By: Paul Schofield Sunday, August 14, 2022 | 11:01 AM Previous Next Penn-Trafford boys golf coach Andy Rizzardi said he's set some lofty goals for his team. Not only does he want his Warriors to defend their Section 1-3A title and qualify for the WPIAL playoffs, he wants them to reach the WPIAL team finals. It would be a first in school history. The Warriors, who were 12-0 in 2021, return five starters, including reigning WPIAL Class 3A champion Nick Turowski, who tied for fourth at the state tournament.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/penn-trafford-golfers-look-to-take-the-next-step/

#triblive

By: Dave Mackall Sunday, August 14, 2022 | 12:01 PM The road to a WPIAL football championship is a long and winding one for Indiana. As the lone member school currently situated outside the WPIAL's designed boundaries, the program finds itself in a world of its own. Road trips can be long, and visitors have had to do some homework before heading eastward toward the foothills. Even first-year coach Brad Wright, who has lived the past seven years in the Indiana County seat — smack-dab in the middle of a District 6 county — has coached exclusively outside the WPIAL until now.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/with-new-coach-at-helm-indiana-continues-quest-for-wpial-success-from-afar/

#triblive

By: Michael Love Sunday, August 14, 2022 | 4:10 PM 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 little soft when I was younger and was nervous to hit my first couple of years. But I kept working and gained confidence in myself that I could be a good football player,' he said.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/burrell-to-lean-on-pair-of-senior-linemen/

#triblive

By: Bill Beckner Jr. Sunday, August 14, 2022 | 4:58 PM Previous Next 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, who appear to have one of the most talent-heavy rosters in WPIAL Class A as they open training camp Monday at Pine Springs in Jennerstown.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/gritty-kimmel-happy-to-be-at-greensburg-central-catholic/

#triblive

By: Chris Harlan Thursday, October 13, 2022 | 4:13 PM Avella doesn't have enough healthy players available for this week's football game against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, so the Eagles will forfeit the Black Hills contest scheduled for Friday night. OLSH tried to make the best of a bad situation and found an alternate opponent willing to play, but PIAA rules regarding forfeits will ultimately keep the Chargers idle. Athletic director Michael McDonald said OLSH had scheduled a replacement game against City League opponent Perry, but had to cancel that contest after learning from the WPIAL office that PIAA guidelines prohibit teams from accepting a forfeit and playing a game in the same week.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/piaa-rule-keeps-olsh-football-team-idle-friday-night-after-avella-forfeits/

#triblive

By: Ray Fisher Sunday, August 28, 2022 | 9:01 AM Four seems to be the magic number for the Quaker Valley boys golf team. The Quakers, who narrowly lost to North Catholic by four strokes in last year's WPIAL Class 2A finals, is bolstered by the return of four starters on the 2022 squad. Jackson Bould, the WPIAL 2A runner-up last season, and Adam Renner are seniors as is Eva Bulger, a three-time WPIAL girls champion who competes for the boys team. The fourth returning starter is sophomore Ethan Dai, who has developed his game as a top freshman into being a counted-on team member this season.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/veteran-lineup-makes-quaker-valley-a-team-to-beat-in-wpial-class-2a-golf/

#triblive

By: Michael Love Sunday, August 28, 2022 | 5:12 PM The Kiski Area and Norwin girls volleyball teams kick off their seasons Monday evening, and for the second year in a row, the rivals will take their nonsection matchup outside. The Cavaliers and Knights expect a big crowd and good weather for the Pack the Park Volleyball Classic, an event that celebrates area volleyball and honors the memory of the late Ellen Toy, a longtime area volleyball coach and mentor who passed away in 2016 after battling cancer.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/kiski-area-norwin-volleyball-teams-ready-to-play-outdoors-again/

#triblive

By: Bill Beckner Jr. Tuesday, August 30, 2022 | 3:12 PM In what has been an astounding run of success in WPIAL girls golf, Greensburg Central Catholic has won seven consecutive championships since its program began in 2015. Seven for seven. The Centurions are hoping to make it eight titles in a row this fall, but they are competing under new leadership. Bob Statler has taken over the coaching reins from Gerry Police, who retired after four years, four WPIAL titles, two PIAA championships, two state runner-up finishes and a 40-0 mark in section play.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/greensburg-central-catholic-girls-aim-to-continue-golf-dynasty-under-new-coach/

