High School category, Page 551
Stung by injuries, Bethel Park ends remarkable season with WPIAL semifinal loss
Bethel Park’s banner football season came to an end in the rain Nov. 11 at Canon-McMillan in the semifinal round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. The Allegheny Six Conference champion Black Hawks lost to rival Upper St. Clair, 17-7, on a dreary night to finish 10-2 overall. “Although the...
Freeport girls basketball looks to follow in footsteps of volleyball team
Freeport girls basketball coach Fred Soilis has had a front row seat for the Yellowjackets’ volleyball team’s run to the PIAA championship game while watching his daughter Ava play libero. One of the biggest impressions the volleyball team made on him was their teamwork. It’s a trait he wants his...
Deep, experienced roster has Freeport boys ready to build on last year’s success
The Freeport boys basketball team has plenty to build on after getting a playoff win and achieving a winning record for the first time in three years. And they have an experienced roster to lean on. The Yellowjackets have 10 seniors and four juniors, making for competitive practices for starting...
Hempfield girls look to keep offseason momentum rolling
Some offseason success and a taste of victory has the Hempfield girls basketball team beaming with confidence and believing it can win more games than it loses. The Spartans won a summer league at the Greensburg YMCA, went undefeated at the Seton Hill Shootout, finished 5-1 at the Cal (Pa.)...
With young roster, Hempfield boys embark on rebuilding year
It is a harsh reality in sports. Teams rebuild. Fans can’t believe it’s true. Players don’t want to acknowledge it. Coaches hope it never happens to them. Even good programs that compete hard every year, like Hempfield, have to start over. “Yeah, this is the first time we’ve had to,”...
Strong defensive duo leading way for North Hills hockey
Cole Wanner is an avid golfer who looks for any opportunity he can to hit the links. But right now, he’s hoping that may not be for a while. Wanner, the goalie for the North Hills hockey team, is off to an impressive start in the 2022-23 season. Through their...
After up-and-down season, young talent ready to lead North Hills football into future
The overall record for the North Hills football team in 2022 comes nowhere close to telling its full story. A young team coming off a seven-win campaign a year earlier, the Indians finished 3-8 overall this season. But the group still made the postseason thanks to a strong performance in...
North Allegheny basketball teams adjust to early start to season
Starting basketball season a week earlier than usual probably doesn’t excite WPIAL coaches, but the idea of a less-compact regular season maybe does. Their 22 games will be stretched over 10 weeks this winter instead of nine. “There are gaps in the schedule and I’m looking forward to those,” North...
Plenty of highlights for Hampton volleyball despite quick WPIAL playoff exit
The Hampton girls volleyball team made history during a season that turned into the past sooner than anyone expected. Hampton rolled to its first undefeated regular season and brought home its first outright section title before suffering a deflating 3-1 upset loss to No. 10 seed South Fayette in the...
Hampton football team racks up postseason accolades
Hampton senior defensive lineman Gabe Harris was surprised to earn all-Greater Allegheny Conference honors, but maybe he shouldn’t have been startled at all. “There were a lot of nights where my friends were going out to eat or hang out,” he said, “and I just decided to keep lifting.” The...
Beaver Falls finishes off Sto-Rox, gets back to WPIAL championship game
With a big first half on defense, an offensive ability to take advantage of short fields and a second half that saw the Tigers run away from third-seeded Sto-Rox, second-seeded Beaver Falls earned a trip to Acrisure Stadium to play for the Class 2A championship on Black Friday. It’s the...
Red-hot Bishop Canevin rolls past South Side into WPIAL Class A finals
Despite frigid temperatures for Friday night football, Bishop Canevin’s offense was red hot. The top-seeded Crusaders scored on all six of their first-half offensive possessions, overwhelming fifth-seeded South Side, 49-21, in the WPIAL Class A semifinals. “Until you see them in person, you don’t realize just how fast they are,”...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 18, 2022
High schools Field hockey PIAA playoffs Championships Saturday’s schedule At Cumberland Valley Class 3A Wilson (21-2-1) vs. Lower Dauphin (21-3-1), 3 p.m. Class 2A Mechanicsburg (19-4-1) vs. Palmyra (20-2-2), 1 p.m. Class A Wyoming Area (22-2) vs.Boiling Springs (25-0), 11 a.m. Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Championship Saturday’s schedule North...
