Championship teams guide Hampton to top of Class 5A Trib Cup standings
Hampton captured three district championships and one state title this past school year, with three of those four coming during the fall sports season. Consistent success throughout all three seasons, however, was a big part of the Talbots showing plenty of bark in winning the Trib HSSN Cup for Class...
2022 WPIAL Class 5A baseball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamond after the 2020 season was canceled because of covid-19 shutdowns. Baseball thrived throughout the WPIAL as six new champions were crowned, some in dramatic fashion. That success carried over to the state playoffs as WPIAL teams captured two...
High-octane Highlands roars past Albert Gallatin in Class 5A first round
Backed by junior guard Jimmy Kunst’s 24 points and a 32-point second quarter, fifth-seeded Highlands made quick work of No. 12 Albert Gallatin, 76-44, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs Monday night. “We know the sky is the limit for this team and we said that...
A-K Valley WPIAL basketball playoff capsules for Feb. 21, 2022
Monday’s games Boys First round Class 5A 9-Kiski Area (15-7) at 8-Hampton (12-10) 7 p.m. Monday Winner plays: Winner of 1-Laurel Highlands (21-0)/16-Woodland Hills (8-14) on Thursday in quarterfinals Layup lines: Kiski Area already tripled its win total from a year ago under first-year coach Corey Smith, who played for...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 7, 2022: Top girls team has chance to clinch
The final week of section play in WPIAL basketball begins with a full slate of section contests in girls hoops. Last year, Trinity was perfect in Section 2-5A, winning all 12 games and finishing 2½ games in front of second-place Thomas Jefferson. The Hillers can win their second straight outright...
Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Team of the Week for Feb. 6, 2022
Last year, Albert Gallatin reached the WPIAL girls basketball postseason for the first time since 2013. It was an open tournament with all team invited to participate, but the Colonials earned their spot with a 14-7 record and third-place finish in Section 3-5A. Now Albert Gallatin, seven years removed from...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 24, 2022: OLSH, Neshannock look for milestone wins
Monday could be a historic day around WPIAL basketball with two possible landmark victories. First, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is one win away from tying the WPIAL record for consecutive victories in boys basketball. The Chargers have won 51 straight games since losing to Aliquippa, 73-69, on Jan....
Enrollment changes in WPIAL wrestling makes Class 2A larger
Football and basketball aren’t the only high school sports will see major changes for the next two seasons because of new enrollment figures. Class 3A in WPIAL wrestling is losing seven teams to Class 2A. Heading down are Greensburg Salem, Belle Vernon, Albert Gallatin, Beaver, Hampton, Highlands and Indiana. Waynesburg...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Dec. 20, 2021: Early 1st-place basketball clashes
The final week of high school basketball section play in 2021 begins with 30 girls contests slated for Monday. Even though it is early days in section play, five of those contests will be for at least an early share of first place in their respective sections. In Section 3-5A,...
WPIAL Class 4A roundup: Last-minute field goal lifts Beaver past Blackhawk in Parkway
Evan Baker’s 27-yard field goal in the final minute lifted Beaver to a 23-21 victory over visiting Blackhawk (2-8, 0-5) in the WPIAL Class 4A Parkway Conference on Friday night. Jake Hilton ran for two touchdowns for Beaver (7-2, 4-1), which clinched second place in the conference with the win....
Shaler, Thomas Jefferson, North Catholic, Bishop Canevin hold top spots in latest WPIAL girls volleyball rankings
After a two-week hiatus from the top spot, Thomas Jefferson again was the No. 1 team in Class 3A when the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s Week 7 WPIAL girls rankings were released Monday morning. The Jaguars lead Section 3 with a 10-0 record after a 3-0 nonsection win over...
Independence breeds success for Albert Gallatin
It had been 35 years since the Albert Gallatin football team enjoyed a winning season when school district officials made the decision to leave the WPIAL in football only. The idea was to breathe new life into a program that was not even competing. In 2018, the Colonials finished 0-10...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for Week Zero 2021
Nonconference Albert Gallatin vs. Yough 7 p.m. Friday, Cougar Mountain, Herminie Albert Gallatin begins its third season as an independent. The Colonials are 10-4, including a 5-1 mark in 2020, after enduring 35 consecutive losing seasons in the WPIAL. Albert Gallatin runs a triple-option offense led by senior fullback Shawn...
