Bill Beckner stories, Page 9

Five teams from Westmoreland County have secured spots in the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs with just more than a week to play in the regular season. The qualifiers include defending WPIAL 6A champion Norwin (10-6), Section 1-5A leader Franklin Regional (12-5) and undefeated Penn-Trafford (18-0), which should be in line...

Belle Vernon senior basketball star Zion Moore has crept to the doorstep of another milestone. And this is a big one. Moore, one of the WPIAL’s top volume scorers, needs 36 points to reach 2,000 for his career. The Leopards (16-4), the No. 2-ranked team in WPIAL Class 4A, host...

Norwin and Greensburg Central Catholic won WPIAL girls basketball championships last year and are gearing up for a repeat with the WPIAL playoffs set to begin in about two weeks. Plenty of work remains before the teams can think about another trip to Pitt’s Petersen Events Center, but at least...

Brayden Stone was struggling, having an “off night” as he put it. The Penn-Trafford guard had missed five straight shots, mostly on rim-outs, but kept his head up as a tight Section 1-5A game grew even tighter as it reached the final stretch. With his team’s playoff hopes on the...

Seton Hill vaulted four spots in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II Coaches Poll, taking the No. 5 spot in the top 25. The Griffins (17-2, 11-1 PSAC) continue to look impressive in what has been one of their best regular seasons. The team also ranks fifth in the...

Latrobe junior Andy Tatsch is looking to follow in his brother Alex’s footsteps to Division I football. The wide receiver and defensive back pulled in a scholarship offer this weekend from Buffalo, giving him three FBS offers. The others are from Akron and West Virginia. Alex Tatsch, a linebacker, is...

While their comeback was exciting, the end result left the Norwin girls basketball team wanting more. Norwin surged from 16 points down with a madcap third quarter, but couldn’t complete the rally in a 53-50 loss to Bishop Guilfoyle in the opening game of the Shootout at Seton Hill on...

Freshman Anthony Smith’s first NCAA Division I scholarship offer has come in. Some might say it is a surprise it took this long. The Southmoreland quarterback grabbed an offer from Syracuse on Saturday while visiting the university. “It feels great,” Smith said. “It has been something I have been dreaming...

St. Francis (Pa.) came to Norwin looking for football talent and left with three potential prospects. The Red Flash extended preferred walk-on offers to three senior Knights players and all-around good buds in Michael Crnkovic, Mike Strutt and Colin Bruno. The offers rolled in on the same day. If they...

Jackson Mickens, a freshman defensive end and receiver at Southmoreland, already has a Division I football offer. Akron extended a full scholarship to Mickens (6-foot-1, 215 pounds), who had 11 sacks in his first season of high school football. He also caused three fumbles. On offense, Mickens had 35 receptions...

A losing streak can teach a team a lot about itself, especially a team that isn’t used to losing. Take Norwin, the defending WPIAL 6A champion. The Knights recently dropped three straight — to North Catholic, Shaler and No. 1 Upper St. Clair. They had not endured such a streak...

Late in the first half, Zion Moore saw two toddlers wander onto the court and waddle his way. The Belle Vernon senior guard delicately picked one of them up and passed him over the scorer’s table and then directed the other back to the bleachers. Moore knew them, so he...

The Pittsburgh Riveters SC has not played a game yet, but the new pre-professional women’s soccer team just strengthened its defense. The team, set to begin play in May in the USL W League, signed Towson redshirt sophomore and Franklin Regional alum Sydney Lindeman. The 21-year-old defender played club soccer...

Event director Allen Deep didn’t consider altering the schedule for the Shootout at Seton Hill basketball showcase this weekend, even with five games Sunday that will take fans away from watching the AFC and NFC championship games. The original schedule will remain status quo. The weekend is about basketball, not...

Noah Felentzer expected to get the basketball more this season for Southmoreland. With the graduation of career 1,500-point scorer Ty Keffer, his scoring would be pivotal to the team’s success. Whether he realized it or not, Keffer helped Felentzer prepare for the go-to role. “I think what prepared me most...

A coaching great and two former star playmakers from the WPIAL are headed for the National High School Football Hall of Fame. Longtime Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render, quarterback Charlie Batch of Steel Valley and running back Zack Washington Sr. of Jeannette are among 33 inductees who will be...

A perfect 6 for 6 through the first half of its Section 1-5A schedule, the Franklin Regional girls basketball team breathed a little easier but remained guarded as it collectively glanced at the standings. There still was plenty of work to be done. First place is a precious place to...

Penn-Trafford began the week as one of only three undefeated girls basketball teams in the WPIAL. While the unblemished run has been impressive, it isn’t altogether surprising to the team doing the winning. Veteran coach John Giannikas, who is in his 18th season leading the Warriors (16-0, 8-0), thought last...

Dustin Shoaf hasn’t taken a handoff like this since college. Just a couple of months ago, the former standout running back was lending his expertise as an assistant coach at Jeannette, which made a surprise run to the WPIAL Class A semifinals. Now, the 23-year-old is the head coach at...

The first time Penn-Trafford played Albert Gallatin, the Warriors could not seal the deal, watching a late lead fade in a one-point loss on the road. In the rematch, the Warriors stuck the landing — and won by 20. Not only did the Warriors show their depth — 11 players...

When he left the Yough boys basketball coaching staff last year, Kason Harrell was unsure of what his own basketball future would entail. Would he coach elsewhere, continue to train young players or keep grinding in the gym to try to prolong his professional playing career? Harrell opted to press...

With Latrobe fast on their bumper and their 18-point lead shaved to one, the Penn-Trafford girls basketball team did the only thing they could to quell the situation in the third quarter: They got mad. “Coach Chuck (Fontana) always talks about us being relentless,” Lady Warriors guard Torrie DeStefano said....

Holding a spot on a Division I roster and being a Division I player are different things. It’s about actions and results that go beyond landing a spot at a school. Bailey Kuhns found herself on a Division I team when Mercyhurst jumped from the D-II PSAC. Now, the junior...

The Westmoreland County Coaches Association announced its scholarship winners for 2024. Each year, the WCCA scholarship committee receives and reviews applications of seniors from county high schools and then determines the winners. Three graduates received $2,000, and five others were awarded $1,500. The $2,000 winners were: • Mikaela Shine of...

Proximity to home and quality of education were driving factors for Thomas Gaydos in the college recruiting process. The Norwin senior distance runner’s plan of action was precise, and it led him up the mountain to Loretto, where he committed to run track and cross country at St. Francis (Pa.)...