High School category, Page 789
2021 Western Pa. high school football schedule for Week 3
Friday WPIAL Class 6A Canon-McMillan at Mt. Lebanon, 7:30 p.m. Hempfield at Seneca Valley, 7:30 p.m. North Allegheny at Baldwin, 7 p.m. (HSSN) Norwin at Central Catholic, 7 p.m. Class 4A Big 8 Belle Vernon at West Mifflin, 7 p.m. Laurel Highlands at Ringgold, 7 p.m. (HSSN, 590 AM, 101.1...
Before watching Westmoreland County football, The Birdie watches what he eats
Last week: 7-4 (63.6 %) Season: 23-11 (67.6 %) As most of you know by now, the Birdie is not really a bird. He is living, breathing, football-picking human with a big heart. “And a head to match,” a face-masked scoretaker mumbles from across the office. The cock-of-the-walk Birdie does...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 3
Class 6A Hempfield (2-1) at Seneca Valley (2-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday, at NexTier Stadium, Jackson Township Hempfield unleashed its running game in the second half last week, daring Franklin Regional to stop it on the way to a 30-28 win. Junior Gino Caesar ran for 215 yards and two touchdowns...
Mt. Pleasant, Latrobe looking to correct flaws, get back in win column
For some high school football teams, conference play begins this week. That’s not the case for Mt. Pleasant and Latrobe. They must wait another week before they start conference action. The extra week gives these teams another game to fine-tune things. And, boy, do Class 3A Mt. Pleasant and Class...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2021 Week 3
Jaydin Canady Greensburg Central Catholic, Jr., RB/LB Canady had a productive game against Apollo-Ridge last Friday with a 45-yard touchdown catch, 58 rushing yards on six carries, five tackles, two quarterback sacks and a blocked punt in helping the Centurions to their second consecutive victory. Anthony Crews Monessen, Fr., RB...
Freeport/Apollo-Ridge football game canceled because of covid, quarantines
The Freeport and Apollo-Ridge football teams will not play their Week 3 nonconference varsity game Friday at Owens Field in Apollo or Saturday’s junior varsity game at Freeport. Apollo-Ridge athletic director Ray Bartha confirmed Wednesday that a number of Vikings football players are in quarantine out of “an abundance of...
Fans barred from Penn Hills-Woodland Hills football game after hayride shooting
Fans won’t be allowed and security will be increased at the Woodland Hills-Penn Hills high school football game Friday amid concerns about “unresolved feelings and emotions” after one 15-year-old was killed and another was critically wounded at a North Versailles haunted hayride on Saturday. “We believe restricting those allowed onsite...
Golf game accelerating quickly for Southmoreland’s Goehring
Tinkering is a big part of Austin Goehring’s life, whether it be on the golf course or in the garage. Goehring is a senior on the Southmoreland boys golf team and has made tremendous strides in his game in an extraordinarily short amount of time. Last season, he averaged a...
Westmoreland County girls athlete of the week: Franklin Regional’s Caroline Tragesser
Caroline Tragesser School: Franklin Regional Sport: Golf Year: Senior Claim to fame: Tragesser, a WPIAL finalist last season, edged freshman teammate Anna Qin in a scorecard playoff after they both shot a 41 in the fifth annual Westmoreland County Coaches Association Girls Golf Championship on Sept. 9 at Champion Lakes...
Greensburg CC girls volleyball has sights set on WPIAL title after falling short last season
It’s not likely to be a situation where a new coach inherits a talented team, then appears to be a genius if the team goes on to new heights. No, in this particular case, it doesn’t seem to be that way at all. This coach and these girls already were...
Freeport golf team adjusting to facing Class 3A competition
It doesn’t take much to think back to the days when the Freeport golf team was a member of Class 2A. It was only two years ago. But those days are over. Because of the swell in enrollment, Freeport got bumped up to the WPIAL’s highest classification, Class 3A, last...
A-K Valley Girls High School Athlete of the Week, Sept. 15, 2021: Grace Gent, Springdale
Grace Gent Class: Junior School: Springdale Sport: Soccer Report Card: Gent got off to a strong start by scoring five goals in a 7-2 season-opening win over Deer Lakes. She added two more goals in an 11-1 victory over Highlands on Wednesday. Gent had a pair of goals in Springdale’s...
