Michael Love stories, Page 42
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 4
Player of the week Derek Burk Deer Lakes, Sr., QB Deer Lakes won its third in a row with a 48-14 nonconference win over Greensburg Salem last Friday, and Lancers senior Derek Burk’s influence was all over the victory. Burk completed 11 of 12 passes for 251 yards and five...
Leechburg aims for 1st victory against Eastern Conference rival Clairton
Leechburg returns home Friday hoping to add a second Eastern Conference victory. The Blue Devils, 3-1 overall after last week’s 48-25 victory at Springdale, also hope to add a first-ever win over a team that has been a dominant force in the conference. Clairton has won 28 of the 29...
Robert Morris Athletic Hall of Fame announces 4-member Class of 2023
A decade before Jon LeDonne became a head football coach in the WPIAL, he made an impact on the field at Robert Morris University. The four-year Colonials letterman finished his career as one of the all-time RMU leaders in career tackles with 256. LeDonne, an Aliquippa native, earned numerous athletic...
Springdale girls soccer team building on last season’s success
The Springdale girls soccer team is the hunted this season coming off of what it did last year as a WPIAL Class A finalist and a PIAA quarterfinalist. The Dynamos, the No. 1 team this week in the TribLive HSSN Class A rankings, also is a team with a target...
Plum remains lone unbeaten team in Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League
Plum swept Baldwin in a doubleheader Sunday to remain the lone unbeaten slow-pitch team in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League. The Mustangs scored a combined 37 runs in the two games against the Highlanders and have outscored their opponents 104-24 through six games. North Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon split...
Plum girls soccer earns tightly contested win over Franklin Regional
The Plum and Franklin Regional girls soccer teams met twice last year in section play, resuming a local rivalry that was dormant for three years. The Mustangs swept the Panthers en route to their fourth straight section championship. Franklin Regional hoped to change that narrative Monday evening at home as...
Leaders hang on to top spots in latest coaches association WPIAL girls volleyball rankings
North Allegheny, Hampton, Freeport and Bishop Canevin each held on to their No. 1 rankings in the latest Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association WPIAL girls top-10 polls released Monday morning. There was a shakeup near the top in Class A as Frazier moved up to No. 2 from its No....
Gateway girls soccer finding offensive rhythm in early going
Gateway girls soccer coach Caleb Kyper said his players were a little shell-shocked after a 6-0 loss to Plum, a 2022 WPIAL semifinalist and PIAA qualifier, in the season and Section 3-3A opener Aug. 28. The Gators had a quick turnaround against Penn Hills just two days later, and Kyper...
Gateway boys soccer players learning from early-season tests
The Gateway boys soccer team has been up and down and everywhere in between so far in Section 4-3A play. They took care of business against Penn Hills and McKeesport, suffered tough losses to section powers Franklin Regional and Plum, and forged a key tie against a Penn-Trafford team they...
High-scoring Riverview girls soccer ready for rivalry matchup with No. 1 Springdale
The Riverview girls soccer team couldn’t ask for a bigger opportunity Thursday evening under the lights at Riverside Park. The Raiders, who have jumped out to a 4-1 record in Section 1-A play, will face rival Springdale, the No. 1 team in the Trib HSSN Class A rankings and last...
Despite heavy graduation losses, Plum girls soccer off to strong start in section play
With new starters all over the field and other younger players getting their first taste of varsity experience, Plum girls soccer coach Jamie Stewart said he likes what he has seen out of his players in the early going as they hope to build off a strong start both in...
Plum golfers going low in section competition
The Plum boys golf team qualified for the WPIAL Class 3A team playoffs last season for the first time since 2013. The Mustangs made an impact in the first round and advanced to the finals. Several of the players from that team returned with a repeat performance in mind, and...
Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Burrell shows its grit
When it comes to conference play in the WPIAL, the win is the thing, and Burrell delivered a victory in dramatic fashion Friday against Serra Catholic at Buccaneer Stadium in the Allegheny Conference opener for both teams. Senior Tyler Maglisco scored from 5 yards out in the latter stages of...
