High School category, Page 424
Through the years: Valley ended long Kiski Area winning streak in ’73
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. Before the largest home crowd in 27 years, Valley ended Kiski Area’s 45-game Foothills Conference winning streak with a 14-8 upset....
Hampton point guard Meghan Murray commits to Kent State
Hampton senior Meghan Murray, one of the WPIAL’s top point guards, makes fast decisions on the basketball court. She also wasted no time during an official visit to Kent State last weekend. The 5-foot-5 Murray, on her first trip to the school, committed to the Division I Mid-American Conference program...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Sept. 20, 2023
High schools Field hockey Wednesday’s results Section 3A Pine-Richland 3, Peters Township 0 Allderdice at Hempfield, (n) Thursday’s schedule Section 3A Norwin at North Allegheny, 5 p.m. Section 2A Latrobe at Fox Chapel, 7 p.m. Penn-Trafford at Upper St. Clair, 7 p.m. Section 1A Ellis School at Aquinas Academy, 3:45...
What to watch for in Western Pennsylvania high school sports on Sept. 21, 2023: ‘Dice vs. ‘House in City League football
They are the two most dominant football programs in recent City League history and on Thursday, they meet to open up Week 4 of the high school football season. It’s the ‘Dice battling the ‘House. Since 2017, Allderdice and Westinghouse have combined to win all six City League football championships....
High school roundup for Sept. 20, 2023: North Allegheny tops Seneca Valley in battle of unbeatens
Kieran Shannon and Abigail Stager found the net to lead North Allegheny to a 2-0 victory over Seneca Valley (8-1, 6-1) in a battle of undefeated teams in Section 1-4A girls soccer Wednesday night. Natalie Rak recorded the shutout for the Tigers (10-0, 7-0). Avonworth 3, Quaker Valley 0 –...
Mt. Pleasant builds state rankings case with 6-0 win over rival Southmoreland
Mt. Pleasant could have made a fuss when the coaches’ state girls soccer rankings came out this week, and there was no mention of the Lady Vikings. None. Not even an “others receiving votes.” But, rather than complain, they decided to keep building their case for next week’s double-A top...
Defending 3A champ, 5th seed in 2A reach WPIAL tennis finals
Penn-Trafford sophomore Mia Williams is in position to claim her second WPIAL girls tennis championship after winning three matches in the Class 3A tournament Wednesday at Bethel Park. Williams, the top seed, defeated Seneca Valley’s Kylie Staudt, 10-0, Bethel Park’s Lily Sierka, 10-3, and North Allegheny’s Laeticia Tici-Wessel, North Allegheny,...
Best races are ahead for Freeport junior cross country runner Michael Braun
Michael Braun was the seventh-fastest underclassmen and the third fastest sophomore at last year’s WPIAL Class 2A cross country championships at Cal U (Pa.). The Freeport junior placed 11th overall, an improvement of 20 places from his WPIAL debut in 2021. He also ran at the PIAA championships in Hershey...
Trib 10: Week 4 filled with marquee matchups between power-ranked teams
We still have two high school football weekends left in September, but Week 4 will have a November football feel to it. No, the weather will be just fine, but the quality of football should be playoff-like with big matchups here and there across all six classifications. The best example...
Laurel school board limits girls sports at its facilities to athletes with ‘XX chromosomes’
Citing concerns over safety and fairness, one WPIAL school district has adopted a gender policy that limits girls sports to biological females. The school board at Laurel unanimously approved the new policy, which bases gender on a student’s chromosomes. The rule applies to any sports contest hosted at Laurel’s facilities,...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 4
Player of the week Derek Burk Deer Lakes, Sr., QB Deer Lakes won its third in a row with a 48-14 nonconference win over Greensburg Salem last Friday, and Lancers senior Derek Burk’s influence was all over the victory. Burk completed 11 of 12 passes for 251 yards and five...
Leechburg aims for 1st victory against Eastern Conference rival Clairton
Leechburg returns home Friday hoping to add a second Eastern Conference victory. The Blue Devils, 3-1 overall after last week’s 48-25 victory at Springdale, also hope to add a first-ever win over a team that has been a dominant force in the conference. Clairton has won 28 of the 29...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 4
Class 5A Big East Conference Gateway (1-3, 1-0) at Plum (2-2, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Mustangs Stadium, Plum Borough Last week: Gateway 44, Franklin Regional 24; Norwin 30, Plum 23 Last year’s result: Gateway 28, Plum 26 These neighborhood rivals are looking for a boost in the Big East standings,...
