Chris Harlan stories, Page 50
Upper St. Clair running back with Florida roots hopes to lead Panthers on WPIAL playoff run
An injured ankle had Jamaal Brown sidelined at this time last year, making him an unhappy spectator when Upper St. Clair lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Panthers haven’t won a WPIAL playoff game since 2019, back when Brown was a freshman attending high school in Florida,...
Butler can participate in District 10 football championship after court denies PIAA request
The Butler football team will have a chance to win a District 10 championship thanks to a school district victory Thursday in court. A Commonwealth Court judge denied a PIAA request that would’ve kept Butler out of the District 10 playoffs, clearing the way for the Golden Tornado to take...
WPIAL rules Lincoln Park transfers eligible, requests hearings for Imani newcomers
The WPIAL cleared Lincoln Park transfers Maddie Syka and Abbi Jannuzi to play girls basketball in the regular season this winter after holding separate eligibility hearings Tuesday in Green Tree. Blackhawk had flagged their transfers as maybe motivated by athletics since both played for the same AAU program, but the...
WPIAL purchases building with plans to relocate league office
You might say the WPIAL is transferring offices. The league plans to move into a newly purchased building on Swallow Hill Road in Scott Township that’s about 6 miles south of the Green Tree office space the WPIAL has called home for more than 20 years. The cost was $340,000....
Week 9 surprises loomed large as WPIAL football committee paired brackets
Some folks count sheep. As co-chairs of the WPIAL football committee, Norwin athletic director Mike Burrell and Brentwood principal Jason Olexa spent the final night of the regular season endlessly counting tiebreaker points before they could fall asleep. This year, there was more counting to do than usual after the...
‘It’s unfair to our kids,’ says Clairton coach after WPIAL denies home playoff game
Wayne Wade was already envisioning one more Friday night in Clairton under the lights and the festivities that accompany a home football game in the WPIAL playoffs. Now, he’s left to wonder what time the team bus must leave to beat traffic. “It’s unfair to our kids not to have...
Breaking down the 2022 WPIAL football playoffs
Class 6A Favorite: North Allegheny, which is seeking its first WPIAL title since 2012, took care of business in the regular season. The Tigers went 4-0 in conference play to finish alone in first place, but didn’t blow anybody away in the process. They had a one-point win, a four-point...
WPIAL announces 2022 football playoff pairings
Defending WPIAL champions Aliquippa and Bishop Canevin were among the six teams that earned No. 1 seeds for the upcoming football playoffs when brackets were revealed online Saturday on TribLive HSSN. Aliquippa is the defending Class 4A champion and Canevin is trying to repeat in Class A. The other top...
Girls wrestling moves closer to goal of being sanctioned by PIAA
Someday, the state’s best female wrestlers will be crowned PIAA champions at Giant Center in matches held alongside the boys, if advocates for the sport get their wish. “We’d like it to be at Hershey with the boys, that’s the goal,” said North Allegheny coach Dan Heckert, part of a...
WPIAL bracketology: Don Rebel, Chris Harlan forecast 2022 football playoff pairings
The WPIAL football playoff brackets will be revealed at 2 p.m. Saturday on TribLive HSSN. In the meantime, here’s a look at what those brackets might look like, according to HSSN’s Don Rebel and Chris Harlan. Class 6A Chris Harlan’s bracket No. 4 Canon-McMillan at No. 1 North Allegheny No....
Capacity crowd sees Aliquippa defeat rival Central Valley with dominant 3rd quarter
Aliquippa’s DJ Walker saw fans standing rows deep along the fence, heard cheers of a capacity crowd and felt the excitement in the cold, October air. That fueled his big night. “It’s the energy,” he said. “You felt the vibe in the stadium. You felt the vibe on the field....
Judge rules Butler football can compete in District 10 playoffs
Butler earned its biggest win of the season hours before Friday night’s football game against Latrobe. A Butler County judge ruled that the football team can compete in the District 10 playoffs over objections from the WPIAL and PIAA. In a ruling Friday, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Robert Yeatts...
5 things to watch in Week 9 of high school football
Almost everyone has an off year once in a while, yet Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz and North Catholic’s Pat O’Shea have never had a team miss the playoffs in their head coaching careers. That might change after this week. Kasperowicz’s teams reached the playoffs eight consecutive years at Pine-Richland from...
