High School category, Page 798
Highlands sophomore standout jumps into border battle with Valley
With running back Brock White on the shelf with a knee injury, Highlands was looking for someone to fill the backfield void. Enter Luke Bombalski. The sophomore ran for 133 yards and all four Highlands touchdowns as the Golden Rams opened their 54th football season with a 27-0 victory over...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 1
Nonconference Apollo-Ridge (0-1) at Class 2A No. 2 Avonworth (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Lenzner Stadium, Ohio Township Last year’s matchup, slated for Owens Field in Apollo, was canceled amidst covid schedule changes. Apollo-Ridge hopes to bounce back from Friday’s season-opening 28-22 home loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart....
Before picking A-K Valley winners, The Birdie investigates Bishop Sycamore
Last week: 9-3 (75%) Everyone knows The Birdie as a professional prognosticator, but he’s picked up some investigative reporting skills over the years, too. This week, he’s been sticking his beak into the Bishop Sycamore story. You know Bishop Sycamore, the alleged Ohio charter school with questionable credentials that played...
Westmoreland County football players to watch for 2021 Week 1
Gino Caesar Hempfield, Jr., RB/LB Caesar rushed for 110 yards, a touchdown and two 2-point conversions in the Spartans’ victory against Greensburg Salem. He also recovered a fumble and had numerous quarterback pressures. Anthony Govern Southmoreland, Sr.,QB/LB Govern rushed for 54 yards and three touchdowns and completed 8-of-15 passes for...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 1
Nonconference Class 4A No. 2 Belle Vernon (0-0) at Chartiers Valley (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Chartiers Valley Stadium, Bridgeville Belle Vernon beat Chartiers Valley in last year’s quarterfinals, 49-21. Choosing to play a second scrimmage instead of a Week Zero opener, highly touted Belle Vernon is ready to roll out...
Route 30 rivals square off when Norwin, Latrobe meet
Football coaches always say the most important week to see improvement is between a team’s first and second games. “It’s when you can have things on film in game situations and you can show the players what was good and what was bad,” Norwin coach Dave Brozeski said. “It’s a...
Birdie hopes he picks Westmoreland County games better than he climbs crates
Last week: 8-3 (72.7 %) Now that schools are open again, the Birdie has been visiting local cafeterias. Why? (A slice of pizza, some chicken nuggets and a chocolate milk where applicable, yes). “Milk crates,” he said. “I have been borrowing them by the dozen. I load them into the...
In program’s 1st WPIAL season, Hempfield girls golf comes out of clubhouse firing
After playing one season as a club team, Hempfield’s girls golfers were primed to begin their first year as a WPIAL member. The girls are apparently an iron, driver and putter team, too. Nobody saw this kind of start coming. The Lady Spartans have embraced the challenge that comes with...
Central Valley, Blackhawk left without Week 1 games after opponents cancel
In a dilemma reminiscent of last fall, Central Valley has started searching for a new opponent for Friday night’s football game. Central Valley was expecting to host Beaver, but the Bobcats canceled their Week 1 game because of covid-19 cases. In an email Wednesday, Beaver athletic director Alan Alcalde said...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 31, 2021
High schools Football Thursday’s game Nonconference Uniontown at Perry Traditional Academy, 7 p.m. Friday’s games Nonconference Aliquippa at Beaver Falls, 7 p.m. Allderdice at Oak Glen, W.Va., 7 p.m. Apollo-Ridge at Avonworth, 7 p.m. Avella at Fort Cherry, 7 p.m. Beaver at Central Valley, 7 p.m. Belle Vernon at Chartiers...
Trib HSSN State Football Rankings for Aug. 31, 2021
The first edition of the weekly 2021 HSSN state football rankings is here with a lot of familiar faces from the end of the 2020 high school football season. Five defending PIAA champions are back at the top of their class with St. Joe’s Prep (6A), Thomas Jefferson (4A), Central...
Covid cancels Riverview, Butler football games
The Riverview football team will not play its nonsection game at Chartiers-Houston on Friday. “We are experiencing multiple cases of covid-19 on the varsity football team. After numerous conversations with the Allegheny County Health Department, we have decided to suspend football practices and games from Aug. 30 (Monday) until Sept....
