High School category, Page 573
Riverview runners set stage for WPIALs with strong Tri-State showing
Riverview cross country coach Palma Ostrowski walked away from the annual Tri-State Coaches Association Invitational pleased with the team’s performance. The boys finished second to Winchester Thurston, 45-52, in Class A and the girls placed third behind Winchester Thurston and Mohawk on the difficult Cal (Pa.) course. Winchester Thurston edged...
Butler’s Drew Griffith sets course record at Tri-State cross country event
Butler junior Drew Griffith was hoping to set the course record at Cal (Pa.) during the Tri-State Cross Country Invitational on Thursday. He thought he missed the mark by five seconds. Well, he was mistaken. He broke the course mark by nine seconds after he ran a 15:32.56 in the...
Preseason WPIAL favorites Central Catholic, Seneca Valley now fighting for playoff lives
Seneca Valley and Central Catholic were picked as preseason favorites to meet in the WPIAL Class 6A championship before anyone had played a game. Yet, they’ll meet Friday night in a Week 8 matchup that could ultimately keep one out of the playoffs altogether. The winner is safe. The loser...
Former Burrell boys coach takes over Highlands girls basketball program
After three years away from serving as a head basketball coach at the high school level, Shawn Bennis is back. The Highlands School Board last week hired Bennis as its next varsity girls coach. He replaces Jason Kerr, who suddenly stepped down from the position Sept. 7 after one season...
Trib HSSN don’t-miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 8
We continue the stretch run of the 2022 football regular season with four games with teams fighting for their playoff lives, one with a conference crown at stake and another that is a nonconference tuneup between rivals gearing up for showdowns in Week 9. Coming into Week 8, one team...
Trib HSSN football players to watch for 2022 Week 8
Here are four WPIAL high school football players to watch in Week 8: Aidan Besselman Upper St. Clair, sr., WR/FS Besselman caught eight passes for 181 yards and a touchdown last week in a 28-24 nonconference loss to Class 6A Canon-McMillan. Besselman and the Panthers will return to Class 5A...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Breaking down the WPIAL playoff format
The WPIAL football playoffs are less than two weeks away. The number of playoff teams in each classification differs, and some spots won’t be decided until the end of the regular season. Here is the breakdown for the postseason in each class: Class 6A — Top four of five teams...
Through the Years: Antlers were on the line when West Deer, East Deer met
Each week throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look at the players, coaches and events that shaped our scholastic legacy. Bob Uchic scored two touchdowns and threw to Steve Nagy for two more as West Deer posted a 26-6 victory at East Deer...
2-sport athletes key to success of Westmoreland County boys soccer playoff teams
Robbie Labuda threw his gym bag in the car, and off he went. An hour drive to McGuffey for a soccer game awaited. The Mt. Pleasant senior barely had time to get his football cleats off after practice, but once he did, his foot was planted on the gas pedal....
For Chick’s Picks, making WPIAL football predictions just like riding a bike
We have reached the stretch run – that point in the season where teams either make it or break it into the postseason. Chick’s Picks takes this time of year quite literally. By Week 8, Chick’s Picks is in desperate need of a break to regain clarity for both her...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Oct. 19, 2022
High schools Golf PIAA team championships Wednesday’s results Boys Class 3A Penn State White Course 1. Central Catholic 299; 2. Dallastown 305; 3. Downingtown West 308; 4. La Salle College 311; 5. State College 312; 6. Crestwood 326 Class 2A Penn State Blue Course 1. Lake-Lehman 296; 2. Devon Prep...
High school roundup for Oct. 19, 2022: Kiski Area tops GCC in boys soccer playoff tuneup
In a playoff tuneup for a pair of boys soccer section champions, Anders Bordoy had two goals and an assist to lead Kiski Area to a 4-1 nonsection victory over Greensburg Central Catholic on Wednesday night. Nathaniel Coleman had a goal and an assist and Noah Henry also scored for...
What to watch for on Oct. 20, 2022: Spot in City League finals up for grabs
If the rematch for a spot in the City League football championship game is as good as the battle for second place was, then the University Prep against Allderdice matchup Thursday should be a dandy. The Panthers and Ramblers met last week to close out the City League regular season...