#triblive

By: George Guido Saturday, October 1, 2022 | 4:10 PM It was one spectacular night for Highlands junior Aaran Randolph, the area's newest football standout. Randolph's quick rise to prominence came from working out of the wildcat formation for the Golden Rams. He ran twice for 94 yards in the Sept. 23 game against Indiana. But in Friday's game against Mars, he put on quite a show. Randolph scored four touchdowns in a span of 5 minutes, 18 seconds, tallying on runs of 13, 24, 19 and 65 yards.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/guido-a-star-is-born-at-highlands/

#triblive

By: Bill Beckner Jr. Saturday, October 1, 2022 | 3:29 PM Hempfield junior softball player Peyton Heisler will continue her playing career in the Ivy League. Heisler, who played left field and did some pitching last season for the Lady Spartans, announced a verbal commitment to Penn. She said she was recruited an a utility player/pitcher. An Ivy League education was just as alluring to Heisler as a spot in the Quakers' lineup. 'The biggest component of me choosing Penn was going to other schools and seeing what I liked and didn't like,' she said.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/hempfield-softball-standout-heisler-gives-verbal-commitment-to-penn/

#triblive

By: John Grupp Saturday, September 17, 2022 | 11:01 AM The smallest school in WPIAL girls soccer is starting to think big. 'This year, I'd really like to see us make it to the second round of playoffs,' Aquinas Academy senior midfielder Isabella Hite said, 'and, hopefully, go all the way.' The Crusaders, in only their third season as a program, are working to return to the WPIAL playoffs under new coach Tom Dongilli after last year's breakthrough 11-6 season. They welcomed Dongilli in the offseason after Dale Giovengo departed for Sewickley Academy following two seasons at the Hampton private school.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/confidence-growing-for-aquinas-academy-girls-soccer/

#triblive

By: Jonathan Bombulie Saturday, August 20, 2022 | 12:01 PM After a successful season that included a third-place finish in the Midwestern Athletic Conference and a first-round WPIAL playoff victory, Mohawk comes into this year with a strong, veteran line and some inexperience at the skill positions. Coach Tim McCutcheon isn't complaining. No, really. He isn't. Like, at all. He'd much rather have it this way than the opposite. 'When you don't have a line, you can't fake it,' McCutcheon said.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/strong-veteran-line-could-keep-mohawk-in-playoff-picture/

#triblive

By: Paul Schofield Sunday, August 21, 2022 | 5:01 PM Previous Next As if Robbie Labuda wasn't busy enough. Now the top running back for the Mt. Pleasant football team wants to add soccer to his packed schedule. It would be his fourth sport in high school. He already plays basketball and runs track. 'I want to try to help them win a section title and make the WPIAL playoffs,' Labuda said. 'Football is still my priority. 'There is an agreement between the coaches.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/mt-pleasant-senior-labuda-looks-to-help-two-teams-this-fall/

#triblive

By: Bill Beckner Jr. Monday, August 22, 2022 | 4:42 PM Previous Next While he appreciates the benefits and value of social media, Noah Vogel doesn't rely on the look-at-me platforms to forward his football career. 'Just because I don't post something doesn't mean I'm not working,' the Norwin senior said. 'I didn't film and post those 90-degree days in the heat when I was pushing sleds with my grandpa. But I know I did that. That should be good enough.' Don't get him wrong, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Vogel has posted pictures of himself alongside Los Angeles Rams' star Aaron Donald before.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/no-nonsense-senior-leads-norwin-into-class-5a-competition/

#triblive

By: Bill Beckner Jr. Tuesday, September 13, 2022 | 4:43 PM Franklin Regional (5-1) is the newest local team to find a spot in the TribLive HSSN rankings. The team moved into the No. 5 spot in Class 3A. All of the Panthers' wins have come via shutout. The have outscored their opponents 14-1. Franklin Regional has a big test Wednesday night when it hosts Latrobe (2-2-1), which fell from the top five this week. Southmoreland remains No. 2 and Mt. Pleasant No. 3 in Class 2A. Greensburg Central Catholic dropped a spot, to No.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/westmoreland-girls-soccer-notebook-franklin-regional-joins-top-5/

