High School category, Page 630
Quaker Valley begins building project under new coach
Jason Cappa, who comes from a family of coaches and educators, was hired in April as Quaker Valley football coach. His father, Jake, was a football coaching legend at Riverview from 1986-2001, leading the Raiders to three WPIAL Class A finals in four years. Cappa has been with the QV...
After winless season, Hopewell driven to make statement
Hopewell football comes into the 2022 season more motivated than ever. The players and the coaches want to prove they can play with anyone in the Western Hills conference. Defensive lineman and tight end Sonny Kasanzale, a rising senior, wants to showcase his and the team’s talent. “We’re so hungry...
After bounce-back season, Beaver looks to add to winning tradition
In Cort Rowse’s first season as head coach last year, Beaver went 7-3, finished second in the Parkway Conference and made the playoffs. Rowse has prioritized continuing Beaver’s winning culture. Rowse was an assistant coach for 15 years under coach Jeff Beltz and played under coach Pat Tarquinio. Both were...
Avonworth hopes to climb to top of Western Hills and beyond
When it comes to consistently excellent football programs in the district, Avonworth is right there in the conversation. The 2019 WPIAL Class 2A champions and PIAA runners-up have reached the playoffs every season since 2007 with the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign when the Antelopes finished tied for second...
2022 WPIAL high school football preview
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2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the quarterbacks
The race for the 2021 WPIAL passing title was a three-way battle between Gateway’s Brad Birch, Beaver Falls’ Jaren Brickner and Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen. This year’s race might look very similar. All three quarterbacks passed for more than 2,500 yards a year ago and all three return this fall. Combined,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 15, 2022
High schools Golf Monday’s results Boys Jerry Roman Memorial Chairman’s Cup At Cedarbrook GC Team scores Class 3A: 1. Peters Township 372; 2. Bethel Park 417; 3. Hempfield 426; 4. South Fayette 427; 5. Baldwin 449 Class 2A: 1. Sewickley Academy 407; 2. Ligonier Valley 435; 3. South Park 447;...
Greensburg Salem senior Wallish provides huge heart
One thing a person can’t see is the size of a football player’s heart. At 5-foot-6, 125-pounds, not many people would fear Greensburg Salem senior Jerome Wallish. But don’t be fooled: Wallish isn’t afraid of a challenge. In fact, he relishes it. “You have to keep putting the work in,”...
A-K Valley football teams eager to get to work as official practices open
Ryan Tempalski experienced numerous first official football practice days as an assistant coach at schools throughout the region. But Monday was a new experience for the first-year Springdale head coach who was hired in March to lead a young and relatively inexperienced Dynamos squad hit hard by graduation after reaching...
Westmoreland County’s new football coaches breeze through Day 1 of practice
Westmoreland County’s five new high school football coaches had an uneventful first day of training camp. Players usually are greeted with hot, humid weather, but Monday was cool and damp. Things went so smoothly at Derry that Mike Arone gave his team an early dismissal. “It was a good day,”...
Deer Lakes father, son unsatisfied with missing playoffs
Derek Burk didn’t wait long to try and make improvements after last year’s close home loss to Burrell. The 28-24 setback factored into the Lancers missing a WPIAL Class 3A playoff spot in a tiebreaker with the Bucs and East Allegheny in the Allegheny Seven Conference. “My wife texted me...
Norwin baseball job lures Craig Spisak away from Yough
Craig Spisak is a Pennsylvania State Police trooper. He will be patrolling a new dugout next baseball season. Spisak is leaving Yough after six seasons as the head baseball coach to take the same position at Norwin. He was approved at Monday night’s Norwin School Board meeting. The upper-class lure...
WPIAL reveals fall championship sites: football finals at Acrisure Stadium, Norwin
The WPIAL has chosen Norwin to host the Class 5A and 6A football finals, the two championship games that won’t be played at Acrisure Stadium this year. The list of fall sites was revealed Monday. The WPIAL already had scheduled four games at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 25 but needed...
New coach Dan Knause focuses on physicality as Trinity hopes to end playoff drought
With new coach Dan Knause in town, the Trinity Hillers are looking to end a drought this season. Trinity, which has missed the playoffs for four straight seasons, is looking to turn the program around with Knause now running the show. “When I came into this program, I focused on...
After close call last year, McKeesport hopes to make a run at Class 4A gold
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher used to say, “there is a fine line between winning and losing in the NFL.” The same could be said for high school football. One district team that found out the hard way how true that statement was in 2021 was McKeesport. The...
Latrobe works toward more victories after move to Class 4A
It is better to be the shark than the minnow, and Latrobe might be ready to raise its fin in a new classification. A conditioning drill, implemented by Wildcats team partner FSQ Sports Training, is called “sharks and minnows.” “It’s fun,” Latrobe senior tight end and linebacker Corey Boerio said....
Thomas Jefferson aiming to regain championship mojo
The 2021 season was not a customary prize-winner for the Thomas Jefferson football team. The Jaguars fell short on all three of their annual goals of winning conference, WPIAL and PIAA titles, and the TJ coaching staff hopes that fact doesn’t bode well for opponents this fall. “Now is when...
Gritty Kimmel happy to be at Greensburg Central Catholic
You can keep your entitlement. If you want something, you earn it. Roughly, these are the philosophies Ryan Kimmel lives by and seeks to perpetuate on and off the football field. The hard-hitting senior at Greensburg Central Catholic has brought a blue-collar work ethic and no-nonsense approach to the Centurions,...
Burrell to lean on pair of senior linemen
Ian Quinn started organized tackle football in third grade in the Lower Burrell Flyers youth football organization. He found himself blocking on the offensive line. “I was always a bigger kid. I was destined to be a lineman,” Quinn said. “I wasn’t too good at first, actually. I was a...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Lukas Petersen takes over Franklin Regional boys soccer
Perennial power Franklin Regional has a new boys soccer coach on the eve of a new season. Lukas Petersen was hired Aug. 1 to replace Thomas Louisy, who led the Panthers for one season. Petersen was set to be a second-year assistant with the Pitt men’s soccer team. He played...
Ligonier Valley accepting nominations for inaugural athletic hall of fame class
Ligonier Valley will soon join a short but growing list of local high schools with an athletic hall of fame. The district’s athletic hall of fame selection committee announced plans to form the inaugural class, with the nominee process now open. Nomination forms can be found on the high school’s...
Hampton remains hungry after 11-win season
No one needs to tell Hampton first-year coach Steve Sciullo about the importance of an offensive line. The former NFL lineman knows the front five is the anchor of any offense. “It’s super important,” Sciullo said, “for those guys to jell.” Hampton enters the 2022 season with the challenge of...
Cadin Olsen, Armstrong aim to build off 1st WPIAL playoff victory
The Armstrong River Hawks are ready for one last ride with their standout quarterback Cadin Olsen at the helm. Olsen eclipsed 2,500 yards passing and threw 28 touchdowns last fall coming off a year in which he led the WPIAL in passing yards. He’s committed to Penn, but first he...
Kiski Area brings new-look roster into Class 4A competition
When Kiski Area moved down from Class 5A to Class 4A and into the Greater Allegheny Conference, coach Sam Albert knew one of the league matchups would carry extra meaning. The Cavaliers will host Albert’s former team, Highlands, on Oct. 14. “I’m sure that probably is one that Highlands circles...
New coach has talented team to work with at Highlands
Make no bones about it, Highlands is going to have a different look, feel and attitude under first-year head coach Matt Bonislawski. The players are already in place, with a healthy balance between upperclassmen and underclassmen that could pave the way to success for the Rams this season. “I tell...