Fox Chapel girls soccer out to defend section title
For the 18th time in program history, the Fox Chapel girls soccer team brought home a section championship in 2020, edging WPIAL power Norwin by two points for the Section 3-4A crown. While a sizeable group of contributing seniors moved on — including All-WPIAL performers in goalkeeper Sammi Dunlap and...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 30, 2021
High schools Golf Monday’s results Boys Class 3A Section 3 North Allegheny 199, Seneca Valley 209 Medalists: Chris Hoffman (NA) 37, Nolan Nicklas (SV) 36 Section 5 Blackhawk 220, Central Valley 248 Medalist: Jake Hofer (B) 39 Montour 226, Beaver 233 Medalists: Ryden Persinger (M) 39, Stephen Matthews (B) 43...
Trib HSSN Football Team of the Week 2021: Week Zero
On Sept. 22, 2017, Northgate edged Sto-Rox, 17-14 to improve the Flames’ record in the Class A Big Seven Conference to 2-2. Little did anybody know it would be the last Northgate football victory for nearly four years. The Flames torched a district high 32-game losing streak Friday when Northgate...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Derry, Latrobe, Connellsville hire alumni as coaches
Three district high schools recently decided to hire graduates as their next coaches. Derry named Troy Dolan Jr. as its new wrestling coach to replace Mike Weinell, who resigned this summer. Dolan was a three-time PIAA champion and four-time WPIAL champion. Latrobe named Karissa (Walker) Skiba as its new girls...
Deer Lakes runner McCoy gears preparation toward contending at WPIAL cross country championships
Carson McCoy is a state champion in track and field, as he won the PIAA Class AA title in the 1,600-meter run in May at Shippensburg after placing second at WPIALs at week earlier. Now, the Deer Lakes senior hopes to add more gold to his resume as one of...
Bishop Sycamore under scrutiny after facing Sto-Rox, IMG Academy on same weekend
Sto-Rox and Bishop Sycamore both wore black uniforms for their football game Friday at the Wolvarena, but the matching outfits weren’t the most unusual part of the weekend for the online school from Columbus, Ohio. Less than 48 hours after losing to Sto-Rox in the Western Pa. vs. Everyone Showcase,...
Volleyball coaches association releases preseason WPIAL girls rankings
Girls volleyball teams in the WPIAL officially begin their seasons Friday and Saturday with matches and tournaments all throughout the region. For the sixth year, the Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association is ranking the teams with a top-10 poll for all four classifications. Each week, all 120 WPIAL head coaches...
Trib HSSN broadcasts for the week starting Monday, Aug. 30
We turn the calendar from the heat of August to the comfort (fingers crossed) of September with another busy weekend of high school football on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN has video and audio coverage of Week 1 of the high school football season with 42 WPIAL...
Trib HSSN Football Player of The Week 2021: Week Zero
If he wasn’t on the list of top quarterbacks to watch around the district in 2021, Carson Davidson has ‘thrown’ his hat in the ring after a big start in Week Zero. “He came in confident and didn’t get rattled,” Blackhawk coach Zack Hayward said. “Playing Beaver Falls at Beaver...
2021 WPIAL girls soccer preview: Rankings, contenders, players to watch
WPIAL girls soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: With Sarah Schupansky and others gone, two-time defending champ North Allegheny will be a different team. But the Tigers only lost six players to graduation. Lucia Wells and Anna Bundy will keep the Tigers in the mix. Contenders: Peters Township looks to...
2021 WPIAL boys soccer preview: Rankings, contenders, players to watch
WPIAL boys soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: Defensively-sound Seneca Valley won 14 straight games to close out the 2020 season en route to WPIAL and PIAA titles. The Raiders must replace standouts Zack LaValle and Mason Baldwin, but bring back junior Beaux Lizewski, another All-WPIAL selection. George Williams was...
Uniontown optimistic under new head coach
Keith Jeffries has seen plenty of good football at Uniontown. The program has struggled in the last decade, but the 1993 Red Raiders graduate was on John Fortugna’s staff when the team won a playoff game in 2009 and were Keystone Conference Champions in 2001. “I think the kids were...
Laurel Highlands football ready to take the next step
The Laurel Highlands football team has plenty of talent at the skill positions entering the 2021 season. The challenge for the Mustangs and third-year coach Rich Kolesar will be to translate that talent to wins in a tough Big Eight Conference. Laurel Highlands’ schedule features two-time defending WPIAL and PIAA...
