Michael Love stories, Page 107
Leechburg volleyball building to section showdown
The Leechburg girls volleyball team has lost only one match this season. That came at the hands of WPIAL Class A power Greensburg Central Catholic by a 3-1 score on Sept. 24. The Section 4-A rivals meet again next Tuesday on senior night at Leechburg. While the Blue Devils are...
Beaver takes over top spot in Class AAA girls volleyball rankings
Two weeks remain in the 2020 WPIAL girls volleyball regular season, and numerous section races are coming down to the wire. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its weekly top-10 poll and players of the week Monday, and the leaders of three of the four classifications — Moon (9-0,...
Knoch girls tennis team seeking 1st WPIAL team title
After three straight WPIAL Class AA runner-up finishes, the Knoch girls tennis team hopes to break through and claim the program’s first team title. The Section 3 champion Knights, the No. 1 seed in the Class AA bracket, have a first-round bye and will begin play in the quarterfinals at...
Gateway grad Jazlyn Rozier making most of final volleyball season at Point Park
When numerous collegiate athletic conferences cancelled or postponed fall seasons, it got Jazlyn Rozier wondering if the River States Conference, the NAIA home for the Point Park women’s volleyball team, would follow suit. “We weren’t sure that by the time school came we would have the chance to play,” said...
Gateway runners turn focus to postseason invitational success
The Gateway boys and girls cross country teams are in the stretch run to the WPIAL championships in two weeks, and the Gators hope to take advantage of both practices and competition to sharpen their focus. “The kids have the potential to do well,” an optimistic Gateway coach Tom LaBuff...
Experienced Apollo-Ridge football team leans on offensive line
Apollo-Ridge senior quarterback Jake Fello threw for 142 yards and a touchdown in Friday’s 42-7 Eastern Conference victory over Shady Side Academy at Owens Field. Senior Keighton Reese caught the touchdown pass from Fello and finished with four catches for 76 yards, and fellow senior Klay Fitzroy added a pair...
Plum runners look to finish season strong at postseason invitationals
Livia Paoletti understands she doesn’t have many high school cross country races left. So the Plum senior is taking nothing for granted over the final weeks of her final season. “I am so happy we are able to run, especially with all the uncertainty with covid the past couple of...
Junior Dean Cecere, Riverview learn from challenging early season slate
In Riverview’s Eastern Conference football game against Imani Christian on Oct. 2 at Graham Field in Wilkinsburg, Dean Cecere broke free on runs several times and turned in career-best marks on the stat sheet. The Raiders junior running back delivered 208 yards and his first three touchdowns of the season...
No rust for Apollo-Ridge as it cruises past Shady Side AcademyVideo
A week away from game action didn’t slow Apollo-Ridge’s momentum. The Class 2A No. 4 Vikings on Friday got on the scoreboard early and added on from there in a 42-7 victory over Shady Side Academy in an Allegheny Conference matchup at Owens Field in Apollo. “I thought our guys...
WPISL teams hope to finish regular season strong as playoffs loom
Montour and Seneca Valley swept doubleheaders Sunday to remain tied atop the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League standings with two games to play. There is a three-way tie for third with North Allegheny, North Hills and Bethel Park all at 7-3. They have four games remaining. North Hills and Bethel...
Knoch’s Bauer sisters, Peters Township’s defending champs win WPIAL doubles titles
Ally Bauer knew what it felt like to win a WPIAL doubles championship. The Knoch sophomore teamed with the graduated Libby Conlon to claim last year’s Class AA crown. On Thursday, Bauer made it two in a row, and this time, it was a sister act as she and older...
A-K Valley football players to watch in Week 5
Dean Cecere Riverview, jr., RB/LB Cecere broke out last Friday in the Raiders’ loss to Imani Christian. He led the Riverview offense with 208 rushing yards and his first three touchdowns of the season on 17 carries. Cecere added three catches for 28 yards and three kick returns for 60...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 5
Class 5A northeast Kiski Area (1-2, 0-2) at Fox Chapel (1-3, 1-1) 7 p.m. Friday at Fox Chapel Stadium, Fox Chapel Fox Chapel hopes to keep up momentum gained from its first win of the season, a 36-21 triumph over Shaler on Friday. Quarterback Justin Rice threw for five touchdowns, giving...
