Michael Love stories, Page 84
Bethel Park’s Gorman defends WPIAL singles title; Sewickley Academy’s Close wins in Class 2A
Once was nice for Bethel Park’s Mia Gorman. Twice is much better. The senior standout captured her second straight WPIAL Class AAA championship Friday afternoon at North Allegheny with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Peters Township junior Kat Wang. “It’s exciting. Senior year. Two in a row,” Gorman said. “It’s...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 4
Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference Knoch (1-3, 0-1) at Armstrong (2-2, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, NexTier Bank Complex, Manor Township The River Hawks went for the win last Friday against Hampton, but a 2-point conversion pass with 39 seconds left fell short in a 21-20 loss to the Talbots …...
A-K Valley football players to watch for 2021 Week 4
Thomas Burke Leechburg, Sr., QB/CB The Blue Devils’ veteran performer had a big game last week against Clairton, throwing for 360 yards and three touchdowns against three interceptions. It was the most passing yardage accumulated in the WPIAL for Week 3. Burke, who hopes to help Leechburg return to the...
Burrell girls soccer team picks up where it left off
A youthful Burrell girls soccer team navigated through all of the covid-related changes last fall, won eight out of 12 games and finished 7-2 in Section 2-AA play. The Bucs capped their season in the WPIAL quarterfinals. Despite losing a couple of key players to graduation, a lot of talent...
Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League scores for Week 5
The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League’s three classifications braved warm conditions over the weekend and completed 58 games in Week 5. Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League Results - Sept. 18-19 CLASS AAA Division I (5th-6th grade) Hempfield 48, Albert Gallatin 12 Rostraver 26, Greater Latrobe 0 Trinity 47, Montour 6...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Valley grad Ross sets receiving mark at Allegheny
Vaun Ross had a record-setting day for Allegheny against Wabash on Saturday. The Valley graduate and Gators sophomore receiver tied a 52-year-old school record for catches. He hauled in 14 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in Allegheny’s 36-28 loss. Ross’s scoring catch, his first of the season and...
Volleyball coaches association releases Week 3 WPIAL girls rankings
The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its WPIAL girls top-10 poll for Week 3 on Monday, and there is a change at the top in Class 3A. Hampton is the new No. 1 after sweeping Deer Lakes in a nonsection matchup Sept. 13 and topping last week’s Class 3A...
Gateway girls soccer shows improvement during 3-game winning streak
The Gateway girls soccer team came out on the short end of a 5-1 result against Plum, the WPIAL Class 3A runner-up the past two seasons, in the season opener Sept. 4. But the Gators bounced back from that loss and won three straight against Hampton, Armstrong and Knoch, all...
Gateway sophomore running back Jaquon Reynolds breaks out against Penn Hills
Jaquon Reynolds waited his turn. The diminutive 5-foot-7, 163-pound sophomore running back put in his time last year as a freshman at Gateway and grew his game under the watchful eye of the Gators coaches as well as veteran players such as Derrick Davis, now playing at LSU. After an...
Riverview girls volleyball riding high after defeating No. 8 Apollo-Ridge
The Riverview girls volleyball team is not the biggest in terms of roster numbers with just 14 from freshmen to seniors, but the Raiders are playing big so far in the 2021 season. “We have really worked on trusting each other and trusting the process in everything we do this...
Plum girls soccer again off to strong start
The Plum girls soccer team entered the season with high hopes to maintain a standard set the past several years that included consecutive trips to the WPIAL Class 3A title game. So far, so good for the Mustangs who were 4-0 and had outscored opponents 22-2 through a 12-1 rout...
Tough challenges await unbeaten Kiski Area, Highlands
The last time the Kiski Area football team was 4-0, the current players weren’t born. The year was 2002, and the Cavaliers finished 6-4 and qualified for the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs. Highlands is 4-0 for the first time since 2015, when the Golden Rams began the season 5-0 en...
Bishop Canevin edges Springdale in defensive struggle
The Bishop Canevin and Springdale football teams came into Friday’s Eastern Conference opening clash averaging about 33 points a game each. Both coaches, however, felt the game could be a defensive battle. That is what it turned out to be. Bishop Canevin scored on its opening drive and added a...