2022 WPIAL statistical leaders for rushing, passing, receiving in semifinals
Top performers for Week 12 of high school football in Western Pennsylvania. Passing 258 - Jason Cross, Bishop Canevin (9 of 9) 154 - Jaren Brickner, Beaver Falls (7 of 7) 141 - Antwon Johnson, Central Valley (9 of 15) 135 - Braden Laux, Belle Vernon (10 of 15) 135...
Steel Valley comes alive in 4th quarter, surges past Neshannock in Class 2A semifinals
Sophomore Donald Barksdale rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score on an 80-yarder in the fourth quarter, leading No. 1 Steel Valley to a 32-17 win over No. 4 Neshannock (11-2) in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Friday night at Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium at...
Central Valley stops Thomas Jefferson, earns rematch with Aliquippa in Class 4A title game
It’s hard to win a football game with 109 total yards of offense. No. 2 Central Valley taught that lesson to Thomas Jefferson at North Allegheny on Friday night, earning a trip to the Class 4A WPIAL championship game with a 19-0 victory. “From a whole defensive staff, they prepared...
Belle Vernon shuts down Freeport in Class 3A to return to WPIAL championship game
Belle Vernon is headed back to the WPIAL championship game looking to reverse a trend. The top-ranked Leopards scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and rolled over No. 4 Freeport, 42-0, on Friday in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals at Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium. The Leopards (9-2) will face No....
‘Wildcat’ Peyton Faulkner helps Avonworth run past Shady Side Academy in WPIAL semifinals
Avonworth coach Duke Johncour made a major adjustment with his offense Friday. The veteran coach moved tight end Peyton Faulkner to a wildcat quarterback slot. The strategy paid off as Faulkner, who has committed to Kent State, ran for 93 yards in the first half as the Antelopes rolled to...
Union gets past Rochester in battle of Cinderellas in WPIAL Class A semifinals
It’s a run that the Union Scotties faithful will remember forever. Midway through the fourth quarter, Braylon Thomas went up the middle on a quarterback draw, the seas parted, and he ran 58 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. With it came a trip to a WPIAL championship...
Westinghouse routs Central Clarion in PIAA playoffs
The Westinghouse football team remained undefeated Friday and earned a trip to the PIAA quarterfinals. The Bulldogs defeated District 9 champion Central Clarion, 44-8, in a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Friday night at Cupples Stadium. Keyshawn Morsillo threw a 15-yard TD pass to Davon Jones and ran for another...
Moon girls claim 2nd straight state title with thrilling comeback victory
MECHANICSBURG – There may have been easier ways for Moon to take another girls soccer state championship, but few more dramatic. The Tigers scored twice in the last 18 minutes to win the PIAA Class 3A girls’ soccer final over previously unbeaten Upper Perkiomen on Friday evening, finishing off their...
WPIAL’s youngest coach leads Greensburg Salem boys into Class 4A
The youngest boys basketball coach in the WPIAL couldn’t wait to get started. He wants to bring energy to a struggling program that went 3-32 the past two seasons in Class 6A. That’s what Greensburg Salem coach Cam Auld said Friday on the first official day of winter sports practice....
Freeport’s run to PIAA volleyball finals gives junior middle hitter chance to get back on court
Autumn English was a key part of the Freeport girls volleyball team’s early-season surge and its rise to the No. 1 spot in the Class 2A state rankings. It then all came apart for the junior middle hitter. English broke a bone in her foot near her ankle during warmups...
Greensburg Salem girls look to stay healthy, compete in new Class 4A section
Things were going well for the Greensburg Salem girls basketball team at the start of the 2021-22 season. The Golden Lions won their first eight games on the way to a 9-1 start. But during their game against Franklin Regional, sophomore center Kaitlyn Mankins went down with a season-ending injury...
Moravian Academy stops Winchester Thurston’s bid to repeat as PIAA Class A soccer champ
MECHANICSBURG – Winchester Thurston’s drive to a second straight boys soccer state championship came up just barely short Friday afternoon, as the Bears fell to Moravian Academy, 2-1, in double overtime in the PIAA Class A final. Trey Sheeler scored 1:24 into the second extra frame with an assist from...
