High School category, Page 56
Riverview QB Connor Kmetz returns from injury-interrupted season bigger, stronger, faster
Connor Kmetz was perfect. In the first half of last year’s victory over Valley, the Riverview quarterback completed all nine of his pass attempts for 125 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders led 21-12 at the break of what turned out to be a 37-35 victory. However, Kmetz was...
Defending PIAA champions start season atop Trib HSSN state football rankings
Welcome to the 2025 high school football season, which kicks off for most schools across the state with Week Zero games this weekend. Before this season kicks off, here is a quick refresher course on the six 2024 PIAA champions. District 12 powerhouse St. Joseph’s Prep captured its third straight...
WPIAL announces new host stadium for Class 4A, 6A football championship games
Pine-Richland will host the WPIAL Class 4A and 6A football championship games this fall, with the four other finals played at Acrisure Stadium, the league announced Tuesday. The WPIAL in recent years had used Norwin as its alternate site for football championships, but that stadium is under renovation and unavailable....
Trib HSSN 2025 WPIAL boys soccer preview: Graduation leaves Class 4A, 3A fields wide open
WPIAL boys soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: Fox Chapel Runner-up: Plum PIAA qualifiers: Fox Chapel, Plum Defending PIAA champion: Cumberland Valley Team to beat: Canon-McMillan looks primed for a big year led by all-WPIAL players Adam Kuchera (25 goals), Gabe Fegely and Gavin Patterson. Kuchera also made all-state. The...
Avella embraces underdog identity, hunts for playoff spot
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Bentworth and California previews will be published later this week. With 73 boys in grades 10-12 per the latest PIAA...
Expect a whole new look on offense for West Greene this season
From Ben Jackson to Colin Brady, West Greene has relied on a workhorse runner to power its offense in recent seasons. But the emphasis on a featured back is set to change in 2025, according to third-year coach Beau Jackson. “We’ve been based out of a pro-style offense, but we’re...
Mapletown working to eliminate errors, improve record
Mapletown coach George Messich has a straightforward solution for bouncing back from last season’s 1-9 record. “The big thing for us will be eliminating the mistakes,” said Messich, who’s been leading the Mapletown program for more than four decades. “We can’t give up a long TD pass because we missed...
Jefferson-Morgan putting pieces together for more Tri-County South success
Jefferson-Morgan skyrocketed into the playoffs in 2023, ending an 11-year playoff drought. The Rockets built on that in 2024, completing a 10-0 season and the Tri-County South Conference before a first-round loss to South Side. The Rockets faithful lined the streets for the last regular season game and sent them...
Carmichaels counting on stacked reps leading to stacked wins
Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull has long since thrown his crystal ball to the ground, shattering it into pieces. “I thought I had a good feel for our team a couple years ago and where we would be once the season started and I couldn’t be more wrong,” Krull said. Krull...
Despite young team, Beth-Center hungry to add to winning culture
Beth-Center reached the playoffs 16 consecutive years from 2003-2018. With an all-time winning percentage of .580 in 657 games and a WPIAL title in 1975, winning has been a standard for the Bulldogs since 1958. Nevertheless, 2018 was their most recent playoff appearance. Having lost only three seniors to graduation,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 18, 2025
High schools Golf Monday’s results Boys Class 3A Section 2 Ringgold 237, Uniontown 240 Medalists: Evan Anderson (R) 41; Chandler Myers (U) 43 Section 3 Pine-Richland 194, Seneca Valley 197 Medalists: Cooper Hockenberry, Mike Pifer (PR) 36; Marcos Lopez, Josh Marquardt, Vinci Villella (SV) 38 Class 2A Section 1 Freeport...
This week on Trib HSSN for the week of Aug. 18, 2025
Let the games begin! We kick off a new scholastic sports season with the start of high school football 2025 this week here on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video and audio coverage of Week Zero, with more than 25 WPIAL, District 6 and District 9...
