Michael Love stories, Page 105
Plum focused on current Thomas Jefferson team, not Jaguars’ past success
The Plum football team Friday will play its first WPIAL semifinal game since 1996. On the other sideline will be Thomas Jefferson, the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A champion that owns eight WPIAL and four PIAA crowns since 2004. The Jaguars have made at least the WPIAL semifinals every...
Plum girls soccer reaches Class 3A finals with another 1-0 win over West Allegheny
It was déjà vu for the Plum girls soccer team. For the second year in a row, the Mustangs topped West Allegheny, 1-0, in a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal. With Wednesday’s home victory, they now will get another crack at winning the program’s first WPIAL championship. “There’s literally no better...
WPIAL singles, doubles champions to begin quest for state titles
The PIAA singles and doubles tennis tournaments kick off Wednesday for the four WPIAL champions at the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford. All four quarterfinals matches are set to begin at 11:30 a.m. Knoch senior Laura Greb, the four-time WPIAL Class AA singles champion, opens against District 6 champion Alyssa...
Penn-Trafford beats Fox Chapel for WPIAL field hockey titleVideo
The Penn-Trafford field hockey team is champion again. The Warriors remained perfect on the season and claimed their fifth straight WPIAL Class 2A field hockey title with a 2-1 victory over Fox Chapel on Monday at a chilly Burk Stadium at Fox Chapel High School. “It’s really exciting,” Penn-Trafford coach...
Shady Side Academy edges rival Ellis School, wins 3rd straight WPIAL field hockey title
Shady Side Academy and Ellis School are no strangers in battling for a WPIAL field hockey championship. The teams met for the seventh consecutive time in the finals, including each of the five Class A matchups since the WPIAL expanded to three classifications in 2016. Monday’s title contest at a...
Gateway graduate JaQuan Brisker making impact in Penn State secondary
While Penn State football’s season opener against Indiana on Oct. 24 didn’t go as planned, the Nittany Lions players, including Gateway graduate JaQuan Brisker, were happy to be back on the field competing. The Big Ten announced in August it was cancelling its 2020 football schedule because of covid-19 concerns....
Successful season flies by for Gateway girls soccer
Gateway girls soccer coach Kelly Bender said the 2020 season for her players went by in a flash. With the season already compacted because of the covid-19 pandemic, virus issues specific to the Gateway School District halted practices and games for the Gators in late September. That created a busy...
A-K Valley high school football notes: Springdale succumbs to grueling schedule
Not many teams get the chance to say they faced the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 teams in their respective classification in one season. That was the case for Springdale this year. The Dynamos led No. 3 Jeannette for most of their Eastern Conference matchup before losing 36-28,...
Despite missing out on trip to state meet, Riverview boys proud of 2nd-place finish
Under normal WPIAL cross country circumstances, the Riverview boys team would be heading to Hershey this weekend to compete with the best in the state. But when the PIAA announced new qualifying parameters amid the coronavirus pandemic, it created a unique situation where only the district champions would qualify. Riverview,...
Plum slowpitch softball excited for future
The Plum slowpitch softball team was unable to solve second-seeded Seneca Valley in a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League quarterfinal Oct. 24 at Mt. Lebanon. The Mustangs reached that point with a first-round victory over West Allegheny, but the Raiders ended Plum’s season with a 15-5 win. “We had a...
Plum shuts down McKeesport to reach first WPIAL semifinal since 1996
The Plum and McKeesport football teams were no strangers to each other when they met Friday at Plum’s Mustangs Stadium for a berth in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. The Tigers and Mustangs clashed for the eighth time in the past 10 years. The latest meeting was one of the...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Oct. 31
Boys Class 4A quarterfinals 5-Upper St. Clair (8-5-1) at 4-Fox Chapel (10-3) Noon, Saturday, Fox Chapel Stadium, Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 9-Baldwin (8-6-1) at 1-Peters Township (11-1-1) in semifinals Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m. at a site to be determined. Hat tricks: Two of Fox Chapel’s losses came...
Two fall sports doesn’t slow Burrell’s Brockett
Leah Brockett has logged a lot of miles this fall. As the top runner on the Burrell girls cross country team and one of the leading scorers on the soccer team, the freshman has made an impact while balancing both sports with her academic work load. Brockett hopes to put...
