Chris Harlan stories, Page 85
Slowing Wilmington’s running game key for Beaver Falls in PIAA 2A semifinal
Studying film of Wilmington’s offensive line made Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone think back to a Week 2 matchup with Laurel. The two opponents run a somewhat similar scheme up front, he said, since both use wing-T elements in their offenses. But there’s a key difference. “Laurel had two really...
Seton LaSalle hires Mauro Monz as football coach
Seton LaSalle reached into its past to find its future football coach. Mauro Monz, a former player in the early 1990s, will replace Mike Zmijanac as the Rebels’ coach, the school announced Thursday. The 1992 graduate played quarterback and defensive back for Seton LaSalle under coach Greg Gattuso. He’s coached...
PIAA urges winter sports teams to ‘set the foundation’ by starting practice Friday
The PIAA is encouraging winter sports teams to “set the foundation” by starting preseason practice Friday, if possible. With covid-19 making the future uncertain, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said teams should accomplish as much as they can as soon as they can. Friday marks the first day winter teams...
Individual schools must decide if athletes wear masks for competition, PIAA says
Could wearing a mask during a football game or soccer match be considered an unsafe condition? How about for a wrestler or swimmer? The PIAA strongly opposes a mandate from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration ordering athletes across Pennsylvania to wear masks during competitions indoors and out, but will leave the...
WPIAL bans Peters Township band after investigating ‘blackface’ allegations
The Peters Township marching band is prohibited from performing at any WPIAL event until the school district submits a plan to “eradicate the social and racial insensitivity displayed by the marching band and its director/supervisors,” the WPIAL announced Tuesday. The ban lasts at least six months. The discipline was the...
Central Valley’s Ameer Dudley chooses Ivy League football, ‘best education’
Three days after winning a WPIAL championship, Central Valley quarterback Ameer Dudley had more reason to celebrate. The senior on Monday announced his commitment to Harvard, choosing the Ivy League school over other Division I offers. He’d quietly committed to the Crimson weeks ago but waited to reveal his decision...
WPIAL considers changes to swimming championships, other winter sports
The WPIAL might hold its swimming and basketball championships somewhere other than Pitt’s facilities this winter. Of course, that’s assuming there are winter sports championships. The WPIAL board met online Monday and discussed adjustments that need to be made this winter. Among them, the board approved a plan to potentially...
Thomas Jefferson stops Aliquippa in OT in WPIAL finals dream matchup
If there was any uncertainty on Thomas Jefferson’s sideline, it was about the high school rules for overtime. Nobody on the roster had experienced it before. Jaguars coach Bill Cherpak couldn’t remember the last time he was involved in an overtime game. “I was like, ‘If they score do they...
North Allegheny runners elevate their game, sweep PIAA cross country titles
There’s an old theory that Western Pennsylvania cross country runners are better on hilly courses while their counterparts from the east thrive on fast, flat stretches. North Allegheny coach John Neff doesn’t know if that’s necessarily true. But this is certain: His athletes run a lot of hills while training...
Beaver Falls’ big backs will test Sto-Rox in WPIAL Class 2A final
Beaver Falls could use multiple receivers, spread the field and throw the football in Saturday’s WPIAL championship. They could, but they probably won’t. “When you have two tailbacks that are over 220 pounds, you’re going to put them with as many linemen and as many lead blockers as you can...
Aliquippa brings ‘massive’ line into Class 4A final against Thomas Jefferson
When Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak talks about Aliquippa’s linemen, he doesn’t compare them with any group he coached to a WPIAL title. His guys were never that big. Instead, Cherpak points to a different football team that wears black and gold. “Their line is as big as the Steelers. I’m...
WPIAL Class 4A football championship breakdown: Aliquippa vs. Thomas Jefferson
WPIAL Class 4A football championship No. 1 Aliquippa vs. No. 2 Thomas Jefferson 1 p.m. Saturday, North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium On the air: Audio stream at TribHSSN.triblive.com Winner plays: District 10 champion Oil City (9-0) or District 1 champion Upper Moreland (5-1) in the PIAA semifinals, Nov. 20-21. WPIAL titles:...
Central Valley claims WPIAL title with yet another dominant performanceVideo
Call it a mercy mission. Central Valley celebrated its 10th consecutive “mercy rule” victory Friday night, an incredible season-long streak that now includes a 35-0 win over Elizabeth Forward in the WPIAL Class 3A championship at North Allegheny. The WPIAL title was the second in a row and fourth overall...
