Football
Scholastic Notebook – 04/10/2015
April 10, 2015
Beaver Falls High School is trying to make sure the school’s 1975 baseball team won’t be forgotten. At a baseball game in two weeks, the ’75 team that won a WPIAL title will be honored before a Beaver Falls game. No one is quite ready to call this year’s Beaver Falls team championship caliber, but the Tigers are doing a pretty good job of grabbing some attention for themselves. It’s still extremely early in the WPIAL baseball season, but Beaver Falls is 3-0. That might not sound like much, but considering the past few years, it is a gigantic step forward for Beaver Falls.
WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2015
April 9, 2015
Four athletes who would later go on to professional careers, several multi-sport athletes, four coaches who won nearly 40 WPIAL championships between them, an old-school baseball player whose son continued his Major League Baseball legacy and a team that won nine WPIAL and PIAA playoff games en route to a state basketball title by an average margin of victory of 25.8. Those are some of the headliners of the WPIAL Hall of Fame class of 2015. The WPIAL held a news conference Thursday morning to announce its ninth annual class. You can watch the video stream archived here on MSA Sports. All inductees will be honored at a banquet June 12 at the Doubletree Hotel in Greentree.Scholastic Notebook – 04/03/2015
April 3, 2015
Look at the list of WPIAL tennis champions over the past decade and you’ll see the name Kissell at various places on the girls side. But Chad Kissell is on the cusp of proving that this championship stuff is not just a girl thing in the Kissell family. Kissell is a senior at Latrobe High School and is the No. 1 seed for the WPIAL Class AAA boys tournament Tuesday and Wednesday. The tournament starts Tuesday at North Allegheny and lasts through the semifinals. The championship matches in Class AAA and AA will be Wednesday at Norwin.Scholastic Notebook – 03/13/2015
March 13, 2015
This is the time of year in basketball where coaches often look to their seniors or experienced players for leadership and to make key plays in playoff games. But for a few teams in the WPIAL, “fresh” faces can be seen on the court. The New Castle and Mars boys, and also the Chartiers-Houston girls have made it to the PIAA quarterfinals and freshmen have fueled their runs. * For New Castle, 6-foot freshman forward Marcus Hooker is averaging 10 points and seven rebounds a game for a team that will play Archbishop Carroll tonight in the Class AAA elite eight. Hooker is the younger brother of Malik Hooker, a former New Castle star who is now a freshman football player at Ohio State. Marcus also plays football.Scholastic Notebook – 03/06/2015
March 6, 2015
Chassidy Omogrosso is Blackhawk’s Energizer bunny. The senior guard on the Blackhawk girls basketball team seemingly never stops on the court. Her motor is stuck on overdrive. While Comcast has bundle deals for cable television, Blackhawk has a bundle full of energy in Omogrosso. Omogrosso’s “run” through the recent WPIAL tournament was one to behold. She was close to unstoppable in the Class AAA playoffs, leading the Cougars to a second consecutive WPIAL title last Saturday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. No one has records for what is the greatest playoff run – scoring wise – for WPIAL girls basketball. But Omogrosso has to be somewhere near the top.Scholastic Notebook – 02/20/2015
February 20, 2015
Highlands and Bishop Canevin are in the WPIAL boys basketball quarterfinals. Who would’ve thought you’d read that sentence this year? Highlands and Bishop Canevin are two of the biggest turnaround stories in the league over the past few years. Highlands (13-11) will play Indiana in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals tonight. Two years ago, Highlands finished 1-21 under first-year coach Tyler Stoczynski. Highlands started to show signs of improvement last year, but still finished 9-13 and out of the playoffs.Scholastic Notebook – 02/06/2015
February 6, 2015
Penn State football coach James Franklin lost out on the top player in the WPIAL class of 2015 when Central Valley’s Jordan Whitehead signed with Pitt. Other than Whitehead, Penn State had plenty of success in the WPIAL. At least more than the Nittany Lions have had in recent history. Penn State signed four players from the WPIAL this season. That might not seem like a lot, but it is more than the past four classes combined. In fact, only twice in the past 10 years has Penn State landed four or more players from the WPIAL. In 2010, Penn State signed five WPIAL players and four in 2007. Two of the past four years, Penn State did not sign one WPIAL player.2015 National Letter of Intent Day – MSA Sports Elite Eleven College Destinations
February 4, 2015
Wednesday was National Letter of Intent Day where high school seniors make their verbal commitments official by signing on the dotted line to the school of their choice. What were the final college destinations for the members of the 2014 MSA Sports The Elite 11 football all-star team? Here is a look: CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR - BRETT BRUMBAUGH, SOUTH FAYETTE QB, 6-4, 195, SR. DUQUESNE CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR - BEN DiNUCCI, PINE-RICHLAND QB, 6-2, 195, SR. PITT JORDAN WHITEHEAD, CENTRAL VALLEY RB-DB, 6-0, 185, SR. PITT2015 National Letter of Intent Day – Division I-A Football Players from WPIAL
Here are the seniors from the WPIAL or Pittsburgh City League who have signed to make their verbal commitments to Division I-A colleges. High school seniors could not sign a binding letter of intent until Wednesday, February 4th. PITT Ben DiNucci, Pine-Richland (QB, 6-3, 192) Dane Jackson, Quaker Valley (QB-DB, 6-1, 180) Alex Paulina, Canon-McMillan (OL-DL, 6-3, 280) Tony Pilato, Hempfield (OT-DL, 6-7, 290) Tre Tipton, Apollo-Ridge (WR-DL, 6-1, 175) Jordan Whitehead, Central Valley (RB-DB, 6-0, 195)Scholastic Notebook – 01/30/2015
January 30, 2015
