High School category, Page 243
Fox Chapel putting in work to end losing streak
Fox Chapel senior offensive tackle Blake Kuhn believes the Foxes have put in plenty of work to halt a lengthy losing streak. But for the time and effort to build into something greater, Fox Chapel needs victories. The Foxes last won a game in 2021 when they upended Upper St....
In transition year, Shaler out to earn respect
Joe Rispoli doesn’t want anyone to think the Shaler football team’s transition to a new generation of players will mean a dip in performance level. Rispoli represents what the Titans hope can lead to success. They have a number of versatile players who can handle many jobs. Rispoli, a senior...
Plum football again adjusts to new set of conference opponents
The last three realignment cycles have brought change for the Plum football team. They went from Class 4A in 2020-21, to 5A in 2022-23 and are in 5A again this cycle, but they have an almost brand new slate of conference opponents for which to prepare. After being in the...
With Julian Dugger era over, Penn Hills looks for new cast of stars
Turning the page to a new quarterback wasn’t going to be easy for the Penn Hills football program. For the previous four seasons, the Indians could depend on Julian Dugger, now a freshman at Pitt, to lead the offense. Dugger passed for 4,984 yards and ran for 1,939 yards during...
Fueled by large senior class, North Hills eyes return to playoffs
There’s a little bit of Mike Tomlin in North Hills coach Pat Carey’s mentality. Tomlin’s motto, “The standard is the standard,” is certainly one that Carey has adopted for the Indians football program. In 2023, he felt as if the program didn’t live up to that mantra. “We only had...
Upper St. Clair’s Tyler Robbins commits to Miami (Ohio)
Upper St. Clair’s Tyler Robbins, a 6-foot-10 forward who won a WPIAL basketball title last winter, committed Tuesday to Miami (Ohio). The rising senior announced his college decision on social media. Robbins also listed offers from Duquesne, Robert Morris, Harvard, Northeastern, Kent State, Pepperdine, Manhattan, St. Francis (Pa.), Loyola (Md.)...
Norwin boys soccer team gets to work in defense of WPIAL championship
Veteran boys soccer coach Scott Schuchert had a message for his Norwin players when they lined up to run sprints during a conditioning workout this week at the Turner Valley Soccer Complex. “Winning isn’t fun.” Say what, coach? At that moment, he could have replaced “winning” with “running” and it...
Seneca Valley looks to rebound from rare last-place finish with experienced team
The Seneca Valley football team was down last fall and out of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs for the second straight year. However, the Raiders’ stay in the basement might be a short one with higher expectations this fall for a team that finished winless in 6A and 3-7 overall....
Led by QB Tristyn Tavares, Norwin returns to Class 6A
A summer paving project caused some temporary parking inconveniences at Norwin Knights Stadium. For workouts, football players had to park high atop the field at the middle school and walk down the hill. Similarly, Norwin is back in the WPIAL’s highest classification for football. The Knights hope for a transition...
Hempfield set to take on Class 6A schedule again
Year 2 appears to have greeted Nick Keefer with more structure and the feeling of a greater sense of eagerness among his lot of 80-plus football players. “We have great kids here, and they are always ready to go to work,” said Keefer, the coach at Hempfield. “We were together...
North Allegheny chasing historic WPIAL 3-peat
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. Last November, North Allegheny tied Pine-Richland and Central Catholic as the only teams to repeat as WPIAL champions in Class 6A football. “The dedication to everyone...
Central Catholic retools in effort to get back on top in Class 6A
After years as a top assistant coach at Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley, Ryan Lehmeier finally got the chance to be a high school football head coach last year, taking over the storied program at Central Catholic. The former North Hills quarterback led the Vikings to first place and a regular...
Canon-McMillan looks to regroup, not rebuild in Class 6A
The current senior class at Canon-McMillan has an overall football record of 15-18 in the last three seasons. While that doesn’t scream district elite, these seniors have never missed the WPIAL playoffs, which speak volumes over where this program was more than a decade ago when the Big Macs won...
