Alle-Kiski Valley notebook: Freeport, Knoch to play doubleheader in PIAA volleyball semifinals

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, November 12, 2018 | 5:54 PM

Clarion Area High School will play host to an Alle-Kiski Valley doubleheader in the state semifinals.

Freeport and Knoch, defending PIAA champions in Class AA and AAA, respectively, will play back-to-back at Clarion High School in the semifinals on Tuesday. Freeport will take on District 6 champion Bald Eagle Area at 5:30 p.m., with Knoch’s match against District 10 champ Warren set for 7 p.m.

The winners advance to the state championship match, set for Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School.

Out of this world

Deer Lakes boys soccer will hope for a happier result at Mars against Shady Side Academy than the Section 2-AA rivals’ most recent meeting there. The Lancers and Indians will square off at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Mars in the PIAA Class AA semifinals, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s state championship game in Hershey.

Deer Lakes and Shady Side also played at Mars in the WPIAL semifinals, with Shady Side claiming a 1-0 win.

An unfortunate injury

The Deer Lakes bench had an up-close look at Quaker Valley forward Weston Grant’s significant leg injury during the first half of their PIAA Class AA boys soccer quarterfinal Saturday.

Grant suffered the injury in a collision with a Deer Lakes defender on the sideline, in front of the bench, midway through the first half. Medical personnel tended to Grant for about a half-hour, placing an air cast on his leg, before an ambulance took him away.

Deer Lakes coach Jordan Wiegand and Lancers players A.J. Dorman and Michael Sullivan all wished Grant well and said they hated to see the injury happen.

“It didn’t look anything different to me than just a missed tackle, but it was a very serious injury that followed,” Wiegand said. “That’s something where your heart goes out to the player and I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Quaker Valley coach Andrew Marshall called it “one of the worst tackles I’ve seen in soccer” and said it deserved a penalty and potentially an ejection. He said Grant stayed positive throughout.

“He was asking (questions), making sure his mom was still warm,” Marshall said. “He was in good spirits. He’s a tough kid.”

The first important date on the recruiting calendar comes Wednesday, when prospective Division I and II athletes can sign their National Letters of Intent for every sport except for football.

A new rule this school year eliminated, with a couple of exceptions, the split signing period that previously existed: an early signing period in November, followed by a dead period, before signing could resume in the spring. Athletes in all Division I and II sports but football and Division I basketball can sign from Wednesday through Aug. 1, 2019.

Division I basketball recruits can sign Wednesday through Nov. 21, then must wait for the regular signing period, which begins April 17. The football early signing period runs from Dec. 19-21, while the regular period begins Feb. 6.

One more for Moore

Shady Side Academy two-way star Skyy Moore, a New Kensington native, picked up his third Football Bowl Subdivision offer last week from Western Michigan.

Moore now holds offers from FBS schools Buffalo, Rice and Western Michigan along with Football Championship Subdivision programs Albany, Brown, Columbia, Delaware, Duquesne, Fordham, Holy Cross, Howard, Lehigh, Maine, Richmond, Robert Morris and Yale.

A 5-foot-10 quarterback and defensive back, Moore surpassed 1,000 yards in both passing and rushing this fall, leading Shady Side Academy to an undefeated regular season. He suffered an ankle injury in the Indians’ WPIAL first-round game against Serra Catholic, forcing him to miss a quarterfinal loss to South Side Beaver.

Offer for Aulicino

Freeport freshman Michael Aulicino has a scholarship offer in hand before his first high school basketball game.

The 6-foot-6 Aulicino picked up an offer from Point Park after attending a recruiting showcase at the Downtown Pittsburgh school in late October.

He becomes the second Alle-Kiski Valley player in recent weeks to get offered by Point Park, joining Highlands junior Luke Cochran.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Freeport, Shady Side Academy