MSA Sports Countdown – Top 25 WPIAL Stories From 2014 – 12/28/2014

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, December 28, 2014 | 1:34 PM

It has become a tradition like no other…at least during the holidays here at MSA Sports. It’s time to look back at another high school sports year with the top stories from around the WPIAL in 2014. We begin our countdown with the five stories that ended up #25 through #21.

{Left: Central Valley Warriors football team celebrates at Heinz Field after edging West Allegheny in the 2014 AAA football title game}

#25 – Game, Set, Match and Gold

The unique streak continued in 2014 for Sewickley Academy. 2009 was the last time a Panthers duo did not win gold the WPIAL boys doubles tennis tournament. back in April, the Sewickley Academy tandem of Ryan Gex and Luke Vith won gold in Class AA.

In fact, it was ANOTHER golden year for the Panthers on the tennis court. The dynasty continued in May as Sewickley Academy made it ELEVEN consecutive boys team tennis district championships with a victory over Mars in the Class AA Finals.

It’s not just the boys either as the Sewickley Academy girls team claimed a fourth WPIAL Class AA championship in the last seven years with a victory over Indiana in the district team finals in October.

#24 – Ice Climate Changes

Jim Black, a fixture in Western Pennsylvania hockey, was hired in August to be the new Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League, replacing Ed Sam, who held the position since 1999.

An eight-year Coach of North Allegheny, Black won PIHL Penguins Cup Championships in 2007 and 2013. In both seasons, the Tigers won the Pennsylvania Cup as well. Additionally, Black won a PIHL Penguins Cup and Pennsylvania Cup in 2006 at Pine-Richland.

Black will focus on making the PIHL a more competitive, transparent and noteworthy league. Already, he helped contribute to the realignment of the entire League, forming two divisions at the Varsity Level and two tiers of Class A.

The opportunity to become PIHL Commissioner came at a perfect time for Black, who was contemplating a break from coaching.

“It was the right time to step down,” said Black. “It was a good time to transition and take a break from coaching, because it was something that I put a lot of energy into.”

With a wealth of experience in Western Pennsylvania hockey, Black looks to dwell on his years in the sport. Before North Allegheny and Pine-Richland, Black spent time at Beaver and North Hills. He also coached for a season at the University of Pittsburgh and for numerous amateur teams.

But competition will be Black’s main goal. He cited the success of the highly competitive Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League as a great source of development for young players.

“Kids need to play against like talent,” claimed Black. “Nobody benefits from games that are 10-0.”

He will also look to sit down with the former Open Class teams (now called Division 2) and try to help them grow their programs into “pure” teams, meaning that they will strive to compete in Division 1 with the rest of the PIHL varsity. The handling of the Open Class, which is intended for developing programs, has been a prime subject of discussion over the past few seasons.

#23 – Leaving Early

It is very rare to see a head coaching change during a high school season unless it is due to health reasons. during the 2014 football season, a pair of WPIAL coaches resigned before the regular season was even to the midway point.

Mauro Monz’s tenure as Carlynton’s coach lasted only three games before he handed in his letter of resignation in September.

Monz was quoted in media outlets as saying he resigned because he feared for the safety of his players and he complained about Carlynton not doing anything to stay in Class A instead of Class AA. But Carlynton can’t do anything about its classification. It is based on enrollment figures. And Carlynton has known since December that it would be in Class AA. Monz was hired in April and knew the team would be in Class AA.

Then one week later, Ron Coder resigned as Canon-McMillan’s coach. Coder was in his second season at Canon-McMillan and had won only one game in the two seasons. But Coder said he resigned because of conflict among the coaching staff.

Coder, a former Penn State and NFL lineman, resigned after a meeting with Canon-McMillan athletic director Frank Vulcano. Both Vulcano and Coder said it was a mutual decision that it would be better if Coder resigns.

“There have been some internal things within the staff and within the program that were issues,” said Vulcano. “Between he and I, we felt the best decision for him and best for the program was to resign.”

#22 – Central Valley Ends West A Gridiron Run in a Classic

In what was an instant classic — but what would anyone expect from two Parkway Conference teams — the Central Valley Warriors scored in the final minute to defeat the West Allegheny Indians 35-28 to claim their second WPIAL Class AAA football championship in the school’s five year history.

BJ Powell caught his second touchdown from John George on a fade route with 19 seconds remaining for the winning score. This after West Allegheny tied the game on a Terence Stephens two-yard run to cap a 14-play drive with 2:28 left in regulation. The loss for West Allegheny was the first for head coach Bob Palko in eight title game appearances. It also ended the Indians two year runs as Triple-A champions.

The Warriors got a huge effort from Jordan Whitehead. The Pitt recruit ran 12 times for 107 yards and a score and caught 6 passes for 179 yards, giving him 279 yards of offense on the night. George threw for 276 yards on 10-of-15 passing.

The teams have met seven times now, with Central Valley taking a 4-3 lead and gaining revenge for the 16-6 loss to West Allegheny in last year’s title game. The Parkway Conference has won six straight titles since 2009, as during that period five of the last six championship games have been all Parkway affairs.

Central Valley ended up winning in the PIAA Quarterfinals and Semifinals and joined fellow undefeated WPIAL champions Pine-Richland, South Fayette and Clairton in Hershey in December, playing for a state crown. District 7 stubbed their toes at Hersheypark Stadium, losing three of the four finals, including Central Valley’s 33-14 loss to defending PIAA Class AAA champion Archbishop Wood.

#21 – Diamond Perfection

It took nearly 46 hours to complete, but in the end it was perfection that prevailed. California became the sixth team in WPIAL history to win a WPIAL baseball championship and finish league play undefeated, running away with a 6-1 win over section rival Carmichaels (14-3) at Consol Energy Park in late May.

The game, which was delayed on a Tuesday night in the fourth inning after severe weather hit the Washington, PA area and again delayed Wednesday by more storms, was resumed at a 1-1 tie on a Thursday afternoon.

The delay, which was met with controversy, forced Carmichaels Pitcher Brandon Lawless to discontinue pitching, as PIAA rules state that after pitching into a fourth inning, a pitcher must have two days of rest before pitching again. Lawless, who entered the WPIAL Championship with a 1.96 ERA, pitched into the top of the fourth inning on Tuesday night. His counterpart, California’s Josh Luko, did not pitch in the fourth inning and, therefore, was allowed to pitch Thursday.

When action resumed, Carmichaels elected to throw Sophomore Billy Bowlen. After inheriting two runners from Lawless, Bowlen would allow three straight singles, including an RBI single by Jake Columbus and a two-RBI knock by Louden Conte, giving California a 4-1 lead. Conte, who had an RBI triple in the third inning which tied the game at 1-1, finished 2-for-3 with three RBI.

California would get insurance runs for Luko in the sixth inning on a two-RBI double by Ron Baron, extending the Trojans’ lead to 6-1.

But two runs were all that Luko needed. The senior pitcher would hurl a complete game, giving up one unearned runs on seven hits, while striking out nine batters and walking none.

The championship is the fourth for California in school history and first since 2006. The Trojans advanced to the PIAA Playoffs where they suffered their first loss of the season is the First Round when they were stunned by Cranberry 2-1 to finish the season with a 20-1 record.

Tags: California, Canon-McMillan, Carlynton, Carmichaels, Central Valley, West Allegheny