Another new coach looks to return Mt. Lebanon to winning ways
In the 52 years between 1967-2018, Mt. Lebanon had four football head coaches. Now one of the storied programs in WPIAL football will have its third head coach in three years since winning the school’s first PIAA championship in 2021. Bob Palko left the school after four years following the...
Sad day at Allderdice as football team takes practice field without late coach Jerry Haslett
Mark Matson’s morning started with a scavenger hunt of sorts as the Allderdice assistant coach searched through boxes for the football team’s practice jerseys. “’Has’ liked to say, ‘Every day is an adventure,’” Matson said. “Today’s adventure was finding the practice jerseys.” There were many moments Monday when thoughts turned...
Norwin softball standout rolls with changes, commits to Maine
The build-up to the decision was stressful. The reasoning behind it, though, made perfect sense. Recent Norwin graduate Bailey Snowberger had her future plans locked in: Go to Holy Cross, blend in and continue her excellent play as a shortstop at the college level. Kimberly Stiles, the coach at Holy...
Meet the 2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team
Over the past month, staff writers at the TribLive High School Sports Network have profiled the 25 players selected to the Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. Now that the high school football season has officially begun with Monday’s start of heat acclimatization week, here’s a look at each player...
Notable changes to WPIAL swimming, diving alignment for 2024-25, 2025-26 seasons
The WPIAL released new section alignments for the next two-year cycle in all sports, and changes will be implemented starting this fall. This summer, the Tribune-Review will break down changes for each of the WPIAL sports. Here is a look at the upcoming WPIAL 2024-25 and 2025-26 swimming and diving...
2024 TribHSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Aliquippa’s Tiqwai Hayes
Four-star Penn State commit Tiqwai “Tikey” Hayes is expecting to ride out as a back-to-back state champion at Aliquippa. Hayes said another state championship is the only thing on his mind for his senior season. “Another state championship is the expectation,” Hayes said. “Win states, or it’s a bust. That’s...
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Bishop Canevin’s Daiveon Taylor
Three-star linebacker and West Virginia commit Daiveon Taylor is a problem any offense will have trouble blocking. Committing early to the Mountaineers was a no-brainer for Taylor, a junior at Bishop Canevin. “They made everything feel like home,” Taylor said. “Every time I go up there, it feels like I’m...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Football season begins with ‘heat week’
A PIAA custom since its inception in 2013, “heat week” is the unofficial start to high school football training camp, and it opens Monday around the state. Players, who will don helmets and shoulder pads but can’t hit, are required to attend five consecutive days of heat acclimatization before the...
McKeesport sophomore Kemon Spell gives Penn State 1st commitment from 2027 class
McKeesport sophomore Kemon Spell can’t sign with for two more years, but the highly recruited running back and defensive back has already picked his college. Spell committed Friday to Penn State, making him the school’s first commitment in the 2027 class. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder had a growing list of Division...
PIAA drops appeals court fight vs. Aliquippa football; school’s lawsuit continues
The PIAA has ended its appeals-court efforts to move Aliquippa football into a higher classification this fall. The PIAA on Friday notified Commonwealth Court that it no longer wanted to appeal the injunction issued by a Beaver County judge that kept Aliquippa in 4A for the upcoming season. The decision...
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: West Mifflin’s Jaiden Brown-Demery
Jaiden Brown-Demery is taking nothing for granted as he enters his senior season at West Mifflin. The 6-foot-4, 315-pound lineman missed his entire sophomore season after suffering an ACL injury. He didn’t return until the fourth game of last season against Ringgold, but the feeling of getting back on the...
New coach set to lead Sewickley Academy boys golf team
Sewickley Academy’s Severin Harmon is the reigning WPIAL Class 2A champion in boys tennis. He’d like to add another prestigious title to his resume this fall, joining Sewickley grads Jason Li (2015), J.F. Aber (2019) and Tim Fitzgerald (2020) as WPIAL individual golf champions. “Personally, my goal is to improve...
