High School category, Page 356
PIAA football Class 2A championship game preview: Westinghouse vs. Southern Columbia
The third of six PIAA championship games features the only rematch from last season as District 4 champion Southern Columbia tries to win a seventh straight state title when it battles City League champion Westinghouse for the second year in a row. This is the 35th year of the PIAA...
Trib 10: Top 5 teams in power rankings taking their shot at state gold
For the second time in PIAA football championship history, the WPIAL is sending five teams to the state finals. In 2021, four WPIAL teams won state gold: Mt. Lebanon in 6A, Penn-Trafford in 5A, Aliquippa in 4A and Central Valley in 3A captured PIAA crowns while Serra Catholic was the...
PIAA will let Woodland Hills, Charleroi fix enrollment mistakes, avoid promotion to higher classifications
The PIAA will let Woodland Hills and Charleroi fix mistakes the schools made when submitting their enrollments, errors that would’ve forced their teams into higher classifications. The board voted Wednesday to approve the requests from the two WPIAL members along with two schools from other PIAA districts that also made...
Not concerned with any curse, bad luck or superstitions, Aliquippa aims to cap undefeated season with PIAA title
Aliquippa has an imperfect history in the state football finals that’s hard to explain. Every time the Quips have gotten to the championship game with an undefeated record, they’ve lost. Every time they’ve gotten there with at least one loss on their record, they’ve won. And, well, this year’s team...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: New coaches win debuts
It didn’t take long for new coaches to get their first win. Four local first-year coaches won in their season debut last Friday in Christy Hajjar (Ligonier Valley), Bob Madison (Hempfield), Mackenzie Livingston (Latrobe) and Brian Znavor (Yough). Hempfield, Yough and Latrobe doubled down with wins the following day to...
WPIAL well-represented on Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association girls all-state teams
WPIAL players were well-represented on the all-state girls volleyball teams released Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. North Allegheny placed four on the Class 4A team — senior libero Avery Butcher, senior outside hitter Marin Dunaway, senior right side Jamie Frisco and senior outside hitter Kyra Schmidt. The Tigers...
High-tech approach helps Belle Vernon get ready for prime time
Belle Vernon packs a lot more than uniforms for football games. As the Leopards load the bus for a trip to Mechanicsburg and the PIAA Class 3A championship game, they will cram in several iPads and charts, along with a big-screen television and a canopy. A high-tech program with its...
There’s nothing sweet about Belle Vernon’s matchup in the state finals, The Birdie says
Last week: 1-0 (100%) Season: 109-28 (79.6%) The nostalgic Birdie, long off his diet and primed for Christmas cookie season, filled his yellow belly with chocolate after Belle Vernon won last week. He couldn’t help himself. It was habit. Mama Birdie was making peanut butter blossoms — “kiss cookies” as...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 5, 2023
High schools Basketball Boys Tuesday’s results Class 4A Section 2 Lincoln Park 97, Beaver 67 Nonsection Aquinas Academy 75, Propel Andrew Street 73 Armstrong 60, Kiski School 54 Avonworth 69, Shady Side Academy 60 Belle Vernon 64, Steel Valley 53 Blackhawk 74, Mohawk 68 Burrell 43, Our Lady of the...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 6, 2023: Wrestling teams open dual meet schedules
The Canon-McMillan wrestling team captured a WPIAL team championship in 1983. The Big Macs celebrated the 40th anniversary of that title by winning the 2023 Class 3A district crown last season. The Burgettstown wrestling program won its first WPIAL 2A championship in 1974. Nearly 50 years later, they struck gold...
PIAA football Class 4A championship game preview: Aliquippa vs. Dallas
The second of six PIAA championship games features several standout juniors as District 2 champion Dallas, fresh off a double overtime victory over defending champion Bishop McDevitt, battles WPIAL champion Aliquippa, which is in the state title game for a third straight year. This is the 35th year of the...
