Chris Harlan stories, Page 23

City League champion Westinghouse is dropping to Class A football next season after successfully avoiding a promotion under the PIAA competitive-balance rule. Bulldogs coach Donta Green said the PIAA initially identified 21 Westinghouse players as possible transfers, a total that would’ve put the team in jeopardy of moving from Class...

Aliquippa’s initial appeal to the PIAA was unsuccessful, so the football team remains headed to a higher classification under the competitive-balance rule. However, the PIAA appeal process isn’t over. The school’s administration will take the next step and request a hearing with the PIAA board, Aliquippa superintendent Phillip Woods said...

Nobody in WPIAL history won more consistently than Clairton’s Tyler Boyd, whose football teams were part of a state-record winning streak that eventually reached 66 games. He went 48-0 in his three years as a starter. Add in his freshman season and the Bears were 63-1 with four WPIAL titles...

The WPIAL has placed the Mohawk football team on probation for two years after allegations that racial slurs were used in a playoff game against Burrell in November. The WPIAL Equity Council for Diversity & Inclusion couldn’t independently confirm the allegations, but WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer said the council...

The WPIAL board voted unanimously Tuesday to deny Farrell’s request to join the league as a member school, citing the cost of transportation and tight athletic department budgets. The board voted 17-0 with three abstentions. Still, the PIAA has the ultimate say and could decide to put Farrell in the...

The Penguins will start Tristan Jarry in net Monday against Seattle, hoping the goalie can snap the Kraken’s nine-game winning streak. To do so, Jarry will need to break his own streak of three straight losses. The Penguins host the Kraken at 1 p.m. Monday at PPG Paints Arena in...

WPIAL girls basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Peters Township, 14-0, 1 2. Norwin, 11-3, 2 3. North Allegheny, 10-1, 3 4. Chartiers Valley, 10-2, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 10-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Oakland Catholic, 14-0, 1 2. McKeesport, 11-1, 2 3. Lincoln Park,...

WPIAL boys basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 10-3, 3 2. Mt. Lebanon, 11-2, 1 3. Central Catholic, 7-5, 4 4. Butler, 10-2, 2 5. Baldwin, 10-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Gateway, 11-1, 1 2. Moon, 11-2, 2 3. Shaler, 13-1, 3...

No, the North Allegheny girls basketball team hasn’t left the WPIAL, even though its schedule certainly looks like the Tigers moved closer to Harrisburg. The team scheduled road games against York, Susquehanna Township, Cumberland Valley and Central Dauphin in a 10-day stretch in January. They’ll travel across the state twice,...

In a pregame talk with his players, Avonworth basketball coach Mike Mancuso embraced the idea that the WPIAL saw them as underdogs in their own section. But nobody can say that anymore, thanks in part to a senior with his own underdog story. Anthony Arlia scored a career-high 20 points...

How many football teams will the WPIAL have next season? That number continues to fluctuate. What’s known now is that Butler will not rejoin WPIAL football next season and instead play an independent schedule. In a separate situation, the WPIAL must decide soon whether Farrell will play WPIAL football next...

North Allegheny senior Tyree Alualu, an all-conference linebacker whose father played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, committed Thursday to Temple. Alualu announced his decision on social media. A 6-foot, 215-pound inside linebacker and running back, Alualu received more than a dozen Division I offers. He chose Temple from a list that...

There was a commotion in the bleachers at a WPIAL football game one night when some opposing coaches had their notes fall from the press box window. Those notes turned out to be a cheat-sheet of sorts. “They had written on them, ‘This is outside zone. This is speed option,’...

Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Mt. Lebanon, 10-1, 1 2. Butler, 9-1, 2 3. Upper St. Clair, 8-3, 4 4. Central Catholic, 6-3, NR 5. Baldwin, 8-3, 5 Out: New Castle (9-3, 3) Class 5A 1. Gateway, 9-1, 1 2. Moon, 9-2, 4 3. Shaler, 11-1, 2 4....

Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Peters Township, 12-0, 3 2. Norwin, 9-3, 2 3. North Allegheny, 7-1, 1 4. Chartiers Valley, 9-1, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 9-2, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Oakland Catholic, 11-0, 1 2. McKeesport, 9-1, 2 3. Lincoln Park, 11-0, 3 4. Trinity,...

Butler’s Donovan Carney was making shots from far beyond the arc, teammate Tayt Lucas hit a couple of 3-pointers and Kyle Casteel came off the bench shooting 3s with no hesitation. In coach Matt Clement’s offense, pretty much everybody gets to be a shooter. “I might be the worst coach...

Two years ago, Aliquippa argued relentlessly that it was too dangerous to force the small-school Quips to play Class 5A football and ultimately the school won its PIAA appeal. The Quips are facing that scenario again under the PIAA competitive-balance rule, and Aliquippa superintendent Phillip Woods says his feelings haven’t...

A Western Pennsylvania legislator and longtime member of the state Athletic Oversight Committee is asking whether the PIAA needs an overhaul. State Rep. Rob Matzie (D-Beaver) announced plans Friday to introduce legislation that would analyze the policy, practices, finances and structure of the PIAA, “with an eye toward overhauling how...

Wild Things Park will remain as host of the WPIAL baseball finals through at least the 2027 season. The WPIAL and the Washington Wild Things on Friday announced an agreement to keep the championship games at the 3,200-seat minor league stadium that has hosted the league finals since 2003. This...

Ed Dalton is stepping down after 12 seasons as McGuffey’s football coach, but don’t mistake his resignation as an early retirement. Dalton wants to keep adding to his 34-year career, but the 64-year-old coach with more than 240 career wins says his next coaching stop is still undecided. “It’s not...

In a move coach Mike Warfield called déjà vu, the PIAA has notified Aliquippa that its football team will be forced up another classification before next season. The Quips won the Class 4A state title this fall and were runners-up in 2022, and the PIAA now plans to move them...

Winning a conference title and reaching the WPIAL semifinals will always be two of the happiest moments of his life, says East Allegheny football coach Dom Pecora, who is stepping down after 11 seasons with the Wildcats. “When we blocked the extra point (to win the conference), there is nothing...

Sometimes games are decided by a fourth-quarter run, but Hampton showed Tuesday that the first few minutes can be just as crucial. Hampton scored the game’s first 11 points, built an early lead and then relied on its defense for a 49-41 victory over Highlands in a low-scoring section opener...

Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 6-0, 1 2. Norwin, 7-2, 2 3. Peters Township, 10-0, 3 4. Chartiers Valley, 6-1, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 7-2, NR Out: Upper St. Clair (6-4, 5) Class 5A 1. Oakland Catholic, 8-0, 1 2. McKeesport, 7-1, 2 3. Lincoln Park,...