High School category, Page 944
Serra Catholic keeps its strange season alive, beats McGuffey in 1st-round game
It has been a unique season for Serra Catholic, from only playing four games in the regular season to entering its WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal matchup against McGuffey on a 21-day layoff. But the Eagles didn’t worry about all of that. Their main focus Friday night on the road was...
Petrarca, Peters Township defense blitz Woodland Hills
Peters Township’s offense put enough points on the board to top Woodland Hills. As a matter of fact, so did the Indians’ defense. The third-seeded Indians got a pair of defensive touchdowns from junior linebacker Luke Petrarca and recorded two safeties on the way to a 39-6 win over visiting...
Fill-in quarterback carries Keystone Oaks past South Park in Class 3A thriller
With its star quarterback hobbled by an ankle injury, Keystone Oaks turned to senior Mark Hutchin to spark the offense and erase a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. Down 24-21, Hutchin took the Wildcat snap and ran to the right side for an 8-yard touchdown with 29 seconds remaining to lead the...
Belle Vernon dispatches Chartiers Valley in WPIAL 1st round
Despite at times playing like a team that hasn’t played in the past two weeks, the Belle Vernon football team advanced to the WPIAL semifinals Friday. Devin Whitlock and Quinton Martin combined for more than 300 yards on the ground, and each scored three touchdowns as the Leopards earned a...
QB Cole Spencer sets Pine-Richland TD pass record in win over South Fayette
Cole Spencer and Eli Jochem quietly played catch on the sideline in their sophomore season while Pine-Richland played defense, getting in as many throws as possible before trying to replicate their connection on offense. It wasn’t obvious at the time, but the two would become one of the most explosive...
WPIAL football playoff opening round scores for Oct. 30, 2020
TribLIVE’s sports reporters have you covered from Friday’s WPIAL high school football playoff action. GAMES OF THE WEEK • 6A (semifinals): No. 3 CENTRAL CATHOLIC 35, No. 2 MT. LEBANON 0 Central Catholic defensive lineman Bralen Henderson had four sacks and his teammates added four more. • 5A: No. 4...
Jeannette makes quick work of Avella in WPIAL Class A opening round
If Jeannette coach Roy Hall was worried his players were looking ahead, they made sure early on Friday night to ease his mind. The Jayhawks took care of business against an overmatched Avella squad, scoring on their first seven possessions and adding scores on a kickoff return and a fumble...
Plum shuts down McKeesport to reach first WPIAL semifinal since 1996
The Plum and McKeesport football teams were no strangers to each other when they met Friday at Plum’s Mustangs Stadium for a berth in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. The Tigers and Mustangs clashed for the eighth time in the past 10 years. The latest meeting was one of the...
Penn-Trafford’s defense does talking against Upper St. Clair in rout
With two high-scoring offenses meeting Friday night at Warrior Stadium, some expected a shootout. Penn-Trafford shot down that notion. The fourth-seeded Warriors took the air out of No. 5 Upper St. Clair and produced a pair of 100-yard rushers in a relatively painless 35-7 victory in a WPIAL Class 5A...
Rochester grounds out victory over Springdale in Class A quarterfinals
In this day of sophisticated passing offenses, Rochester turned the calendar back to the 1950s with a strong ground game in Friday’s WPIAL Class A quarterfinal victory. The Rams ran 69 plays — 68 of them runs — in a 34-17 victory over Springdale at Rochester Stadium. The only pass...
Apollo-Ridge makes statement with blowout victory over WashingtonVideo
After feeling overlooked this year, the No. 4 Apollo-Ridge Vikings were looking to make a statement Friday night at Owens Field when they took on No. 5 Washington in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. Consider it made. Washington fumbled on its first three drives, and the...
Elizabeth Forward tops Freeport for long-awaited WPIAL playoff victory
For the first time in two decades, the Elizabeth Forward football program has a playoff victory under its belt. The third-seeded Warriors rushed for more than 300 yards and held off a second-half rally from No. 6 Freeport to capture its first playoff triumph since 2000 with a 34-20 victory...
North Catholic punishes Mt. Pleasant for mistakes in Class 2A matchup
As the clock was winding down late in the fourth quarter, Mt. Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas said to his assistants he felt like the score was a lot closer than the scoreboard indicated. Fazekas liked plenty of what his team did Friday night, but critical mistakes and missed opportunities were...