Penn State-bound wideout Khalil Taylor eligible for regular season at Pine-Richland, not playoffs
Nationally ranked wide receiver Khalil Taylor will be catching passes for Pine-Richland this fall, but the recent transfer can’t help the Rams win a WPIAL or PIAA football title. The WPIAL board on Monday granted Taylor eligibility for the upcoming regular season based on a review of his transfer paperwork,...
EJ and CJ: Running back duo looks to carry on Plum tradition in ground game
Over the last several years, Plum has had the running back position locked down. Whether it was Eryck Moore’s record-breaking 2022 season or Nick Odom bursting onto the scene and leading the way the last two seasons, a good running back has been a staple at Plum. This season, a...
Imani Christian 4-star DB Gabe Jenkins commits to Penn State
Penn State already had a commitment from one talented Imani Christian defensive back, and now the Nittany Lions have another. Junior cornerback Gabriel Jenkins announced his commitment to Penn State on Monday, joining teammate David Davis, a senior who committed there in March. Another former Imani Christian standout, linebacker Dayshaun...
Soft spoken with a mean streak, Lucas Altier anchors massive Norwin offensive line
Lucas Altier’s goals for his senior season are larger than he is. Unproven and hefty, the Norwin football player stands 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 315 pounds. He naturally stands out. “He’s the biggest kid I have coached,” Knights coach Mike Brown said of the right tackle. “This is the...
Ineligible Seton LaSalle QB Anthony Smith won’t seek injunction against PIAA to play, attorney says
Ineligible sophomore quarterback Anthony Smith, whose transfer to Seton LaSalle led to a lawsuit against the PIAA, won’t play football for the Rebels this season and may enroll elsewhere, said an attorney representing Smith and his family. Attorney Steve Toprani said the family is no longer seeking a preliminary injunction...
2025 Trib HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the cornerbacks
TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top cornerbacks for the 2025 season. 1. Gabriel Jenkins Imani Christian Junior, 6-2, 182 Jenkins, who committed to Penn State on Monday, is regarded as one of the...
Jeannette seeks return to ‘favorite’ role
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Frazier preview will be published later this week. Players in this year’s senior class have been with Tommy Paulone from...
Greensburg Central Catholic offense shows big-play potential
With Samir Crosby eyeing a possible move to receiver and Jerry Davis lined up wide opposite him, Greensburg Central Catholic could have big-play ability downfield. The senior pass-catching duo brings a blend of hands and speed few teams will have this football season. Both can go deep or create in...
Clairton ready to hit new gear, return to top of WPIAL mountain
Clairton senior quarterback Jeffrey Thompson wants to carve out his own space in the football program’s long record book. He thought last season was going to be the moment when the Bears climbed back on top of the WPIAL mountain. However, Thompson suffered a shoulder injury in the playoffs and...
Large crew of returning starters offer optimism at Brentwood
Brentwood returned to the WPIAL Class A playoffs last season via a fifth-place Eastern Conference finish. With nine starters back in 2025, coach Nick Caponi is looking for more. “We are very excited for the season,” Caponi said. “We had a great offseason in the weight room, and we are...
After winless campaign, Springdale hoping to get stronger, more physical
As Springdale wrapped up a recent football practice, each player shook hands with the entire coaching staff, a sign of respect encouraged throughout the program. The Dynamos hope to see respect returned during the 2025 season, but they know they will have to earn it after enduring a winless campaign...
Riverview confident focus on process, not results, will pay off
Trevor George saw the potential of last year’s Riverview football team and what the Raiders wanted to do: Stack victories in and out of Eastern Conference play, finish with a winning record and make the WPIAL playoffs. Those goals ended up not being reached as the Raiders finished 3-6 overall,...
Experienced line leads way as Leechburg aims for 5th straight playoff season
For Leechburg and coach Randy Walters, everything starts in the trenches, and the Blue Devils return a veteran group up front. Four of the five starters from a season ago are back for 2025. “Our offensive line is going to need to have a big-time year,” Walters said. “It’s going...
