High School category, Page 380
Back to back for Belle Vernon: Leopards shut out Avonworth in Class 3A title gameVideo
It wasn’t dazzling plays or finesse that propelled Belle Vernon to a championship this time. No, the Leopards got some dirt under their fingernails on the cold sod Friday at Acrisure Stadium, using a firm-handed defense to limit Avonworth in a 26-0 victory that produced a title repeat. This win...
WPIAL Class 2A final by the numbers: Beaver Falls 14, Steel Valley 12
Beaver Falls 14, Steel Valley 12 Beaver Falls 0-0-6-8 — 14 Steel Valley 6-0-0-6 — 12 Scoring summary SV: Donald Barksdale 13 run (kick failed) BF: Da’Sean Anderson 10 pass from Kadin Brickner (run failed) SV: Rashaun Hough 78 fumble return (kick failed) BF: Da’talian Beauford 4 run (Beauford run)...
Perfect 10: Beaver Falls wins WPIAL title as double-digit seed, beating Steel Valley in dramatic final
The magic playoff run continued for Beaver Falls. The 10th-seeded Tigers upset No. 1 Steel Valley, 14-12, in the WPIAL Class 2A championship game Friday at Acrisure Stadium. Senior running back Da’talian Beauford atoned for a costly fumble early in the fourth quarter by scoring on a 4-yard run with...
WPIAL Class A final by the numbers: Fort Cherry 42, South Side 28
Fort Cherry 42, South Side 28 Fort Cherry 6-22-7-7 — 42 South Side 7-7-7-7 — 28 Scoring summary FC: Matt Sieg 3 run (kick failed) SS: Brody Almashy 1 run (Mateja Pavlovich kick) SS: Andrew Corfield 3 run (Pavlovich kick) FC: Shane Cornali 35 pass from Sieg (Sieg run) FC:...
Fort Cherry on top: Rangers, QB Matt Sieg beat South Side to win program’s 1st WPIAL title
Louis Ryan was sporting a gray 1997 WPIAL football championship cutoff shirt that had clearly seen better days. The shirt was worn down by sweat and age, but the Fort Cherry middle linebacker wore his dad’s old shirt as a reminder of what they were working toward. Ryan and the...
With talent, experience, Norwin girls aim to be among WPIAL’s top contenders in Class 6A
With four starters and a number of key reserves back from a WPIAL and PIAA semifinal team, Norwin girls basketball is aging well. Aging like a fine … well, let the coach tell you. “You have different collections every year,” coach Brian Brozeski said. “The feels are always different. It’s...
Despite heavy graduation loss, Norwin boys basketball reloads to compete in Section 2-6A
With only one player back who saw varsity playing time and a roster scrubbed clean by graduation, the Norwin boys are rebuilding but not panicking. “Teams and players are a lot different in February than they are in November,” third-year coach Lance Maha said. “This doesn’t freak me out. “There...
Riverview boys put focus on winning close games in Section 3-2A
Riverview boys basketball’s fortunes came down to a few possessions last year. Tight losses to Clairton, Serra Catholic, Jeannette and Leechburg left the Raiders on the outside looking in when it came to the postseason. The goal for this season is to flip the results of those tight games while...
Bolstered by soccer team’s success, Riverview girls basketball team has high expectations
One day after playing in a state championship, several members of the Riverview girls soccer team showed up to basketball practice. Raiders coach Jill Catanzaro implored them to take the day off, but that’s not in their DNA. “Even a day probably wasn’t enough, because that was a long (soccer)...
With fun factor restored, Plum boys look to continue rebuilding process
Justin Walther focused on more than X’s and O’s in his first season as Plum’s boys basketball coach. “Last year, we tried to instill some fun in everything we were doing,” he said. “We brought some enthusiasm and tried to show the players that we really care about them.” Walther...
Through the years: In ’83, Plum’s defense delivered WPIAL gold
Each week throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look back at the games, players and events that have shaped local scholastic history. Two safeties in the final 3 minutes, 44 seconds of play gave Plum its first and, to date, only WPIAL football...
Replacing Tiffany Zelmore won’t be easy, but cupboard’s not bare for Mt. Pleasant girls
It’s not every season a coach has to replace an all-time talent, but Mt. Pleasant girls basketball’s Scott Giacobbi has that challenge in front of him this winter. Tiffany Zelmore, the second-leading scorer in program history, graduated last season after piling up 1,629 points over her four-year career. “You’re not...