With a little more than a week left in the regular season, Aliquippa and Sewickley Academy are the only two undefeated teams in WPIAL boys basketball at 18-0. For both, it is a return to glory this season. Aliquippa has a rich basketball tradition, but the Quips hit a rough patch from 2010-13, compiling a record below .500 for three consecutive seasons under coach Bobby Williams. Things started to return to normal last year under first-year coach Nick Lackovich when the Quips finished 20-7. Now, things are terrific at Aliquippa and this could be a team for the ages at the Beaver County school. It’s not known when the last time was Aliquippa finished the regular season with a perfect record. It has been at least four decades.Scholastic Notebook – 01/23/2015
January 23, 2015
Laurel High School picked a Locke a few years ago. Now, the Spartans have found the keys to winning basketball. The Laurel boys team is one of the big turnaround stories in the WPIAL this season. The Spartans are 13-3 and in second place in Section 1 of Class AA. They are the MSA Sports No. 5-ranked Class AA team. The main directing the turnaround is Ken Locke. Laurel hired him before the 2012 season and Locke, a 1995 Laurel graduate, has done a great job in turning around the Spartans.Football Anyone? WPIAL Football 2015 Alignment/Schedules Released
January 22, 2015
The High School football season is only 224 days away! Don’t laugh; it will be here before you know it. With that being said, this week the WPIAL released their football schedules for the upcoming 2015 season. The WPIAL was forced to make four realignment changes due to the upcoming merger between Ford City and Kittanning High Schools, which is forming Armstrong High School starting this fall.Joe Hamilton Resigns As Blackhawk Football Coach
January 20, 2015
In today’s world, only a few high school football coaches last more than ten years, let alone 39 years at the same school. That was the legacy of Joe Hamilton and the Blackhawk Cougars, but it came to an end Tuesday when Hamilton submitted his resignation. In the almost four decades at Blackhawk, Hamilton’s teams won 295 games, four WPIAL championships including three straight in 1991-92-93, played for the WPIAL title nine times and made three trips to the PIAA championship games.Scholastic Notebook – 01/16/2015
January 16, 2015
The Mars boys basketball team doesn’t have one senior in the starting lineup. That might lead you to believe the Planets are maybe a year away from making their mark on WPIAL basketball. But this Mars team has figured, why wait? Mars takes a 14-1 record into Friday night’s home game against Burrell. Mars is fresh off a 21-point victory Tuesday over a Hampton team that was previously undefeated and the MSA Sports No. 1 WPIAL Class AAA team.Scholastic Notebook – 01/09/2015
January 9, 2015
New Castle High School’s Malik Hooker apparently isn’t the only one who wears the athletic “genes” in the family. Hooker was one of the best two-sport athletes in the state the past two years, standing out in football and basketball. He now is a freshman football player at Ohio State, but is being redshirted this year. Two of Hooker’s younger brothers are now playing on the New Castle basketball. One of them is the team’s leading scorer in his first year as a starter. Marquel Hooker, a 5-foot-10 junior, is averaging 16.4 points a game. He never saw regular varsity time before this season.MSA Sports Countdown – Top 25 WPIAL Stories From 2014 – 01/07/2015
January 7, 2015
It has become a tradition like no other...at least during the holidays here at MSA Sports. Here is a look back at another great high school sports year with the top stories from around the WPIAL in 2014. We conclude our countdown with all 25 stories from #25 through #1. #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.Scholastic Notebook – 01/02/2015
January 2, 2015
As WPIAL basketball heads into the new year, two of the best teams – record-wise – are the Southmoreland boys and the Jefferson-Morgan girls. Say what? Yes, it is unheard of the past few decades for the Southmoreland boys and Jefferson-Morgan girls to be doing so well in the same season. Winning isn’t associated much with the two teams. But get this: There is only one loss between them. The Southmoreland boys are 10-1 and the Jefferson-Morgan girls are 10-0.
MSA Sports Countdown – Top 25 WPIAL Stories From 2014 – 01/01/2015
January 1, 2015
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 conclude our countdown with the five stories that ended up #5 through #1. {Left: Brianna Schwartz of Shaler crosses the finish line to win the WPIAL Girls Class AAA cross-county championship, her third straight title} #5 - Sister Power In 2013, the Kluska sisters made news when older sister Alyvia forfeited her WPIAL Class AA Consolation match to Michaela, thus earning the then freshman a spot in the PIAA girls individual singles tennis playoffs.
MSA Sports Countdown – Top 25 WPIAL Stories From 2014 – #10-#6
December 31, 2014
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 continue our countdown with the five stories that ended up #10 through #6. {Left: After winning a third PIAA individual wrestling title, Kittanning's Jason Nolf accepts the Outstanding AA Wrestler trophy} #10 - The Storm Ends It was going to happen at some time this season that the New Castle Red Hurricanes boys basketball team would taste defeat. New Castle had an amazing run over the last three years, claiming consecutive WPIAL championships and finishing the run with a 31-0 season and a state title in March.
MSA Sports Countdown – Top 25 WPIAL Stories From 2014 – #15-#11
December 30, 2014
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 continue our countdown with the five stories that ended up #15 through #11. {Left: Burrell celebrates an 8th consecutive WPIAL Double-A team wrestling championship after edging South Fayette in early February} #15 - Rebels With a Cause Seton-LaSalle High School colors are green and gold. This past basketball season, there was heavy emphasis on the GOLD. The Rebels were one last second shot away from making history by having both the boys and girls hoop teams sweep both district and state championships.