#triblive

By: Paul Schofield Friday, September 9, 2022 | 10:59 PM Previous Next There were a lot of happy faces in the Hempfield locker room following Friday's nonconference game at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. The Spartan players were posing for photos and music was blaring after their convincing 49-14 victory against Latrobe in a battle of the unbeaten — and they should be happy, starting the season 3-0 for the first time since 2016.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/hempfield-runs-past-latrobe-gets-off-to-3-0-start/

#triblive

By: Michael Love Sunday, September 11, 2022 | 11:01 AM Amberson Bauer and Christopher Barnes finished near the top — third and fourth, respectively — at the traditional season-opening Gateway Invitational cross country meet Sept. 3 at Boyce Park in Plum. Bauer, a senior, and Barnes, a sophomore, helped the Raiders take second to only Class 3A Fox Chapel in the team standings and defeat the likes of Class 3A Kiski Area, Plum, Gateway, Penn Hills, Franklin Regional and Baldwin. Sophomore Holden Deasy was right there in eighth in the individual Gateway Invite standings, and junior Cohen Hoolaham grabbed a top-20 finish in 18th overall.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/riverview-boys-cross-country-begins-quest-to-defend-wpial-title/

#triblive

By: Josh Rizzo Sunday, September 11, 2022 | 11:01 AM Entering a season with high expectations has the Penn Hills boys soccer team trying to reign in its emotions in the early going. The Indians were scheduled to enter a Section 3-3A match with Penn-Trafford last Thursday missing two of their top attacking players, neither due to injuries. Penn Hills saw players pick up red cards in a 3-1 win over McKeesport and 3-2 loss to Latrobe. The Indians are working on channeling their enthusiasm.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/penn-hills-boys-soccer-looking-to-stay-on-even-keel/

#triblive

By: Don Rebel Sunday, September 11, 2022 | 7:12 PM We inch our way toward the middle of September with a busy night of WPIAL girls soccer section action. One of the marque matchups Monday features a pair of undefeated teams fighting for first place in Section 2-3A as Thomas Jefferson hosts Laurel Highlands. The Mustangs are a perfect 3-0 in section matches, a half-game ahead of the Jaguars and Elizabeth Forward at 2-0. Laurel Highlands is off to a 5-0 start overall; however, those five teams have a combined one victory in 2022.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/what-to-watch-for-in-wpial-sports-on-sept-12-2022-tj-laurel-highlands-vie-for-top-spot/

#triblive

By: Don Rebel Monday, September 12, 2022 | 5:57 PM When Ellwood City sophomore running back Elijah Palmer-McCaine scored the second of his three touchdowns in Week 2 in the first quarter that put the Wolverines up for good, little did he know that he was making history. Palmer-McCaine rushed for 102 yards on 18 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 14, 5 and 11 yards as Ellwood City ended the longest current losing streak in the WPIAL at 27 in a row with a 46-6 win over visiting Carlynton.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/trib-hssn-football-team-of-the-week-2022-week-2/

#triblive

By: George Guido Saturday, August 27, 2022 | 5:47 PM Previous Next After a first half filled with methodical rushing drives by Beth-Center and Riverview, a huge gainer turned out to be a huge play. On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Beth-Center quarterback Dominick Revi uncorked a 61-yard pass- and-run play to Tyler Berish, who finally was stopped at the Riverview 15.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/big-play-helps-propel-beth-center-past-riverview/

#triblive

By: Chris Harlan Thursday, September 1, 2022 | 8:15 PM Previous Next Steel Valley's Cruce Brookins watched maybe a few minutes of last year's WPIAL 2A final. Sto-Rox's Josh Jenkins couldn't stomach watching any. That's understandable, because their teams were the favorites to face one another in that championship game. Steel Valley was the No. 1 seed. Sto-Rox was No. 2. Yet, both were upset in the semifinals, one win short of Heinz Field. The final instead featured Serra Catholic and Beaver Falls.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/week-1-clash-between-sto-rox-steel-valley-comes-10-months-later-than-theyd-hoped/

