Chris Harlan stories, Page 94
2 Pa. football teams, 1 from WPIAL make MaxPreps preseason Top 100 rankings
Defending WPIAL champion Central Catholic was one of two Pennsylvania football teams ranked in the MaxPreps preseason Top 100. The Vikings were ranked 92nd nationally. The other Pennsylvania team to make the rankings was defending PIAA Class 6A champion St. Joseph’s Prep, which defeated Central Catholic in last year’s state...
Pine-Richland hires assistant Bob Petcash as boys basketball coach
Pine-Richland stayed in-house Monday night and hired assistant Bob Petcash as its new boys basketball coach. A longtime assistant for the Rams, Petcash replaces Jeff Ackermann, who resigned in May to become Baldwin’s coach. Petcash spent six seasons as a top assistant on Ackermann’s varsity staff after more than a...
WPIAL connections lead Gateway defensive back Shane Thrift to DelawareVideo
Shane Thrift hasn’t visited Delaware’s campus yet, but he’s confident he’ll feel comfortable there. The Blue Hens already have seven former WPIAL athletes on the football roster, so Thrift decided to join them. The 6-foot, 170-pound defensive back and wide receiver announced his commitment Monday. “There are a lot of...
Pine-Richland’s Miguel Jackson identifies 9 finalists, wants to visit every campus
Pine-Richland defensive lineman Miguel Jackson set out to pick eight finalists from his list of 30 college offers, but that task proved harder than expected. “It was difficult to choose,” he said. “I was planning on doing a Top 8, but another school came in.” So, Jackson created a Top...
Montour’s Jaiden Hill sticks with 1st Division I offer, commits to LibertyVideo
Jaiden Hill’s first offer turned out to be his favorite. The Montour rising senior announced he committed Sunday to Liberty, the school that gave him his first Division I offer in March. He’d since added Duquesne and Robert Morris but ultimately stuck with the Flames, an independent FBS team. The...
Q&A with new WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman: Will there be fall sports?Video
As Amy Scheuneman points out, there was no coronavirus pandemic when she agreed to become the WPIAL executive director. While that’s true, she’s certainly not running from the challenge. “One of my favorite movies is ‘The Replacements,’” said Scheuneman, who borrows a line from football coach Jimmy McGinty, played in...
Noel Roach commits to Akron after talks with former Penn Hills teammateVideo
Noel Roach couldn’t visit Akron’s campus, so the Penn Hills senior found other ways to learn about the school and its football program. It helps to have a trusted source on the inside. Roach committed Friday to Akron, where former Penn Hills teammate Corey Thomas is a redshirt freshman on...
WPIAL plans Diversity Advisory Council to better represent minority communities
The WPIAL soon could have a Diversity Advisory Council, created to give a louder voice to the challenges faced by minority communities. Associate executive director Amy Scheuneman shared her idea Thursday with the WPIAL board of directors, who supported the plan and voted unanimously to develop the council at a...
WPIAL eliminates football, basketball pairings meetings in cost-cutting move
The longstanding WPIAL playoff tradition that drew football and basketball coaches to a crowded hotel conference room is ending. The WPIAL board voted Thursday to eliminate pairings meetings in a money-saving move meant to reduce the league’s 2020-21 budget. Concerned covid-19 could cause the WPIAL financial pain, the board unanimously...
PIAA could rewrite co-op rule, making combined teams easier for schools
The PIAA could rewrite its co-op rule this summer, making it easier for two schools to form a combined sports team. Currently, to cooperatively sponsor a sport, school districts must be contiguous, meaning they share a border. But at times, neighboring districts aren’t willing or able to co-op, so schools...
Woodland Hills leads WPIAL football back to practice with workouts ‘normal as any other’
Woodland Hills football coach Tim Bostard checked every player’s temperature and nobody was allowed to shake hands. Otherwise, this was just another Monday in June. “Once the kids got there, it felt as normal as any other day that we would have during the summer,” said Bostard, whose football team...
PIAA approves state football brackets; WPIAL can finalize its playoff plans
The PIAA approved state tournament brackets for all sports except basketball Monday, meaning the WPIAL soon can finalize plans for its football playoffs and championship games. The PIAA football brackets have the Class 6A champion entering the state playoffs in Week 13 (quarterfinals) on Nov. 27-28. The five other WPIAL...
