High School category, Page 363
Penn-Trafford girls hungry for more playoff success
The Penn-Trafford girls basketball team made a run in the 2023 WPIAL and PIAA postseason. That run has veteran coach John Giannikas looking forward to the season. The Warriors placed seventh in the WPIAL and advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals following an exciting first-round win at PIAA District 3 champion...
Penn-Trafford boys look to build off late-season success
A late-season surge, which included close wins against McKeesport and Latrobe, has Penn-Trafford boys basketball coach Doug Kelly excited about the upcoming season. The Warriors won four of their five Section 3-5A games to end last season and were able to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. Penn-Trafford played well in...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 24, 2023
High schools Football WPIAL championships Friday’s results At Acrisure Stadium Class 4A Aliquippa 35, McKeesport 21 Class 3A Belle Vernon 26, Avonworth 0 Class 2A Beaver Falls 14, Steel Valley 12 Class A Fort Cherry 42, South Side 28 PIAA playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Friday’s results North Allegheny 41, McDowell...
Springdale girls basketball team espouses hard-hat mentality
Any team that gears up to face the Springdale girls basketball team better be prepared to bring its hard hats because the Dynamos will have theirs. “I want our team to be a hard-hat, punch the clock type team. I want them to never say quit no matter what the...
Westinghouse gets past Farrell and into PIAA semifinals for 2nd straight season
In the last two seasons, the Westinghouse and Farrell football programs have crossed paths in the PIAA Class 2A playoffs with each team winning once. In the rubber match, the Westinghouse Bulldogs traveled to Farrell, the District 10 champion, and beat the Steelers for the second year in a row...
WPIAL Class 4A final by the numbers: Aliquippa 35, McKeesport 21Video
Aliquippa 35, McKeesport 21 McKeesport 7-7-0-7 — 21 Aliquippa 7-14-6-8 — 35 Scoring summary A: Cameron Lindsey 39 fumble return (Malachi Shegog kick) M: Richard Beermann 73 kickoff return (Nathan Kendrick kick) M: Garrett Tarker 3 run (Kendrick kick) A: Lindsey 2 run (Shegog kick) A: Demarkus Walker 23 pass...
Peters Township stops Cathedral Prep to reach state semifinals for 1st time
ERIE – Just how far can Peters Township take this? Six days after winning their first WPIAL football championship, the Indians showed no signs of slowing. In fact, they made more history Friday when a 33-14 victory at District 10’s Cathedral Prep (7-4) secured their first state semifinal berth. The...
20 times tough: Aliquippa handles McKeesport to add to record total of WPIAL championshipsVideo
Cameron Lindsey could sum up Aliquippa’s night in just a few words: “Three for three.” Three touchdowns for him. Three straight titles for the Quips. “A game like this, in a big moment right here, it’s just amazing,” said the senior, who scored three times on his future college field...
North Allegheny rolls into PIAA semifinals with rout of McDowell
WPIAL champion North Allegheny defended its home turf Friday, defeating McDowell, 41-7, in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs. Last season, the Tigers had an early exit in the first round of the state playoffs, but with a talented core of seniors, they wouldn’t let that happen...
Motivated Belle Vernon defense delivers shutout of Avonworth
Belle Vernon got tired of all the negative talk this season, especially from Avonworth. The No. 1-ranked Leopards wanted a shutout more than anything Friday in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game at Acrisure Stadium. The defense posted its third shutout of the season, blanking Avonworth, 26-0, for Belle Vernon’s...
WPIAL Class 3A final by the numbers: Belle Vernon 26, Avonworth 0Video
Short wait for No. 3 Belle Vernon waited 27 years to win its second WPIAL football championship. It took just 364 days to experience that winning feeling again. The Leopards defeated Avonworth, 26-0, to earn their third district title Friday. They beat the ’Lopes for the second year in a...
Back to back for Belle Vernon: Leopards shut out Avonworth in Class 3A title gameVideo
It wasn’t dazzling plays or finesse that propelled Belle Vernon to a championship this time. No, the Leopards got some dirt under their fingernails on the cold sod Friday at Acrisure Stadium, using a firm-handed defense to limit Avonworth in a 26-0 victory that produced a title repeat. This win...
