Westmoreland County high school notebook: Norwin senior wowed by Donald at workout
Noah Vogel went to Pitt for what initially looked like an unremarkable football workout. Another day in the blazing summer heat. But his day ended up becoming quite remarkable. Vogel, a senior tight end and defensive end at Norwin, received one-on-one instruction from Pitt great and Super Bowl champion Aaron...
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...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for May 2, 2022: Baseball, softball section play wraps up
Welcome to May, where the regular season continues to wind down, and the postseason is two weeks away. Most WPIAL baseball teams will close out their sectional series schedule this week. In five of those sections, the top two teams are deadlocked for first place and will meet in a...
Neshannock returns to PIHL Division 2 final after edging Ringgold
Neshannock will get a chance to defend its Division 2 title, but it didn’t come easy. Ringgold scored three unanswered goals to erase a three-goal deficit before Neshannock’s Micah Dejulia scored the eventual game-winning goal late in the third period of a 4-3 victory in the PIHL Division 2 semifinals...
What to watch for in high school sports for March 17, 2022: Division II semifinals on tap
PIHL semifinals week concludes Thursday with a pair of Division II games at RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island. Division II programs in the PIHL are made up of players from different schools that don’t have hockey teams playing on one team, like a co-op in the WPIAL. The...
Quick start, 34 points from freshman push Ringgold past Southmoreland
Ringgold tallied 27 first-quarter points against Southmoreland on the first day of the cfsbank Holiday Tournament at Charleroi High School on Monday night. But the Rams went cold in the middle quarters. Despite only leading by six points in the fourth quarter, Ringgold showed its resolve and battled to a...
Big Eight: Belle Vernon’s Devin Whitlock, McKeesport’s Bobbie Boyd lead all-conference team
Thomas Jefferson was dethroned from its familiar spot atop the Big Eight this season, and two of the players most responsible received individual honors in all-conference voting. Belle Vernon senior Devin Whitlock was named offensive player of the year, and McKeesport junior Bobbie Boyd was named as the conference’s top...
Greensburg Salem runners look to end on high note at state cross country meet
Greensburg Salem’s boys cross country team has built a tradition under coach Nathan Snider. The Golden Lions were WPIAL Class 2A champions in 2016, 2018 and 2020 and PIAA champions in 2018. During that time, numerous individuals have contributed to the team’s success. While the Golden Lions aren’t in contention...
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....
WPIAL Class 4A roundup: Beaver edges Montour in overtime
Mitch Lang caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Pupi in overtime to lift Beaver to a 14-7 victory at Montour (3-6, 1-3) in a WPIAL Class 4A Parkway Conference game Friday night. Wyatt Ringer ran for 145 yards for Beaver (6-2, 3-1), which remains alive for a playoff berth....
WPIAL Class 4A roundup: Ringer’s 4th TD helps Beaver top Chartiers Valley in OT
Wyatt Ringer scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run in overtime to give Beaver a 35-28 Class 4A Parkway Conference win against Chartiers Valley (4-4, 1-2) on Friday night. Ringer also scored on runs of 2, 4 and 1 yard for Beaver (5-2, 2-1). He also...
What to watch for in high school sports on Oct. 14, 2021: City League rivals kick off Week 7
Three times in four years, Brashear and Allderdice battled for the City League football championship. On Thursday, the Bulls and Dragons meet to kick off the stretch run and Week 7 of the high school football season. From 2014-2017, these two City League powers met for the District 8 crown....
Belle Vernon fends off Ringgold upset bid
The rains came at the start of the second half, and then lightning followed on the third possession after halftime Friday night at Joe Montana Stadium. The game was paused at the 7:24 mark of the third quarter with Belle Vernon leading Ringgold by a touchdown. After a two-hour delay,...
