Bill Beckner stories, Page 68
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Coaching couple extends helping hand to Jayhawks
The Jeannette girls soccer team was missing a coach and on the verge of circling the drain when the district turned to its former leader to get things back on track. Billy Bryant, who resigned last year after two seasons leading the Jayhawks, was asked to return to the bench...
Seneca Valley star pitcher Lexie Hames commits to Clemson
No surprises here: Seneca Valley ace softball pitcher Lexie Hames is headed to a top-tier NCAA program. The all-state junior fireballer announced Monday she has verbally committed to Clemson of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tigers went 49-12 last season and reached the NCAA Super Regional. ExtraInningsSoftball.com has Hames in...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield’s Brose brothers shine for Delaware
The brothers Brose from Hempfield have helped the Delaware Blue Hens to a 3-1 start. Braden Brose, a graduate tight end, is starting alongside his brother, senior Fintan Brose, an offensive lineman. Braden Brose (6-3, 250) had a season-high four receptions for 66 yards in Saturday’s 29-25 win over New...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Norwin’s Guzzie hits hole-in-one at WPIALs
Norwin sophomore Lia Guzzie did not qualify for the WPIAL girls golf finals, but she made a lasting memory at the Section 3-3A Tournament. Guzzie had carded four straight fives on the back nine last Tuesday at Indiana Country Club and must have grown tired of the monotony. She decided...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Penn-Trafford’s Whipple enjoys breakout
Tasso Whipple was a little hesitant to talk to the media after his record-breaking performance Friday night. The Penn-Trafford junior running back, the kid with the cool-sounding name, had just ran for 300 yards and scored four touchdowns but wasn’t quite up for an interview. Fair enough. Whipple let his...
7 athletes, state champion team, coach to join Jeannette’s Athletic Hall of Fame
Jeannette announced its 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame class that includes seven athletes, a team, a coach and legend and contributor honorees. The Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Jeannette Educational Foundation, will include an induction ceremony on a date to be announced in January. This year’s inductees are: Athletes...
Norwin notebook: Seniors make impact in girls soccer win
The Norwin girls soccer team made the most of senior night. The Lady Knights edged past visiting Baldwin, 2-1, for their second win of the season. They broke a four-game losing streak. Senior captains Evelyn Moore and Gabby Schoemer picked up points in the victory. Moore scored the go-ahead goal,...
Comeback win gives Norwin football a boost in confidence
Norwin football coach Mike Brown made a special moment out of his team’s first home win of the season, giving the game ball to his father and assistant coach, Bill Brown, for a birthday present on the Saturday after the victory. It was another reason to celebrate for the Knights,...
Westmoreland County athletes of the week: Jeannette’s Jordan Taylor, Belle Vernon’s Gabriella Dusi
Gabriella Dusi School: Belle Vernon Class: Sophomore Sport: Tennis Claim to fame: The sophomore breezed to her first WPIAL Class 2A girls tennis title Wednesday and Thursday. She defeated Beaver senior Chloe DeSanzo, 6-1, 6-0, in the finals Thursday at North Allegheny. Dusi is ranked sixth in the state. Has...
Penn-Trafford rides Whipple’s record-setting night to win over Hempfield
Junior tailback Tasso Whipple averaged more than 13 yards per carry on the way to a single-game school rushing record of 300 yards and scored four touchdowns as he and Penn-Trafford remembered what it felt like to win at home. Shut out in back-to-back home games, the Warriors followed Whipple...
High-scoring Jeannette boys continue hot streak with victory over Greensburg Salem
The highest-scoring team in WPIAL boys soccer isn’t going to slow down until the throttle burns out. Or until it leaves a lasting impression. Scoring a ton of goals is Jeannette’s forte so far this season. The surging Jayhawks are up to 81 goals after a 5-1 victory over Greensburg...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Hempfield gets new left tackle as injuries hit lineup
Hempfield is making some position changes work because of injuries. Rising talent Brock Heisler, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound sophomore tight end and long snapper, has been a part of the on-the-fly adjustments. The Spartans (1-3), who play at Penn-Trafford (1-3) on Friday night in the Class 5A Big East opener, have...
