High School category, Page 426
Summit Academy eyes improvement in Big 7 Conference
Summit Academy’s football team took its share of lumps last season, but there were plenty of learning moments for the players and coaches. The group is hoping to use that experience from a year ago to find more success this fall, with an all new team. “The goal is to...
South Side ready to take next step toward championship berth
One win separated South Side from the chance to play at Acrisure Stadium for a WPIAL championship. A 49-21 loss to Bishop Canevin in the Class A semifinals ended an impressive 2022 season, and with many key returners, the Rams are primed and ready to make a championship run. “Our...
Shenango looks to amp up offense to return to top of loaded Big 7 Conference
After back-to-back trips to the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals, Shenango missed the postseason in 2022. Coach Jimmy Graham attributed the 2-8 overall record, including a 2-4 mark in the Big Seven Conference, to a “perfect storm” of factors. “We thought we had a pretty good team, but we had injuries...
Rochester looks to avoid injury woes, go on another playoff run
There are plenty of things that Gene Matsook wants his Rochester football team to achieve this year. Staying healthy is at the top of the list. “With the injuries we had last year, and really the last two years, it’s been kind of crazy,” said Matsook, entering his 24th season...
Northgate finds strength in numbers
Every time Northgate players walked into the weight room this offseason, they were confronted with the same reminders. Whether it was “75-19” or “69-20” or maybe “49-0” or “51-6,” there it was, day after day. “I’ve had all of the blowout scores up on the wall in the weight room...
Norwin’s Bursick verbally commits to play soccer at Duquesne
Junior Julia Bursick is done playing soccer at Norwin. For now. In a couple of years, she hopes to be playing for Duquesne. In between, she will train and continue to prepare for a post-high school career in soccer and academics. Bursick announced Monday she has verbally committed to play...
Plum quarterback Franzi will benefit from having most of last season’s offense back
Plum coach Matt Morgan called Sean Franzi one of most underrated players in the WPIAL. A combination of athletic ability and intangibles is what Morgan believes sets his senior quarterback apart, and he is looking forward to seeing him showcase those traits. For Franzi, the belief from his coach is...
Recruiting process takes Freeport pitcher Michael Hanz to the place he belongs
Michael Hanz first made contact with the West Virginia baseball program a couple of summers ago. The Freeport junior right hander’s pitching prowess at a camp on campus caught the eye of the Mountaineers coaches. Hanz attended several WVU camps since then. The most recent camp there this past weekend...
After playing QB out of necessity last season, Norwin’s Denny moves to receiver to take advantage of speed
Quarterback was not Luke Denny’s bag. When he played the position last season out of necessity, he did his best to limit mistakes and did what he could to manage the offense and move the sticks. But the role came with a measure of tolerance. “Didn’t like it much,” the...
2023 WPIAL boys soccer preview: Rankings, contenders, players to watch
WPIAL boys soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: Pine-Richland Runner-up: Seneca Valley Team to beat: For now, it’s the team at the top. But 4A could be wide open. While the offense will need an infusion of new scorers, Pine-Richland returns several starters from a 15-5-1 team that stunned two-time...
2023 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the defensive line
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top defensive linemen for the 2023 season. 1. Connor Young Mt. Lebanon Senior, 6-3, 260 A Navy recruit with a good motor for chasing down ball carriers, Young earned...
Countdown to kickoff: WPIAL set for Year 2 of current football playoff format
This is the second year of the current two-year cycle for scheduling, conference alignment and playoff formats in all high school sports in the WPIAL and PIAA. When it comes to district football, there will be once again four playoff teams that qualify for the playoffs in Class 6A, eight...
This week on Trib HSSN for week of Aug. 21, 2023
Let the games begin! We kick off another scholastic sports season with the start of high school football, August style this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video coverage of Week Zero with five WPIAL football games. Plus, a new season of the Rebel Yell...
Springdale ready to show improvement after winless campaign
The graduation of 16 seniors from Springdale’s 2021 Class A quarterfinal-qualifying team left a void from which it was tough to recover. The 2022 Dynamos battled through youth and inexperience — only three seniors dotted the roster — and the season ended with the Dynamos at 0-10. But many of...
Energy, enthusiasm, winning help Riverview grow roster
Riverview won four games in 2022, the most victories for the program since 2015 when it also won four times. The mission for a veteran group of Raiders players — only four seniors graduated from last year’s team — is to take that next step. Energy, enthusiasm and optimism, coach...
Leechburg aims to maintain new standard of success
The last two years of Leechburg football have been the program’s best in four decades. There were back-to-back postseason appearances after a 32-year absence and a playoff win at their home venue, Veterans Memorial Field, for the first time ever in 2021. Now some of the key members of the...
Jeannette program beginning to regain footing
Asked if he was satisfied after a three-win season that saw Jeannette finish fourth in the Eastern Conference and make the WPIAL Class A football playoffs, second-year coach Tommy Paulone paused. “Pleased? Disappointed? I’d say I’m in the middle — slightly miserable,” Paulone said. “We gave away two games. I...
New coach to rely on playmakers at Greensburg Central Catholic
As a former defensive coordinator at Sacred Heart, Mercyhurst and Gannon, and a defensive backs and linebackers coach at St. Francis (Pa.) and Marist, it is clear where JT Thompson’s passion lies in football. “I am all about defense,” said Thompson, the first-year coach at Greensburg Central Catholic. “It’s what...
With roster loaded with skill, Clairton planning to return to WPIAL championship picture
Call it what you want, football in shorts or touch football, but Clairton coach Wayne Wade sees some value in 7-on-7 tournaments, so his Bears spend the summer competing in them. They entered six this year, reached the finals five times and won their division at Pitt’s camp. The Bears...
Junior QB Floyd ready to take up leadership role for Leechburg football team
Behind one of the end zones of Leechburg’s Veterans Memorial Field sits a garage with a gigantic Blue Devil logo painted on it. That’s just one many examples dotted around the community showing how much pride is taken in Leechburg athletics. That pride is not lost on junior quarterback Jayden...
Experienced line spells good news for Mt. Pleasant offense
This is a story about mutual respect and admiration, an examination of the tight bond of high school football teammates at Mt. Pleasant. There are cornerbacks and safeties. Outside and inside linebackers. Quarterbacks and linemen. Offensive linemen, that is. Speaking of which, Mt. Pleasant takes an abundance of experience into...
St. Joseph standout hoopster Spinelli picks Frostburg State
Julie Spinelli has one more high school basketball season remaining at St. Joseph, and she has set expectations high herself and her team, which returns every player from last year’s WPIAL Class A semifinalist. She also has her eyes focused on her future beyond high school as she now knows...
The Birdie writes a sweet column to kick off football season in the A-K Valley
The Birdie Last season: 99-18 (84.6%) As the 2023 high school football season is about to begin, The Birdie can’t play favorites. It’s important for journalists to be objective, which is something an ink-stained wretch as venerable as The Birdie surely knows. Or does he? “Yeah, I’ve got a favorite...
Battle within the battle: A-K Valley defenses have challenge of facing various schemes, formations
Legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.” There are many examples in the history of football at all levels where a balanced offense and defense is key to bringing home a title. But one needs not look any further than last year’s...
New coaches, who share connections, set to lead prolific Westmoreland County programs
When Mike Brown was coming out of Penn-Trafford, a Division II college program took a particular liking to his skills as a defensive back. The school was Mercyhurst, and Brown went on to play four years in Erie for the Lakers. The man who recruited him was assistant coach JT...