With ground broken, new Mt. Pleasant boys coach turns focus to future
What has happened with Annie Malkowiak is a history-making achievement. But for now, she will file it under past history. Malkowiak is ready to live in the present as the groundbreaking new boys basketball coach at Mt. Pleasant. “I started watching film of last year’s team, and I turned it...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Linebackers lead Leopards
Matt Humbert describes his inside linebackers as having “nonstop motors.” “Relentless speed,” the coach from Belle Vernon said. “So damn quick.” But that is not the impressive part of the middle two players — and a reserve — who play on the back level of the Leopards’ 4-4 defense. It...
The Birdie gets ready for an Acrisure Stadium football feast with Belle Vernon
Last week: 1-0 (100%) Season: 107-28 (79.3%) Belle Vernon was using a new catchphrase in the WPIAL semifinal win over East Allegheny: “Burn the boat,” a 1500s Spanish reference to destroying the war boats in order to take over the island. “But they already stormed the Beach,” Birdie said, chuckling....
Senior trio has Plum girls in position to take step forward
Plum is counting on the senior trio of Megan Marston, Pascale Olczak and Rayla Smith to set the tone for a successful girls basketball season. “I’m most looking forward to their positive leadership,” coach Rich Mull said. “I think that’s really something they bring to the table that’s important for...
In 16th straight WPIAL title game appearance, Aliquippa to meet worthy adversary in McKeesport
As a first-year coach, Matt Miller led McKeesport to the 2016 WPIAL finals, a rapid ascent that maybe skewed his perception of the playoffs. “I thought it was easy,” Miller said with a laugh. “Young and dumb, right?” After a few heartbreaking near misses in the past seven years, Miller...
PIAA football quarterfinal previews for Nov. 25, 2023
While the WPIAL prepares to crown four district champions at Acrisure Stadium on Friday, the 2023 PIAA postseason continues with state quarterfinals. Recent District 7 title winners North Allegheny in 6A and Peters Township in 5A will battle teams from Erie on Friday while City League champion Westinghouse also faces...
WPIAL Class 4A football championship preview: Aliquippa vs. McKeesport
Two storied programs will clash in the final game of the day Friday at Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh in the Class 4A championship game. Undefeated and top-seeded Aliquippa will battle the No. 2 seed, once-beaten McKeesport. This is the 43rd season of Class 4A football in...
WPIAL Class 3A football championship preview: Avonworth vs. Belle Vernon
A rematch is set in the third of four title games Friday at Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh in the Class 3A championship game. Undefeated and No. 2-seeded Avonworth will face defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Belle Vernon for a second straight season. This is the 109th...
Trib 10: Ranking the last 10 WPIAL teams left standing
Coming up with this week’s 10 teams was easy because they are the only teams still playing from the WPIAL. However, ranking them in the weekly Trib 10 power poll was not easy. Seven teams have been part of the power rankings for at least two weeks now and some...
Monessen girls, veteran coach ready to again overcome small-school challenges
Thirty-eight years. That’s how long Janine Vertacnik has been coaching basketball, most of it at the high school level. Thirty-eight years and counting, she said. Will she keep going, say, forever? “We’re working on it, but we’re not there yet,” the sixth-year Monessen girls coach joked. After leading the Greyhounds...
In unfamiliar underdog role, Beaver Falls to take its shot at dethroning powerful Steel Valley
When Beaver Falls takes the field for its second consecutive championship game appearance against Steel Valley on Friday after falling 34-14 to the Ironmen a year ago, the Tigers will be playing with a completely different mindset. Beaver Falls entered this postseason as the No. 10 seed in Class 2A,...
After a good season with a bad ending, expectations remain high for strong Monessen boys roster
How far can Monessen go this year? A fair question in the Mon Valley, where things can get gritty. And the tough-minded Greyhounds, indeed, are a part of it. Pause. There’s the matter of last season’s ending, a sore chapter in Monessen’s storied basketball program. Nevertheless, in this new year...
After dramatic turnaround last season, Leechburg girls plan to keep climbing
If the WPIAL gave out a most improved award, the Leechburg girls basketball team might have won it last year. The Blue Devils went from a winless 2021-22 season to seven victories and a playoff spot. Now the goal is to keep trending upward. “It was an exciting year,” Leechburg...