#triblive

By: Tribune-Review Friday, September 2, 2022 | 5:26 PM Mohawk's football season will resume after an investigation into allegations of hazing found misconduct was limited to a 'small number of individual players' and was not part of a systemic problem, the school district superintendent's office announced in a statement released Friday. 'While the incident is disturbing and unacceptable, it is not a part of the District's culture and appropriate parties have been and will be held accountable,' the statement read.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/mohawk-football-season-to-resume-after-hazing-investigation/

#triblive

By: Antonio Rossetti Friday, September 2, 2022 | 11:05 PM Northgate got its offense going early and improved to 1-1 with a 37-14 win over Springdale at Northgate Alumni Field. The Flames got things rolling when Sonteon Layne hit Lewis Clark on a 51-yard screen for a touchdown on their first possession of the game. After forcing the Dynamos to punt, Northgate was back at it. Layne connected with Clark on another screen, this time going for 66 yards. Darius Fields ran it in for two, putting Northgate up 14-0.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/northgate-defeats-springdale-37-14/

#triblive

By: George Guido Friday, September 2, 2022 | 10:33 PM Previous Next Burrell needed overtime, but the extra session was worth it as the 2-0 Bucs pulled out a 27-21 decision over Deer Lakes at Buccaneer Stadium. Burrell tried to win it in regulation, driving to the Deer Lakes 14 with 3.7 seconds to go. Following two Lancers timeouts, Ryan Croushore missed a 31-yard field goal attempt to send the game into overtime.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/burrell-pulls-out-overtime-win-against-deer-lakes/

#triblive

By: William Whalen Friday, September 2, 2022 | 10:26 PM After two weeks of football, a pattern is beginning to develop with Highlands: A slow first half leads to a dominant second half. Highlands took control of a tight game by scoring 16 points in the third quarter to put away nonconference rival Blackhawk, 23-0, on Friday at Golden Rams Stadium. 'They were blitzing and doing some stunts and stuff (in the first half), and we had to get into the locker room at halftime and figure it out,' Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski said.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/highlands-overcomes-another-slow-start-beats-blackhawk/

#triblive

By: Chris Harlan Saturday, September 3, 2022 | 12:49 AM Previous Next Cruce Brookins predicts that he and Steel Valley teammate Greg Smith will be crashing into one another on a college field in a year or two. Brookins is a Kent State commit and Smith is headed to Miami (Ohio), so they're future rivals in the Mid-American Conference. But for now, Brookins says he's thrilled to have the 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman on his side.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/steel-valleys-cruce-brookins-follows-big-bodied-blockers-to-run-heavy-win-over-sto-rox/

#triblive

By: Bill Beckner Jr. Saturday, September 3, 2022 | 5:43 PM Look down, and you might miss a play. Go to the concession stand, and you might miss a whole drive — maybe two. Hempfield is playing turbo-fast with its no-huddle spread offense, a product of offensive coordinator Ryan Reitz, who began to install the system last year and is seeing its possibilities take form. The Spartans barely gave Greensburg Salem and Connellsville time to reset at the line of scrimmage in a pair of wins to start the season.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/westmoreland-h-s-football-notebook-hempfield-putting-up-points-in-a-hurry/

#triblive

By: Ray Fisher Saturday, September 24, 2022 | 11:01 AM Previous Next The Bethel Park girls soccer team has climbed into WPIAL elite territory this season. The Black Hawks were ranked second in Class 4A in the Trib HSSN WPIAL girls soccer rankings for the week ending Sept. 18. Bethel Park started out 6-0 with five shutouts and 4-0 in Section 2 before losing a 2-1 decision Sept. 14 to Upper St. Clair. Mt. Lebanon stood in first place in the section at 5-0, followed by Bethel Park (5-1), Peters Township (4-1), USC (3-3) and Canon-McMillan (3-3).

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/experienced-bethel-park-girls-soccer-team-off-to-strong-start/

#triblive

By: Chris Harlan Saturday, September 24, 2022 | 11:01 AM At this time of year, North Allegheny's cross country team doesn't talk much about winning championships, even if the boys and girls are both defending state champs. The two teams combined have swept all eight WPIAL big-school titles in the past four years and celebrated seven PIAA titles in that span. Yet, instead of talking about more championships, NA coach John Neff said he and his staff spend August and September emphasizing individual goals for every runner at each race.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/talented-sophomores-pacing-defending-piaa-champion-north-allegheny-cross-country-teams/

#triblive