Michael Love stories, Page 130
Alle-Kiski high school notebook: Knoch, Freeport volleyball maintain spots in poll
Knoch and Freeport maintain their positions in the latest Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s top-10 poll released Monday. The Knights, semifinalists at Saturday’s Canon-McMillan Tournament, stay in first place in the Class AAA, holding off No. 2 Thomas Jefferson and No. 3 Laurel Highlands, and Kiski Area received votes this...
Alle-Kiski Valley Campus Clippings: Pitt’s Tre Tipton gets on track
Tre Tipton’s second-quarter 3-yard scoring reception from Kenny Pickett in Pitt’s 30-14 season-opening loss to ACC rival Virginia on Saturday was the second of his collegiate career. The redshirt senior from Apollo-Ridge, who battled through injury during his first three seasons with the Panthers, first found the end zone as...
Freeport football team reflects on fortitude after rally comes up short
Freeport football coach John Gaillot was emotional Friday night when asked to evaluate his team’s performance in a 35-27 loss to Big East Conference rival Derry. The Trojans owned three-touchdown leads on two occasions in the second half, but the visiting Yellowjackets responded with two fourth-quarter scores and had the...
Huss tops 200 yards in Derry’s Big East win against Freeport
Justin Huss was a workhorse for Derry on Friday in the team’s Big East opener against Freeport. The senior running back logged 33 carries and totaled 261 yards and four touchdowns as the Trojans held off a fourth-quarter Yellowjackets rally for a 35-27 victory. “We knew going in that Freeport...
Alle-Kiski cross country teams, individuals ready to make their mark
Christian Fitch began last season with a win at the Gateway Invitational. The Fox Chapel senior cross country runner capped it with a third-place finish in the WPIAL Class AAA race before placing fifth at the PIAA meet in Hershey. Fitch hopes for a similar start to this season as...
Freeport graduate Logan Thimons ready for increased role at WVU
When new West Virginia football coach Neal Brown and his staff came to Morgantown from Troy in January, Logan Thimons was quick to do his research. The Freeport graduate and Mountaineers redshirt junior fullback wanted to know how he would fit into the new offense and how fullbacks were used...
A-K Valley football players to watch in Week 1
Seth Fischbach Burrell, sr., WR/DB The big-play Bucs veteran made himself known on both sides of the ball in Friday’s Week Zero win over Valley. He caught Burrell’s first touchdown pass, a 56-yarder from Alex Arledge, and finished with four receptions for 109 yards. He made a defensive impact with...
A-K Valley high school football don’t-miss matchups for Week 1
Class 5A Big East Franklin Regional (0-0) at Plum (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Mustang Stadium, Plum Coaches: Greg Botta, Franklin Regional; Matt Morgan, Plum Players to watch: Anthony Bonacci, Franklin Regional (Sr., 6-1, 260, C/DT); Reid Martin, Plum (Jr., 5-9, 170, WR/DB) Last week: Franklin Regional (DNP); Plum 28, Highlands...
Plum native Bjorn Fratangelo falls in U.S. Open first round
Bjorn Fratangelo, a native of Plum, engaged in a four-set battle with France’s Gilles Simon on Tuesday in the first round of the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y., but the seven-year pro was not able to advance. Fratangelo, who picked up a wild-card entry to...
Knoch volleyball poised for WPIAL 3-peat, other A-K Valley teams ready to contend
When the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its preseason top-10 rankings Monday, two-time defending WPIAL Class AAA champion Knoch topped the list. With only one player – setter Kerrie Fitzpatrick – lost to graduation, the Knights are poised to make another run at WPIAL gold and return to the...
Volleyball coaches association releases WPIAL preseason rankingsVideo
The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its preseason top-10 rankings Monday, and all four classifications were rated. All 120 girls volleyball coaches in the WPIAL were able to vote in the poll ahead of Friday and Saturday’s season-opening matches and tournaments. Defending WPIAL and PIAA champion North Allegheny owns...
Plum boys soccer team eyes next step in playoffs
Expectations are high for the Plum boys soccer team. Eight starters are back from the squad that tied for third place in Section 3-4A last season. Co-captain Tyler Kolankowski said a section championship is attainable. But the senior forward knows it won’t be an easy task in one of the...