Reigning state champions Aliquippa, Central Valley clash in long-awaited Week 9 finale
Two high school communities in Beaver County had Oct. 28 marked on their calendars since late February, when the WPIAL first released this season’s football schedules. Their day has arrived. At 7 p.m. Friday, Central Valley faces Aliquippa in a long-awaited regular-season finale at Freedom’s Jimbo Covert Stadium. The 2,500-seat...
WPIAL bracketology: Don Rebel, Chris Harlan forecast 2022 football playoff pairings
Bracketology before the playoff field is set is a curious idea. One that some might think gives solid insight into what the WPIAL football steering committee might do when they meet on Saturday. Or it may be looked at with folly by others who see the ramblings of two guys...
Once a critic of PIAA competitive-balance rule, state rep from Beaver County supports overhaul
The PIAA’s plan to remove the transfer criteria from its competitive-balance formula received support Tuesday from a Beaver County legislator who was an outspoken critic of the current rule. State Rep. Rob Matzie (D-Beaver County) wrote a critical letter to the PIAA last December when the Aliquippa football team was...
Football fans lining up for coveted Central Valley vs. Aliquippa tickets
The hottest ticket in Beaver County isn’t for a British pop star or an 80’s rock band back on tour. The top ticket is for a high school football game between rivals Aliquippa and Central Valley, two undefeated state champions who’ll play for a conference title Friday night. When Aliquippa...
5 things we learned in Week 8 of high school football
There were some dark days this fall for the Mohawk football program, but Saturday wasn’t one of them. The Warriors cemented their spot in the WPIAL playoffs by pulling off a 22-8 upset on the road against Western Beaver, an opponent that had lost once all season. Remembering where Mohawk...
OLSH loses star QB in warmups; No. 1 Bishop Canevin clinches 1st conference title since ’11
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Nehemiah Azeem is one of the WPIAL’s top passers, but 15 minutes before kickoff, the Chargers found out they wouldn’t have him in the lineup. The quarterback hurt his knee during pregame warmups at Dormont Stadium, leaving OLSH in a dire spot as No....
Trib HSSN WPIAL high school football rankings: Week ending Oct. 23, 2022
WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 8-1, 1 2. Central Catholic, 5-4, 4 3. Seneca Valley, 6-3, 2 4. Mt. Lebanon, 4-5, 3 5. Canon-McMillan, 5-4, 5 Class 5A Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 8-1, 1 2. Pine-Richland, 6-3, 2 3. Gateway, 7-2, 3...
North Allegheny volleyball looks to finish job after unprecedented regular season dominance
North Allegheny’s girls volleyball team has won five consecutive state titles, but this year’s roster accomplished a feat none of those teams ever did. They played 16 matches this fall and didn’t lose single set — winning them all 3-0. “We kind of congratulated them for that accomplishment,” NA coach...
Central Catholic’s young playmakers lead playoff-clinching win over Seneca Valley
Central Catholic could’ve accepted a penalty for an out-of-bound kickoff and taken the ball at the 35-yard line, but instead told Seneca Valley to re-kick. Playing timid wasn’t an option. With their playoff hopes on the line Friday night, the Vikings asked their young playmakers to make plays. Sophomore Xxavier...
5 things to watch in Week 8 of high school football
It’s hard to be perfect. With two weeks left in the regular season, only seven WPIAL teams still own an undefeated record, the lowest total in three years. Last season, 10 teams finished the regular season unbeaten. In 2020, there were 14, inflated in part because of pandemic cancellations. This...
Preseason WPIAL favorites Central Catholic, Seneca Valley now fighting for playoff lives
Seneca Valley and Central Catholic were picked as preseason favorites to meet in the WPIAL Class 6A championship before anyone had played a game. Yet, they’ll meet Friday night in a Week 8 matchup that could ultimately keep one out of the playoffs altogether. The winner is safe. The loser...
9 WPIAL coaches earn statewide award from PIAA
Nine WPIAL coaches were name state coaches of the year by the PIAA for the 2021-22 school year. Moon had two coaches earn the statewide honor: girls track coach Kyle Burgess and girls soccer coach Bill Pfeifer. Joining them were Hampton boys soccer coach Matt McAwley, Seneca Valley boys swimming...
