Bill Beckner stories, Page 125

Years ago, Norwin’s girls volleyball program was the standard bearer for WPIAL championships. The Knights won 13 straight WPIAL titles from 1973-86, then added two more in ’88 and ’89. This year’s team might not be considered a title contender. Then again, 14th-year coach Mary Ellen Ferragonio is still trying...

How did Norwin junior kicker Joe Castle get credit for four tackles when he did not hit anyone? Norwin coach Dave Brozeski credits the kicker with a tackle if his kickoff reaches the end zone for a touchback. Four of Castle’s six kickoffs did so Sept. 3 against Latrobe. He...

It’s not exactly a hot take by Rachel Frye, the new Franklin Regional girls volleyball coach, when she says her team will be watched by many this season. Champions often get the proverbial target on their backs the following year. “After our successful season last year we will have a...

Hempfield made a concerted effort to run the football to open the second half, an impose-your-will mentality driven by junior running back Gino Caesar. Franklin Regional couldn’t stop it. The Panthers nearly rallied, pulling even with the Spartans in the fourth, but the force of the rushing attack and a...

Ayden Hudock stood in a hallway outside the Franklin Regional football locker room before a practice this week, a half-eaten apple in his hand and an unsatisfied hunger to be a star grumbling in his stomach. Hudock couldn’t wait to take another bite. Junior Caden Smith has been a key...

5th annual Westmoreland County Coaches Association Girls Golf Championship 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Champion Lakes Golf Course, Bolivar Defending individual champion: Angelika Dewicki, Greensburg Central Catholic Defending team champion: Greensburg Central Catholic Chip shots: The nine-hole tournament began awarding team champions in 2018. GCC has won both titles and is considered...

An impressive showing at the U.S. Amateur has Mark Goetz in position to win a prestigious award. Goetz, a Greensburg native, Hannastown Golf Club member and fifth-year senior at West Virginia, is one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Award August Golfer of the Month. He joins U.S. Amateur...

Jeannette already had a small roster before a player had to quarantine due to covid exposure, cutting the girls soccer team roster to nine active players. That meant Jeannette had to postpone Wednesday’s season opener at Ligonier Valley. “We couldn’t play with that many, so we have to wait it...

The score caught the attention of soccer fans and casual observers alike, and many of them asked the same question upon seeing it: “Is that a typo?” No, Fox Chapel really beat Southmoreland 30-0 on Saturday at the Canon-McMillan tournament to open boys soccer season. That is one large, crooked...

The Seton Hill baseball team added Parker Lynn to the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. Lynn, a Belle Vernon graduate, will coach catchers and work with offensive details. He played one season at Cal U, where he later coached. He also spent a season as an assistant at West...

Pitt-Greensburg will have an athletics hall of fame for the first time. The university put together a selection committee, which began meeting in June. They will consider past standouts for induction in four categories: student-athlete, coach/administrator, team and honorary. The nomination process begins Wednesday and will end Oct. 15. Nominations...

Mt. Pleasant is raising money for charity through a unique fundraiser that is fit for a king — and queen. Sports teams, the band ensemble and PIAA wrestling champion Dayton Pitzer are collecting money for the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society Penny King/Queen event at Mt. Pleasant will...

They don’t make nonconference matchups quite like this one. At least they didn’t used to. The WPIAL scheduled cross-classification games this season, meaning Class 5A teams play teams from 4A, among other matchups. It turned out to be a great idea for the league to create such an impressive matchup...

New Norwin girls soccer coach Diane Metzger does not plan to have a starting lineup selected until a few days before the season opener. And when those starters are selected, their positions won’t be etched in stone. “No guarantees,” said Metzger, a Norwin grad and former Lady Knights player who...

Riley Zimmerman played only briefly in the WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer championship three years ago at Highmark Stadium, but the experience resonated with him. Then a Norwin freshman, Zimmerman recalls Knights coach Scott Schuchert telling him to remember the feeling, the atmosphere, the moment — to take it all...

With nine returning starters, Franklin Regional’s girls soccer team looks like it will have staying power this season. “We only graduated three seniors, so we have a very experienced team returning,” second-year coach Scott Arnold said. “With so many returning players, we are building up on where we finished last...

Franklin Regional senior Anthony DiFalco has seen just about everything there is to see in high school soccer. He has won two WPIAL titles, finished as a runner-up and played in the PIAA semifinals twice. He’s been All-WPIAL, all-state and All-American. But even the best players want more. They always...

This scoring on the first play of the game thing is catching on at Penn-Trafford. First-year senior quarterback Carter Green did it last week when he scored on a 99-yard run against Norwin. This week it was senior running back Cade Yacamelli who took the first snap from scrimmage to...

Thinned-out Jeannette will honor the memory of one of its all-time great football coaches Friday night as players wear special “JM” helmet decals for the late Joe Mucci. Jeannette (0-1) hosts Sto-Rox (1-0) at 7 p.m. at McKee Stadium. The Jayhawks’ coach from 1968-85, Mucci died last December from complications...

As he surged through the line and wrapped up a Burrell ball carrier for his first tackle of the game — and season — Casey Shaffer could hear a familiar cheer. It was faint, but it rang so true in his ears — and in his heart. His mother had...

You know the WPIAL soccer season is here again when the name Paul Sasko appears on schedules. The Paul Sasko Kickoff Classic is back at Belle Vernon after it was canceled last season. The pandemic tightened the early part of the WPIAL schedule and organizers could not find a place...

Students of Allegheny Shotokan (Viola Karate) Martial Arts in North Huntingdon gathered outside of the dojo in front of a 20-foot screen, like Penguins fans watching a Stanley Cup playoff game on the big screen outside of PPG Paints Arena, to watch the Tokyo Olympics. This summer’s games carried special...

Southmoreland pulled somewhat of a surprise last week when it knocked off McGuffey. The fact the Scotties won was impressive, but how they did it was even more so: big plays and balance propelled them to a 47-22 victory. The final score echoed around the WPIAL. But the celebration must...

After playing one season as a club team, Hempfield’s girls golfers were primed to begin their first year as a WPIAL member. The girls are apparently an iron, driver and putter team, too. Nobody saw this kind of start coming. The Lady Spartans have embraced the challenge that comes with...