High School category, Page 562
High school roundup for Nov. 28, 2022: Tony, Toby Kiger power North Hills
Tony Kiger scored the go-ahead goal in the first period and added an insurance goal in the third to lead North Hills to a 3-1 victory over North Catholic in a battle of top teams in PIHL Class A hockey Monday night. Toby Kiger also scored for North Hills (7-0-1)....
Valley girls basketball team will measure success by progress
Aelan Wyley has plans to be an architect someday. For now, she’d like to win more basketball games. With the start of the girls regular season approaching, the Valley senior guard good-naturedly laughed off the Vikings’ inability to score points and post victories, acknowledging it’s been much longer since the...
Imani Christian transfers eligible for basketball season after PIAA overturns WPIAL decisions
Imani Christian transfers Robert Sledge and Kylan Holmes are now eligible to play basketball this winter after the PIAA overturned earlier decisions by the WPIAL. The two had appeal hearings Monday. “They were so excited and I understand why,” Imani Christian athletic director Cliff Simon said. “Both had legitimate reason...
Valley boys have clean slate as rebuilding process continues
After a 1-21 season in his first year as a high school head basketball coach in 2021-22, Valley’s John Stone was undeterred, even as he bid farewell to four senior starters. Incidentally, the Vikings’ fifth starter since has transferred out, leaving them with an overhauled lineup this season. “I love...
Yough girls basketball program continues to gain steam as new section awaits
The gymnasium at Yough is squeaking with basketball shoes, and there is energy in the air as girls run laps to open a practice. Their giddy chatter echoes off the bleachers. “Our numbers are up this year across the board,” sixth-year coach Mike Gerdich said. Yough will have 17 players...
With new drop in classification and 4 starters back, Yough boys have look of contender
A drop in classification. A new section. A host of letterwinners returning. Are the stars aligning for Yough to have one of its best basketball seasons in recent memory? Potential is bubbling up but expectations are measured, for now. “We hope so, but we need to win first,” coach Jim...
High school sports schedule for Nov. 28, 2022
High schools Football PIAA playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Saturday’s schedule Garnet Valley (13-0) vs. St. Joseph’s Prep (10-1) at Northeast Super Site, Philadelphia, 1 p.m.; State College (13-0) vs. Harrisburg (10-2) at Mansion Park Stadium, Altoona, 1 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Friday’s schedule Imhotep Charter (10-2) vs. Upper Dublin (14-0)...
Trib HSSN 2022-23 WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball preseason breakdown
Fox Chapel and North Hills, last year’s WPIAL finalists in Class 6A, moved into Class 5A in PIAA realignment in the offseason. But they’re not big-school bullies swooping in to steal the lunch money of smaller schools. Far from it. With one notable exception (see: Preseason Player of the Year),...
Trib HSSN 2022-23 WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball preseason breakdown
It’s become a common theme to list Chartiers Valley among the preseason favorites for the WPIAL Class 5A title. This year, though, the Colts are notably missing from that group. Chartiers Valley, which won the WPIAL 5A title in 2017, ’19, ’20 and ’21 and finished as the district runner-up...
Graduations, injury to PG Cernuto leave Southmoreland girls basketball with voids to fill
If Southmoreland’s current run of WPIAL playoff appearances in girls basketball is to continue, the Scotties likely will need to reach deep down for a little something extra this season. It’s one thing to lose to graduation three starters from a 19-5 team that reached the second round of the...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Franklin Regional’s Jake Kimmich to follow brothers to Grove City soccer
From the outside, Jake Kimmich’s college decision seemed easy. Maybe even expected. The Franklin Regional senior soccer player will follow in his brothers’ footsteps and play at Grove City, a Division III program in the Presidents Athletic Conference, keeping a family tradition intact four more years. Matt Kimmich is a...
Excitement builds for St. Joseph girls after playoff stunner
The St. Joseph girls basketball team pulled off one of the most stunning upsets across all sports in the WPIAL last season when it knocked off three-time defending Class A champion Rochester in the quarterfinals. It did so with a really young team and returns four starters, so there’s excitement...