Leechburg runs away from Springdale for conference win
Springdale possessed the football early in the fourth quarter down two possessions against Leechburg in both teams’ Eastern Conference opener Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Springdale. But the Blue Devils defense forced a Dynamos punt, and the Leechburg offense tallied two scores to pull away and finish off...
Kiski Area’s Eliza Miller captures 3rd Kiski Invitational title
Three is the magic number for Eliza Miller. The Kiski Area senior captured her third Kiski Invitational varsity girls cross country title Friday morning at Northmoreland Park. In near perfect weather conditions with sunny skies and temperatures near 70 at race time, Miller ran to a time of 18 minutes,...
Kiski Area, Plum boys golf on collision course with playoff spot up for grabs
The Plum boys golf team snapped an eight-year WPIAL team playoff drought last year by finishing second to Central Catholic in Section 4-3A. The Mustangs took advantage of their opportunity in the first round at Beaver Valley Golf Club and earned a spot in the finals. Kiski Area hopes to...
Highlands motivated to start Greater Allegheny Conference play against North Catholic
For the Highlands football team, the road to the WPIAL playoffs kicks into high gear Friday. After three victories in nonconference play to start the season, the Golden Rams open Greater Allegheny Conference action on the road at perennial playoff contender North Catholic (1-2). Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski knows what...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 3
Player of the Week Devin Beattie Burrell, Sr., RB/LB Devin Beattie was questionable to play Friday against Valley after suffering an injury two weeks ago in the loss at Deer Lakes. But the bruising runner wasn’t going to stand on the sidelines and not play against the rival Vikings. Beattie...
Freeport girls soccer off to strong start despite heavy graduation losses
The Freeport girls soccer team earned a WPIAL playoff berth last year for the 10th season in a row. Only Plum, with 11, has a longer streak in the Alle-Kiski Valley. The Yellowjackets lost eight seniors from a team that finished second in a competitive Section 2-2A with 10 victories,...
Plum, Bethel Park remain undefeated in Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League play
Plum and Bethel Park are the only undefeated teams left after two weeks of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League season. Plum swept Seneca Valley on Sunday, 16-1 and 19-4, to move to 4-0. The Mustangs have outscored their opponents 67-9. Bethel Park is 3-0, scoring 35 runs and posting...
Burrell volleyball team hopes to keep momentum going with tough section schedule ahead
In starting 3-0 overall, 2-0 in Section 5-2A with victories over Ligonier Valley and the Neighborhood Academy, and earning a top-six finish against mostly higher-classification schools at Saturday’s Moon tournament, the Burrell girls volleyball team won 15 of 18 sets to start the season. The Bucs, senior 6-foot-3 middle hitter...
Coaches association releases latest WPIAL girls volleyball rankings
With section play in full swing, teams in all four WPIAL girls volleyball classifications are making their move with impact victories on the court. Others are hoping for bounce-back performances as the third week of section matches begins. North Allegheny (Class 4A), Hampton (Class 3A), Freeport (Class 2A) and Bishop...
Riverview cross country program ready to build on success
The Riverview boys and girls cross country teams ended last season at the PIAA state meet in Hershey after strong finishes at the WPIAL championships at Cal (Pa.). The returning Raiders runners, along with some new blood, hope to build off that successful ending to the 2022 season. Coach Palma...
Led by PIAA qualifier Kefimba Cisse, Gateway runners off to strong start
Kefimba Cisse is on a mission for his senior season on the Gateway boys cross country team. Veteran Gators coach Tom LaBuff sees it and hopes Cisse can take advantage of the prime running opportunities in his final varsity year. Cisse finished in the lead pack at the season-opening Gateway...
Gateway golfers show early improvement in quest for playoff berth
Noah Colberg shot a nine-hole round of 50 in a match Aug. 16 at Willowbrook Country Club. It was the Gateway senior’s highest round of the season. Just a couple of weeks later, he owned a trio of rounds in the 30s with a pair of 38s against both Penn...