A-K Valley teams jockey for position as girls soccer playoffs draw near
The section schedules in each of the four WPIAL girls soccer classifications are to conclude Oct. 20. The WPIAL soccer committee will meet the next day to set the playoff field. A lot of games will be played over the next couple of weeks in what has become an unprecedented...
Burrell bounces back from first loss, shuts out rival FreeportVideo
The Burrell girls soccer team saw a 20-game Section 2-AA unbeaten streak come to an end Saturday with a loss at Shady Side Academy. But the Bucs were able to bounce back in winning fashion Monday with a 3-0 victory over Freeport on the new turf at Burrell’s Buccaneers Stadium....
Deer Lakes soccer’s Nina Lafko dealing with second torn ACL in 12 months
To have the sport you love taken away from you for a time because of a serious injury such as a torn anterior cruciate ligament can be hard reality to grasp. But to have the same injury happen just a couple of months after fully recovering from the first is...
Montour moves to No. 1 in latest Class AAA girls volleyball coaches association rankings
There is one change at the top in this week’s Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association WPIAL girls volleyball rankings released Monday. Montour, the leader of Section 2-AAA at 7-0, takes over the top spot in Class AAA. Plum, 8-0 in Section 1-AAA, jumps five spots to No. 2 after a...
Perennial power Freeport volleyball ‘work in progress’
The Freeport girls volleyball team on Monday begins a stretch of three games in three days and kicks off the second half of its Section 5-AAA schedule with a trip to Mars. Yellowjackets coach Tom Phillips hopes the rematch of Thursday’s five-set loss to the Planets is out of this...
CCAC Boyce baseball team looks forward to spring season
Austin Long is optimistic. The head baseball coach at the Community College of Allegheny County Boyce Campus in Monroeville hopes the team can return to game action in the spring after last spring’s season was wiped out at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Ongoing issues with the pandemic also...
Gateway’s Jenkins getting her kicks on soccer, football teams
Joelle Jenkins doesn’t have a slow gear when it comes to playing soccer. The Gateway senior, a physical four-year starter on defense, wouldn’t have it any other way. Dedication and drive are things that endear her to teammates, Gators coach Kelly Bender said. “Watching Joelle step into a leadership role...
Versatile Reed Martin helps Plum to unbeaten start
In Plum football’s Greater Allegheny Conference game against Mars on Sept. 25, Reed Martin never left the field. The Mustangs senior lined up at wide receiver and running back on offense and at cornerback on defense. He punted, kicked off, converted extra points and returned kicks in the 49-21 triumph....
A-K Valley football notebook: Springdale players respond to coach’s advice
Springdale football coach Seth Napierkowski emphasized to his team before Friday’s game with Greensburg Central Catholic not to take the Centurions lightly. He said his players responded. Fueled by the return of junior quarterback Legend Ausk, the Dynamos weapons on both sides of the ball combined to pull away from...
Senior Martin does a little bit of everything for undefeated Plum football
In Plum football’s Greater Allegheny Conference game against Mars on Sept. 25, Reed Martin never left the field. The Mustangs senior lined up at wide receiver and running back on offense and at cornerback on defense. He punted, kicked off, converted extra points and returned kicks in the 49-21 win....
Freshman Brad Birch throws 6 TD passes as Jeannette rolls past LeechburgVideo
Jeannette possessed the ball eight times in the first half of its Eastern Conference matchup with Leechburg at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks scored on seven of those possessions, led by 39 at halftime and rolled to a 60-14 victory. Jeannette, No. 3 in the Triblive HSSN Class A rankings,...
Burrell teams take to turf at refurbished stadium
The wait is over. More than four months after ground broke on the stadium project to install an artificial turf field, replace the track and upgrade other areas at Burrell’s Buccaneers Stadium, soccer and football teams will get the chance to compete on the new surface. The first game is...