Trib HSSN’s high school football championships primer
The WPIAL will host four football championship games Saturday after holding the Class 3A final Friday night. The Pittsburgh City League also will contest its championship game Saturday afternoon. Here’s a look at Trib HSSN’s pre-game coverage and where you can see and hear all the action this weekend: Class...
Central Catholic football forfeits PIAA quarterfinal over covid-19 concerns
Central Catholic’s run in the state football playoffs is over before it started. The team must forfeit Saturday’s PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal after the school canceled all extracurricular activities in response to covid-19 cases, Central Catholic football coach Terry Totten said. The Vikings were scheduled to visit District 10 champion...
WPIAL Class 2A football championship breakdown: Beaver Falls vs. Sto-Rox
WPIAL Class 2A football championship No. 1 Beaver Falls vs. No. 3 Sto-Rox 5 p.m. Saturday, North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium On the air: TribHSSN.triblive.com Winner plays: Either District 10 champion Wilmington (9-0) or District 5 champion Chestnut Ridge (7-2) in the PIAA semifinals, Nov. 20-21. WPIAL titles: Beaver Falls 4...
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference cancels fall sports after earlier delay
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first delayed and now canceled all “mandated” fall sports competitions at its NCAA Division II schools, unless a number of teams still want to participate. The decision impacts football, cross country, soccer, women’s volleyball and field hockey. If six or more schools commit to competing...
Central Valley quarterback Ameer Dudley sets commitment dateVideo
Central Valley quarterback Ameer Dudley has a big game and a big decision ahead. The senior on Friday will try to win the WPIAL Class 3A championship for the second year in a row. A few days later, he’ll make his college commitment. Dudley (6-foot-2, 188 pounds) announced on Twitter...
PIAA announces sites, times for football state semifinals
Central Catholic’s first opponent in the state playoffs will have a home-field advantage. Erie McDowell will host the WPIAL champion Vikings in a PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal at 1 p.m. Saturday. The PIAA traditionally has used neutral sites but changed its policy this year to adapt to coronavirus conditions. Now,...
5 things we learned: Central Catholic coach Terry Totten climbs list with 6th WPIAL title
Only three football coaches have won more WPIAL titles than Central Catholic’s Terry Totten, but he hasn’t spent any time contemplating his place in league history. “Maybe when it’s over, someday I’ll think about that,” he said Friday night, while crediting his assistant coaches and players for the team’s success....
Campus visit convinces Gateway’s Derrick Davis to pick LSU
Derrick Davis visited Louisiana around the age of 8 for a youth track meet. He finished 17th in the country in the 100-meter dash, an early glimpse of the athleticism that has made him a coveted college football recruit. But even then, he remembers, he really liked the Bayou State....
Central Catholic tops North Allegheny, repeats as WPIAL Class 6A championVideo
Eddy Tillman scored three rushing touchdowns and Central Catholic’s defense was dominant in the second half Friday night, a familiar combination for the Vikings in recent years. Also familiar? Winning titles. Defending champion Central Catholic avenged a loss from earlier this season and defeated top-seeded North Allegheny, 38-24, in the...
North Allegheny cross country teams set for unique PIAA championship race
In a typical cross country meet, runners can see the competition ahead of them or hear their footsteps approaching from behind. That’s not true this year. Under covid-19 precautions, the PIAA championship will be run in multiple heats Saturday in Hershey, so North Allegheny coach John Neff gave his runners...
5 things to watch: WPIAL 6A finalists linked through their coaches
A chain connects Central Catholic and North Allegheny, but that’s not the only link between the two football teams. North Allegheny’s Art Walker coached Central Catholic from 1998-2004 and many of the Vikings’ current coaches are holdovers from his staff 16 years later. They’ll meet at 7 p.m. Friday in...
WPIAL Class 6A football finals breakdown: North Allegheny vs. Central Catholic
WPIAL Class 6A football championship No. 1 North Allegheny vs. No. 3 Central Catholic 7 p.m. Friday, North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium On the air: TV: WPCW; Audio: TribHSSN.triblive.com Winner plays: Winner of McDowell vs. Erie High in PIAA quarterfinals, Nov. 13-14. WPIAL titles: North Allegheny 4 (1990, 2010, ’11, ’12),...
