Michael Love stories, Page 44
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 3
Player of the Week Devin Beattie Burrell, Sr., RB/LB Devin Beattie was questionable to play Friday against Valley after suffering an injury two weeks ago in the loss at Deer Lakes. But the bruising runner wasn’t going to stand on the sidelines and not play against the rival Vikings. Beattie...
Freeport girls soccer off to strong start despite heavy graduation losses
The Freeport girls soccer team earned a WPIAL playoff berth last year for the 10th season in a row. Only Plum, with 11, has a longer streak in the Alle-Kiski Valley. The Yellowjackets lost eight seniors from a team that finished second in a competitive Section 2-2A with 10 victories,...
Plum, Bethel Park remain undefeated in Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League play
Plum and Bethel Park are the only undefeated teams left after two weeks of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League season. Plum swept Seneca Valley on Sunday, 16-1 and 19-4, to move to 4-0. The Mustangs have outscored their opponents 67-9. Bethel Park is 3-0, scoring 35 runs and posting...
Burrell volleyball team hopes to keep momentum going with tough section schedule ahead
In starting 3-0 overall, 2-0 in Section 5-2A with victories over Ligonier Valley and the Neighborhood Academy, and earning a top-six finish against mostly higher-classification schools at Saturday’s Moon tournament, the Burrell girls volleyball team won 15 of 18 sets to start the season. The Bucs, senior 6-foot-3 middle hitter...
Coaches association releases latest WPIAL girls volleyball rankings
With section play in full swing, teams in all four WPIAL girls volleyball classifications are making their move with impact victories on the court. Others are hoping for bounce-back performances as the third week of section matches begins. North Allegheny (Class 4A), Hampton (Class 3A), Freeport (Class 2A) and Bishop...
Riverview cross country program ready to build on success
The Riverview boys and girls cross country teams ended last season at the PIAA state meet in Hershey after strong finishes at the WPIAL championships at Cal (Pa.). The returning Raiders runners, along with some new blood, hope to build off that successful ending to the 2022 season. Coach Palma...
Led by PIAA qualifier Kefimba Cisse, Gateway runners off to strong start
Kefimba Cisse is on a mission for his senior season on the Gateway boys cross country team. Veteran Gators coach Tom LaBuff sees it and hopes Cisse can take advantage of the prime running opportunities in his final varsity year. Cisse finished in the lead pack at the season-opening Gateway...
Gateway golfers show early improvement in quest for playoff berth
Noah Colberg shot a nine-hole round of 50 in a match Aug. 16 at Willowbrook Country Club. It was the Gateway senior’s highest round of the season. Just a couple of weeks later, he owned a trio of rounds in the 30s with a pair of 38s against both Penn...
High expectations remain for Riverview runners
The Riverview boys and girls cross country teams ended last season at the PIAA cross country meet in Hershey after strong finishes at the WPIAL championships at Cal (Pa.). The returning Raiders runners, along with some new blood, hope to build off that successful ending to the 2022 season. Coach...
Gabriel Powell, Aiden Steinagle return to lead Plum runners
When Connor Pivirotto and Nate Mienke, the top runners the last couple of years for the Plum boys cross country team, graduated following the 2022 season, a pair of rising seniors with experience — Gabriel Powell and Aiden Steinagle — were ready to take the reins of the team and...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Kiski Area, Springdale, Burrell get 1st wins
Kiski Area and Burrell swallowed the bitter pill of defeat the first two weeks, but the Cavaliers and Bucs experienced the thrill of putting one in the win column Friday. Cavaliers junior Carson Heinle broke out with three touchdown passes, more than 180 yards through the air and some dramatics...
Freeport girls soccer team withstands late pressure by Burrell
The Freeport girls soccer team scored a goal in each half of its Section 2-2A matchup Wednesday evening at rival Burrell. The second tally, a shot from sophomore Peyton Los from 25 yards out with 26 minutes left in the second half, proved to be the game winner. Burrell cut...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 2
Player of the week Aaran Randolph Highlands, Sr., QB/DB The Golden Rams moved to 2-0 on the young season with a 33-20 victory at Blackhawk last Friday. Highlands senior dual-threat quarterback Aaran Randolph collected 265 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. A 10-yard scoring run broke a 13-13 tie...
