Greg Macafee stories, Page 18
Plum prepared for tough matchup with McKeesport after returning to playoffs for first time since 2015
When the WPIAL football brackets were revealed Saturday evening, four A-K Valley teams had their tickets to the postseason punched. Plum, Freeport, Apollo-Ridge, and Springdale were awarded playoff bids. Plum and Apollo-Ridge finished atop their respective conferences and earned automatic bids. Freeport and Springdale were selected as wild cards. Plum...
No. 8 Hampton tops Kiski Area to advance to WPIAL boys soccer quarterfinals
Through 40 minutes Saturday at Fridley Field in Allison Park, No. 8 Hampton and No. 9 Kiski Area were scoreless, but as the first half turned to the second, the game opened up and the scoring started. Hampton (11-4-1) scored three goals, and the Cavaliers (11-5-1) only managed one as...
North Catholic boys varsity soccer team cleared to play in first round of playoffs
After having to quarantine for 14 days because of a coronavirus exposure during one of their final matches, the North Catholic boys varsity soccer team has been cleared to play in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round matchup against Leechburg on Monday. North Catholic athletic director Brian Miller said the team...
Fox Chapel field hockey prepares for first postseason appearance since 2017
For the first time since its undefeated regular season in 2017, the Fox Chapel field hockey team is headed back to the WPIAL playoffs. Since that storied season three years ago, when the Foxes won all 12 of their regular-season games and then dropped a 1-0 contest to North Allegheny...
Freeport pushes North Catholic to the brink but the Trojans come away victoriousVideo
It wasn’t pretty, but Friday night at Mars, the No. 2 North Catholic Trojans were happy to get off the field with their seventh win of the season and in turn capture the Allegheny Seven Conference title. Despite giving up a 14-point lead to Freeport in the second half, the...
A-K Valley soccer playoff preview capsules
Boys Class AAA First round 9-Kiski Area (11-4-1) at 8-Hampton (10-4-1) Noon, Saturday, Fridley Field, Allison Park Winner plays: Winner of 16-Laurel Highlands (7-8) at 1-Mars (14-0), Noon, Saturday, Mars Athletic Complex. Hat tricks: The Talbots scored 13 goals in their final regular-season game against Highlands. They only have allowed...
Plum boys soccer riding 11-game winning streak heading into WPIAL playoffs
For the second straight year, the Plum boys soccer team is playing its best soccer when it matters most. It has put them in a good position heading into the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. When the boys soccer brackets were revealed Wednesday, the Mustangs (13-1) drew the No....
Freeport, North Catholic prepare for physical battle in Allegheny Seven matchup
Physicality is a football trait that both Freeport and North Catholic take in pride when they step onto the field each Friday night. So, when the teams meet at the Mars Athletic Complex this Friday for their Allegheny Seven conference matchup, both Freeport’s John Gaillot and North Catholic’s Pat O’Shea...
Breaking down the 2020 WPIAL boys soccer playoffs
Here’s a look at the 2020 WPIAL boys soccer playoffs: Class 4A Favorite: Peters Township (11-1-1) won the Section 2-4A championship and only lost one game all season long, a 2-0 decision to No. 5 Upper St. Clair. They also tallied five shutouts and had a five-game winning streak heading...
WPIAL releases 2020 soccer playoff pairings
The WPIAL soccer playoff brackets are set. The top boys seeds are Peters Township (11-1-1) in Class 4A, Mars (14-0) in 3A, Shady Side Academy (11-2) in 2A and Greensburg Central Catholic (11-1) in A. The top girls seeds are Peters Township (10-1-1) in Class 4A, Mars (12-0) in 3A,...
Sewickley Academy girls soccer set for return to playoffs
Sometimes all it takes for a team be successful is a solid senior class, a few key players and a team-first mentality. This fall, the Sewickley Academy girls soccer team has experienced all three as they hold a record of 8-2-1 with one game left in the regular season. The...
Quaker Valley boys soccer displaying championship-caliber form
A year ago, the Quaker Valley boys soccer team had a talented senior class that led them to WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A titles. Eight of them, including Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year Dom Reiter and his twin brother Fritz, combined to score 119 of Quaker Valley’s 175 goals....