Trib 10: Regular season finales are great, but don’t look past Week 8
We are one week away from the biggest district power struggle of the regular season when Central Valley battles Aliquippa. In fact, Week 9 features plenty of showdown football games with conference titles at stake up and down each of the six classifications. However, every football coach will tell you...
Plum, Springdale among top seeds from A-K Valley focused on 1st-round WPIAL playoff foes
Despite temperatures in the low 40s Wednesday accompanied by rain and wind, 16 Alle-Kiski Valley boys and girls soccer teams felt the warmth of discovering the whos, whens and wheres of the upcoming WPIAL playoff tournaments. “There’s always conjecture about what the bracket is going to look like, and then...
Rocco Salvitti fires 4-under par round to lead Central Catholic to PIAA Class 3A title
Central Catholic captured the team’s third PIAA Class 3A boys golf championship Wednesday at Penn State’s White Course. The Vikings also won in 2016 and ’18. Senior Rocco Salvitti, who finished second in the PIAA individual tournament Tuesday, led the way for the Vikings by shooting 4-under-par 68. The Vikings...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2022 Week 8
Chase Fenner Burrell, sr., QB/LB He doesn’t throw the ball much, but that doesn’t mean he can’t sling it if needed. Fenner has contributed 70 carries for 317 yards and eight touchdowns in a run game that averages 291 yards a game. Landon Harmon Apollo-Ridge, sr., RB/DE Harmon hopes to...
Dangerous QBs lead Armstrong, Highlands into Greater Allegheny title showdown
It’s showdown time in the Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference, with Highlands hosting Armstrong on Friday night. While fans and the media have been looking forward to this matchup for weeks, the Golden Rams (8-0, 4-0) and the River Hawks (7-1, 4-0) have arrived at this point by strictly taking...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 8
Class 5A Big East Hempfield (5-3, 1-2) at Plum (3-5, 1-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Mustangs Stadium, Plum The Spartans try to end a three-game losing streak to save their playoff hopes. Plum saw its playoffs hopes end with a 35-21 loss at Penn-Trafford. The Mustangs have dropped four consecutive games...
Birdie uses science to pick winner of A-K Valley game of the year in Week 8
Last week: 9-1 Overall: 79-12 (86.8%) Every week, before he makes his picks, The Birdie likes to use his column to spin some wildly entertaining yarns. (Editor’s note: Yarns not always entertaining.) He also likes to split the sides of readers with hilarious jokes. (Editor’s note: Jokes not always hilarious.)...
2022 Western Pa. high school football schedule, broadcasts for Week 8
Today City League Semifinals University Prep (3-4) at Allderdice (3-5), 7 p.m. Friday WPIAL Class 6A Central Catholic at Seneca Valley, 7 p.m. (HSSN*) Class 5A Allegheny Six Bethel Park at South Fayette, 7 p.m. (HSSN*, 1020 AM, 100.1 FM) Upper St. Clair at Moon, 7 p.m. Big East Hempfield...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2022 Week 8
Jake Gedekoh Belle Vernon, Jr., RB Gedokoh rushed for two touchdowns in a win against Mt. Pleasant last week. He has rushed for 266 yards and has scored nine touchdowns this season. He has five touchdowns in the past two games and blocked a punt against Greensburg Salem. Lane Golkosky...
With playoffs on horizon, Southmoreland prepares for another test in No. 3 Belle Vernon
The WPIAL playoffs don’t begin for another two weeks, but for the Southmoreland football team, they started Oct. 14 with a victory over Greensburg Salem. The Scotties all but officially clinched their fourth trip to the postseason and, after a 40-year absence, will qualify for a third time in four...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 8
Class 5A Big East Hempfield (5-3, 1-2) at Plum (3-5, 1-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Mustangs Stadium, Plum The Spartans try to end a three-game losing streak to save their playoff hopes. They fell to Franklin Regional, 56-21, last week. Plum saw its playoffs hopes end with a 35-21 loss at...
Celebrate those touchdowns, and these Week 8 Westmoreland County picks from The Birdie
Last week: 9-2 (81.8%) Season: 75-20 (78.9%) With so many local players scoring multiple touchdowns last week, the Birdie was caught on a company security camera dancing on desks and repeatedly spiking a football off the floor. A few personal items were broken, a computer screen was cracked, and there...
