Chris Harlan stories, Page 28

There’s a popular meme that shows two miners digging for diamonds, but one gives up within inches of striking it rich. Trinity coach Dan Knause and his assistants thought the analogy was perfect for their Hillers, who hadn’t seen much reward despite their hard work. Would they give up or...

WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Central Catholic, 6-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 6-1, 2 3. Canon-McMillan, 5-2, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 4-3, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 2-5, 5 Class 5A 1. Peters Township, 7-0, 1 2. Penn Hills, 6-1, 2 3. Pine-Richland, 4-3, 5 4....

North Allegheny’s football stadium was filled nearly to capacity for a hyped-up game with rival Central Catholic. There was an electric atmosphere in the crowd, yet the Tigers ended the night feeling drained after a lopsided loss. But those feelings didn’t last too long. A week later, a re-energized North...

Shady Side Academy has forfeited Friday night’s football game against Knoch because of an illness among “several players,” the school announced hours before kickoff. The contest is a conference game in the Allegheny 6, where Knoch and Shady Side each were 1-0. “After careful consideration and in consultation with WPIAL,...

Peters Township’s T.J. Plack is an offensive-minded head coach of a high-scoring team that averages five touchdowns a week, yet he raves about a defense he calls special. “They do something a little bit different than what other teams do in Western Pennsylvania,” Plack said. “They think a little outside...

Dick Butkus became legendary as one of the fiercest linebackers in NFL history, but folks around the WPIAL might remember him as “Coach” Butkus. Long after his playing days with the Chicago Bears were over, Butkus spent one season as a made-for-TV coach at Montour in 2005. It was the...

One of the WPIAL’s leading rushers shook off an ankle injury and returned to the field Friday night, helping West Greene’s offense run its way to victory. In his first game back, senior Colin Brady topped all WPIAL rushers in Week 5 with 301 yards. Brady handled 23 carries and...

WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Central Catholic, 6-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 5-1, 2 3. Canon-McMillan, 4-2, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 4-2, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 1-5, 5 Class 5A 1. Peters Township, 6-0, 1 2. Penn Hills, 5-1, 2 3. Upper St. Clair, 5-1,...

When it comes to putting down cones, North Allegheny might be second only to PennDOT. There are always plenty lining the school’s cross county course in North Park. “We put a ridiculous amount of cones up,” NA coach John Neff said. “There’s no way anybody is going to get lost....

There was no fiery halftime speech, but instead, one offensive adjustment had Avonworth looking like a different team in the third quarter. The Antelopes turned to the wildcat. Wide receiver Andrew Kuban started taking direct snaps and scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns 28 seconds apart Friday night as...

WPIAL teams are now five weeks into the football season and 14 schools had yet to play a conference game. That’ll change Friday when the Interstate and Allegheny 6 open conference play. Both are WPIAL Class 3A conferences, not to be confused with the similarly named Allegheny Six in Class...

Would there be more buzz for a type of cat, bear or angry bird? Avonworth has started 5-0 this season, a year after reaching the WPIAL finals, but coach Duke Johncour says the Antelopes don’t seem to draw the attention others do. “I think we kind of fly under the...

Shady Side Academy girls basketball coach Jonna Burke, who’s facing a one-year suspension for an alleged recruiting violation, has sued the PIAA seeking an injunction that would let her coach. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court, Burke’s attorney, Kendra Smith, said the WPIAL violated due process rights during...

North Catholic junior Brady O’Hara has visited Penn State’s campus enough times that he’s almost lost count. Maybe seven? Maybe eight? His latest visit came this past weekend to see a stadium “White Out” when Penn State hosted Iowa, and soon afterward he was ready to commit. O’Hara, a 6-foot-6,...

When Penn State assistant coach Terry Smith visited an Aliquippa football practice three years ago, he approached Quips coach Mike Warfield with a question. Smith was ready to offer a scholarship to Tiqwai Hayes, but the running back was only a freshman. Should he wait? “Sometimes, when you get that...

The drive home from Cupples Stadium is about an hour, but good news travels faster than Brownsville’s team bus. The Falcons had won. “The bus came through town, and there were people on the street waving towels and stuff,” Brownsville coach Skooter Roebuck said. “We get back to the school,...

WPIAL football rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Central Catholic, 5-0, 2 2. North Allegheny, 4-1, 1 3. Canon-McMillan, 4-1, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 4-1, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 0-5, 5 Class 5A 1. Peters Township, 5-0, 1 2. Penn Hills, 4-1, 3 3. Pine-Richland, 3-2, 4 4....

This is year two for Manuel Montero, and the North Allegheny boys soccer coach says there’s a much greater comfort level for the team this fall, and it shows. Some of the differences might go unnoticed, but he sees them. “A perfect example is warm-ups,” Montero said. “I don’t micromanage...

There already were reasons to believe Central Catholic was the team to beat in the WPIAL, starting with a roster that’s heavy in major-college recruits. Now, there’s no doubt. Running back Elijah Faulkner scored four times, and Michigan-bound senior Cole Sullivan made big plays on offense, defense and special teams...

North Allegheny’s practices were noticeably faster this week, said coach Art Walker, but the Tigers weren’t getting off the field any earlier. It’s just that the defense was working at a quicker pace. “We practice for the team that we’re playing,” Walker said. “I’ve been here 19 years now, and...

If a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup wasn’t enough excitement for a Friday night, this week also is homecoming at Peters Township, so football coach T.J. Plack had a message for his players. “I don’t care if you’re dancing at the pep rally or who your date is or...

Citing concerns over safety and fairness, one WPIAL school district has adopted a gender policy that limits girls sports to biological females. The school board at Laurel unanimously approved the new policy, which bases gender on a student’s chromosomes. The rule applies to any sports contest hosted at Laurel’s facilities,...

“Egregious” was how WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer described Friday’s fight between Imani Christian and Steel Valley football players, but he was optimistic there’d be a resolution without WPIAL intervention. “It was a horrible thing that happened in that 60 seconds … but we really believe the schools will handle...

Call this the year of the turnaround. Twenty-one WPIAL football teams already have matched or surpassed their win totals from a year ago, and this is only the fourth week of the season. The most dramatic is Waynesburg, which improved to 4-0 on Friday night after a victory over Keystone...

The WPIAL will look into an on-field fight that marred the final minute of Friday night’s football game between Imani Christian and Steel Valley. WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer said the league will request information from the schools’ administrations, including available video, as well as review reports from the game...