Leechburg earns 400th win and could record first winning season since 1991
Friday night was an important night for Leechburg football. Thirty-seven years after the program earned its 300th win, the Blue Devils earned No. 400 and did so in a big way. Sophomore running back Braylan Lovelace ran for 397 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries as the Blue Devils...
Jump in classification doesn’t slow Shady Side Academy girls soccer
In the past four years, the Shady Side Academy girls soccer team has solidified itself as one of the best teams in Class A. They won two WPIAL titles and one PIAA title, made three PIAA finals appearances and won 70 games. They turned in their best season last year...
Shady Side Academy’s Sam Farner provides winning presence for boys soccer team
Shady Side Academy’s Sam Farner is just a junior, but coach Ed Ellsworth says it seems like the talented midfielder has been around the program forever. It’s probably because he has been around longer than most. Between his seventh and eighth grade years, Farner got accustomed to the program by...
Freeport cruises past Burrell in conference matchup
Freeport came into its Allegheny Seven Conference matchup against Burrell on Friday with a chip on its shoulder and a determined attitude. After missing consecutive games because of a covid-19 exposure, the Yellowjackets (3-1, 3-0) were ready to go, and it showed. Burrell quarterback Alex Arledge scored the first six...
Quaker Valley cancels football game with Keystone Oaks due to possible coronavirus exposure
Quaker Valley has canceled its football game Friday night with Keystone Oaks. “Out of an abundance of caution, Quaker Valley School District is not playing tonight’s football game at Keystone Oaks School District due to recent exposure to covid-19,” the school district said in a statement on its website. In...
North Catholic boys soccer team in quarantine after possible coronavirus exposure
Just two days after taking down No. 3 Quaker Valley, 3-2, in overtime, the No. 5 North Catholic boys soccer team is in quarantine after a possible coronavirus exposure. The Diocese of Pittsburgh released a statement Friday afternoon that all 27 people involved with the North Catholic boys soccer team...
Freeport grad Alan Bauman named boys basketball coach at Knoch
When the 2020 high school basketball season kicks off in a few months, the Knoch boys basketball team will have a new coach on the sidelines. The South Butler School Board approved the hiring of Alan Bauman as boys basketball coach on Wednesday. Bauman, who graduated from Freeport in 1991...
Panthers on the prowl as Franklin Regional, Sewickley Academy win WPIAL boys golf team titles
The Franklin Regional boys golfers had a feeling 2020 might be their year. Turns out the Panthers’ intuition was on the money. Led by senior Michael Wareham, who shot a 6-over-par 78, Franklin Regional captured its first WPIAL Class AAA boys team golf championship Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course. Chuck...
Burrell, Freeport preparing for another classic matchup
When Burrell and Freeport met last season for their annual football contest they put on a show for fans in attendance. The Bucs came away with a 36-35 victory, winning on a 2-point conversion in overtime. A lot of time has passed since that clash. Both teams lost large senior...
Deer Lakes avenges only loss of season with section win over Shady Side Academy
Throughout his high school career, Deer Lakes senior Mike Sullivan has been known for taking over games. Wednesday night’s Section 2-2A contest against rival Shady Side Academy was no different. The fleet-footed forward scored two goals, with the first coming just 44 seconds before the end of the first half,...
A-K Valley boys soccer notebook: Kiski Area filling the net after finding identity
At some point during the season, each winning team starts to hit a stride that carries it on a successful run. Since Sept. 28, the Kiski Area Cavaliers (10-2-1, 10-2) have been on a midseason run that not many teams can match. Since defeating Woodland Hills, 7-0, Sean Arnold and...
Leechburg boys soccer making major strides in program’s 2nd year
In the program’s second year, the Leechburg boys soccer team has put itself in position to make its first playoff appearance. That’s a rapid rise for a program coach Brad Walker started from scratch in 2019. After forming a co-op agreement with Apollo-Ridge, the Blue Devils were thrust into a...
Quaker Valley hires John Nemeth as swimming coach
Swimming coach John Nemeth is ready for the new opportunity in front of him. On Oct. 2, Quaker Valley announced the hiring of Nemeth, who also is a physical education teacher at the middle school, as the new varsity swim coach. Nemeth, who was a team captain and eight-time All-American...