WPIAL Class 2A final by the numbers: Beaver Falls 14, Steel Valley 12
Beaver Falls 14, Steel Valley 12 Beaver Falls 0-0-6-8 — 14 Steel Valley 6-0-0-6 — 12 Scoring summary SV: Donald Barksdale 13 run (kick failed) BF: Da’Sean Anderson 10 pass from Kadin Brickner (run failed) SV: Rashaun Hough 78 fumble return (kick failed) BF: Da’talian Beauford 4 run (Beauford run)...
Perfect 10: Beaver Falls wins WPIAL title as double-digit seed, beating Steel Valley in dramatic final
The magic playoff run continued for Beaver Falls. The 10th-seeded Tigers upset No. 1 Steel Valley, 14-12, in the WPIAL Class 2A championship game Friday at Acrisure Stadium. Senior running back Da’talian Beauford atoned for a costly fumble early in the fourth quarter by scoring on a 4-yard run with...
WPIAL Class A final by the numbers: Fort Cherry 42, South Side 28
Fort Cherry 42, South Side 28 Fort Cherry 6-22-7-7 — 42 South Side 7-7-7-7 — 28 Scoring summary FC: Matt Sieg 3 run (kick failed) SS: Brody Almashy 1 run (Mateja Pavlovich kick) SS: Andrew Corfield 3 run (Pavlovich kick) FC: Shane Cornali 35 pass from Sieg (Sieg run) FC:...
Fort Cherry on top: Rangers, QB Matt Sieg beat South Side to win program’s 1st WPIAL title
Louis Ryan was sporting a gray 1997 WPIAL football championship cutoff shirt that had clearly seen better days. The shirt was worn down by sweat and age, but the Fort Cherry middle linebacker wore his dad’s old shirt as a reminder of what they were working toward. Ryan and the...
With talent, experience, Norwin girls aim to be among WPIAL’s top contenders in Class 6A
With four starters and a number of key reserves back from a WPIAL and PIAA semifinal team, Norwin girls basketball is aging well. Aging like a fine … well, let the coach tell you. “You have different collections every year,” coach Brian Brozeski said. “The feels are always different. It’s...
Despite heavy graduation loss, Norwin boys basketball reloads to compete in Section 2-6A
With only one player back who saw varsity playing time and a roster scrubbed clean by graduation, the Norwin boys are rebuilding but not panicking. “Teams and players are a lot different in February than they are in November,” third-year coach Lance Maha said. “This doesn’t freak me out. “There...
Riverview boys put focus on winning close games in Section 3-2A
Riverview boys basketball’s fortunes came down to a few possessions last year. Tight losses to Clairton, Serra Catholic, Jeannette and Leechburg left the Raiders on the outside looking in when it came to the postseason. The goal for this season is to flip the results of those tight games while...
Bolstered by soccer team’s success, Riverview girls basketball team has high expectations
One day after playing in a state championship, several members of the Riverview girls soccer team showed up to basketball practice. Raiders coach Jill Catanzaro implored them to take the day off, but that’s not in their DNA. “Even a day probably wasn’t enough, because that was a long (soccer)...
With fun factor restored, Plum boys look to continue rebuilding process
Justin Walther focused on more than X’s and O’s in his first season as Plum’s boys basketball coach. “Last year, we tried to instill some fun in everything we were doing,” he said. “We brought some enthusiasm and tried to show the players that we really care about them.” Walther...
Through the years: In ’83, Plum’s defense delivered WPIAL gold
Each week throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look back at the games, players and events that have shaped local scholastic history. Two safeties in the final 3 minutes, 44 seconds of play gave Plum its first and, to date, only WPIAL football...
Replacing Tiffany Zelmore won’t be easy, but cupboard’s not bare for Mt. Pleasant girls
It’s not every season a coach has to replace an all-time talent, but Mt. Pleasant girls basketball’s Scott Giacobbi has that challenge in front of him this winter. Tiffany Zelmore, the second-leading scorer in program history, graduated last season after piling up 1,629 points over her four-year career. “You’re not...
With ground broken, new Mt. Pleasant boys coach turns focus to future
What has happened with Annie Malkowiak is a history-making achievement. But for now, she will file it under past history. Malkowiak is ready to live in the present as the groundbreaking new boys basketball coach at Mt. Pleasant. “I started watching film of last year’s team, and I turned it...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Linebackers lead Leopards
Matt Humbert describes his inside linebackers as having “nonstop motors.” “Relentless speed,” the coach from Belle Vernon said. “So damn quick.” But that is not the impressive part of the middle two players — and a reserve — who play on the back level of the Leopards’ 4-4 defense. It...