The Birdie stays on brand with his A-K Valley Week 4 picks
Last week: 7-5 (58.3%) Overall: 30-14 (68.2%) The Birdie walked into the office Monday morning and plopped two big blue Giant Eagle bags down on the sports desk. This wasn’t unusual. He usually calls an order of that size “lunch.” But this time, he had a point to make, which...
2023 Western Pa. high school football schedule for Week 4
Thursday City League Allderdice at Westinghouse, 7 p.m. Friday WPIAL Class 6A Central Catholic at North Allegheny, 7:30 p.m. Mt. Lebanon at Seneca Valley, 7 p.m. Class 5A Allegheny Six Baldwin at Bethel Park, 7 p.m. Upper St. Clair at Peters Township, 7 p.m. Big East Gateway at Plum, 7...
Westmoreland County football players to watch in 2023 Week 4
Player of the week Payton Molter Jeannette, Sr., QB/LB The 6-foot, 180-pound senior had quite a game against Frazier in the WPIAL Class A Eastern Conference opener Friday. Molter was 9-for-9 passing for 158 yards and three touchdowns, including two scores to Jeremiah Williamson. He also returned a fumble 43...
Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson to square off with undefeated records on the line
Don’t think for one moment that Friday’s nonconference game between Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon is meaningless. Far from it. These teams, a mere 12 miles apart, have met annually, except for 1990 and 1991, since 1965. Thomas Jefferson leads the series 37-23, with Belle Vernon winning the past three...
Westmoreland County high school football matchups for 2023 Week 4
Class 5A Big East Conference Hempfield (1-3, 0-0) at Penn-Trafford (1-3, 0-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Harrison City Last week: Shaler 33, Hempfield 17; Belle Vernon 21, Penn-Trafford 0 Last year’s result: Hempfield 28, Penn-Trafford 17 Both teams open conference play looking for a good start. Hempfield started 5-0...
Bumper-to-bumper Westmoreland County traffic can’t slow down The Birdie
Last week: 9-4 (69.2%) Season: 32-15 (68.1 %) The Birdie was almost late for a game last week because he had to wait in traffic on Route 30. “Bumper-to-bumper from the 119 exit to Westmoreland Mall,” he said. “Never saw it like that. It tested my patience. “I asked a...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Gritty Norwin climbs in standings
Norwin has been one of the hotter teams in the WPIAL of late. After a 5-1 loss to top-ranked Seneca Valley, the Knights have been on a roll, winning six of seven by a combined score of 22-3. A 2-1 win over Mt. Lebanon showed the No. 3-ranked Knights can...
Goals keep coming for ‘relentless’ Belle Vernon junior Trevor Kovatch
When he was about 5 years old, Trevor Kovatch wandered into his neighbor’s backyard and, bang, there it was. “They had a soccer net,” Kovatch said. “I kicked a ball in, and I knew then that I was going to love the game.” Even before grade school, the junior at...
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Izzy Aigner to play with Greensburg native Rocco Mediate at PGA Tour Champions event
It will be an all-Greensburg pairing at the Pure Insurance Championship this week at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Izzy Aigner, a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, will play with Hempfield graduate and fan favorite Rocco Mediate in the 54-hole PGA Tour Champions event that features a side pro-junior competition for...
Jeannette’s Jordan Taylor earns statewide scoring honor
He plays for the highest-scoring boys soccer team in the WPIAL and is one of the highest-scoring players in the country. That made Jordan Taylor an easy choice for a national honor. Taylor, a senior standout at Jeannette, was named the United Soccer Coaches/MaxPreps High School State Player of the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Sept. 19, 2023
High schools WPIAL Cross country Tuesday’s results Class 3A Section 5 Boys Beaver 22, Blackhawk 35 Blackhawk 15, Central Valley 50 Girls Beaver 16, Blackhawk 40 Blackhawk 19, Central Valley 40 Class 2A Section 3 Boys McGuffey 18, Keystone Oaks 42 McGuffey 19, Waynesburg 38 McGuffey 17, Washington 43 Waynesburg...
High school roundup for Sept. 19, 2023: Nothing settled when unbeaten North Allegheny, Seneca Valley meet
North Allegheny and Seneca Valley came into Tuesday night’s Section 1 showdown as the only undefeated teams in WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer. They left the same way. Arnav Patel scored for North Allegheny and Tyler Prex buried the equalizer for Seneca Valley as the teams played to a 1-1...