Shenango limits damage done by California’s Jaeden Zuzak, wins Class A quarterfinal
Shenango’s mission in a WPIAL Class A quarterfinal matchup with California on Friday night was pretty clear. The Wildcats had to stop Jaeden Zuzak, the second-leading rusher in the WPIAL. Zuzak wasn’t stopped, per se, running for 193 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns, but Shenango controlled him enough...
Dominant Central Catholic defense shuts out Mt. Lebanon, returns to WPIAL finalsVideo
Like old west prospectors searching for gold, defensive lineman Bralen Henderson and his Central Catholic teammates spent this fall talking about nuggets. That’s his defense’s lingo for shutouts. They’d found none in the regular season, so questions lingered whether they were good enough to find any. That made Friday’s win...
Thomas Jefferson bounces back from loss, routs Mars in Class 4A
If there was any thought Thomas Jefferson was in trouble in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs after dropping its regular season finale to McKeesport, the Jaguars quickly squashed that notion Friday night. No. 2 TJ got three first-half passing touchdowns from Jake Pugh, two to Preston Zandier and one to...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Oct. 31
Boys Class 4A quarterfinals 5-Upper St. Clair (8-5-1) at 4-Fox Chapel (10-3) Noon, Saturday, Fox Chapel Stadium, Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 9-Baldwin (8-6-1) at 1-Peters Township (11-1-1) in semifinals Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m. at a site to be determined. Hat tricks: Two of Fox Chapel’s losses came...
Two fall sports doesn’t slow Burrell’s Brockett
Leah Brockett has logged a lot of miles this fall. As the top runner on the Burrell girls cross country team and one of the leading scorers on the soccer team, the freshman has made an impact while balancing both sports with her academic work load. Brockett hopes to put...
Fort Cherry girls volleyball forced to forfeit playoff match
One of the WPIAL’s top girls volleyball teams in Class A will not get a chance to play for a district title. No. 2-seeded Fort Cherry has forfeited its scheduled quarterfinal match against No. 7 Beaver County Christian on Saturday because of a case of covid-19. “It’s better to be...
After last-minute test result, Moon’s Mia Cochran defends WPIAL Class AAA cross country titleVideo
Mia Cochran almost didn’t get a chance to defend her WPIAL Class AAA girls cross country title. Twenty minutes before her race began Friday afternoon, the Moon junior runner learned her covid-19 test was negative, providing relief after a few stressful hours of waiting. Moon’s high and middle schools will...
Westmoreland County WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Oct. 31
Boys Class 4A Quarterfinals 6-North Allegheny (13-3-1) at 3-Norwin (10-0-2) Noon Saturday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: Winner of 10-Butler (11-5-1) at 2-Seneca Valley (11-1-1), 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (site TBD) in semifinals Hat tricks: Norwin has been off since Oct. 19 with a first-round bye. The Knights are...
14 from WPIAL make all-state in boys soccer
The WPIAL boys soccer postseason is winding into the semifinals and a number of title contenders feature some of the best players in the state. Fourteen WPIAL players made the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State list, announced Friday morning. Among the selections is Franklin Regional junior forward Anthony DiFalco,...
What to watch in Week 8: Small-school Aliquippa enters 4A playoffs as top seed
The No. 1 seed in WPIAL Class 4A football is one of the smallest schools in the WPIAL. “I don’t want people to forget that,” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said. “Just because we won some games, it’s still not right. It’s still not fair. We’re a Single-A school.” Aliquippa hosts...
Trib HSSN’s WPIAL football playoffs primer
The past three months of training and grinding through regular season games has led up to tonight as 44 high school football teams will kick off postseason play in the WPIAL playoffs. The TribLive High School Network has you covered with live broadcasts of all 22 playoff games, as well...
Central Catholic stands in way of Mt. Lebanon’s 1st WPIAL final since 2000
Mt. Lebanon’s motto this season is simply: Why not us? When Bob Palko was West Allegheny’s coach, he instilled in his Indians a gritty confidence that they were contenders every season, regardless of whether their opponents had more talent. Together, they won eight WPIAL titles. Now in Year 2 at...
