Bill Beckner stories, Page 80

When Seneca Valley needed to break down a back line, funnel possession to the midfield or counter an attack, the Raiders knew who get the soccer ball to. Senior midfielder Beau Lizewski has been one of the WPIAL’s most complete players during his prep career, and a winner at that....

The more Joe Enick learned about Bill Fralic, the more he saw himself in the football legend. He saw the blue-collar approach to life, the intense work ethic and the passion for the game. He saw the angry football player and the gentle giant. “We were at hunting camp last...

Tyree Turner said it took him a while to get back into basketball form after football season. “I was so out of (basketball) shape,” said Turner, who plays quarterback for Greensburg Central Catholic. “I had to get in the gym and run a lot.” It didn’t take him long to...

Brennan Marion has emerged as a candidate for the head football coach vacancy at Tulsa, the college alma mater of the former Greensburg Salem standout. Marion confirmed he interviewed for the opening after Tulsa let Philip Montgomery go after eight seasons. A former wide receiver plagued by knee injuries, Marion...

The WPIAL basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top players, teams and storylines to watch this winter in Westmoreland County. Boys 5 players to watch Adam Bilinsky, Sr., G, Norwin: A Mercyhurst recruit with hops, the 6-foot-3 Bilinsky is a tough matchup who has elevated his game...

Norwin will host a tip-off tournament to open boys basketball season Friday. The two-day event will be more like a reunion for three opposing coaches. Norwin coach Lance Maha, Jeannette’s Adrian Batts and Dale Chapman of Steel Valley used to coach together at West Mifflin. Batts and Chapman are Maha’s...

The more you watch Belle Vernon play, the more logical the question becomes. Is Braden Laux a quarterback who also plays defensive end, or a defensive end who also plays quarterback? Depends on who you ask. The defensive coaches claim him like a native son. “We had him first, then...

It seems appropriate that an event in his name should be played in his backyard. The 27th Arnold Palmer Cup matches will be contested at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, tournament organizers announced Wednesday. The event, which uses a Ryder Cup-style format, will be June 8-10 and feature top...

They’re still friends. A contingent of local players met in the first round of the FCS playoffs, including four Hempfield graduates. But the bragging rights went to the Brose brothers, Braden and Fintan, who helped No. 23 Delaware to a convincing 56-17 victory over visiting Saint Francis (Pa.). Braden Brose,...

Gales force winds ripped through the Carey Center at Saint Vincent last week. Jaden Gales, a freshman from Bishop Canevin, erupted for 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bearcats men’s basketball team to a 73-62 victory over Grove City. Gales was named the Presidents Athletic Conference Rookie of...

The gymnasium at Yough is squeaking with basketball shoes, and there is energy in the air as girls run laps to open a practice. Their giddy chatter echoes off the bleachers. “Our numbers are up this year across the board,” sixth-year coach Mike Gerdich said. Yough will have 17 players...

A drop in classification. A new section. A host of letterwinners returning. Are the stars aligning for Yough to have one of its best basketball seasons in recent memory? Potential is bubbling up but expectations are measured, for now. “We hope so, but we need to win first,” coach Jim...

From the outside, Jake Kimmich’s college decision seemed easy. Maybe even expected. The Franklin Regional senior soccer player will follow in his brothers’ footsteps and play at Grove City, a Division III program in the Presidents Athletic Conference, keeping a family tradition intact four more years. Matt Kimmich is a...

A 30-plus-hour work week was worth it for a WPIAL championship. Belle Vernon coaches and players spent extra time preparing to play Avonworth in Friday’s Class 3A title game, and the long days produced quite a result: the Leopards’ first football championship in 27 years. They celebrated loudly and proudly...

A trio of WPIAL girls soccer standouts guided their teams to long postseason runs and now are reaping individual rewards. Senior forward Lucia Wells of North Allegheny was named to the United Soccer Coaches Region II All-America Team. She helped the Tigers (21-2) win the WPIAL 4A championship and reach...

Beau Lizewski helped lead Seneca Valley (22-1-1) to a PIAA Class 4A championship and a runner-up finish in the WPIAL. The standout senior midfielder is considered one of the best in the district. Make that state, region and country, too. Lizewski was named a United Soccer Coaches Region II All-American...

Norwin has produced college-level talent before in women’s basketball, but the Lady Knights’ imprint on the game is large this season. At least six former Norwin players are contributing to college programs as various levels. At Division III Marietta (Ohio), junior guard Olivia Gribble started the first three games of...

The Big 5/6 Conference, which acknowledges the accomplishments of teams and athletes in the WPIAL’s two largest classifications, announced its all-section teams for football, soccer and volleyball. The Class 5A Big East Conference first team was loaded with Franklin Regional players, and Lance Getsy was named the section coach of...

Franklin Regional Youth football was double trouble for opponents in the Big East this season. The future Panthers raised a pair of trophies after winning championships last month at the Woodland Hills Wolvarena in Turtle Creek. The flag team defeated Penn-Trafford, 14-6, in overtime, before the 8U Cubs edged by...

Attendance at Acrisure Stadium for the WPIAL Class 3A football championship: Quinton Martin … and everyone else. Martin electrified the crowd with a highlight-reel, 51-yard punt return touchdown, caught a TD pass and ran for another score to lead Belle Vernon to its first WPIAL title since 1995 in a...

Looking to allow recovery time between the fall season and WPIAL winter season, Norwin’s girls basketball team eased into practice instead of going all out like in previous years. “It’s a different approach,” coach Brian Brozeski said. “We’re a little bit behind. We had more fall involvement than in years...

A sleek, refurbished gym floor greeted the basketball teams at Norwin this year. The floor is much lighter, adding brightness to the room. The color scheme is slightly altered — a tangier shade of yellow against the traditional navy blue — and the Knights logo also has a modernized look...

WPIAL Class 3A football championship Avonworth (11-1) vs. Belle Vernon (9-2) 5 p.m. Friday, Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh … Watching film on Avonworth this week, Belle Vernon football players could see the size advantage the Antelopes possess in the slot and on the perimeter. The Antelopes go long: long legs, long...

Saint Francis (Pa.) has finalists in four of the the five major categories for the FCS college football awards. Quarterback Cole Doyle is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award for the national offensive player of the year. The redshirt sophomore, who transferred from College of the Canyons, is fourth...

First, there was curiosity. Then came eagerness. Before long, though, bewilderment set in. Did this experiment backfire? “There’s no way,” Belle Vernon football coach Matt Humbert said as he watched then-sophomore Steve Macheska pull up lame two years ago on the first day of training camp. “That’s just my luck....