New Ken resident, Shady Side Academy grad Moore eager for return to Pittsburgh with W. Michigan
Skyy Moore found out early in his freshman year at Western Michigan that the Broncos would be making the trip to Pittsburgh to play Pitt at Heinz Field. “I was super excited to know I was going home to play,” said Moore, a New Kensington native and 2019 Shady Side...
A-K Valley football players to watch in 2021 Week 3
Collin Dietz Fox Chapel, Sr., QB/LB The Foxes signal-caller had a strong offensive effort last week against Plum in leading his team to its first win of the season. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns against just one interception. He added 24 yards on...
A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 3
Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference Greensburg Salem (2-1) at Knoch (1-2) 7 p.m. Friday, at Knoch Athletic Field, Saxonburg Greensburg Salem’s lone win in 2020 was against Knoch. It also was the 700th win in school history. Now the Golden Lions come into the game riding a two-game winning streak,...
Freeport/Apollo-Ridge football game canceled because of covid, quarantines
The Freeport and Apollo-Ridge football teams will not play their Week 3 nonconference varsity game Friday at Owens Field in Apollo or Saturday’s junior varsity game at Freeport. Apollo-Ridge athletic director Ray Bartha confirmed Wednesday that a number of Vikings football players are in quarantine out of “an abundance of...
Springdale girls soccer makes statement with strong start
The Springdale girls soccer team opened some eyes Sept. 4 when it toppled perennial Class 2A playoff contender Deer Lakes by a 7-3 score at Lancers Stadium. The Dynamos followed up that victory with an 11-1 rout of Class 2A Highlands. Springdale wasn’t done as it won a low-scoring 2-1...
Norwin, Kiski Area girls volleyball teams gather outdoors for unique matchup
Picture-perfect weather conditions greeted a large crowd, as well as both the Kiski Area and Norwin girls volleyball teams, for a special outdoor match at Kennedy Park in Vandergrift on Monday evening. The Pack the Park Volleyball Classic at the recently completed Ellen Toy Grass Court, or “The E” as...
Perennially powerful Freeport girls volleyball program off to another good start
The Freeport girls volleyball team has big expectations this season. A section-title streak 16 years running is on the line, and the journey is underway for what the program hopes is a sixth WPIAL title since 2010. The Yellowjackets, No. 2 in the latest Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class...
Volleyball coaches association releases Week 2 WPIAL girls rankings
The Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association’s WPIAL girls volleyball top-10 rankings for Week 2 were released Monday morning after the opening week of section competition, additional nonsection matches and a quartet of tournaments Saturday. The top teams in each of the four classifications remained the same: North Allegheny (Class 4A),...
Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League scores for Week 4
The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League again was busy over the weekend with Week 4 division games in all three classifications. The 40 member organizations will continue regular-season play through Oct. 9-10. Class AAA Division I (5th-6th grade) Rostraver 27, Albert Gallatin 13 Norwin 26, Greater Latrobe 7 Montour 19,...
Kiski Area, Norwin volleyball teams ‘fired up’ to play in special outdoor event
The Kiski Area and Norwin girls volleyball teams are set to meet Monday, but not in the usual gymnasium setting. The nonsection matchup will be outside on the grass court at Kennedy Park in Vandergrift. The “Pack the Park” event celebrates the impact volleyball has on the area communities and...
Special Needs Aquatic Program, Monroeville Marlins team up for new initiative
When Monroeville resident Jamee Kovacs sees her son, Caleb, having fun in a swimming pool, her heart is filled with excitement and also the desire to give him more opportunities in the water. That was the main impetus for Kovacs, a board member with the Monroeville Marlins Swim Club, to...
Gateway runners kick off season at host invitational
The Gateway cross country teams have a lot on their plate in the early portion of the season, and coach Tom LaBuff said workouts and challenging competition are helping the boys and girls runners gauge where they are in their progression and also set goals for the end of the...
