Michael Love stories, Page 108
WPISL teams continue push to league playoffs
The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League is winding toward the end of the varsity regular season, and the teams continue to battle for positioning in the team standings. Montour and Seneca Valley remain at the top of the standings at 9-1. The only blemishes on each team’s record came in...
A-K Valley football players to watch in Week 4
Ryan Hubner Plum, sr., QB Run plus pass equals win for the Mustangs signal caller so far in 2020. Against Mars last Friday, Hubner tossed a pair of touchdowns to Reed Martin and added a rushing score as Plum scored a convincing 49-21 road victory. He accounted for 176 total...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 4
Class 5A northeast North Hills (1-2, 1-0) at Kiski Area (1-1, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Richard J. Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township Cavaliers standout Kenny Blake, hobbled by a sprained ankle early in Saturday’s loss to Penn Hills, returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown before leaving the game. Assistant coach...
Plum grad Alex Kirilloff becomes 1st position player in MLB history to record 1st big-league hit in postseason
First he got the call. Then he got the hit. Former Plum standout Alex Kirilloff recorded his first Major League hit Wednesday afternoon in the Minnesota Twins’ wild card matchup with the Houston Astros at Minnesota’s Target Field. Kirilloff delivered in the bottom of the fourth, scorching a pitch from...
Undefeated Fox Chapel works way through rigorous schedule
With two weeks and six games in the books, the Fox Chapel girls soccer team is making its mark in and out of Section 3-AAAA. The Foxes are 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the section. They stepped away from section play Tuesday and edged former section foe North Allegheny 2-1...
A-K Valley girls soccer notebook: Burrell looking forward to homecoming
The Burrell girls soccer team has hit the road in the early part of the season, waiting to play on the new turf field at Buccaneers Stadium. That wait is coming to an end. The Bucs, 4-0 overall and in Section 2-AA, are scheduled to play their home opener at...
Volleyball coaches association releases weekly rankings, players of the week
With two weeks of section and nonsection matches in the books, WPIAL girls volleyball teams in all four classifications prepare to turn their attention to the stretch run in October that leads to the scheduled start of the WPIAL playoffs the week of Oct. 26. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches...
With weapons galore, Gateway QB Carsen Engleka making strong return from broken arm
Carsen Engleka was making his case for playing time last year at quarterback in the Gateway offense when a bad break ended his sophomore season. The Gators’ 5-foot-11, 180-pound signal caller, a backup to starter Bryson Venanzio early in the 2019 season, was under center in the latter stages of...
Gateway tennis building winning culture with more experienced lineup
With a mix of experienced and younger players this fall, the Gateway girls tennis team hopes to continue its overall development with matches that will help it both now and in the future. “We have different skill levels throughout the team, and everyone is really supportive of each other,” senior...
Alle-Kiski Valley football notebook: Bye week at bad time for Apollo-Ridge
Apollo-Ridge will have a rare, midseason bye week coming up because Summit Academy opted out of the season. With the Vikings steamrolling three consecutive opponents — Ligonier Valley, Freeport and Burrell — coach John Skiba doesn’t want his team to lose any momentum. “We’re not happy about it, but it...
Riverview girls volleyball learning from early season setbacks
Lauren Dugan isn’t taking any of her volleyball practices or matches for granted this fall. The Riverview senior middle hitter said the uncertainty of whether there would be a season because of the ongoing pandemic was a real concern. When the PIAA gave all fall sports teams the green light...
Plum volleyball turns to extensive experience for rebound
The Plum girls volleyball team made the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs in 2017, going 7-5 in section play. The past two years, however, were not as successful as a young group both seasons struggled to find its way in the section and went a combined 3-21. But with a wealth...
Plum keeps rolling, upends No. 2 Mars
Plum averaged 42 points in Greater Allegheny Conference victories over Greensburg Salem and Indiana. The Mustangs kept rolling Friday with seven more touchdowns in a 49-21 victory over Mars in a conference clash of undefeated teams at the Mars Athletic Complex. “We talked all week about the hype surrounding Mars...