Bushy Run resumes Region 6 play Saturday; Region 7 starts
Bushy Run, playing in the Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Region 6 tournament, had its game suspended Friday in the top of the third inning. Bushy Run was trailing Brighton Township (Beaver County), 1-0, when heavy thunderstorms stopped the game at Hutchison Field in Hopewell. The game will resume at 9:45...
2021 WPIAL Class 5A softball preseason breakdown
After a year away from the diamond, softball players from across Western Pennsylvania are itching to get back in the field of play. With the 2021 season moving forward as planned, WPIAL teams will get the chance to do just that. Several perennial powers will look to regain their place...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Monday, March 1, 2021
Here’s a look at Monday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving Westmoreland County teams: Boys Preliminary round Class 4A 20-Southmoreland (2-16) at 13-Derry (5-6) 6 p.m. Monday Coaches: Frank Muccino, Southmoreland; Tom Esposito, Derry Winner plays: At 4-Quaker Valley (12-4), 6 p.m. Thursday About Southmoreland: The youthful Scotties debated going to...
Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Player of the Week for week ending Feb. 7, 2021
With limited offseason team workouts, the more experienced teams have had an advantage in playing during the pandemic. That is especially true on the high school level, where coaches greatly value offseason drills and conditioning in building a solid team foundation. “We have all had many challenges,” Albert Gallatin girls...
Trib HSSN 2020-21 WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball preseason breakdown
This will surely be a boys basketball season like no other. WPIAL teams are set to tip off Friday and embark on a masked journey through a schedule likely to change many times as the year progresses. Teams all have hopes of hoisting a WPIAL championship trophy in March, much...
WPIAL Class 5A roundup: Penn Hills rolls past Shaler
Julian Dugger threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns as playoff-bound Penn Hills doubled-up Shaler, 42-21, in the Class 5A Northeast Conference on Friday night. Dugger added a rushing touchdown while Dylan Schlagel caught five passes for 102 yards and two TDs for Penn Hills (4-3, 4-1). Shaler finished the...
Owen Petrisek scores 3 TDs to lead Bentworth past Avella
Owen Petrisek scored three rushing touchdowns, including one that came during a critical second-quarter surge, as Bentworth defeated Avella 41-31 in a Tri-County South game Thursday night. Bentworth has won two in a row after a 1-2 start (3-3, 3-3). Avella (4-2, 4-2) has lost two of three after starting...
WPIAL Class 5A roundup: Derrick Davis scores 4 times as Gateway tops Bethel Park
Carsen Engleka threw for 240 yards and four touchdowns to lead Class 5A No. 2 Gateway to a 55-14 victory over Bethel Park (0-2) in Class 5A nonconference play Friday. Derrick Davis ran for 157 yards and four touchdowns for Gateway (2-0), which scored all of its points in the...
WPIAL Class 4A roundup: No. 5 Aliquippa takes down New Castle
Vernon Redd scored on a 55-yard punt return and a 96-yard run as No. 5 Aliquippa debuted in Class 4A and defeated New Castle, 44-28, in the Parkway Conference on Friday night. Malachi Sherman scored twice for New Castle — on a 15-yard interception return and a 28-yard pass from...
Albert Gallatin continues to build as independent program
Before the Albert Gallatin School District decided to merge the district’s three high schools in 1987, its football teams were competitive. Albert Gallatin won two WPIAL titles and German Township one. Fairchance-Georges was also competitive but didn’t win titles or conference championships. It’s been a struggle for the southern Fayette...
Coronavirus cases create tangled web of WPIAL football schedule changes
Times are changing these days because of the coronavirus. That means changing minute by minute. Because of covid-19 issues, several schools have made adjustments to their football schedules. Kiski Area paused football activities until Sept. 10 due to a coronavirus exposure issue. Elizabeth Forward pushed back the start of in-person...
Western Pennsylvania Baseball League sets plans for season with 20 teams on board
Bob Johnston was trying to find a league where Gateway high school players could play this summer. After the coronavirus ended high school seasons across the state, baseball players around the WPIAL were left wondering where they could play. “I made a call to Ryan Encapera in the Fayette County...
