Michael Love stories, Page 30

The Freeport girls volleyball team continued the storied tradition of the program in 2022, winning its 18th straight section title, its seventh WPIAL title since 2010, and the second state championship (2017) in school history. Yellowjackets head coach Tom Phillips said many people had a hand in making last season...

Kefimba Cisse likes to run at White Oak Park. The Gateway senior won the Class 3A boys division at the 45-team Bald Eagle Invitational there Oct. 7 with a time of 16 minutes, 14.11 seconds. He was fourth overall with three boys from Class 2A and Class A schools as...

Justin Evans is no stranger to the Gateway hockey program. He started coaching with the developmental team (ages 8-10) a half-decade ago and then served as the middle school coach for two years before moving up the JV team as an assistant through last year under former head coach Shawn...

Kiski Area football players, coaches and fans witnessed a Laurel Highlands football player being carted off the field to an area medical facility after a collision late in a Sept. 8 nonconference game with the Cavaliers at Richard Dilts Stadium. Player safety remained on the minds of several of those...

PA Milesplit, a website which tracks and reports on cross country teams throughout the state, lists five teams as the primary contenders for the four PIAA qualifying spots from WPIAL boys Class A. Riverview is in that top grouping, and coach Palma Ostrowski said the team is looking strong as...

Gabriel Powell has the PIAA cross country championships on his mind as the days become fewer and fewer before the WPIAL’s top races of the year take center stage Oct. 26 at White Oak Park. The Plum senior finished 32nd at last year’s WPIAL Class 3A meet at Cal (Pa.),...

After a lopsided shutout loss to rival Freeport last season, Knoch wanted to return the favor Friday at Knights Stadium in the latest installment of the battle for the Traveling Pike Trophy. The Knights held a one-score lead at the break, but two touchdowns in the first minute of the...

The final weekend of the regular season for the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League is here, and it comes down to the final few games to determine the regular-season champ. West Allegheny owns a 10-2 record and takes on Baldwin (1-9) in a doubleheader Sunday. North Allegheny is nipping at...

The Plum girls soccer team clinched its fifth straight outright section championship Wednesday evening at Mustangs Stadium. But the Mustangs needed overtime to get the victory. A controversial penalty call on a Franklin Regional defender in the box set up a penalty kick for Plum. Senior Ava Weleski set up...

Player of the week Jayden Floyd Leechburg, Jr., QB Floyd completed 15 of 28 passes for 230 yards, one of the highest yardage totals in the WPIAL for Week 6, in a loss to Jeannette on Friday. He completed a 73-yard pass to Tristan Zalenski down to the 1-yard line...

Eight and a half miles separate Knoch and Freeport high schools. But the history between the schools, including the Knights and Yellowjackets athletic teams, is much closer. Athletes on both sides know each other well from growing up next door, and each season builds on the tradition from past matchups....

The Freeport girls volleyball team hadn’t allowed a Section 5-2A foe to win a set through 10 matches. Derry hoped to be the first to do that Tuesday as the Trojans got a second crack at the Yellowjackets in their home gym. But Freeport had other ideas, and the No....

Plum and Kiski Area teams are no strangers to each other as the schools match up in multiple sports across fall, winter and spring. The Mustangs and Cavaliers girls volleyball teams continued that series Monday with a nonsection matchup at Kiski Area High School. With both teams hoping to build...

Frazier girls volleyball remained undefeated in Section 2-A last Thursday with a 3-1 win over California. The Commodores, also 11-1 overall, are the new No. 1 team in Class A as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its latest WPIAL girls volleyball rankings Monday morning. Serra Catholic (10-0, 8-0...

The Gateway boys soccer team needed almost the full 80 minutes, but a late penalty-kick goal from junior midfielder James LoCoco was the difference as the Gators topped Section 4-3A power Franklin Regional on Oct. 3 at home. The 3-2 victory avenged a 1-0 loss to the Panthers from Sept....

The process to hire a new varsity baseball coach at Gateway continues this month, but the program’s players, under the direction of several assistants from last spring, haven’t stopped gathering for workouts and fall games to stay sharp and on the same page with the 2024 season on their minds....

The Deer Lakes football team won its fifth game of the season Friday night and evened its Allegheny 6 Conference record at 1-1. The Lancers hope to move closer to a WPIAL Class 3A playoff spot when they visit East Allegheny (5-2, 2-0) on Friday. The Lancers gave up just...

When Rachel Satira was hired as head coach of the Plum girls volleyball team, she knew the team would be young with some growing to do to get to where it wanted to be. With just two returning starters and only four seniors, three of which owned prior playing time...

One day a couple of years ago, Olivia Bigger was delivering soccer kicks toward a goal from about the 40-yard line. A couple of Plum football coaches took notice of her booming boots. “They were impressed with my leg and asked me to try out,” Bigger said. “I told them...

Deer Lakes wasted no time getting on the board in its Allegheny 6 Conference matchup with Valley on Friday at Lancers Stadium. Junior Zach Grant took the opening kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown. The Lancers then took advantage of a Vikings turnover and converted for a two-score lead just...

Kiski Area senior Eliza Miller crushed her own Northmoreland Park course record Wednesday at the WPIAL Division 1, Section 4 cross country championship meet, finishing the 3.1-mile course in 18 minutes, 22.80 seconds. It was her fourth individual section title in as many attempts. She surpassed by 19 seconds her...

Player of the week Jake Cummings Leechburg, Jr., TE/LB Cummings carried the ball seven times for 31 yards and two touchdowns, caught an additional five passes for 91 yards and a score and converted two 2-point conversions Friday in Leechburg’s bounce-back win over Frazier. He also blocked a punt that...

Points were at a premium in the past two meetings between the Deer Lakes and Valley football teams. The Vikings and Lancers combined for 15 total points as Deer Lakes won 7-2 last year and 6-0 the year before. Vikings coach Mark Adams and Lancers coach Tim Burk expect a...

The Freeport girls volleyball team didn’t let visiting Deer Lakes gain any momentum in a Section 5-2A match Tuesday at Freeport Middle School. The Yellowjackets were impressive from the start and swept the Lancers, 3-0, with scores of 25-11, 25-5, and 25-4. “I think tonight was a very clean game...

The Plum and Latrobe girls soccer teams needed overtime to decide their Section 3-3A matchup Monday evening at Plum’s Mustangs Stadium. Freshman Emily Grubich made sure the homestanding Mustangs came away with the crucial three points. She raced down the middle of the field, possessed the ball after passes from...