St. Joseph boys motivated by last year’s brush with playoffs
St. Joseph coach Hart Coleman doesn’t have to look too far to find a way to motivate his group. He can point to one game against Neighborhood Academy last February. The Spartans led for most of the way only to see it slip away late and end in a 61-59...
Southmoreland boys to rely on toughness to get back into playoffs
After missing out on the WPIAL playoffs last season, Southmoreland boys basketball coach Frank Muccino is predicting the Scotties will be better this year. Good enough for a return to the postseason, where Southmoreland recently was a staple before last season? Muccino thinks so, if … “The big issue will...
PIHL standings through Nov. 27, 2022
Here are the latest PIHL high school hockey standings through Sunday: Team – Wins – Losses – Overtime/Shootout Loss = Total Points Class 3A North Allegheny, 7-2-0 = 14 Seneca Valley, 6-1-1 = 13 Central Catholic, 6-2-0 = 12 Peters Township, 5-1-0 = 10 Cathedral Prep, 5-4-0 = 10 Baldwin,...
Coach Ron Prady doesn’t want Latrobe football to be 1-hit wonder
Things couldn’t have gone much better for Latrobe football coach Ron Prady during his first season. The Wildcats finished 7-5 and reached the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. The remarkable season included the program’s first seven-win season since 2001, the first winning season since 2011, the first playoff win since 1968...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Franklin Regional’s Matt Knizner
Coming off of back-to-back runner-up finishes, Franklin Regional’s hockey team is hoping to make a third PIHL finals appearance this season. The only difference is, it wants to be the one to win the Penguins Cup this time around. With 12 seniors graduating after last year, that will not be...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Freeport’s Jake Suwan
The Freeport hockey team is working hard early on in the season, facing three tough losses but quickly battling back to put together a four-game winning streak. Among the talented players on the roster is senior defensemen Jake Suwan. “The first three games were arguably the hardest games of the...
Valley goes through growing pains in Dave Heavner’s 1st season
Dave Heavner wanted to make being a member of the Valley football team centered around expectations. Showing up and working hard at practice wasn’t going to be the be-all, end-all. To stick around, Heavner wanted the Vikings to show they were committed. “We put some rules and regulations into place,”...
Gateway girls basketball looks to use team approach to get back on track
For the last several seasons, the Gateway girls basketball team has had one or two top-level players on the roster — a scorer or two who could fill up the stat sheet before matriculating on to the next level to play high-end college basketball. Players like Lexi Jackson, Dynasty Shegog,...
Gateway hopes to carry momentum of playoff run into new season
After an impressive playoff run for the Gateway boys basketball team a season ago, things will look a bit different on the hardwood in Monroeville in 2022-23. The Gators upset third-seeded Mars in the WPIAL quarterfinals, gave eventual runner-up New Castle a game in the semifinals and knocked off WPIAL...
New coach expects Sewickley Academy girls to adopt defensive identity
The Sewickley Academy girls basketball team has a new head coach. She is not new to the program, however. Jill Capozzi has taken over as head coach after serving as an assistant to Mark Gaither last season. “I left teaching and coaching to raise my children and last year got...
Returning contributors have Quaker Valley girls in position to make noise
Last season was a learning experience for the coaches and players on the Quaker Valley girls basketball team. The Quakers advanced to both the WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A playoffs in Ken Johns’ first year as floor boss. This season, QV is looking to make more noise in the section,...
Penn Hills girls basketball eager to get back on course
Hannah Pugliese doesn’t need to dig into the history books to know what the tradition of the Penn Hills girls basketball program means. All she has to do is talk to volunteer assistant coaches Desiree Oliver and Jade Ely, who have been helping the team out in the preseason. Both...
Penn Hills boys look to use playoff run as springboard
The Penn Hills boys basketball team got a jolt from what it did beyond the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs last season. While the Indians didn’t bring home a PIAA crown, Penn Hills did leave a remarkable wave behind it during the state tournament. The Indians knocked off Lampeter-Strasburg and East...
