Chris Harlan stories, Page 40

The playoff race in the Northeast was among the most competitive in the WPIAL, depth that showed in the all-conference team. Penn Hills saw a conference-best eight players earn first-team honors including quarterback Julian Dugger and running back Amir Key, despite narrowly missing the postseason. Pine-Richland, the eventual WPIAL and...

Upper St. Clair’s Aidan Besselman and Mark Banbury earned first-team honors on both sides of the ball, helping the Panthers claim 10 spots on the Allegheny Six all-conference team. Besselman, a wide receiver and defensive back, and Banbury, a two-way lineman, helped Upper St. Clair reach the WPIAL Class 5A...

Former Gateway standout Derrick Davis, the TribLive HSSN Football Player of the Year in 2019, has announced plans to transfer from LSU. The 6-foot, 210-pound safety and running back said he’d entered the transfer portal Monday. Davis played in four games this season for LSU and saw action on both...

The Belle Vernon football players involved in a controversial social media video weren’t trying to racially taunt anyone, said the school’s top administrator, but they will face consequences for including a racial slur. The TikTok video, which used an audio file popular in the app, was filmed on the team...

The PIAA has directed the Southern Columbia administration to investigate allegations of racist taunts involving signs and a social media video targeting Westinghouse’s football team. The two schools met Friday in the PIAA Class 2A championship in Mechanicsburg. Afterward, photos of hand-drawn signs saying “Whip Westinghouse” and “Southern State of...

Timing is important in wrestling. Since Jamie Kyriazis resigned seven years ago as North Allegheny’s coach, he’d spent more time with wife Amy, saw his daughter Hannah enter high school and welcomed a new addition to the family in now-6-year-old son Nico. “The timing was just right to step down...

MECHANICSBURG — Pine-Richland quarterbacks sure have a knack for big performances in the biggest games, a history that includes Ben DiNucci, Phil Jurkovec and Cole Spencer. Add another Rams QB to the list, even if he didn’t start the year playing that position. Ryan Palmieri rushed for 184 yards and...

MECHANICSBURG — Westinghouse fairy-tale ending was spoiled by a team that’s very familiar with being cast as the villain in the state football championships. Southern Columbia broke open a 1-point game with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a well-timed 61-yard pass Friday afternoon to win its sixth consecutive state championship, this...

Westinghouse coach Donta Green gathers his football players after each practice and every game for a session he calls highs and shout-outs. One by one, the players identify an area of team success or praise a teammate, coach or position group that made a difference that day. That’s followed by...

MECHANICSBURG — In the state football championships, against a quarterback with major-college talent and an opponent seeking redemption, there’s very little room for error. Aliquippa can attest. The Quips lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and watched Bishop McDevitt quarterback Stone Saunders convert their mistakes into touchdowns Thursday night as...

MECHANICSBURG – Union could see the end zone all afternoon, but didn’t get there enough. The offense created four red-zone chances Thursday and crossed the goal line only once in a 22-8 loss to Steelton-Highspire that ended the Scotties’ Cinderella story in the PIAA Class A final at Cumberland Valley’s...

Aliquippa started a sophomore at quarterback and a freshman at running back in the state finals last season while opponent Bishop McDevitt had a freshman behind center that day. So, no, this rematch isn’t a surprise. Defending champion Aliquippa (13-0) faces runner-up Bishop McDevitt (12-1) in the PIAA Class 4A...

The PIAA football playoffs are down to 12 teams as the season approaches the final weekend. The six state championship games, no longer held at Hersheypark Stadium, will be played Thursday-Saturday at Cumberland Valley in Mechanicsburg. Aliquippa in Class 4A and Southern Columbia in 2A are the only defending champions...

MECHANICSBURG — Plans to revamp the competitive-balance formula were rejected Wednesday by the PIAA board, meaning only football and basketball teams are still impacted by the rule — and only those that add too many transfers. The PIAA board voted 18-10 against a proposal that expanded the rule to include...

MECHANICSBURG — The vote was only a couple of hours old when Laurel Highlands senior Rodney Gallagher announced the first NIL deal for a PIAA athlete. Pennsylvania high school students can maintain their amateur status and accept money for use of their name, image and likeness under a groundbreaking policy...

The PIAA was optimistic that the rising number of player and coach ejections would subside statewide after adding a two-game suspension in 2020 for the most egregious unsportsmanlike acts. Two years later, that optimism has waned, especially when it comes to boys soccer. The PIAA counted 338 ejections this fall...

No City League football team has reached the state finals in 25 years, but Westinghouse is headed there next week. The rest of Western Pennsylvania might be surprised but the Bulldogs sure aren’t. Senior running back Khalil Taylor ran for 157 yards and one of four Westinghouse rushing touchdowns Friday...

There’s always room to debate which Aliquippa football team was the best in school history. With 19 WPIAL titles and four state championships, there are plenty of options to consider. In the state championship era, the Quips won their first PIAA title in 1991 with Ty Law as a senior....

When Central Catholic football coach Terry Totten officially met with his players one final time Thursday, he showed them the watch on his wrist and told them how it just keeps ticking. You can’t speed it up or slow it down, Totten explained, and after 18 years as head coach,...

The football itself is usually an essential piece of practice equipment, but when Pine-Richland’s scout-team offense took the field this week, coach Jon LeDonne had the group run plays without one. Coaches come up with creative ways to practice when they run into a team like District 3 champion Cocalico,...

The favorites remain alive in the state playoffs. The six top-ranked teams in the TribLive HSSN state football rankings all won their games last week and advance to this weekend’s PIAA semifinals. Wyomissing had the closest call among the six with a two-point win in Class 3A. There are five...

Imani Christian transfers Robert Sledge and Kylan Holmes are now eligible to play basketball this winter after the PIAA overturned earlier decisions by the WPIAL. The two had appeal hearings Monday. “They were so excited and I understand why,” Imani Christian athletic director Cliff Simon said. “Both had legitimate reason...

The Pine-Richland football team has a two-hour bus ride this weekend and Aliquippa has a three-hour trip ahead. That often comes with reaching the state semifinals. The PIAA has announced sites for the next round of playoff games. Pine-Richland faces District 3 champion Cocalico at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona...

Westinghouse fans have a variety of chants and cheers, but “go defense go” seemed to have a little extra enthusiasm Saturday afternoon at Cupples Stadium. “Our alumni gets us hyped,” said senior lineman Donte Taylor, whose defense sure had plenty of energy. District 10 champion Farrell managed only 56 yards...