Chris Harlan stories, Page 59
PIAA basketball committee readies for shot clock discussion this week
Shot clock or no shot clock? Pennsylvania’s high school basketball teams should have a better idea whether the clock is in their future after the PIAA basketball committee debates the issue this week. The shot clock will be on the agenda when the committee meets Wednesday, PIAA executive director Bob...
Philadelphia basketball teams are here to stay in PIAA, says District 12 chairman
Philadelphia teams joined the PIAA basketball playoffs less than two decades ago, but District 12’s top administrator says his schools are here to stay, despite any wishful thinking by opponents. Over the years, some Philadelphia coaches and players have opined that the state tournament didn’t match their excitement for winning...
Chartiers Valley football coach Dan Knause resigns after 5 seasons for job elsewhere
Chartiers Valley football coach Dan Knause is a candidate for a job elsewhere, so he resigned Monday after five seasons with the Colts. “I wanted to be fair to the kids,” Knause said. “I didn’t want them to hear from second or third sources. I wanted to do right by...
Public school criticism of state basketball playoffs ‘sour grapes,’ says PIAA director
Traditional public schools won only two of the 12 state basketball titles celebrated this weekend in Hershey, the fewest since the PIAA expanded the sport to six classifications in 2016. The 10 others were won by private and charter schools, leading some public school coaches to question the fairness of...
Long scoreless stretch dashes Aliquippa’s hopes for state basketball title
HERSHEY — Aliquippa reached the state finals with four sophomores in the starting lineup, and that youth maybe showed itself at the worst time. The Quips went scoreless for more than six minutes, and their opponent scored 25 consecutive points, a frustrating run Aliquippa couldn’t overcome in Saturday’s 76-58 loss...
Freedom falls to Neumann-Goretti in 1st state championship appearance
HERSHEY – Freedom wanted to win a state title in its first trip to Hershey, but the championship trophy went home with a team that already owned four. Still, the Bulldogs were confident they took home something else: some statewide respect. “Nobody thought we’d be here,” sophomore Shaye Bailey said....
2022 PIAA Class 3A girls basketball championship breakdown: Freedom vs. Neumann-Goretti
PIAA Class 3A girls basketball final Freedom vs. Neumann-Goretti Noon, Saturday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribLive HSSN; Radio: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM PIAA titles: Freedom 0, Neumann-Goretti 4 (2015, ’16, ’17, ’18) Freedom (22-5) Coach: John Kaercher Projected starting lineup No., Name,...
2022 PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship breakdown: Aliquippa vs. Devon Prep
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball final Aliquippa vs. Devon Prep 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribLive HSSN; Radio: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM PIAA titles: Aliquippa 5 (1949, ’89, ’94, ’97, 2016), Devon Prep 0 Aliquippa (21-8) Coach: Nick Lackovich Probable...
Nationally ranked Imhotep Charter dashes New Castle’s hopes for state championship
HERSHEY — New Castle wanted to hold for the final shot of the first half, yet Imhotep Charter grabbed a rebound, hit a buzzer-beating 3 and ran to the locker room up 11. “That shot described how the first half went for them,” New Castle senior Mike Wells said. “They...
OLSH wins historic PIAA title, ties state record with 68 straight wins
HERSHEY — “Historic” is now the perfect word to describe Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s dominance. The Chargers tied the state’s longest winning streak and became the first boys basketball team in nearly 60 years to celebrate back-to-back undefeated PIAA titles Friday when they defeated Constitution, 92-71, in the...
2022 PIAA Class 5A boys basketball championship breakdown: New Castle vs. Imhotep Charter
PIAA Class 5A boys basketball final New Castle vs. Imhotep Charter 7:30 p.m., Friday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN PIAA titles: New Castle 1 (2014), Imhotep Charter 7 (2009, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’17, ’18, ’19) New Castle (27-2) Coach: Ralph Blundo Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht.,...
2022 PIAA Class 2A boys basketball championship breakdown: OLSH vs. Constitution
PIAA Class 2A boys basketball final OLSH vs. Constitution 2:30 p.m. Friday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribLive HSSN PIAA titles: OLSH 1 (2021), Constitution 4 (2012, ’14, ’15, ’18) Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (27-0) Coach: Mike Rodriguez Probable starting lineup No., Name,...
