Chris Harlan stories, Page 92
Some changes to fall sports timeline still on the table after PIAA meeting
Fall sports season might end earlier for some schools and start a little later for others. The PIAA board approved two proposals Wednesday that could alter the fall timeline, but for now everything remains as originally scheduled. One proposal gives the PIAA permission to reduce the number of qualifiers entering...
No spectators allowed, according to new PIAA covid-19 guidelines
High school sports remain on schedule for the fall, but the new PIAA covid-19 guidelines approved Wednesday describe a season unlike any other. Most notably, there will be no spectators, unless the state Department of Education changes its position, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said. The 25 pages of return-to-competition...
Pa. health secretary: Data will guide state’s approach to high school sports
The PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee strongly recommends starting high school sports on time, but Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine declined to endorse that decision Tuesday. Levine said the same covid-19 data that’s being used to determine how schools reopen should guide whether interscholastic sports are played in the fall....
Central Catholic basketball transfer Langston Moses eligible for regular season, WPIAL says
Central Catholic transfer Langston Moses is eligible for next boys basketball season but ineligible to play in the postseason, the WPIAL decided Monday. The 6-foot-3 rising junior averaged 22 points for Winchester Thurston, which reached the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals and the PIAA first round last season. Moses is a...
WPIAL finals at Heinz Field in question as PIAA considers shorter football season
The WPIAL might not use Heinz Field for its football championships this fall for multiple reasons. Holding the games there wouldn’t be affordable if the governor maintains a 250-person limit on gatherings, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said Monday, adding “we couldn’t even pay the bill for the lighting.” But...
Dayton extends 1st Division I offers to 3 WPIAL football recruits
Three WPIAL football players drew their first Division I offers from the same Ohio school. Dayton’s coaching staff extended offers last week to North Catholic’s Nick Maher and Seneca Valley teammates Jimmy Royal and Josh Miller. All three are rising seniors. Maher is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound wide receiver and linebacker....
Football coaches association optimistic PIAA starts on time, offers scenarios if delayed
The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association shared nine different scenarios with the PIAA in recent weeks, each with a different start date for the fall season. The scenarios describe how the high school schedule could be organized if the season needed to be delayed. There were two-week increments between each...
Robert Morris extends basketball coach Andy Toole’s contract through 2025-26
As Robert Morris transitions to a new basketball conference, it will do so with men’s coach Andy Toole signed for six more seasons. The university extended Toole’s contract through the 2025-26 season, athletics spokesman Ethan Woy confirmed Friday. Toole, 39, finished his 10th season as coach this winter. His career...
With allegations behind him, Nick Lackovich returns as Aliquippa boys basketball coach
This was more than a job opportunity for Nick Lackovich, who was rehired Thursday as Aliquippa’s boys basketball coach. To him, this felt like vindication. Lackovich resigned as the Quips coach in 2016 when a dog-fighting investigation led to child pornography charges against him. Eight months earlier, he had celebrated...
No locker rooms at halftime? PIAA readies sport-specific guidelines for fall
The PIAA will release sport-specific guidelines for teams, coaches and officials next week, a key step in the return-to-play process for high school athletics. PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi described the guidelines as “things to consider while getting ready for competition.” They’ll reinforce social distance, mask wearing and sanitation, but...
Central Catholic running back Eddy Tillman announces 1st Division I offerVideo
Central Catholic running back Eddy Tillman, a 2,000-yard rusher last season, received his first Division I college offer this week. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound rising senior announced an offer Tuesday from Valparaiso. He already held Division II offers from Slippery Rock, Clarion, Seton Hill, Mercyhurst and Notre Dame College. Tillman rushed...
Flipped? Condensed? Overlapped? Options aren’t ideal if PIAA seasons need altered
There are days when Aaron Albert coaches football in the morning, sprints to his real estate job for a few hours and then heads to the ballpark for evening baseball. It’s hectic, but it sure beats sitting at home. “Life went from nothing for a lot a months to everything...
Trinity’s Courtney Dahlquist commits to Big South champion CampbellVideo
The Campbell women’s basketball roster is dotted with players from North Carolina and Virginia down to Florida, fitting for a team in the Big South. Trinity’s Courtney Dahlquist will add a northern flair. The 6-foot-3 rising senior committed Monday to Campbell, a Division I program in Buies Creek, N.C. Nicknamed...
