Michael Love stories, Page 10

WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class A First round 13-Riverview (10-6) vs. 4-Beaver County Christian (13-3) 2 p.m. Saturday, Tiger Stadium, Moon Township Winner plays: Winner of 12-Greensburg Central Catholic (6-7-1)/5-Aquinas Academy (12-3) on Wednesday in quarterfinals Corner kicks: Riverview has qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since...

All of the section and nonsection matches have concluded, and invitational tournaments are in the past. The WPIAL girls volleyball postseason is here, and the playoff pairings committee on Friday assembled and released the four classification brackets. North Allegheny (Class 4A), Beaver (Class 3A), Quaker Valley (Class 2A) and Frazier...

Player of the week Darian Nelson Plum, sr., WR/DB The Mustangs were looking for a spark after a rugged three-game stretch with losses to Pine-Richland, Penn-Trafford and North Hills. Nelson was able to provide that lift last Friday against Fox Chapel as he carried the ball eight times for 153...

For the first time in its recent streak of eight straight playoff qualifications, the Springdale girls soccer team is a top seed. The Dynamos earned the No. 1 spot in the Class A bracket as the WPIAL soccer selection committee released its boys and girls playoff brackets Wednesday afternoon. Springdale...

Friday’s Greater Allegheny Conference matchup between Knoch and West Mifflin is rife with WPIAL playoff implications. The Knights, 2-1 in the conference, control their own destiny and can clinch one of the two automatic berths from the conference to the Class 4A tournament with wins this Friday and in the...

Here’s a look at the 2024 WPIAL girls soccer playoffs: Class 4A Favorite: Peters Township (16-0-1) was stingy defensively with just eight goals allowed in 16 games while scoring 63. An overtime tie with Upper St. Clair was the only thing keeping the Indians from a perfect Section 2 slate....

The Greensburg Central Catholic girls volleyball team used its experience and skill Monday evening to defeat St. Joseph, 3-0, in a nonsection game at St. Joseph’s Walter Dublak Athletic Center. The Centurions improved to 12-3 overall. They wrapped up Section 4-A play last week with a 6-2 record and finished...

Pitt’s Braylan Lovelace heard his name called several times in Saturday’s 17-15 victory over California in an ACC game at Acrisure Stadium. The Leechburg graduate and Panthers sophomore linebacker, making his fourth start of the season, recorded a season-high seven tackles, including two sacks, as Pitt improved to 6-0 and...

Courtney Jackson again has shown himself to be a top receiving threat for the Arkansas State football team. The Gateway graduate, who also returns punts for the Red Wolves, caught 16 passes for 169 yards through five games. He recorded a season-best five receptions for 69 yards in the opener...

Amari Gans wasn’t about to let Gateway’s first victory of the season slip through its fingers. The Gators had suffered tough losses to State College and North Allegheny, and their backs were against the wall in Week 2 at Plum. Gans, a senior tailback and outside linebacker, made an impact...

Tim Burchett has been a high school football coach for 14 years including the past two-plus seasons at Knoch, and he said he can’t remember many single-game performances like the one senior quarterback and defensive back Codi Mullen put on Friday in a 38-14 victory over Hampton on homecoming at...

Plum hockey coach Jon Gratton said his team remained positive despite tough losses to Chartiers Valley and Quaker Valley to start its PIHL Class A season. “Everybody had a good understanding of what we were up against with two really tough opponents right off the bat,” said Gratton, who leads...

When Tim Andrasy scored a rushing touchdown for Leechburg with 11 minutes, 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Eastern Conference first-place clash with Clairton at Leechburg’s Veterans Stadium, it snapped the Bears’ 30-quarter streak of not allowing a point. Even though that defensive run came to an...

The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League regular season concludes Sunday with four doubleheaders. West Allegheny (11-1) and Mt. Lebanon (10-2) meet at Mt. Lebanon’s Middle Field with the regular-season title on the line. Baldwin (3-11) and Bethel Park (9-5) played two games Wednesday to close out their regular season. Bethel...

Player of the week Trey Coury Burrell, so., RB/DB What did the Bucs tailback do for an encore after rushing for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 51 carries in Burrell’s victory over East Allegheny on Sept. 27? He upped those numbers in helping the Bucs win their...

Clairton and Leechburg rolled through the first seven weeks of the season. The Bears gave up one touchdown, a defensive score by Steel Valley in the Week Zero season opener at the Wolvarena, and have proceeded to pitch six straight shutouts. The Blue Devils have averaged 43.2 points in their...

Michael Braun first made contact with Penn State cross country and track and field coaches in late August and quickly developed a rapport. “They expressed some interest, and we just went from there,” the Freeport senior distance standout said. Braun paid an initial visit to the University Park campus and...

In the first meeting between the Freeport and Burrell girls soccer teams Sept. 16, a goal from sophomore Camryn Woods in the first overtime lifted the Yellowjackets to the victory. The teams met again Monday, this time at Freeport, and the rematch between the leaders of Section 2-2A also needed...

The Gateway hockey team took big steps forward last season with winning results on the ice. The Gators, playing at the junior varsity level, never lost in the regular season, finishing with 15 wins and one tie to claim the Division 3 title in JV Tier 3. Gateway then was...

The Gateway girls soccer team hopes to be in position to clinch a WPIAL Class 3A playoff spot when it hosts Shaler on Monday (Oct. 14) in the Section 1 finale. The Gators were 3-5-1 after a 2-1 loss to playoff contender Hampton on Oct. 2. It was a close...

Leechburg and Clairton took care of business in a big way Friday night. The Blue Devils raced past Frazier, 62-16, and the Bears routed Springdale, 71-0. Now, the Eastern Conference leaders, both 4-0, will meet this week in a game that could go a long way in deciding who wins...

Wes Lorish is in position to go after state gold. The Plum senior capped his run in the WPIAL Class 3A individual playoffs with a sixth-place finish in the two-day, 36-hole championship tournament last Tuesday and Wednesday at Southpointe Golf Club in Canonsburg (first round) and Oakmont Country Club (finals)....

The Riverview boys soccer team started this season 0-4 overall and 0-3 in Section 4-A play. The Raiders were coming off a tough 1-0 loss at rival Springdale and were looking for a spark. That spark came in the form of a 3-1 win over Class 2A Burrell two days...

Through its first 11 games, the Plum girls soccer team gave up just three goals and lost just once. But that one loss had a quick response. The Mustangs suffered a 1-0 nonconference setback at Montour on Sept. 19 but came back in its next game four days later and...

For the second week in a row, Trey Coury did some heavy lifting. The Burrell sophomore tailback again logged more than 50 carries: 53 to be exact. Those runs went for 266 yards and both Bucs scores in a 15-6 victory over Valley in the annual “Battle of the Bypass”...