High School category, Page 376
Greensburg Salem girls rout Ringgold in opening round of tip-off tournament
Rick Klimchock’s love affair with basketball continues. The veteran high school coach began his 27th season on the bench Friday night with another victory, as host Greensburg Salem routed Ringgold, 71-12, in the opening round of the Lady Lions tip-off tournament. Junior Regan Kerr led four Greensburg Salem players in...
Belle Vernon runs over Hickory, headed back to PIAA title game
Belle Vernon football coach Matt Humbert said he preached to his players not to look ahead. That will change this week. That’s because the Leopards have reached the final game of the season for the second consecutive year by running over Hickory, 42-16, on Friday at North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium....
Greensburg Central Catholic boys outlast Penn-Trafford in 2OT for win in opener
While he was far from overweight, Franco Alvarez worked on slimming down in the offseason so he could be faster on the basketball court. Looking fit and trim, the 6-foot-5 senior forward from Greensburg Central Catholic helped his team melt off a fourth-quarter deficit and get past Penn-Trafford, 72-63, in...
Plum girls basketball team starts season with victory over Freeport
Last year’s girls basketball season opener between Plum and Freeport at the Freeport Tip-Off Tournament went down to the wire with Mustangs combo guard/forward Riley Stephans hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer in her freshman varsity debut. Plum didn’t need any late-game heroics in Friday’s rematch with the Yellowjackets at...
Burrell’s 1st girls wrestling team ready to debut
With high school girls wrestling growing at such a rapid rate in Pennsylvania and throughout the country, Burrell didn’t want to be left on the outside looking in. Burrell is the latest area school to give an affirmative vote to sponsor a girls wrestling program, having finalized the decision at...
Riverview boys basketball rolls past Valley in opener behind Jack Loughren’s 18 points
Jack Loughren missed all of last year’s basketball season with a leg injury. The Riverview senior guard felt good in his return to game action Friday at the Freeport Tip-Off at Freeport Middle School. Loughren scored 18 points and added eight rebounds to help pace a balanced effort as the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 30, 2023
High schools Basketball Boys AHN/Highmark Tip-Off Tournament Friday Altoona at Baldwin, 5 p.m. Chartiers Valley at Peters Township, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Altoona at Peters Township, noon Chartiers Valley at Baldwin, 1:30 p.m. Aquinas Academy Tournament Friday Pittsburgh Christian Academy vs. Portersville Christian, 7 p.m. Cheswick Christian at Aquinas Academy, 8:30...
High school roundup for Nov. 30, 2023: Nolan Murphy nets hat trick in South Fayette win
Nolan Murphy had a hat trick and added an assist to lead South Fayette to a 7-2 victory over Fox Chapel in PIHL Class 2A hockey Thursday night. Robert Chiappetta finished with four assists for South Fayette (4-1-1). Liam Wiseman and Grady Cullen had a goal and assist each for...
Trib HSSN 2023-24 WPIAL Class A girls basketball preseason breakdown
Union enjoyed the best girls basketball season in program history a year ago, winning WPIAL and PIAA Class A championships and building a record of 23-6. Pennsylvania’s Class A coach of the year, Rob Nogay, returns a pair of all-state players as the Scotties will try to defend their titles....
Trib HSSN 2023-24 WPIAL Class A boys basketball preseason breakdown
The Saints came marching into last season with high hopes and ended the campaign with a golden sweep of WPIAL and PIAA championships. However, the offseason saw plenty of changes for an Imani Christian team that started all underclassmen and looked like it would be a lock for several years...
PIAA football semifinal previews for Dec. 1-2, 2023
Final Four weekend is set in all six classifications in the PIAA football playoff — the final stop on the March to Mechanicsburg. For four WPIAL champions, Friday is the first step in the state playoffs as Aliquippa in 4A, Belle Vernon in 3A, Beaver Falls in 2A and Fort...
Starting 5: A primer for 2023-24 boys basketball season in the A-K Valley
The WPIAL boys basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in the Alle-Kiski Valley 5 Storylines New faces at the top: Four teams — Freeport (Rich Macura), Leechburg (Andrew McDermott), St. Joseph (Logan Acri) and Valley (Ed Jenkins) —...