Kiski Area cross country teams set goal of improving as season progresses
Kiski Area coach Tom Berzonsky advocates a fundamental approach to the 2021 cross country season for his runners. Improvement is the key word. “Our top goal is to consistently improve throughout the season,” said Berzonsky, now in his third decade as the Cavaliers’ coach. “Our girls team returns six of...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Sept. 14, 2021
High schools Cross Country Boys Tuesday’s results Division I Section 5 Blackhawk 15, Central Valley 50 Blackhawk 15, Ambridge 15 Section 6 Team scores: Peters Township 28, Baldwin 28; Canon McMillan 24, Peters Township 31; Canon McMillan 28, Baldwin 29 Division II Section 3 Belle Vernon 16, Chartiers-Houston 45 Belle...
High school roundup for Sept. 14, 2021: North Allegheny blanks Seneca Valley
Abby Stager and Sophia Palermo scored to lead North Allegheny to a 2-0 win over Seneca Valley (3-1-1, 0-1) in a matchup of tops girls soccer teams in Section 1-4A on Tuesday night. Stager scored from long range in the first half and Palmero cleaned up the rebound of a...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Sept. 14, 2021: Field hockey blue bloods square off
One of the more amazing streaks in the WPIAL is the on-going rivalry between Shady Side Academy and the Ellis School in field hockey. The programs have faced each other in the last seven WPIAL Class A or AA championship matches. SSA has won the last three titles while Ellis...
Trib HSSN State Football Rankings for Sept. 14, 2021
It was a rough week for the top 30 teams in last week’s HSSN state football rankings. Eight of them tasted defeat in Week 2. The strange part is, only five of those eight teams fell out of the state top five. Coatesville in Class 6A, Penn-Trafford in 5A and...
Springdale girls soccer makes statement with strong start
The Springdale girls soccer team opened some eyes Sept. 4 when it toppled perennial Class 2A playoff contender Deer Lakes by a 7-3 score at Lancers Stadium. The Dynamos followed up that victory with an 11-1 rout of Class 2A Highlands. Springdale wasn’t done as it won a low-scoring 2-1...
Bell wants deep run, another team title for Latrobe tennis
Jenna Bell looks back at 2020 and is pleased with how the season unfolded for the Latrobe girls tennis team. But she also knows there are still some hurdles to clear. Bell, a senior standout for the Wildcats, has put together an impressive high school career, winning two individual section...
Storkel a positive example for young Greensburg Salem tennis
No matter what instrument you put in her hands, Paige Storkel can swing it. Storkel, a junior at Greensburg Salem, is a talented two-sport athlete, excelling on the Golden Lions tennis and softball teams. While she feels her future plans might lean more toward the diamond, she is no slouch...
Westmoreland County boys athlete of the week: Penn-Trafford’s Nick Turowski
Nick Turowski School: Penn-Trafford Sport: Golf Year: Sophomore Claim to fame: Turowski captured the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Boys Golf Championship after shooting a 1-under-par-71 on Sept. 10 at Latrobe Elks Golf Course. Turowski birdied his final two holes to finish one shot better than Kiski School’s Alberto Calafat and...
Kiski Area girls volleyball willing to work overtime for section title
On the eve of the first match, Kiski Area girls volleyball coach Jodie McCartney told her team that every time it takes the court in section play there is potential for a five-set match. The next day, that came to fruition. Kiski Area played a tight five-set match with Greensburg...
Small numbers don’t dampen enthusiasm, energy for Highlands soccer teams
The Highlands boys soccer team opened camp with 15 players, but that number became smaller heading into the season-opening tournament at home. Contact tracing from covid cases within the school forced four players into quarantine, leaving the Golden Rams with only 11 players and no subs for games on back-to-back...
A-K Valley Boys Athlete of the Week: Fox Chapel’s Jack Lorence
Jack Lorence Class: Senior School: Fox Chapel Sport: Cross country Report card: Lorence placed first at the Gateway Invitational on Sept. 4, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the field. He helped the Foxes win the overall title. Lorence also was the male lead in the 2020 high school musical at...
PIAA requires covid-19 vaccination for all officials working state playoffs
The PIAA will require its game officials in all sports to be fully vaccinated against covid-19 to work any state postseason contests this fall. In a bulletin for football officials posted online Tuesday, the PIAA said: “All officials must be fully vaccinated to officiate any postseason inter-district contest. The terms...