Knoch’s Laura Greb claims 4th WPIAL singles title
Laura Greb is all alone in the history books of WPIAL girls tennis. Under sunny skies Friday afternoon at North Allegheny High School, the Knoch senior captured her fourth WPIAL Class AA singles championship. She swept two sets from South Park sophomore Nicole Kempton, 6-1, 6-3. “I am just at...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 3
Class 5A northeast Kiski Area (1-0, 0-0) at Penn Hills (0-2, 0-0) 7 p.m. Saturday, Yuhas-McGinley Stadium, Penn Hills Penn Hills won last year’s meeting in low-scoring fashion, 7-3, after the teams combined for 92 points in a 64-28 victory by the Indians in 2018. … In Kiski Area’s dramatic 36-35...
A-K Valley football players to watch in Week 3
Eryck Moore Plum, soph., RB/LB The Mustangs back has been opening eyes the past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder carried the ball nine times for 110 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Greensburg Salem. Last week, in a rout of Indiana, he picked up...
Plum girls soccer ready to stare down challengers
Plum girls soccer coach Jamie Stewart said his players understand they have bigger targets on their backs this season after making a run last year that produced a trip to the WPIAL Class AAA championship game at Highmark Stadium and the program’s first berth in the PIAA tournament. “We talk...
WPISL teams gearing up for stretch run
With four weeks of action left in the regular season, the varsity teams in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League are preparing for the stretch run to the playoffs. Seneca Valley, Peters Township, Montour, North Allegheny and North Hills swept doubleheaders from their competition Sunday. North Allegheny (6-0) remains the...
WVU announces no spectators for Oct. 3 football game against Baylor
After discussions with local and state officials, the West Virginia athletic department announced Monday the Mountaineers’ Big 12 Conference home opener against Baylor on Oct. 3 at Milan Puskar Stadium will be played without spectators. Athletic officials said with safety precautions being implemented amid the covid-19 pandemic, only essential game...
Top-ranked girls volleyball teams keep positions in coaches rankings
WPIAL girls volleyball competition turns to Week 2, and section races are heating up in the four classifications. The top-ranked teams in each class from last week’s preseason Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association top-10 poll — North Allegheny (Class AAAA), Franklin Regional (Class AAA), North Catholic (Class AA) and Bishop...
Alle-Kiski Valley flush with volleyball prowess
When Plum girls volleyball coach Kelsey Bonk observed her team’s senior night ceremony Thursday before a match with McKeesport, she was reminded of the potential for the season with a rather experienced squad. The Mustangs, who dropped to Class AAA in the offseason, feature eight seniors, including 6-foot-2 all-state middle...
Gateway runners stay dedicated to lowering times throughout season
While the PIAA and WPIAL wrangled with the decision to maintain the fall sports seasons or postpone them to 2021, the Gateway boys and girls cross country teams kept churning out miles to be ready to go when called upon. Veteran Gators coach Tom LaBuff said his runners have made...
Gateway volleyball adjusts to move to Class 4A
Gateway girls volleyball coach Phil Randolph said last season ended with a framework established that can lead to a turnaround in the program’s fortunes. “Last year was one of those things where the scoreboard didn’t really tell the honest story of our season,” said Randolph, whose Gators were 4-10 in...
Fox Chapel girls soccer enters new section with deep, talented roster
With 11 seniors and seven returning starters leading the way for the 2020 season, the Fox Chapel girls soccer team has its sights set on big things in Section 3-AAAA and beyond. “Our senior class is strong and dedicated, and we expect a high bar to be set at practice,”...
Low numbers force Riverview soccer teams to cancel seasons
The Riverview boys and girls varsity soccer teams were unable to overcome a numbers game that halted plans for the 2020 season, but boys coach Mickey Namey and girls coach Sean Abraham, along with athletic director Mario Rometo, are hopeful the teams and their players can return to competition in...