Quaker Valley falls to Philadelphia power Neumann-Goretti in state finals
HERSHEY — Adou Thiero blocked three first-quarter shots, Quaker Valley scored 11 consecutive points and the Quakers held a slim lead over an eight-time state champion. Momentum was on QV’s side, but it didn’t last. Neumann-Goretti had four Division I recruits among its starting five, and they certainly played like...
Balanced attack earns Bishop Canevin 1st PIAA boys basketball title
HERSHEY — This state championship celebration was years in the making for Bishop Canevin, with some waiting longer than others to see the Crusaders finally win one. Consider, their coach was once a team ballboy. “Being an alum from our school, our program was never talked about for years,” said...
2022 PIAA Class 4A boys basketball championship breakdown: Quaker Valley vs. Neumann-Goretti
PIAA Class 4A boys basketball final Quaker Valley vs. Neumann-Goretti 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribLive HSSN; Radio: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM PIAA titles: Quaker Valley 0, Neumann-Goretti 8 (2010, ’11, ’12, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18) Quaker Valley (27-0)...
Potential NFL path draws Thomas Jefferson’s Jordan Mayer to Boston College
Jordan Mayer is very good at getting his arms around quarterbacks, but when the Thomas Jefferson junior committed to Boston College, he was the one wrapped up. “I’ve never felt a hug like that from a bigger person,” said Mayer, who was bear-hugged by BC defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase....
PIAA semifinal win gives Aliquippa chance for rare football-basketball championship double
Aliquippa is headed to Hershey for the second time in three months, chasing after a rare football-basketball double state championship. Sophomore point guard Quentin Goode, who quarterbacked the Quips to a football title in the fall, made a winning layup with 30 seconds left Saturday afternoon as Aliquippa defeated South...
Rumpler 2nd-place finish at states a boon for North Allegheny girls wrestling team
North Allegheny didn’t have a girls wresting team two years ago, yet the Tigers saw a girl finish second in the state this winter. The team’s success is a credit to the athletes, coach Dan Heckert said, but also shows how far the program has come and how far the...
Mike Wells shakes off sore elbow, leads New Castle to 1st PIAA finals since ’14
Mike Wells’ elbow was still hurting him, but that didn’t hide his happiness as New Castle fans rained Hershey’s Kisses on the Red Hurricanes’ postgame celebration. A day after falling hard at practice, Wells shook off the shooting-arm injury and scored a game-high 26 points Friday night with four 3-pointers...
PIAA reveals sites, times for state basketball semifinals
Peters Township will host a PIAA semifinal Saturday between the Chartiers Valley and McKeesport girls, one of four all-WPIAL pairings in the final four of the state basketball tournament. The Class 5A teams play at noon at the school’s AHN Arena. Also at noon Saturday, the Aliquippa and South Allegheny...
Aliquippa finds ‘happy balance,’ tops Avonworth for 3rd time in PIAA quarterfinals
After missing a few long jumpers in the first quarter, Aliquippa’s D.J. Walker understood why he was being called to the bench and the junior didn’t argue. “He knows,” said Quips coach Nick Lackovich, who wanted his players to work for better shots. “I said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to ….’...
PIAA announces sites, times for Friday’s state basketball semifinals
The PIAA chose Norwin as host site for the rematch of New Castle and Gateway, one of two all-WPIAL pairings in the state basketball semifinals. They’ll meet at 7 p.m. Friday with the winner advancing to Hershey. New Castle defeated Gateway by 10 points when they played Feb. 28 in...
New Castle wins ‘fist fight’ over Penn Hills in low-scoring PIAA quarterfinal
How do you describe a game with more than a dozen blocks, more than two dozen turnovers, and the first team to score 40 points won? “A total fist fight,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said, “and we knew that’s what it was going to be.” At the end, his...
Gateway stuns Laurel Highlands, earns 1st appearance in state basketball semifinals
There will be a WPIAL rematch in the state semifinals, but Laurel Highlands won’t be there. The previously undefeated WPIAL champions were stunned Tuesday night by a determined Gateway team that dominated on the glass, piled up second-chance points and celebrated a 55-52 victory in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal...
WPIAL approves new section alignment for next 2 wrestling seasons
Say goodbye to the subsections. The WPIAL will crown 12 section wrestling champions next winter in a new alignment approved Monday that eliminates the use of subsections in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. This winter’s alignment had only seven sections, with each section divided into two subsections. The new alignment...