Valley, Burrell players amped up for annual ‘Battle of the Bypass’
Mark Adams served as an assistant at Valley under former coach Muzzy Colosimo in 2018 and 2019, and he was able to get a taste of the “Battle of the Bypass” rivalry between the Vikings and Burrell. “The schools are just three miles apart, and everybody knows everybody,” said Adams,...
Kiski Area’s Johns excited to commit to Shippensburg for basketball
Abbie Johns still feels the excitement and also the relief. A couple of weeks after making a basketball verbal commitment to Division II Shippensburg of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the Kiski Area senior two-sport standout continues to carry the momentum of her decision in the early stages of her...
Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League kicks off 2023 season
Plum, North Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon earned doubleheader sweeps during the opening Sunday of varsity action in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League. Plum outscored North Hills, 32-4, in a dominant opening performance. North Allegheny, the WPISL runner-up to Shaler last year, won two from Hempfield, 14-3 and 7-5, while...
Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League teams post victories in Week 3 games
The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League is well into its 2023 season as teams in all four classifications completed Week 3 games Sunday. This fall marks the 10th anniversary of the WPYFL, the largest youth football league in Pennsylvania with 44 member organizations in 43 school districts covering seven counties....
Burrell girls soccer aims to keep momentum going vs. Freeport after long layoff
The Burrell girls soccer team kicked off its season Aug. 26 with a 2-1 victory over District 10 Class 5A McDowell at the South Park tournament. One day later, the Bucs toppled defending District 10 Class 2A champion Fort Le Boeuf, 3-2, for a 2-0 start and a great deal...
Playoff milestone within reach for Gateway boys soccer
The Gateway boys soccer team, and specifically the senior class, can make history this year. No other Gators class has made the WPIAL playoffs all four of its seasons. Gateway qualified for the playoffs from 1986-88, but the 1989 seniors were denied a fourth consecutive trip. The Gators players are...
Gateway girls volleyball to lean on deep lineup in quest for return trip to playoffs
The Gateway girls volleyball team was happy to finally kick off its regular-season competition schedule Tuesday (Sept. 5) against Woodland Hills after several weeks of workouts in the gym leading to the past three weeks of official season practices. The Gators didn’t have a scrimmage, and second-year coach Nicole Riley...
A-K Valley high school football notebook: Highlands’ Randolph equals WPIAL record
Aaran Randolph tied a WPIAL record Friday. The Highlands senior dual-threat quarterback made his mark in the fourth quarter at Blackhawk to help secure the Golden Rams’ 33-20 victory and a 2-0 record. With his team leading 20-13 in the final quarter and the offense backed up to the shadow...
Riverview boys soccer to count on young roster
For the second time in three years, the Riverview boys soccer team is youthful with no seniors on the roster. But coach Mickey Namey said that the mix of experience and talent new to the varsity program is making strides in the early part of the season. “I am really...
Plum boys soccer team learns from early setback
The Plum boys soccer team had a most interesting, and exhausting, opening to its season Aug. 26. Kiski Area pulled out of the Mustangs’ kickoff tournament which also featured West Allegheny and Upper St. Clair. It created a void that the coaches of Plum, West A and USC worked to...
Deer Lakes dominates rival Burrell in shutout
Last year’s matchup between Burrell and Deer Lakes went to overtime before the Bucs pulled out a six-point victory. An extra session wasn’t needed Friday in the latest edition of the series between the area rivals. Deer Lakes scored three times in the first half, added two TDs in the...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 1
Player of the week Luke Bombalski Highlands, Sr., RB/LB After missing the final four games last season, Bombalski wanted to make a statement at Ambridge last Friday that he was back and healthy. He got Highlands’ scoring started with a 2-yard run in the first quarter and added a pair...
