Chris Harlan stories, Page 9

After three straight losses here in the WPIAL finals, three words summed up Central Catholic’s mood this week: “Enough is enough.” This time, the Vikings were too much. Top-seeded Central Catholic scored on its first five possessions, played stifling defense and enacted the mercy rule early in the third quarter...

Xxavier Thomas is about to play in his fourth WPIAL championship game, a rather rare feat accomplished by the Central Catholic senior. But he admits he expects more out of this one after three runner-up finishes. “Hopefully, we can come out victorious,” said Thomas, a Penn State-bound cornerback and wide...

Josh Nindl celebrated Friday night with a WWE-style championship belt slung over his shoulder. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder and his big-bodied cohorts on the line proved they were ready for a heavyweight rumble. Top-seeded Pine-Richland used their combined muscle to win at the line of scrimmage and defeat No. 5 Bethel...

There were concerns Aaron “Oobi” Strader had broken his collarbone late in the regular season, an injury that would’ve cost top-seeded Pine-Richland its quarterback. The injury was painful but proved less severe than first feared, letting the dual-threat sophomore return for a limited role in last week’s quarterfinal win. Strader...

McKeesport’s Matt Miller and Central Catholic’s Ryan Lehmeier will try to win their first WPIAL titles as head coaches this week. It won’t come easy, since their coaching counterparts in Saturday’s finals already have big trophy collections. Among active coaches, Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak and North Allegheny’s Art Walker rank...

Citing a “negativity” around the program, Ron Butschle resigned Tuesday as Seneca Valley’s football coach, saying his exit might give the team a fresh start. This was Butschle’s second stint as the Raiders head coach starting in 2017. The team went 39-42 in the past eight seasons and reached the...

Former Lincoln Park basketball star Meleek Thomas committed Monday to Arkansas. A 6-foot-4 guard, Thomas bypassed what would’ve been his senior season this winter in the WPIAL to join a high-profile league in Atlanta. Thomas had narrowed his college options to the Razorbacks, Pitt or UConn. In a social media...

It took a big win by another elite program to snap Aliquippa’s amazing WPIAL championship streak. Aliquippa had reached the WPIAL finals 16 years in a row, but that incredible run ended Friday night with a 38-21 loss to fellow titan Thomas Jefferson in the Class 4A semifinals. This will...

The WPIAL on Saturday released sites for the next round of football playoff games. Class 5A, 3A, 2A and A have semifinals Friday at various sites. The 6A and 4A finals are Saturday at Norwin as previously announced. WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Final 1-Central Catholic (9-2) vs. 2-North Allegheny (10-1)...

The streak is over. Sixteen years in a row, Aliquippa had remarkably reached the WPIAL finals, often by exploiting any mistake an opponent made. This time, the Quips were on the other side. Top-seeded Thomas Jefferson blocked two punts, scored the first 28 points and played mostly mistake-free football Friday...

Rarely does a WPIAL football team play the same opponent in back-to-back games, but that’s the situation facing Beaver. Two weeks after beating Avonworth in the regular-season finale, Beaver opens the WPIAL playoffs Friday night with another matchup against the Antelopes. The fourth-seeded Bobcats (8-2) earned a first-round bye, so...

Go back in time four years to when Thomas Jefferson and Aliquippa met in the 2020 WPIAL finals. It seemed then that a new rivalry was blossoming with the Quips’ arrival in Class 4A. Yet, they haven’t met since. “It’s been kind of surprising that we haven’t,” TJ coach Bill...

When the WPIAL released its brackets for the boys soccer playoffs, Allderdice wasn’t included. The Dragons had learned weeks earlier that they weren’t eligible, but it still stung. Their motivation was to compete for a WPIAL title, until that was taken away with a few games left in the regular...

The last time South Allegheny won a WPIAL playoff game, fans might have skipped a Friday night episode of the “A-Team” or “Dallas” to instead watch the Gladiators. That was 1986. The football program endured some tough times since, but second-year coach Brian Hanson said some die-hard fans in Glassport,...

Penn State was the first of nearly two dozen schools to offer Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg a scholarship, but ultimately the Nittany Lions’ offer was all he needed. Sieg, one of the WPIAL’s top recruits, announced his commitment Saturday. The 6-foot, 180-pound junior plays quarterback and defensive back for the...

The WPIAL on Saturday announced sites for the next round of football playoff games. Teams that earned a bye in the previous round will host a game this week. All other matchups are played on a neutral field. The WPIAL chose Chartiers Valley to host a Class 4A semifinal between...

Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Eber wasn’t counting his carries, and neither was his coach, so they were a little surprised to hear he’d run the ball nearly 50 times. Forty-eight to be exact. “Forty-eight?” said TJ coach Bill Chepak. “Holy … .” “I had no idea,” said Eber, who rushed for...

Did the WPIAL football committee get the wild cards right? Opinions surely vary, but teams that narrowly missed the playoffs are surely left with some questions. Rather than use tiebreaking formulas, the WPIAL broke with tradition this year and let its 10-person committee choose qualifiers. That leaves their picks open...

It’s tough to win in November as a WPIAL football team with an identity crisis. “That’s when they’re trying to do everything and they’re average at everything,” said Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak, whose Jaguars don’t have that problem. They’ve got a talented passer, but they’ve also long established themselves...

Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Central Catholic, 8-2, 1 2. North Allegheny, 9-1, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 4-7, 5 4. Seneca Valley, 3-6, 3 5. Hempfield, 4-6, NR Out: Canon-McMillan (3-7, 4) Class 5A 1. Upper St. Clair, 10-0, 1 2. Pine-Richland, 8-1, 2 3. Peters Township, 9-1,...

Class 6A Favorite: Central Catholic has finished as the WPIAL runner-up two years in a row, but the Vikings enter this year again as title favorites. They have reached the final 10 of the past 11 years. First-year starting quarterback Jy’Aire Walls has passed for 1,729 yards and 19 touchdowns....

“Shocked and surprised.” That’s how the coach of three-time defending champion Aliquippa felt when the WPIAL revealed football playoff brackets Saturday. The Quips received a No. 4 seed in a Class 4A bracket that looked a lot different than what coach Vashawn Patrick and some others around the WPIAL had...

Outside of wild cards, the 2024 WPIAL playoff field is set. In the new playoff format, wild card teams are no longer determined by Gardner Points or WPIAL tiebreaker points. So now, 16 additional teams will have to wait until Selection Saturday before the district football committee makes its decisions...

Beaver won its first conference title in almost two decades, but coach Cort Rowse didn’t care to ponder whether this was the biggest win in recent history. “Tonight, it is,” he said. That’s all that mattered to him. Fourth-ranked Beaver forced a three-way tie for the Class 3A Western Hills...

In most other years, Friday’s finale between Hopewell and North Catholic might be considered almost a play-in game. The winner would finish fourth in the Western Hills Conference and head to the playoffs, while the loser stays home. South Fayette vs. Moon in the Allegheny Six might’ve had the same...