Mt. Pleasant builds state rankings case with 6-0 win over rival Southmoreland
Mt. Pleasant could have made a fuss when the coaches’ state girls soccer rankings came out this week, and there was no mention of the Lady Vikings. None. Not even an “others receiving votes.” But, rather than complain, they decided to keep building their case for next week’s double-A top...
Westmoreland County high school football matchups for 2023 Week 4
Class 5A Big East Conference Hempfield (1-3, 0-0) at Penn-Trafford (1-3, 0-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Harrison City Last week: Shaler 33, Hempfield 17; Belle Vernon 21, Penn-Trafford 0 Last year’s result: Hempfield 28, Penn-Trafford 17 Both teams open conference play looking for a good start. Hempfield started 5-0...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Gritty Norwin climbs in standings
Norwin has been one of the hotter teams in the WPIAL of late. After a 5-1 loss to top-ranked Seneca Valley, the Knights have been on a roll, winning six of seven by a combined score of 22-3. A 2-1 win over Mt. Lebanon showed the No. 3-ranked Knights can...
Goals keep coming for ‘relentless’ Belle Vernon junior Trevor Kovatch
When he was about 5 years old, Trevor Kovatch wandered into his neighbor’s backyard and, bang, there it was. “They had a soccer net,” Kovatch said. “I kicked a ball in, and I knew then that I was going to love the game.” Even before grade school, the junior at...
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Izzy Aigner to play with Greensburg native Rocco Mediate at PGA Tour Champions event
It will be an all-Greensburg pairing at the Pure Insurance Championship this week at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Izzy Aigner, a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, will play with Hempfield graduate and fan favorite Rocco Mediate in the 54-hole PGA Tour Champions event that features a side pro-junior competition for...
Jeannette’s Jordan Taylor earns statewide scoring honor
He plays for the highest-scoring boys soccer team in the WPIAL and is one of the highest-scoring players in the country. That made Jordan Taylor an easy choice for a national honor. Taylor, a senior standout at Jeannette, was named the United Soccer Coaches/MaxPreps High School State Player of the...
Latrobe boys soccer proves it is for real by blanking Franklin Regional
Latrobe likes to rely on an overcrowded midfield to control the tempo and produce occasional run-outs for scoring chances. It’s the boys soccer team’s bread and butter. The game plan worked as the tone-setter in Tuesday night’s surprising Section 4-3A victory against Franklin Regional. The Wildcats pushed ahead on a...
Abby Paterline putting versatility, knowledge to use for Franklin Regional girls soccer
Because she has grown up in a soccer family, Franklin Regional’s Abby Paterline knows the game inside and out. She knows the field well, too, because there aren’t many spaces on it she has not occupied at one time or another. “My dad played at Grove City, and his dad,...
WPIAL soccer teams dot latest PSCA state rankings
A rare loss did not affect the Moon girls soccer team’s standing in the state rankings. The defending PIAA champion Tigers (7-1-1), who were upset last week by South Fayette, 1-0, to end their 47-game unbeaten streak, remain No. 1 in the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association rankings for Class 3A....
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic winning with small but mighty roster
Greenburg Central Catholic has to take it easy in practice this season. Like Yough last year, the Centurions have a small roster. Sometimes, they barely have enough for one side. The year started with 15 players, but GCC played with only 11 in a recent game against Serra Catholic, which...
Latrobe sophomore finds golden goal to beat Penn-Trafford
Sophomore forward Annalyse Bauer had a couple of near-miss scoring opportunities in the second half, bumping a header off the post and later ringing a shot off the football crossbar. When the ball came to her ahead of two defenders early in overtime, she made sure to finish. An offensive...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Southmoreland grad Zach Cernuto scores 3 TDs for W&J
Zach Cernuto knew he was not going to play quarterback when he left Southmoreland and joined the football team at Washington & Jefferson. But the thought of playing tight end or H-back intrigued him because he knew he could still have an impact on offense, be it by blocking people...
Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch earns scholarship offer from West Virginia
Alex Tatsch spent a perfect late-summer day in Morgantown. He looked around a college campus, watched the Backyard Brawl and came home with a souvenir: a scholarship offer. West Virginia extended an offer to the Latrobe junior football standout Saturday, stamping his potential as a Power 5 prospect. After an...
