Bill Beckner stories, Page 158

Norwin girls soccer coaches and players were not altogether thrilled when the WPIAL two-year realignment cycle brought some change to their section. They couldn’t have been, mainy because of one team. Fox Chapel was added to the mix in Section 3-4A. That immediately drew concern. After all, the Foxes almost...

Southmoreland is by no means a girls soccer powerhouse. The program has five wins combined the past two seasons and has not been to the WPIAL playoffs since 2012. It has not won a playoff game in a decade. But suddenly, there were the Scotties upsetting not one, but two...

While most college athletic programs are shut down for the fall, the Westmoreland Community College women’s cross country team is up and running — ahead of the pack. WCCC posted three individual Top 3 finishes and took six of the top seven spots on the way to a victory Saturday...

The athletic director carousel hasn’t stopped turning in Westmoreland County this year with new faces at new places and newcomers to the position tackling the daily grind of safety protocols and schedule-crunching during covid-19 times. Brandon Rapp was Norwin’s athletic director for seven years and became a fixture there for...

WPIAL soccer rankings (Through Saturday’s games) Girls Class 4A 1. Fox Chapel (2-0) 2. North Allegheny (2-0) 3. Pine-Richland (0-1) 4. Peters Township (2-0) 5. Norwin (1-2) Class 3A 1. Mars (3-0) 2. Plum (2-0) 3. Belle Vernon (2-1) 4. Oakland Catholic (2-0) 5. Connellsville (2-0) Class 2A 1. North...

The stage is set for another clash between Class 4A rivals Belle Vernon and Thomas Jefferson. Both teams won Friday night to move to 2-0 as they get set to square off next Friday night in Jefferson Hills. Fourth-ranked Belle Vernon has been impressive offensively, but how about that defense?...

Norwin moved its boys home golf matches to Youghiogheny Country Club near McKeesport. A long way from home? Sort of, yes. But the Knights have taken to the hilly layout. They won their first three matches on the private club that in the past has played host to WPIAL Class...

After a lengthy first-round playoff drought, Norwin broke through and reached at least the WPIAL boys soccer quarterfinals two years in a row. The Knights were the WPIAL Class 4A runner-up in 2018. A mostly young team a year ago, the Knights bring back a number of core players and...

At last, 700. Greensburg Salem crept to the doorstep of a milestone victory late last season but could not get it done in the playoffs. The team waited about 10 months to take another crack at it but fell short last week in the season opener. The Golden Lions were...

As James Sanders caught passes and padded his yards-after-catch numbers last Friday night against visiting Clairton, he knew in the back of his mind he was creating footage for his highlight video. Sure, it was only Week 1, but in a season that comes with no guarantees, it’s better to...

Class 6A No. 1 Central Catholic (1-0, 1-0) vs. Norwin (0-1, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Central Catholic is the top-ranked team in the WPIAL for a reason. Norwin had too many mistakes (penalties and turnovers) cost them against Hempfield. … Central Catholic quarterback Branndon Pezzelle...

The Presidents’ Athletic Conference is moving forward with plans to play football, soccer and women’s volleyball in the spring. The NCAA Division III conference outlined plans for a regular season and postseason for the sports, which were postponed for the fall due to the covid-19 pandemic. The spring schedules will...

Belle Vernon is not that bad. It remains to be seen if Connellsville is that good. It’s only one game, but the Section 2-3A girls soccer opener Tuesday produced somewhat of a surprising result. Connellsville, which dropped down a classification this season in WPIAL realignment, scored a 5-0 victory over...

Senior running back Brad Ford’s 99-yard rushing touchdown last week in the season opener against Latrobe was a Penn-Trafford program record, Warriors football historian Rush Pedder pointed out. The play broke the mark of 98 yards set by Chris Schneider in 1993. The other scoring runs in the Warriors’ top...

A bedazzling season opener from Amari Mack suddenly has the Greensburg Central Catholic sophomore on the Division I FCS radar. Mack is considered a college prospect, but even he could not have imagined a scholarship offer coming this early. After a highlight-filled game last Friday night, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound slot...

Class 4A The contenders: WPIAL runner-up Norwin might be one the fastest teams in the WPIAL and the Lady Knights have the talent to return to the finals, powered by Pitt recruits Lacey Bernick and Katelyn Kauffman. … Forward Megan Donnelly, a Villanova commit, leads Pine-Richland, another team built to...

Class 4A The contenders: Call returning champion Canon-McMillan the incumbent favorite in perhaps the most wide-open class in the WPIAL. A 25-goal scorer returns in Joey Fonagy, an All-American Game nominee. … North Allegheny, the WPIAL champion in 2016 and ‘17, has a plethora of senior talent to replace, but...

For years, Franklin Regional has watched other teams celebrate section, WPIAL and PIAA titles in boys golf. The Panthers have fielded talented teams and have often pushed section opponents like Central Catholic and Fox Chapel — WPIAL heavyweights — but they never seemed to be able to overtake them. “People...

Katie Hutter spent the weekend in Ohio playing in a travel softball tournament. She’ll soon be spending a lot more time in the neighboring state. A junior at Mt. Pleasant, Hutter verbally committed to continue her playing career at Akron. The quick second baseman with power in her swing was...

The status of a pair of local Week 2 football games is no longer up in the air. Penn-Trafford will play at Class 5A No. 3 Peters Township, and Seneca Valley will visit Hempfield on Friday night. Peters Township canceled in-person classes recently because of possible covid cases, but the...

If there was a local score that turned heads on the opening night of the high school football season, it was probably this one: Leechburg 55, Greensburg Central Catholic 37. Sure, it was the highest-scoring game in the state, but it also was a big upset. GCC came into the...

Jeannette coach Roy Hall said he expected to get Clairton’s best no matter what time of year the Eastern Conference rivals played. Normally, the Bears and Jayhawks play in the regular-season finale. That they kicked off against one another was quite a bang to open this peculiar season. Top-ranked Clairton...

Two freshmen are expected to start at quarterback for Westmoreland County football teams on opening night. Jeannette plans to open with Brad Birch, while Monessen will look to Shane Swope Jr. to lead the offense Friday. Jeannette, ranked fourth in Class A, hosts rival and top-ranked Clairton, while Monessen is...

Jeannette will honor former standout Tre Cunningham at its football season opener Friday night against Clairton. The Jayhawks will wear “TC 6” stickers on the back of their helmets in memory of Cunningham, a three-sport athlete who was killed in a motorcycle accident in July along Route 130 near Jeannette....

One of the most dominant left-handed strikeout pitchers in recent WPIAL and Robert Morris softball history is going to teach her craft to college players at the Division I level. Former Yough and Robert Morris hurler Nicole (Sleith) Schaffer was hired as an assistant coach at Duke. Schaffer was the...