Green Oaks Country Club pro elected to PGA Board of Directors
Ed Habjan, the widely regarded PGA head golf professional at Verona’s Green Oaks Country Club, was elected Friday during the 104th PGA annual meeting to serve on the organization’s board of directors. He will take over as the District 4 Director, one of 17 such individuals who work on a...
Plum girls blank TJ, advance to WPIAL semifinals
Neither a steady rain nor Thomas Jefferson could prevent the Plum girls soccer team from advancing in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs Thursday evening. The undefeated Mustangs scored twice in the first half and added two more goals in the second half to post a 4-0 quarterfinal win, their third...
A-K Valley football players to watch for Week 8
Preston Sunday Plum, sr., RB/LB Sunday has been a difference maker on Fridays for the undefeated Mustangs. His 55 tackles through seven games lead the team with fellow senior Max Matolcsy (54). He was all over the field with 22 stops, including four for a loss, in a 20-7 Greater...
Knoch’s Formica wins WPIAL Class AA cross country title; GS boys victoriousVideo
Mike Formica celebrated his 18th birthday in style. The Knoch senior bested the field in the boys race at Wednesday’s WPIAL Class AA cross country championships at White Oak Park. He posted a winning time of 16 minutes, 15 seconds. “It was pretty amazing to come out here and win,”...
Brownsville runner keeps WPIAL Class 2A cross country gold in family
As a freshman last year, Brownsville’s Jolena Quarzo earned a silver medal at the WPIAL Class AA cross country championships at Cal U (Pa.) as older sister Gionna dominated the field to claim gold. With a new setting for this year’s championship meet and Gionna now running at N.C. State,...
North Allegheny defeats Seneca Valley to win WPISL playoff championship
North Allegheny defeated Seneca Valley, 21-10, to capture the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League varsity championship Sunday at Middle Field in Mt. Lebanon. It is the Tigers’ first WPISL title since 2011 and fourth overall since the league’s first season in 2006. North Allegheny entered the two-day playoff tournament as...
Plum girls soccer team routs Gateway in playoff opener
Plum needed penalty kicks in last season’s WPIAL Class AAA first-round girls soccer matchup to get by neighboring Gateway on its way to an eventual championship-game appearance. There was no overtime drama in Monday’s WPIAL rematch. The undefeated and No. 2 Mustangs scored three times in the first half and...
Freeport faces challenging road in quest for another WPIAL volleyball title
The Freeport girls volleyball team finished in a four-way tie for the Section 5-3A title with Mars, Armstrong and Hampton. Each team went 9-3 in section play. Yellowjackets coach Tom Phillips said he was surprised Monday when he found out where his team and the other three from Section 5...
North Allegheny, Beaver, North Catholic, Bishop Canevin earn top seeds for WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs
North Allegheny, Beaver, North Catholic and Bishop Canevin were selected as top seeds as the WPIAL girls volleyball committee finalized and released the playoff brackets Monday afternoon. The playoff tournaments begin Tuesday with four preliminary-round matches in both Class 3A and Class 2A. First-round matches Wednesday kick off the tournaments...
North Allegheny, Beaver, North Catholic, Bishop Canevin top final girls volleyball rankings
With the regular season in the books, hopes turn to WPIAL gold as the playoffs begin this week. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association on Monday morning released its final rankings for the 2020 season. North Allegheny (Class 4A), Beaver (Class 3A), North Catholic (Class 2A) and Bishop Canevin (Class...
Plum girls volleyball claims 16th section title in program history
The Plum girls volleyball team returned to the top last week as they clinched the program’s first section championship since 2011. The Mustangs’ 3-1 victory at Kiski Area on Oct. 20 wrapped up their 16th section crown overall. “That was really exciting for the girls, especially the (eight) seniors,” Plum...
Plum football writes championship chapter in program’s history books
With its 35-7 victory over Knoch on Oct. 16, the Plum football team achieved something the program hadn’t experienced in nearly four decades. The Mustangs captured their first conference championship since 1983, the year of their only WPIAL title. “It feels amazing to represent Plum as a whole team,” senior...
