Norwin Star notebook: Payton Wehner on mend from broken leg

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, November 14, 2020 | 11:01 AM

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Central Catholic freshman quarterback Payton Wehner was wheeled off the field on a stretcher in the first quarter of the Vikings’ 38-24 victory over North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 6A football championship.

But the North Huntingdon native has begun his recovery.

His mother, Joan, a former girls basketball coach at Norwin, tweeted a picture of her son from a hospital bed the night of the injury.

“In the ambulance when I gave (Payton Wehner) the update that (Central) was down 14-3,” Joan Wehner tweeted. “He said, we’ll be back.”

Wehner was running a wildcat play when he was injured.

He said the next day that he broke two bones in his right leg, near his ankle, and will have surgery once the swelling subsides.

Wehner was inspired by an outpouring of support.

“I am feeling better than last night, thankfully,” he said. “Last night I felt ready to go and everything. It’s just unfortunate that it had to end that way. All the support was unbelievable.”

Wehner will have to be patient to make a comeback to football and basketball.

“We don’t know exactly how long I’ll be out for, but (the doctors) said in January is when I should start physical therapy,” Wehner said.

Happy returns

Norwin’s boys soccer team came up short in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals, but next season looks promising for the Knights with key players set to return.

While the Knights will graduate 13 seniors, a number of starters are primed for another year, including junior goalkeeper Andrew Yanez, junior midfielder Riley Zimmerman, junior forward/defender Cale Yuricha and freshman defender Owen Christopher.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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