Greg Macafee stories, Page 20

The North Catholic football players are motivated by how their 2019 season ended. The Trojans had great expectations last season, and through the regular season, they fulfilled those expectations. They won eight of nine games with their only loss coming against WPIAL Class 3A champion Central Valley. They captured the...

The Valley Vikings lacked experience last season, and it showed early. They had a first-year starting quarterback, one returning starter on offense and four on defense, and they lacked strong line play. Despite their 1-9 record, the young team started to develop and learn from its mistakes as the season...

The WPIAL Class 3A race may look a little different this year, but the winner could be the same. Perennial contender Aliquippa has moved up to Class 4A, and Beaver Falls has moved down to Class 2A after fielding one of its best teams since 2016. The entire classification has...

Since taking over the Burrell football program three years ago, coach Shawn Liotta has been trying to create a buzz around the Bucs. By the end of last season, players, coaches, administrators and fans could hear that buzz as loud as ever. The Bucs recorded their first winning season since...

The Plum boys soccer team put together one of its best seasons in recent memory last season, capturing the section title and going undefeated in the regular season. But with the graduation of key seniors such as leading goal scorer Tyler Kolankowski, center back Cole Kelly and midfielder Luke Gildea,...

Teams are always in search of their identity, and it took the Kiski Area Cavaliers a little longer than expected to find theirs in 2019. But as the Cavaliers get ready for the 2020 season, they have a better idea of what that identity is going to be, and they...

The Brownsville football team hasn’t had a winning season in quite some time, but first-year coach Ramont Small is ready to get the Falcons pointed in the right direction. The Falcons finished 2-8 last season with wins over Bentworth and Beth-Center, but they haven’t had a season with more than...

A new era is coming to Leechburg football, and new coach Randy Walters is ready to take the Blue Devils to new heights. Since accepting the job in March, Walters has focused on the finer points of putting his stamp on the program. He and his coaching staff have revamped...

When Shawn Liotta took over the Burrell football program two years ago, he brought a fast-paced and exciting passing offense with him. The Bucs quickly adopted the motto “Play Fast” as they operated with a no-huddle, run-and-shoot offense that lights up the scoreboard and set a PIAA record for most...

The Riverhounds completed their best week of the season Saturday when they beat New York Red Bulls II, 3-0, on the road. The Riverhounds’ Ropapa Mensah scored just before halftime, then Robbie Mertz scored his fifth goal of the season to tie Steevan Dos Santos for the team lead in...

J.J. Veshio has been around the Quaker Valley soccer program practically his entire life. He was a player and assistant coach, but the Quaker Valley graduate never really imagined becoming the head coach, something so many of his mentors have done. When former head coach Andrew Marshall stepped down this...

Earlier this week, the Kiski Area football team was forced to postpone its first two games of the season because of a covid-19 exposure. The Cavaliers suspended all football activities until Sept. 10 and had to postpone matchups against Penn Hills and Connellsville. But, the Cavaliers now have it all...

The Riverhounds are in the middle of one of their best weeks of the season and they are looking to finish strong when they head to New Jersey on Saturday to face off with New York Red Bulls II. Last Friday, the Black and Gold got an important 3-0 win...

Last season didn’t end the way the Deer Lakes boys soccer team wanted. In the first year under coach Dan Yates, the Lancers recorded a 17-6 overall record, went 13-1 in WPIAL Section 2-2A play and earned their first WPIAL championship appearance in school history. But, they lost to eventual...

Toward the end of last football season, Highlands started to hit a stride. In their final three games, the Golden Rams went 1-2, but losses to South Fayette and Latrobe came by a combined five points. They also produced three of their five highest-scoring outputs of the season. Despite losing...

It’s not every day a college athlete receives a seventh year of athletic eligibility. In fact, there are only two men’s lacrosse players in NCAA Division I that have received that seventh year this season. The first is Rutgers’ Adam Charalambides and the second is Jimmy Perkins, a former WPIAL...

The last time Western Beaver athletic director and assistant principal Ryan Matsook found himself on the sidelines as a high school football coach was in 2016. He was dressed in black and orange and he was at the helm of a Beaver Falls team that only lost one game all...

In sixth grade, Kiski Area lineman Brandon Lawhorn-Moore used to be the only student who would bring in beef jerky on Beef Jerky Friday. Lawhorn-Moore quickly picked up the nickname “Beef” from his social studies teacher, and it has stuck. Now “Beef,” who is a 6-foot-5, 300-pound junior tackle, can...

About two weeks ago, the Riverhounds traveled to Virginia to take on Loudoun United. Now, Pittsburgh’s Group F opponents are coming to Highmark Stadium for their second matchup in 13 days. The Riverhounds (6-3-1) are coming off a 3-0 victory against Hartford Athletic, and Loudoun United (1-5-2) is coming off...

The Riverhounds took their largest group lead of the season Friday by defeating Hartford Athletic 3-0 on the road to earn another three points. It was a significant victory for the Riverhounds, one of their biggest of the season, but it was more than that as well. It signified an...

When it comes to describing a running back tandem, most football coaches normally stick with the age-old phrase of “Thunder and Lighting.” One back normally has the power and strength to run between the tackles and ram defenders over, while, in a change of pace, the other has the speed...

Since making a playoff appearance in 2015, the New Brighton Lions have been building toward a special season. Although they missed the playoffs in both 2016 and ‘17, the Lions qualified the last two seasons and made a run to the WPIAL quarterfinals last year before losing to eventual WPIAL...

The Riverside Panthers shocked the WPIAL last season when they made a surprising run through the Class 2A playoffs. They started their playoff run by defeating undefeated No. 3 Burgettstown, 42-35. They then took their season one step further with a 41-27 win over McGuffey in the quarterfinals. Riverside’s run...

The Riverhounds traveled to Connecticut on Friday for their first of three matchups with Hartford Athletic in the next month and came away with a significant victory that gave them sole possession of first place in Group F. Behind goals from Ryan James and the “Connecticut Kid” Danny Griffin, the...