PIAA adopts 2-game suspension for unsportsmanlike actions including ‘racially insensitive comments’
The PIAA strengthened its stance against “ethnic and racially insensitive comments” by making those and other unsportsmanlike actions punishable with a two-game suspension. The board on Monday unanimously approved added discipline for coaches and athletes ejected for the most egregious infractions. That list also includes foul or vulgar language and...
Serra baseball star Mark Black commits to juco that produced Jose Bautista, Russell Martin
Serra Catholic baseball star Mark Black had his future mapped out way in advance, committing to St. John’s before his sophomore year, until the coronavirus pandemic turned the world upside down. So, the recent graduate decided to reconsider. A power-hitting catcher with MLB aspirations, Black announced plans Sunday to de-commit...
Pine-Richland defensive lineman Miguel Jackson adds 3 more Division I offersVideo
Pine-Richland defensive lineman Miguel Jackson added three more Division I offers this week, pushing his overall total to about 30. The 6-foot-2, 265-pound rising senior added offers from Liberty, Louisiana-Monroe and Villanova. Sun Belt member Louisiana-Monroe and Liberty, an independent, are FBS programs. Villanova competes in the CAA, an FCS...
2-game suspension for foul language, physical contact among items on PIAA agenda Monday
The PIAA could give final approval Monday to a rule change that lets game officials issue a two-game suspensions to coaches and players who cross the line with foul language or make physical contact. The proposal, ready for a third and final vote, is included in the agenda for the...
Big 33 plans ‘watch party’ to celebrate players chosen for canceled all-star game
The covid-19 pandemic forced organizers to cancel the Big 33 Football Classic, but this year’s players will be honored online. The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association has planned a video “watch party” for 8 p.m. Thursday to celebrate this year’s players and highlight alumni from the all-star game that started...
PIAA reveals tentative state basketball brackets for 2021, ’22 postseasons
The WPIAL will send only four Class 6A boys basketball teams to the state playoffs next season, according to preliminary brackets revealed by the PIAA. That’s down from five qualifiers in the past two seasons and six in the 2017 and 2018 postseasons. The WPIAL also would have one fewer...
Freshman-year visit leads Sto-Rox linebacker Diontae Givens to DuquesneVideo
As a freshman, Diontae Givens tagged along with Sto-Rox football teammates for an unofficial recruiting visit to Duquesne. He was only a ninth grader but received a warm welcome from the Dukes’ staff, met assistant Scott Farison and kept in touch with the linebackers coach in the years since. “It...
West Allegheny’s Austin Hendrick selected 12th overall by Cincinnati Reds in MLB Draft
With a quick left-handed swing that packs plenty of pop, West Allegheny’s Austin Hendrick was naturally a Ken Griffey Jr. fan as a kid. They’ve now got another connection. Hendrick, one of the top high school hitters in the country, was selected 12th overall Wednesday in the MLB Draft by...
State releases covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports
Gov. Tom Wolf released covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports Wednesday, clearing the way for high school sports teams statewide to begin offseason workouts. But before those workouts can take place, the guidelines require every school district to create a detailed health and safety plan that’s approved by the school...
Will Austin Hendrick trade West Allegheny red for Cincinnati Reds in MLB draft?
Hot dogs with Skyline Chili and evenings at Great American Ball Park could be in Austin Hendrick’s future, if draft experts are correct. The West Allegheny outfielder is projected as a first-round selection in the MLB Draft on Wednesday night, and the majority opinion has him headed to the Cincinnati...
Football coach Ryan Matsook returning to sidelines at Western Beaver
At Western Beaver, Ryan Matsook’s work duties already include assistant principal and athletic director. Now, add football coach to his busy schedule. Four years after winning WPIAL and PIAA football titles at Beaver Falls, Matsook is making a coaching comeback. Western Beaver needed a football coach after Derek Moye resigned...
Gov. Wolf: State will release covid-19 guidelines for PIAA in ‘next day or two’
The wait is almost over. Covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports are expected to be released Tuesday or Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf said. The PIAA has banned teams from organizing offseason workouts until those guidelines from the state departments of health and education are put into place. “We’re dealing with...
‘Position-less basketball’ draws Penn Hills’ A’Lysa Sledge to UMass LowellVideo
A’Lysa Sledge owns point guard skills and the size of a forward, a combination that lets her play every position on the floor for Penn Hills. That versatility also makes her an ideal fit for UMass Lowell’s basketball team, so the 5-foot-11 rising senior committed Saturday to River Hawks coach...