Plum girls soccer hopes for return to playoffs under new coach
Last season was one of change for the Plum girls soccer team as it moved from Class AAAA to Class AAA under the WPIAL’s biennial realignment process. The Mustangs settled in against new competition in a new section. The results were positive as they tied Trinity for second place in...
Upper St. Clair’s Josh Matheny earns silver at world junior swimming championships
Josh Matheny capped competition at the FINA World Junior (18 and under) Swimming Championship on Sunday with a silver medal as a part of the Team USA 400-meter medley relay. The American quartet finished with a time of 3:33.66, .47 seconds behind Russia (3:33.19) at the Danube Arena in Budapest,...
Knapp set for second round of U.S. Senior Amateur
Oakmont native Sean Knapp is set to tee off at 2:05 p.m. Sunday in the second round of stroke play at the U.S. Senior Amateur at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. The Hannastown Golf Club member shot a 76 (4 over) in Saturday’s first round and landed in...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Springdale enjoys ‘crazy, fun night’
Springdale and Deer Lakes didn’t play Week Zero games last year, so the teams decided to match up for the first time since 1993. Friday night’s contest turned out to be a classic battle that came down to late heroics. Legend Ausk and Demitri Fritch connected on a touchdown pass...
Apollo-Ridge defeats rival Leechburg in Week Zero matchupVideo
The Apollo-Ridge football team had payback on its mind after Leechburg won last year’s meeting to snap the Vikings’ eight-game winning streak in the rivalry series. Led by the hard running — and opportunistic defense — of Logan Harmon, Apollo-Ridge scored a 28-12 victory over the Blue Devils on Friday...
Plum’s Matolcsy hopes to build on solid sophomore season as 2-way playerVideo
Max Matolcsy led the Plum football team last year in receiving yards and touchdowns, total tackles and interceptions. He capped his sophomore season with Class 5A All-Foothills second-team honors at outside linebacker. But the numbers Matolcsy, along with the rest of the Mustangs, was most concerned with were the ones...
Upper St. Clair’s Josh Matheny captures 200 breaststroke gold at world championships
Josh Matheny is a world champion. The Upper St. Clair junior placed first in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke Friday at the FINA World Junior (18 and under) Swimming Championships at the Danube Arena in Budapest Hungary. Matheny, 16, swam to a time of 2 minutes, 9.40 seconds and took the...
Highlands boys soccer set to contend for postseason berth under 1st-year coach
The Highlands boys soccer team qualified for the WPIAL playoffs four straight seasons from 2001-04. The Golden Rams haven’t reached the postseason since. They missed out by one game in the Section 1-3A standings both last year and in 2017. They were edged by Indiana both times. But with nine...
Highlands girls soccer hungry after last year’s playoff near-miss
Two points. That’s all that separated the Highlands girls soccer team from a spot in the WPIAL Class AA playoffs last season. But the Golden Rams hope to change their fortunes this season and return to the postseason for the first time since 2016. “We have the desire to win....
Burrell grad Fantuzzo returns to coach basketball at alma mater
Mike Fantuzzo enjoyed a great deal of success as a member of the Burrell boys basketball team more than a decade ago. Now, he hopes to generate the same success as the program’s next head coach. The Burrell School Board on Tuesday hired Fantuzzo to replace Shawn Bennis, who resigned...
A-K Valley football players to watch in Week Zero
Jake Blumer Leechburg, sr., RB/OLB The Blue Devils hope to begin this season the way they kicked off last year — with a victory over rival Apollo-Ridge. Expect Blumer, Leechburg’s leading rusher last year, to be at the heart of the gameplan on both sides of the ball. Last year,...
A-K Valley high school football don’t-miss matchups for Week Zero
Nonconference Allderdice at Kiski Area 7 p.m. Friday at Richard J. Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township Last year: Allderdice, 6-5, 4-1 City League; Kiski Area, 3-8, 2-5 Class 5A Northern Conference Coaches: Jerry Haslett, Allderdice; Sam Albert, Kiski Area Players to watch: Solomon Johnston, Allderdice (Jr., 6-4, 325, OL/DL); Justin Hessom,...
Lessons learned should guide Fox Chapel girls soccer this season
Last season was a learning experience for the Fox Chapel girls soccer team. As the Foxes battled in a new section against some of the top teams in Class 4A, injuries to several key players tested their mettle. Coach Peter Torres said several younger players got opportunities to show what...