Starting 5: A primer for 2023-24 girls basketball season in the A-K Valley
The WPIAL girls basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in the Alle-Kiski Valley” 5 storylines New bench leaders: Apollo-Ridge (Jeff Zelonka), Freeport (Mallory Ketterer), Knoch (Shane McGraw), St. Joseph (Geoff Dutelle) and Springdale (Mike Dudjak) begin the season...
Starting 5: A primer for 2023-24 girls basketball season in Westmoreland County
The WPIAL girls basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in Westmoreland County: 5 storylines • It could be a long and interesting postseason for at least two area teams. The question is, which one will go farther, Norwin...
Starting 5: A primer for 2023-24 boys basketball season in Westmoreland County
The WPIAL boys basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in Westmoreland County: 5 storylines • Several bruisers on the low block appear to be opting out this season. Some local football players decided to throw their basketball shoes...
Checking in on past winners of the Bill Fralic Memorial Award
The Bill Fralic Memorial Award for the top interior lineman in the WPIAL will be presented to this year’s recipient during a pancake breakfast Saturday morning at Longue Vue Club in Verona. The award, named after the legendary Penn Hills alum who invented the pancake block and starred at Pitt...
Through the years: Aspinwall claimed 1943 Class B championship
Each week during the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch took a look back at the players, teams and events that are part of local scholastic history. We hope our readers have enjoyed this feature. With the high school football season coming to an end, it’s time to...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 29, 2023
High schools Bowling WPIBL Wednesday’s results Boys Armstrong 5, Burrell 2 Blackhawk 7, Beaver Falls 0 High series: MJ Popovich 670 Carlynton 7, Neighborhood Academy 0 Hempfield 7, Greensburg Central Catholic 0 St. Joseph 7, Apollo-Ridge 0 High series: Daniel Staniszewski (SJ) 459, Brendan Wolfgang (AR) 363 Girls Apollo-Ridge 7,...
Unheralded QB runs his family’s business — Aliquippa’s offense — with championship efficiency
In a jubilant locker room where the players were even louder than the cranked-up music, Aliquippa quarterback Quentin Goode paused to think about the WPIAL football title he’d just won and why it felt different than his first two. There were countless answers he could’ve given Friday at Acrisure Stadium....
Trib 10: WPIAL champs chasing state gold occupy top 6 spots in power rankings
The WPIAL championships are all over and six teams have hoisted District 7 gold, quickly celebrated and now have their attention on the PIAA postseason and the golden broom as they attempt to sweep district and state crowns. A year ago, Pine-Richland in 5A and Belle Vernon in 3A were...
Trib HSSN 2023-24 WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball preseason breakdown
They were celebrating in Shenango when the Wildcats won the school’s first WPIAL girls basketball championship last March. Could another first-time champ be crowned in Class 2A at the Petersen Events Center this spring? There’s certainly a good chance of that. Four-sport Freedom star Shaye Bailey was sidelined for the...
Trib HSSN 2023-24 WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball preseason breakdown
Aliquippa winning a WPIAL championship is not breaking news anymore, although the Quips’ golden run in Class 2A last season was the school’s first district title in seven years. What raised some eyebrows was the team that finished with silver, as Northgate enjoyed a breakout season and reached the WPIAL...
Belle Vernon faces Hickory with a trip to the PIAA Class 3A championship game on the line
PIAA Class 3A WEST REGIONAL (10-1) HICKORY Hornets (11-2) v. (7-1) BELLE VERNON AREA Leopards (10-1) 7 P.M. FRIDAY North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium, Wexford The Boy Scouts of America’s motto is “Be prepared.” That’s the concept Belle Vernon football coach Matt Humbert is following in advance of the PIAA Western...
Mt. Pleasant wrestler Jamison Poklembo has a full trophy case, but something’s missing
Mt. Pleasant senior Jamison Poklembo has succeeded at almost every level of wrestling. He was a WPIAL champion at 132 pounds as a freshman, finished second at 133 as a junior and third at 138 as a sophomore. He’s qualified for the PIAA individual championships three consecutive years, but he’s...
WPIAL Class 2A section breakdowns for 2023-24 season
Section 1 Reigning WPIAL champion Burgettstown (17-2) looks for back-to-back titles by returning nine starters. Heading the list of returnees are three PIAA qualifiers: senior Parker Sentipal (47-7), senior Gaven Suica (43-13) and senior heavyweight Joe Baronick (41-15). … McGuffey (11-3) looks to challenge for the section title. The Highlanders...