While waiting for a lifeguarding gig at Belle Vernon’s ‘Beach,’ The Birdie is picking Westmoreland County winners
Last week: 11-2 (84.6%) Season: 51-22 (69.9%) ^ The Birdie had a lot of jobs growing up before he finally answered his calling to become a prep football virtuoso. “I tested crash helmets for a spell, was a survey taker for Family Feud briefly, and read palms on weekends,” he...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 6
Class 6A Baldwin (1-5, 1-2) at Hempfield (2-4, 0-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Bill Abraham Field at Spartan Stadium, Hempfield The Spartans dropped their third consecutive conference game, falling at Canon-McMillan, 45-27. Baldwin picked up its first win of the season by scoring on a blocked punt and fumble return to...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Oct. 4, 2021: Peters Township heads to Moon for girls soccer clash
The first full week of WPIAL October soccer begins with a busy night on the pitch for the girls. The marquee match is for first place in Section 2-4A as Moon hosts Peters Township. The Tigers are 6-1 in the section while the Indians are even in the loss column...
WPIAL Class 4A roundup: New Castle rallies past Montour with late touchdown
Austin Kelly caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chris Hood with 8 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give New Castle a 14-10 victory against Montour (2-4, 0-1) in a Class 4A Parkway Conference football game Friday night. Hood threw for 48 yards and ran for 111 yards and...
Laurel Highlands rallies to defeat Ringgold on Rams’ homecoming
Sometimes football is an unfair game, and sometimes it will frustrate you and bite you. For Ringgold, that was the story Friday night. The Rams dominated the yardage and time of possession, carrying out their gameplan of keeping the ball out of the Laurel Highlands playmakers’ hands. Landon Oslowski was...
Moon’s Cochran a champion again at Red, White & Blue Classic
Moon senior Mia Cochran truly has the hang of the White Oak Park cross country course. The Moon senior and two-time WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champion defended her Red, White & Blue Class 3A title Saturday, holding off Morgantown (W.Va.) junior Irene Riggs by three seconds. Cochran won with...
Ringgold football runs to shutout of Yough
Ringgold coach Darwin Manges was looking for his Rams to build confidence after last week’s tough loss to Elizabeth Forward. After a dominating display in Friday’s game against Yough at Joe Montana Stadium, Manges and his Rams are full of confidence. The offense was firing on all cylinders, and the...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 1
Nonconference Class 4A No. 2 Belle Vernon (0-0) at Chartiers Valley (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Chartiers Valley Stadium, Bridgeville Belle Vernon beat Chartiers Valley in last year’s quarterfinals, 49-21. Choosing to play a second scrimmage instead of a Week Zero opener, highly touted Belle Vernon is ready to roll out...
Birdie hopes he picks Westmoreland County games better than he climbs crates
Last week: 8-3 (72.7 %) Now that schools are open again, the Birdie has been visiting local cafeterias. Why? (A slice of pizza, some chicken nuggets and a chocolate milk where applicable, yes). “Milk crates,” he said. “I have been borrowing them by the dozen. I load them into the...
Ringgold looking to surprise in Big Eight Conference
For third-year Ringgold head coach Darwin Manges, the formula for his program is starting to become clear and he’s hoping this is the season it all comes together. The Rams return nine starters on offense and eight defensively, and Manges thinks his team is ready to make some noise in...
Goalie Riley Mastowski makes 53 saves to deliver 1st PIHL title to Neshannock
Two years ago, by a 5-1 score, Ringgold won a PIHL title over Neshannock in the Lancers’ first season of varsity hockey. This time, it was same score, different outcome. Neshannock flipped the script to capture its first hockey championship with the 5-1 victory over Ringgold in the Class B...
Ringgold nets OT winner, moves on to PIHL Class B final showdown with Neshannock
It was an overtime thriller as Ringgold defeated Bishop Canevin, 4-3, at RMU Island Sports Center on Thursday, to advance to the PIHL Varsity B Playoff Championship. After nearly four periods of hockey, Ringgold cashed in for the winner with 1 minute, 36 seconds left in the overtime frame. Rams...
