High School category, Page 241
2-time defending state champ Belle Vernon fitting new pieces into place
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Due to production scheduling conflicts, the Laurel Highlands and Ringgold previews will appear later this month. Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert always has been loath to...
Burrell’s Steve Hasson battling back from injury to lead Bucs offense
As the quarterback in Burrell’s Slot-T offense, Steve Hasson is the conductor. He isn’t asked to throw the ball as much as most high school quarterbacks, having only 69 pass attempts last season, but he orchestrates the play calls, making reads to get the handoff to the right ball carrier....
400-meter champ Jerry Davis adds speed to Greensburg Central Catholic roster
Jerry Davis played at Serra Catholic the past two football seasons but did not experience the WPIAL playoffs. Serra qualified both years, but Davis did not play in the postseason. He saw limited time as a freshman, and last year he could not participate in a first-round game because of...
New coach hopes to help Gateway girls volleyball build on success
The first time new Gateway girls volleyball coach Erica Bosh expected see her players on the court was Aug. 12 at the first preseason practice at Gateway’s Furrie Sports Complex. The Keystone Oaks and Pitt-Greensburg graduate and volleyball product officially came on board at the beginning of August as the...
After reaching PIAA tournament, expectations high for Quaker Valley girls volleyball
The Quaker Valley girls volleyball team is looking to hit the jackpot this season. “I’m looking forward to getting started with this group,” coach Mike Vavrek said. “It’s always fun to see the newer girls compete and work every day. As long as they continue to develop, I think we...
Quaker Valley to induct dominant 1968 football team into hall of fame
The 1967 football team was inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. It is only appropriate for the 1968 squad to also receive HOF recognition. Quaker Valley’s talented 1968 football team will be honored for its achievements and inducted into the HOF. The QV Sports HOF...
Penn-Trafford girls golf team ready to roll
Things haven’t started as planned for the Penn-Trafford girls golf team. Their first two matches of the season – against Greensburg Central Catholic and Connellsville – were canceled to the dismay of coach Ed Herbst. “We’re a young team and I want to see how they perform in a match,”...
Penn Hills boys soccer team looks to build chemistry under new coach
The Penn Hills boys soccer program will need time to grow together. First-year coach Kevin Truman started an under-19 team over the past few months to allow players to gain experience. With a roster that included players as young as 13 and some 16 or 17, the team was able...
Ahead of senior tennis season, Quaker Valley’s Kristen Close hosting empowering women program
A free program entitled “Empowering Women Around the World” will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Sewickley Valley YMCA Walter J. Brannon Community Center. MePower United of Sewickley, Women of the Cloud Forest of Pittsburgh and Local Women’s Handicraft of Nepal will present the program. Kirsten Close, Amy...
West Mifflin brings star-studded roster up to Class 4A
The West Mifflin Titans are moving up to Class 4A, and they’re bringing two of the WPIAL’s top players with them. After advancing to the 3A playoff quarterfinals last year, the Titans will compete with the likes of perennial 4A powers McKeesport and Mars in the Greater Allegheny Conference. They...
Knoch hopes to build on breakthrough season
Knoch football experienced a renaissance last season. After nearly a decade of playoff misses, the Knights broke through by contending for a conference title and getting back to the WPIAL postseason. There’s plenty of players returning and some new additions, and they’ll look to repeat the same success while moving...
With young roster, Indiana expects growing pains
Indiana coach Brad Wright is preaching patience heading into the 2024 season. “We’re really going to have a young football team,” said Wright, who’s entering his third season with the Indians. “It will be a growth year for us. … We just ask for patience and understanding that we’re building...
‘Phenomenal’ growth spurt lifts Hampton’s hopes
The Hampton Talbots return their starting quarterback from last season, but you might not recognize him. Second-team all-conference QB Porter Kelly hit an offseason growth spurt that transformed the senior, lifting the Talbots’ hopes along with it. “He was a little guy,” Hampton coach Steve Sciullo said. “He looks like...
Tough nonconference schedule to sharpen Mars for playoff push
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Due to production scheduling conflicts, the McKeesport preview will appear later this month. Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz prefers a tough nonconference schedule to prepare the Fightin’...
Position switch has Apollo-Ridge’s Mackintosh eager for new season
Corey Mackintosh was a stalwart at inside linebacker last year for Apollo-Ridge. The 5-foot-11, 210-pounder also worked in at defensive end. But a switch in position to outside linebacker in the offseason has the Vikings senior excited to see how he can contribute to what he and his teammates hope...
Norwin grad Cam Auld set to be named boys basketball coach at alma mater
It looks like Cam Auld is coming home. Norwin will vote Monday to hire Auld as boys basketball coach, according to school board agenda. A Norwin alum and former basketball player for the Knights, the 26-year-old Auld has been the boys coach at Greensburg Salem for the last two seasons,...
Volleyball star, WPIAL championship team headline Pine-Richland hall of fame class
Jamel (Nicholas) Debri hasn’t been back to Pine-Richland since she graduated nearly two decades ago, but before going to Notre Dame, she left her imprint on the Rams’ volleyball program. Debri was a standout on Pine-Richland’s only state championship volleyball team in 2005 and is one of the members of...
7-on-7 competition goes well for Franklin Regional
Franklin Regional coach Lance Getsy isn’t making any preseason predictions based on his team’s performance in 7-on-7 passing competitions, but he sees progress in the repetitions and value in the effort. Franklin Regional had a shot at winning Pool A of the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial 7-on-7...
Hampton boys golf team welcomes new look
Hampton first-year golf coach Terry Hales has much in common with his golfers this season. Almost all of them are new to the Talbots. Hales, who replaced longtime coach Bruce Steckel, inherits a roster that returns only one golfer from a 5-11 team. “I’m just really excited and looking forward...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: With pads on, ‘it’s the start of a new year’
After a week of “heat” practices and noncontact drills, WPIAL football teams can begin hitting in full pads Monday with the official start of practice. That means the start of the regular season is less than two weeks away, with Week Zero games set to kick off Aug. 23. Teams...
TE Mac Bresnahan wants to be top target in Franklin Regional passing game
When Franklin Regional needed to make a big play in the passing game the past two seasons, Ayden Hudock delivered. Hudock caught 42 passes for 957 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022 and had 48 catches for 803 yards and 11 scores in 2023. But Hudock has graduated, and senior...
Hempfield QB Dom Detruf hoping to be cleared after checkup by cardiologist
Hempfield senior quarterback Dom Detruf will see a cardiologist Tuesday for further evaluation of his acute myocarditis, an inflamed heart condition that could limit his participation in training camp and beyond. The cardiologist is Dr. Aryan Aiyer, who also treats Pittsburgh Steelers players. Detruf participated in heat acclimation week, which...
Norwin coach leads title-winning U.S. effort at Fargo nationals
Kyle Martin doesn’t make the annual trek to Fargo, N.D. for the scenery, the Badlands or props from a movie with the town’s namesake. The Norwin wrestling coach travels across the country to win championships while allowing his athletes to experience the thrill of high-level competition. Martin led the Pennsylvania...
After eventful offseason, new coach out to continue Aliquippa’s tradition of excellence
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Mike Warfield surprised many this summer when he stepped away as Aliquippa’s football coach, but his successor was preparing for that day for a while. Warfield,...
Led by versatile Brock Cornell, West Allegheny determined to finish stronger
Over the last couple of years, West Allegheny has shown signs of a potential return to the program’s championship ways. Unfortunately, those signs have been fleeting. The Indians went 6-5 last season, falling in their last three games, including the first round of the Class 4A playoffs to Latrobe, 39-7....