Pine-Richland wide receiver Eli Jochem adds 1st Division I offerVideo
Pine-Richland’s Eli Jochem, one of the WPIAL’s top receivers, announced his first Division I offer Monday from Fordham. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound rising senior ranked third among WPIAL players last season in receptions (71) and receiving yards (1,065). He scored 14 touchdowns for Pine-Richland, the runner-up in WPIAL Class 6A. Fordham...
PIAA approves winter championship sites for next 4 seasons
Get your Hershey’s chocolate ready. The PIAA basketball and wrestling championships are staying at Giant Center for at least four more seasons. The PIAA board approved winter championship sites for the 2020-21 through 2023-24 seasons this week with no changes. Both the team and individual wrestling tournaments return to Giant...
PIAA approves kicking game, scrimmage options for sub-varsity football teams
Middle school, junior high and junior varsity football coaches can eliminate kickoffs and punts this season, or turn their games into scrimmages, if they choose. The PIAA board approved a plan Wednesday that provides flexibility for coaches looking to teach rather than compete. The proposal was adopted as a one-year...
Heavily recruited Peters Township safety Donovan McMillon commits to FloridaVideo
At this time last summer, Peters Township safety Donovan McMillon didn’t have a single Division I football offer. That changed in a hurry. As college coaches watched his junior film, McMillon’s stock rose as quickly as any recent WPIAL recruit, drawing offers from more than 50 schools. Now, it was...
2 WPIAL rising sophomores add basketball offers from MinnesotaVideo
Minnesota women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen, a former Olympian and WNBA star, is recruiting two of the WPIAL’s top rising sophomores. North Allegheny’s Jasmine Timmerson and Indiana’s Eve Fiala each added a Gophers offer Friday. The two are AAU teammates on the Western Pa. Bruins, who competed last weekend at...
Neighboring states delay fall sports, but PIAA says ‘our folks don’t want that’
Pennsylvania is surrounded on three sides by states that already have delayed the start of fall sports, a list New York joined late this week. But the PIAA isn’t taking cues from its neighbors. “We’re not following Maryland. We certainly are not following New Jersey,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi...
PIAA approves weight class reduction for wrestling from 14 to 13
PIAA wrestling is dropping weight. The PIAA board gave final approval Wednesday to a plan that reduces the number of weight classes from 14 to 13 starting next season. The vote was unanimous. The PIAA will maintain weight classes 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152 and 160 pounds....
PIAA moving forward with fall sports as scheduled
The PIAA won’t cancel or delay fall sports, for now. The board of directors met online Wednesday and agreed to keep the start dates as scheduled, including Aug. 10 for football’s heat acclimatization period. Some neighboring states already delayed their fall seasons, but the PIAA won’t follow their lead, PIAA...
2 WPIAL sophomores announce basketball offers from MarshallVideo
Two rising sophomores in WPIAL girls basketball received Division I offers from the same school Tuesday. Pine-Richland’s Kaili Doctor and North Catholic’s Dacia Lewandowski announced offers from Marshall hours apart. Both play AAU basketball with the Western Pa. Bruins, which competed last weekend at the Hoosier Heat event in Indianapolis....
Perry searching for new football coach after Rod Rutherford resigns
Perry football coach Rod Rutherford has resigned, leaving his alma mater searching for a replacement just weeks before the season starts. A former Pitt quarterback and City League star, Rutherford resigned earlier this month for personal reasons, said Karen Arnold, athletic director of Pittsburgh Public Schools. Rutherford couldn’t be reached...
Pine-Richland’s Miguel Jackson becomes 3rd WPIAL senior committed to LibertyVideo
Pine-Richland’s Miguel Jackson visited Liberty’s campus on Independence Day weekend and saw some fireworks on the drive home. The “oohs” and “aahs” came a few days later, once he called the school’s football coaches to commit. “They were excited and surprised,” said Jackson, who committed to Liberty on July 8,...
Pitt, Penn State make the cut as Gateway’s Derrick Davis narrows his college options
Pitt and Penn State both made the cut Sunday as Gateway football star Derrick Davis narrowed his college recruiting options. The rising senior announced a Top 7 on Twitter. Joining the Panthers and Nittany Lions on his list were Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Southern Cal. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound...