PIAA football Class A championship game preview: Fort Cherry vs. Steelton-Highspire
The first of six PIAA championship games features two brilliant quarterbacks as District 3 and defending PIAA champion Steelton-Highspire takes on WPIAL champion Fort Cherry. This is the 35th year of the PIAA football playoffs, which began in 1988. Since then, the state championship games have been played at one...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania high school football rankings for Dec. 5, 2023
The final weekend of the 2023 high school football season is upon us as the six PIAA championship games are set for Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg. Seven of the 12 teams playing for state gold this week also were in the title game a year ago. St. Joseph’s...
High school roundup for Dec. 5, 2023: Mt. Lebanon beats North Allegheny in 3OT thriller
Riley Farabaugh scored 32 points to lead Mt. Lebanon to a wild 83-80 victory over North Allegheny in three overtimes in nonsection boys basketball Tuesday night. North Allegheny’s Anthony Sciote hit a shot from half-court to tie the game at the end of regulation and Tigers teammate Ty Iwanonkiw hit...
Kiski Area girls hold off late push by St. Joseph to bounce back from loss
The Kiski Area girls basketball team bounced back from a tough loss to Armstrong Saturday and handed St. Joseph its first loss of the young season with a 44-35 victory Tuesday in a nonsection clash at Kiski Area High School. “It was nice to come back and get a good...
Bigger, stronger Norwin girls outmuscle Penn-Trafford for nonsection win
Norwin’s girls looked taller and stronger when they took the court against rival Penn-Trafford. A coach joked that someone stretched the players out in the offseason. No, it’s just a reflection of intense conditioning and the returning WPIAL and PIAA semifinalists getting into game shape. Norwin, the No. 2-ranked team...
Wrestling notebook: Penn-Trafford’s Barrett, Coy win titles at Hickory tournament
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...
WPIAL wrestling rankings for week of Dec. 3, 2023
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...
Belle Vernon players, coaches recall ‘The Stand’ ahead of return to PIAA championship game
He teared up before it happened in person, and he tears up when he watches it again on video. “I still get chills when I think about it,” Belle Vernon senior defensive back Adam LaCarte said. “I had tears in my eyes just as we were about to line up...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 4, 2023
High schools Basketball Boys Monday’s results Nonsection Greensburg Central Catholic 82, Ligonier Valley 37 Hopewell 74, New Brighton 54 Southmoreland 76, Frazier 50 Uniontown 97, Washington 40 West Shamokin 58, Apollo-Ridge 36 Tuesday’s schedule Class 4A Section 2 Lincoln Park at Beaver, 7:30 p.m. Nonsection Ambridge at New Brighton, 7...
High school roundup for Dec. 4, 2023: Behind 31 points from Megan Marston, Plum wins again
Megan Marston scored 31 points to lead Plum to a 62-38 girls basketball victory over Beaver on Monday in a nonsection matchup of teams that opened the season with undefeated weekends. Riley Stephans added 10 for the Mustangs (3-0), who won a pair of games at the Freeport tournament. Samantha...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Dec. 5, 2023: Lincoln Park gets early start on section play
Some believe Lincoln Park might be the best boys basketball team in the WPIAL. So if the Leopards are first, then it would only be appropriate that the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A champs are the first to open up section play this season. On Tuesday, Lincoln Park and...
Trib HSSN football team of the week for 2023 Week 14Video
Two and a half weeks ago, the North Allegheny football team repeated as WPIAL 6A champions, 11 years after it won three straight district titles. Now following a victory Saturday, the Tigers (13-1) are one win away from their third PIAA football crown and their first state title in 11...
Imani Christian basketball moving to 6A in 2024, football also playing up
Imani Christian is one of the smallest schools in WPIAL basketball, but the Saints want to compete with the big boys. After winning WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles last winter, Imani Christian has decided to voluntarily move up to 6A for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. The PIAA on...
The Kiski School builds on success, wins 4th straight PAISAA championship
Going into the season, The Kiski School boys soccer team was expected to have a down year. Seemed surprisingly odd considering the program had won a Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) championship last year, its third in a row. Losing 14 seniors from the previous year’s team was a...
