Bill Beckner stories, Page 90

Few coaches will argue it is better to lose the first game of the season than the last one. For Greensburg Central Catholic, that concept rings true. Top-ranked GCC, the Class A runner-up last season in the WPIAL and PIAA, kicked off 2022 with a grueling 3-2 loss to then-No....

More than 600 fans came through the turnstiles at Norwin on Saturday for the inaugural Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic. The three-game event was like a soccer celebration, with the late Moe Rosensteel on the minds of all attendees. The showcase had a DJ, music, concessions, merchandise and, last but...

The Westmoreland County Coaches Association will host its girls golf championship Friday at Champion Lakes Golf Course in Bolivar. Last year, Caroline Tragesser of Franklin Regional held off her teammate in a scorecard playoff to win the individual title with a nine-hole score of 41. Neither player is back for...

This is the story of a “retired” soccer player with a cautionary tale to share and a message she hopes has a long reach: “It’s OK not to be OK.” The mental demands of high-end college sports and their effects on athletes, she said, deserve more attention. Finally healthy, Emily...

Jess Strong stepped down as the head softball coach at Seton Hill after four seasons. The “other coaching endeavor” mentioned last week turns out to be an opportunity with one of the nation’s top Division III programs. Strong will be the head coach at Berry College in Mt. Berry, Ga....

Exhausted after 100 minutes of soccer that resulted in a grueling 2-2 tie in hot and humid conditions, Latrobe and Norwin girls soccer players reflected on the state of their game and the cause. The teams played to a double-overtime draw in the final of three matchups of the inaugural...

Look down, and you might miss a play. Go to the concession stand, and you might miss a whole drive — maybe two. Hempfield is playing turbo-fast with its no-huddle spread offense, a product of offensive coordinator Ryan Reitz, who began to install the system last year and is seeing...

High school football teams used to use an honor system in the summer months for offseason training. Players promised to work out on their own. Coaches hoped they did. “The offseason dictates everything,” Hempfield coach Mike Brown said. “I mean, kids play other sports, and that’s fine. But training is...

After a 14-win season and a run to the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals, the Franklin Regional girls soccer team is primed to go farther. The Panthers return seven starters, including junior goalkeeper Aris Lamanna, an All-WPIAL selection last season. The others back are sophomore midfielder Abby Paterline, senior forward Sierra...

Don’t count Norwin out of the WPIAL playoff chase just yet. Knights veteran coach Scott Schuchert said WPIAL Class 4A is “Seneca Valley and everybody else,” but he likes to think his team is in that vast group of pursuers. While six starters return from a 14-2-1 team that lost...

It might have been youth night at Warrior Stadium, but this was big boy football. Or was it Big Boyd football? Running back Bobbie Boyd gave McKeesport a pronounced edge in a statement win for the Tigers. Boyd ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns and intercepted three passes to...

James Franklin will make quite an entrance tonight at Belle Vernon. The Penn State football coach is expected to arrive by helicopter to watch Laurel Highlands play Belle Vernon — and five-star junior Quinton Martin, the top-rated 2024 prospect in the state — at James Weir Stadium. Belle Vernon athletic...

A matchup of the Tribune-Review’s top two teams in the WPIAL Class 3A rankings wasn’t exactly the Backyard Brawl of boys soccer, but it was close. The game between returning WPIAL semifinalists had physical interaction, contested shots and strong play in net. The bragging rights, at least after the first...

Arthritis at age 25? A knee replacement at 35? These are potentially small prices to pay to lineman Zach Persinger, who has had three anterior cruciate ligament tears in his left knee, and major surgery, in as as years. The unshakable Hempfield senior is finally healthy and starting at nose...

Get a goal on the board early, possess the ball and make defensive stops. Franklin Regional checked all three boxes in its Section 3-3A opener Wednesday night at Penn-Trafford. “We’re going to play a lot of games this way,” Panthers coach Scott Arnold said. Senior winger Natalie Ribar scored off...

Hired very late in the process, Lukas Petersen is still getting to know his players, implement the basics of his system and make the Franklin Regional boys soccer program his own. He had been with the team for less than a month when the season opened Aug. 26. The No....

One of the first directives Rob Fabean put into place when he took over the Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer team last season was his three-goal rule. Once a player scored three times in a game, a hat trick achieved, that player was asked to back off and let someone...

Nonconference Connellsville (1-0) at Hempfield (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday at Bill Abraham Field at Spartan Stadium, Hempfield Connellsville forced seven turnovers, which helped it end a 17-game losing streak with a 16-13 win over Albert Gallatin. Benjamin Zavatchan kicked a 40-yard field goal, and sophomore running back Xavier Malone rushed...

Jessica Strong has resigned as the head softball coach at Seton Hill after four seasons. She is leaving to pursue another coaching endeavor but did not want to comment until the end of the week, when her tenure at Seton Hill is complete. Strong guided the Griffins to a memorable...

Injuries took a toll on Norwin last year to the point where the girls soccer team rarely had the same set lineup on the field. The inconsistency led to a pair of losses to upstart Latrobe — now a Class 3A team — and a second-place finish in Section 3-4A....

Norwin will host the inaugural Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic on Saturday at Knights Stadium. The classic, named for the late Katelyn “Moe” Rosensteel, a standout player at Ringgold whose father, Ed, used to coach at Greensburg Central Catholic, will feature three girls games: Ringgold vs. Hickory (noon), Thomas Jefferson...

In what has been an astounding run of success in WPIAL girls golf, Greensburg Central Catholic has won seven consecutive championships since its program began in 2015. A dynastic 7 for 7. The Centurions are hoping to make it eight titles in a row this fall, but they are competing...

A pair of former Norwin girls soccer standouts has transferred to new programs. Lacey Bernick and Katelyn Kauffman began their college careers together at Pitt, but the sophomore forwards have gone separate ways. Bernick was looking for a full reset. She made the move to Akron of the Mid-American Conference....

Derry baseball coach John Flickinger is stepping down after 11 years at the position. “Flick,” who coached for 23 years overall with the program, is leaving to spend more time with his family. A 1992 Trojans alum, he will go out on top, in a sense. He led Derry to...

Latrobe first-year football coach Ron Prady joked Friday night that the “secret’s out” on Robby Fulton IV, his senior running back and linebacker. There won’t be any hiding his secret weapon now. “He’s something else,” Prady said after Fulton, a transfer from Central Catholic, rushed for 209 yards and five...