Paul Schofield stories, Page 42

To win a PIAA or WPIAL title, it takes a team. It also takes some special players. For Belle Vernon, one of those special players was junior Quinton Martin. The five-star superstar with more than 20 Division I football offers was the player Belle Vernon opponents feared the most. And...

Frazier began a wrestling program in 2016, and Buck Watkins has been coaching the program for the past six seasons. The Commodores were known only for the Lawrence brothers (Thayne and Rune), each of whom has won two PIAA titles. But this isn’t those Frazier teams. No. 8 Southmoreland found...

Waynesburg seniors Mac Church and Rocco Welsh captured titles at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Saturday. Church won the 144-pound weight class by defeating Western Reserve Academy’s Sam Cartella, 2-1, in overtime. Church was 5-0. Welsh posted a 13-4 decision in the 175-pound finals against St. Edward’s Jarrel Miller. He,...

Class 3A Team rankings Pos. Team Record LW 1. Waynesburg (0-0) 1 2. Canon-McMillan (0-0) 3 3. Connellsville (1-0) 4 4. Trinity (3-0) NR 5. Latrobe (2-1) 2 6. Franklin Regional (3-0) 5 7. North Allegheny (4-1) 6 8. Hempfield (0-0) 7 9. Seneca Valley (4-0) NR 10. Plum (4-1)...

Penn-Trafford’s swimming teams opened the season by defeating Greensburg Salem, getting off to a strong start to a season coach Dave Babik considers pivotal for the future of the program. The boys breezed to a 91-50 victory as juniors Patton Graziano and Conner Alexander each qualified for the WPIAL meet...

Xavier Solomon scored three goals, and Penn-Trafford handed South Fayette its first loss of the season in PIHL Class 2A action Dec. 5. The Warriors got goals from Jack Blank and Solomon in the first period to grab a 2-1 lead. They extended the lead to 5-2 after two periods...

It may not happen in the month of December, but the Franklin Regional wrestling team could be a tough team to beat in early 2023. That’s when Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe sees his team being fully healthy. The No. 5-ranked Panthers are expected to challenge for the WPIAL Section...

Here are this week’s WPIAL team wrestling rankings. Teams are listed with overall record. Class 3A 1. Waynesburg (0-0) 2. Latrobe (0-0) 3. Canon-McMillan (0-0) 4. Connellsville (0-0) 5. Franklin Regional (0-0) 6. North Allegheny (0-0) 7. Hempfield (0-0) 8. Bethel Park (0-0) 9. Butler (0-0) 10. Penn-Trafford (0-0) Teams...

Bethel Park had one champion and 10 placewinners to grab the team title at the Eastern Area Invitational on Saturday at Gateway High School. The Black Hawks finished with 212 points. Plum followed with 195 and Penn-Trafford was third with 174.5. Bethel Park’s champ was Mason Kernan (133 pounds). Placing...

When A.J. Brentzel took over the Penn-Trafford wrestling program in 2019, his goal was to rebuild the program. And now he leaves the program in better shape than he got it. Brentzel passes to coaching torch to assistant coach Travis McKillop this season, and the 30-year-old looks to continue the...

Senior Nate Loughner scored two goals and had an assist as Penn-Trafford rallied to a 5-2 victory against Mars in a PIHL Class 2A game on Nov. 28. Garrett Rechtorik and Xavier Solomon added second-period goals to break a 1-1 tie. Loughner and Chase Bonson added goals in the third...

ALTOONA — Pine-Richland football coach Jon LeDonne changed his philosophy for Friday’s PIAA Class 5A semifinal. Instead of putting his defense on the field if he won the toss, he decided to see how his offense would respond. LeDonne won the toss, sent his offense on the field and the...

Mt. Pleasant wrestling team missed its goal last season of winning a WPIAL Class 2A title. But fourth-year coach Zach Snyder said reaching the final four in the WPIAL was something the 2022-23 squad can build on. With the change in section alignments moving Mt. Pleasant to Section 2, the...

WPIAL Class 2A wrestlers to watch: Rune Lawrence, Frazier The junior (67-4) earned his second WPIAL and PIAA titles at 172 pounds last year. He was 37-3 as a sophomore and has 40 career pins. His brother Thayne was a PIAA two-time champion. Grant MacKay, Laurel The senior (119-18) was...

For the first time in 15 years, Burrell isn’t necessarily the wrestling team to beat in WPIAL Class 2A. That honor goes 2022 third-place finisher Burgettstown. The Blue Devils are the pick because they return 10 starters, including five PIAA qualifiers, from a squad that finished 15-3. Two of the...

Latrobe wrestling coach Mark Mears had high hopes for his Wildcats in 2021. He knew if things worked out right, the Wildcats would be in the running for a WPIAL Class 3A team title, challenging No. 1 Waynesburg for a championship. And while the Wildcats (15-3) didn’t get a chance...

Being a high school coach has its rewards and drawbacks. There is the thrill of victories and the building of relationships with student-athletes. Those are some of the good things. Some of the difficult thing for coaches is not being there for the sons and daughters as they grow up....

WPIAL Class 3A wrestlers to watch: Vinny Kilkeary, Latrobe The senior captured his second PIAA title by dominating Mason Leiphart of Dover, 12-3, in the 120-pound finals last season. He was the 106-pound champion in 2020. Kilkeary (102-12, 46-2) was the WPIAL champion in 2021 and placed third at the...

Waynesburg is looking for its fourth consecutive WPIAL Class 3A team title after overcoming numerous obstacles last season. A serious arm injury kept senior Cole Homet from competing in all but three matches, and weight problems kept the Raiders from having their strongest lineup. Still, they found a way to...

Things couldn’t have gone much better for Latrobe football coach Ron Prady during his first season. The Wildcats finished 7-5 and reached the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. The remarkable season included the program’s first seven-win season since 2001, the first winning season since 2011, the first playoff win since 1968...

Making open shots. That’s one of the biggest things the Penn-Trafford girls basketball team will be working on this season, veteran coach John Giannikas said. “Last year, we were hot and cold from the outside,” he said. “If we shoot better, we’ll be pretty good.” The Warriors graduated only one...

Just because the Penn-Trafford boys basketball team dropped from Class 6A to Class 5A this season, it doesn’t mean things will be easier. In fact, third-year coach Doug Kelly said he knows the Warriors’ new section, which includes McKeesport, Latrobe, Gateway, Franklin Regional and Kiski Area, will be tough. “All...

If the Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team wants to improve on its dismal 2021-22 season, it must do so without leading scorer Dante Giallonardo. The junior forward who averaged 12 points per game will be sidelined this season with a knee injury sustained during football season. And while the loss...

Scott Giacobbi is beginning his 18th season as girls basketball coach at Mt. Pleasant. He called last season a regrouping year. The Vikings were sometimes overmatched in Section 4-4A, but with a drop in classification, Giacobbi is looking forward to the new challenges his squad will face. Instead of playing...