High School category, Page 972
With a reloaded roster, Sewickley Academy preparing for another championship run
For the Sewickley Academy boys golf team, it’s never rebuild. It’s always reload. A year after winning PIAA and WPIAL Class AA team championships, 2020 is no different. Although the Panthers graduated WPIAL Class AA individual champion J.F. Aber, coach Win Palmer returns three of the five players who competed...
Quaker Valley golfers gain momentum after section win over Sewickley Academy
For the past seven years, the Sewickley Academy golf team has dominated its WPIAL Class AA competition, but as teams begin their 2020 season, the Panthers might have some competition. On Sept. 15, Quaker Valley shocked the Panthers and defeated their Section 9-AA opponent 193-208 at Sewickley Heights Golf Club....
Penn-Trafford’s Ford on record-breaking run: ‘It’s crazy to think no one can break it’
When Brad Ford lined up at quarterback in the wildcat formation against Latrobe at the Penn-Trafford 1-yard line, all he was looking for was some yardage to get the offense away from its own end zone. “It was 128 X Go; it’s supposed to be a pass play,” said Ford,...
Penn-Trafford girls golf showing marked improvement
It’s a game plan Penn-Trafford girls’ golf coach Ed Herbst has followed for years. “I just want them to improve every time they step on the course,” Herbst said. “It’s rare that we start the section season with two losses, but we did. But we defeated one of those teams.”...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Sept. 19, 2020
Football Saturday’s results WPIAL Class A Big Seven Shenango 44, Fort Cherry 0 Eastern Jeannette 55, Riverview 6 Springdale 40, Bishop Canevin 20 Nonconference Western Beaver 22, Beaver 14 Monday’s schedule WPIAL Nonconference Kiski Area at Connellsville, 7 p.m. Saturday’s summaries Class A Big 7 Shenango 44, Fort Cherry 0...
High school football roundup for Sept. 19, 2020: Another big night for Shenango’s Watkins
Thanks to the coronavirus-shortened schedule in place in the WPIAL this season, it’s going to be hard for WPIAL standouts to put up the kind of numbers they’re accustomed to. Shenango’s Reis Watkins doesn’t need a full, 10-game slate to put up an eye-popping stat line, however. Watkins surpassed the...
Butler’s Singleton, Moon’s Cochran among winners at Red, White and Blue Classic
Butler’s C.J. Singleton recorded the fastest time of all runners who competed in the 18th annual Red, White and Blue Classic at White Oak Park in White Oak on Saturday afternoon. Singleton’s time of 15 minutes, 45 seconds was fast enough to earn first place in the Class 3A boys...
High school roundup for Sept. 19, 2020: North Allegheny girls soccer trips up Norwin in OT
Lucia Wells and Abigail Stager scored to lead No. 5 North Allegheny (2-0, 1-0) to a 2-1 overtime victory in a nonconference matchup of ranked girls soccer teams Saturday. Lacey Bernick scored for No. 1 Norwin, which lost its second straight game. Bentworth 9, East Allegheny 1 – Reagan Schreiber...
5 things we learned in Week 2 of high school football
With Friday night’s win over Mt. Lebanon, a team Canon-McMillan hadn’t defeated in 12 years, the Big Macs bolstered their playoff chances. Well, maybe. At this point, just assuming there is a postseason is risky, but nobody can describe with certainty what the WPIAL playoff picture for Class 6A might...
Historic win No. 700 long time coming for Greensburg Salem
They started playing football at Greensburg High School in 1894. That first game didn’t go so well. Greensburg lost 12-4 to Mt. Pleasant Institute. The team went by Underwood High in honor of the late Morrison Underwood, a local attorney-philanthropist who made a substantial donation to the school. Greensburg recorded...
Westmoreland football notebook: Defense driving force for Belle Vernon
The stage is set for another clash between Class 4A rivals Belle Vernon and Thomas Jefferson. Both teams won Friday night to move to 2-0 as they get set to square off next Friday night in Jefferson Hills. Fourth-ranked Belle Vernon has been impressive offensively, but how about that defense?...
A-K Valley H.S. football notebook: Apollo-Ridge continues hot start
Through the first two weeks, Apollo-Ridge has looked like a team to be reckoned with in WPIAL Class 2A. The Vikings are 2-0 and have outscored opponents 92-21, the eighth-highest point total in the WPIAL. A core group of seniors has led the way. “It’s fun to coach these guys...
