 title game trips, winning in 2017...
High school sports scores for Aug. 20, 2019
High schools Golf Boys Tuesday’s results WPIAL Class AA Section 2 Greensburg Central Catholic 214, Southmoreland 261 Medalist: Ben Ritenour (GCC), 38 Mt. Pleasant 223, Frazier 226 Medalist: Tim Pisula (MP), 39 Section 7 Serra Catholic 227, East Allegheny 325 Medalist: Christian Galiardi (SC), 43 Nonsection Riverview 236, Plum 276...
