Chris Harlan stories, Page 103
Class 2A all-state football: Avonworth’s Duke Johncour named Coach of the Year
Fresh off their team’s first PIAA championship appearance, two Avonworth players earned all-state honors Saturday and Duke Johncour was named Pennsylvania’s Coach of the Year in Class 2A. Antelopes running back Jax Miller and lineman Josh Elm were among six WPIAL players named all-state in a vote of Pennsylvania football...
Class 4A all-state football: 4 Thomas Jefferson players selected, Cherpak voted top coach
Thomas Jefferson’s quarterback, top running back, wide receiver and lineman all earned all-state honors Saturday, statewide recognition for winning WPIAL and PIAA titles with an undefeated 16-0 record. Additionally, Jaguars coach Bill Cherpak was chosen as the Class 4A Coach of the Year in the vote of Pennsylvania football writers....
Class 6A all-state football: Central Catholic leads WPIAL with 4 players
Central Catholic senior Jonathan Opalko twice made game-winning field goals in the playoffs and had a school-record 54-yarder in the regular season, kicks that earned him all-state honors Saturday. Opalko was one of four Central Catholic players named all-state in a vote of Pennsylvania football writers. The Albany recruit was...
Class A all-state football: West Greene’s Ben Jackson named Pa. Player of the Year
West Greene’s Ben Jackson became the first player in WPIAL history to rush for 3,000 yards in a single season, an achievement that earned him accolades this fall. On Friday, Jackson added another when he was named as the state’s Class A player of the year in a vote of...
Class 3A all-state football: Central Valley leads WPIAL teams with 4 honoreesVideo
WPIAL champion Central Valley, which returned to the PIAA finals for the first time in five years, was rewarded Friday with four all-state selections. Among the Warriors honored were brothers Reed and Sean FitzSimmons, who solidified the team’s strong defense. Reed, a senior, was the middle linebacker. Sean, a sophomore,...
Class 5A all-state football: Peters Township, Gateway, Moon claim multiple spots
WPIAL finalists Gateway and Peters Township combined Friday to fill five spots on the Class 5A all-state team led by Gators junior Derrick Davis, who was picked for the second consecutive year. Peters Township had three players earn all-state honors in a vote of Pennsylvania football writers: senior Josh Casilli...
Trib WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Dec. 22, 2019
WPIAL rankings Boys basketball Class 6A 1. Butler, 5-1, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 5-1, 2 3. Fox Chapel, 6-0, 3 4. Pine-Richland, 4-2, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 6-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn Hills, 5-1, 2 2. Trinity, 5-1, 4 3. Shaler, 5-2, 3 4. Mars, 5-2,...
Trib WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Dec. 22, 2019
WPIAL rankings Girls basketball Class 6A 1. Bethel Park, 6-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 5-0, 2 3. Norwin, 4-2, 4 4. Upper St. Clair, 3-2, NR 5. Mt. Lebanon, 4-2, 5 Out: Peters Township (3-3, 3) Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 5-0, 1 2. Trinity, 6-1, 2 3. Thomas Jefferson,...
Western Pa. football recruits make official commitments during early signing period
The early signing period for Division I football recruits arrived Wednesday and high school seniors across Western Pennsylvania took to social media to reveal their official commitments. FBS and FCS recruits can sign a National Letter of Intent through Friday or wait until the traditional signing period Feb. 5. The...
Transfers will force Aliquippa football to Class 4A, pending appeal to PIAA
Aliquippa ranks among the smallest football schools in the WPIAL, with only four more boys than Jeannette and nine fewer than Shenango. But while those two schools will play in Class A next fall, the PIAA on Monday informed Aliquippa that it must compete in Class 4A against the likes...
WPIAL denies Butler request to join District 10 in football
Mired in a 20-game losing streak, Butler’s football team asked to leave the WPIAL and join District 10, but that request was denied by the WPIAL board Monday. Letting a school move just one sport to a different PIAA district would set a bad precedent, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley...
Missouri wrestling champion Wyatt Henson eligible for WPIAL, PIAA tournaments
Waynesburg transfer Wyatt Henson, a Missouri state wrestling champion, was ruled eligible Monday for the WPIAL and PIAA tournaments this winter. The WPIAL initially ruled Henson ineligible for the postseason under a PIAA rule that targets all transfers. But the WPIAL decided Monday that the junior qualified for a postseason...
WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley retiring, board promotes Amy Scheuneman
The WPIAL will have a change in leadership this summer. WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley is retiring June 30 after 14 years as the district’s top administrator and will be replaced by Amy Scheuneman, the associate executive director. The WPIAL board accepted O’Malley’s resignation letter Monday and voted to promote...
North Allegheny’s Sam Sheridan commits to Patriot League football
North Allegheny’s Sam Sheridan, an all-conference defensive end, has committed to Lehigh. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior also listed FCS offers from Duquesne and Rhode Island. He announced his decision last week on Twitter. North Allegheny (10-2) tied for the conference title in WPIAL Class 6A behind a defense that allowed...
Seton LaSalle’s Max Schipani follows high school connections to AlbanyVideo
Seton LaSalle’s Max Schipani will play college football for a coach who knows his high school very well. The all-conference wide receiver committed Friday to Albany, which is coached by Greg Gattuso, a 1980 Seton LaSalle graduate. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior also listed offers from Air Force, Columbia, Cornell and...
Gateway’s Derrick Davis named TribLive HSSN Football Player of the Year
With nearly 30 college scholarship offers, Gateway’s Derrick Davis admits he’s had to look back through his Twitter timeline just to remember them all. This fall, Davis showed why he’s in such high demand. The do-it-all running back and safety had more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 28...
Undefeated state champions, record-setting rusher among Trib 25 football all-stars
The WPIAL crowned six more champions this season, each with a unique story to tell. There was an undefeated state champion who celebrated win No. 16 in Hershey and a running back from Greene County who became the first to 3,000 yards. They’re all represented here along with many other...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings for week of Dec. 15, 2019
Boys Class 6A 1. Butler, 3-0, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 4-0, 2 3. Fox Chapel, 5-0, 3 4. Pine-Richland, 1-2, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 3-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Mars, 3-0, 1 2. Penn Hills, 2-1, 2 3. Shaler, 3-1, 4 4. Trinity, 3-1, NR 5. Laurel...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings for Week of Dec. 15, 2019
Class 6A 1. Bethel Park, 4-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 3-0, 2 3. Peters Township, 2-2, 3 4. Norwin, 1-1, 4 5. Mt. Lebanon, 3-1, NR Out: Fox Chapel (2-2, 5) Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 2-0, 1 2. Trinity, 3-1, 4 3. Thomas Jefferson, 4-1, 3 4. Mars, 4-0,...
PCN will re-air Pine-Richland’s snowy 2003 PIAA football final
The images are among the most iconic in PIAA football championship history. Hersheypark Stadium was blanketed in white and snowflakes fell from the sky as Pine-Richland and Manheim Central battled through two overtimes in the 2003 Class 3A state final. The Pennsylvania Cable Network will rebroadcast the game statewide at...
WPIAL survey results: Schools favor 6 playoff brackets, mixed on realignment approach
The WPIAL’s football survey produced mixed results on some topics, but a clear majority of schools want to keep six separate playoff brackets. “So we’re going to go with that approach,” WPIAL associate executive director Amy Scheuneman said. WPIAL schools also overwhelmingly opposed the idea of every football team making...
PIAA could force Aliquippa football to Class 4A under competitive-balance rule
Add Aliquippa to the list of football teams that might be forced into a higher classification next season. The Quips already are voluntarily playing up two classifications but they could be moved to Class 4A under a PIAA competitive-balance rule that targets postseason success and transfers. That possibility came as...
Influential WPIAL administrator Charles ‘Ace’ Heberling dies
Charles “Ace” Heberling, who directed the WPIAL for more than two decades and is credited with making the league what it is today, died Monday. He was 94. The former NFL official became the first full-time administrator of the WPIAL in 1976, a job he held until retiring in 1997....
Peters Township’s Donovan McMillon adds 2 offers as NCAA coaches enter contact periodVideo
High school football players are in the midst of a two-week contact period on the NCAA recruiting calendar, a 14-day span that’s kept WPIAL juniors busy. Among them is Peters Township junior Donovan McMillon, who announced offers from Purdue and Miami (Ohio) in the past week. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety...
Gateway sophomore Patrick Body adds first Division I football offerVideo
Gateway sophomore Patrick Body made two of the Gators’ most important catches in the playoffs and was rewarded this week with his first Division I college offer. Body announced an offer from William & Mary. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound wide receiver and defensive back played a key role in Gateway winning...