Versatile Plum offense leading way in resurgence
The Plum Mustangs haven’t started off a season with two straight wins since 2015, which was also the last time they made the playoffs. After two big wins over Greensburg Salem (36-13) and Indiana (48-10) in the first two weeks of the season, the Mustangs are out to change that...
WPIAL football rankings for Week 2
Ranking, record and previous week’s ranking: Class 6A 1. Central Catholic, 2-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 1-0, 2 3. Seneca Valley, 1-0, 3 4. Canon-McMillan, 1-1, NR 5. Baldwin, 1-0, 5 Out: Mt. Lebanon (0-1, 4) Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 2-0, 1 2. Gateway, 2-0, 2 3. Peters Township, 1-0,...
Jeannette routs banged-up Riverview to even record
After losing their season’s opener for the first time in 23 years last week, the Jeannette Jayhawks rebounded quickly Saturday afternoon. Senior Roberto Smith turned a pair of pass interceptions into touchdowns, and freshman quarterback Brad Birch fired four scoring passes and collected 171 yards through the air as Jeannette...
Rebuilding Hampton girls eye 5th straight postseason berth
Emmy Chismer got a head start on what 2020 would bring. On Dec. 10, the Hampton senior underwent surgery for a torn ACL after taking a twisting, bad step in a Cup soccer game one month earlier. During a turbulent year no one will soon forget, Chismer carries her reminder...
Saltrelli’s return to midfield bolsters Hampton boys soccer team
Max Saltrelli is a starting center midfielder for the Hampton boys soccer team and a 40-goal scorer for the school’s lacrosse program. But there’s one thing he would prefer not to be: A cheerleader. After a toe injury reduced him to a sideline “hype man” for most of last year,...
Fox Chapel girls soccer enters new section with deep, talented roster
With 11 seniors and seven returning starters leading the way for the 2020 season, the Fox Chapel girls soccer team has its sights set on big things in Section 3-AAAA and beyond. “Our senior class is strong and dedicated, and we expect a high bar to be set at practice,”...
Fox Chapel boys soccer prepares to take another step forward with cohesive lineup
In the first game of their season, the Fox Chapel boys soccer team shut out Shaler, 3-0, in a conference battle. Senior forward Nate Lazzara tallied his first three goals, senior goalkeeper Clayton Humbert recorded his first shutout, and the Foxes put together a solid game to kick off their...
Low numbers force Riverview soccer teams to cancel seasons
The Riverview boys and girls varsity soccer teams were unable to overcome a numbers game that halted plans for the 2020 season, but boys coach Mickey Namey and girls coach Sean Abraham, along with athletic director Mario Rometo, are hopeful the teams and their players can return to competition in...
Plum girls soccer ready to stare down challengers
Plum girls soccer coach Jamie Stewart said his players understand they have bigger targets on their backs this season after making a run last year that produced a trip to the WPIAL Class AAA championship game at Highmark Stadium and the program’s first-ever berth in the PIAA tournament. “We talk...
Norwin golfers take to hilly layout at Youghiogheny
Norwin moved its boys home golf matches to Youghiogheny Country Club near McKeesport. A long way from home? Sort of, yes. But the Knights have taken to the hilly layout. They won their first three matches on the private club that in the past has played host to WPIAL Class...
Norwin boys soccer ready for another playoff run
After a lengthy first-round playoff drought, Norwin broke through and reached at least the WPIAL boys soccer quarterfinals two years in a row. The Knights were the WPIAL Class 4A runner-up in 2018. A mostly young team a year ago, the Knights bring back a number of core players and...
Fast start provides boost to North Hills girls volleyball team
Getting on the court was a victory in itself, but the North Hills girls volleyball team took it a step further when it kicked off its season Sept. 15. After dropping the first game to Fox Chapel, the Indians rallied to win the next three, 25-18, 25-22, 26-24, to earn...
Under new leadership, North Hills girls soccer optimistic for success
Rick Kabbert was leery he’d face some skepticism. When Kabbert was hired this summer to coach North Hills girls soccer, he became the team’s third head coach in four seasons, all promising to turn around a struggling program. Witnessing yet another coaching change could discourage a roster that won only...
