Football
South Fayette Repeats With Another Victory Over Aliquippa
November 21, 2014
The South Fayette Lions successfully defended their WPIAL title, as they knocked off Aliquippa 31-22 in the Class AA Championship at Heinz Field on Friday.
Pine-Richland ‘Blows’ Past Central Catholic 21-13
The last time the Pine-Richland Rams tasted WPIAL Championship gold was 2003 when it was still a Class AAA team. The mass exodus of the Allegheny population from the Pittsburgh city limits worked to the school's advantage, warranting the WPIAL to raise the Rams' status to Quad-A competition beginning in 2010. Since that time, the program had experienced quite a few growing pains as they assimilated themselves to the competition...until now! Pine-Richland beat defending champion Pittsburgh Central Catholic Friday 21-13 at Heinz Field. (Picture above: Usually he's throwing touchdown passes, above Ben DiNucci catches a TD toss that put the Rams up 14-0)
Golden Bears Back on Top With WPIAL Class A Win
After a one year hiatus, the WPIAL Class A championship is coming back to Clairton. The Bears improved to 13-0 and won their sixth district title in the last seven years with a convincing 46-14 triumph over the Avonworth Antelopes Friday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. (Picture left: Ryan Williams launces one of his five touchdown passes) The first quarter of the WPIAL Class A finals started as a back-and-forth battle of heavyweights throwing haymakers. On the second play of their second possession, Lamont Wade scored on a 54-yard run. The standard two-point conversion attempt by the Bears was no good on an incomplete pass.Chicks Picks – Championship Friday
November 20, 2014
Welcome to Week 13 of the high school football season. As Chick’s Picks began research for Championship Friday, she quickly realized all of the familiar faces that will be at Heinz Field again this year—Central Catholic, Central Valley, West Allegheny, South Fayette, Aliquippa, and Clairton. Similarly, Chick’s Picks took a moment to reflect on the many familiar faces at the MSA Sports Network that she has had the pleasure of knowing over the years.Big Game Hunting – Week Thirteen 2014
November 19, 2014
Championship Friday on a work day for WPIAL football fans, it will be interesting to see what that does to attendance at Heinz Field. The MSA Sports gang will be there in full force and will have you covered from every angle with updates, interviews, videos, pictures, and game stories. Everything you need to enjoy Championship Friday completely will be at www.msasports.net. The larger classifications feature rematches from this regular season. AA features a rematch of last year’s championship game and in single A the Bears are back after a year away. Let’s go Big Game Hunting.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 11/16/2014
November 16, 2014
The journey on the Highway to Heinz comes to an end with full day coverage from the Big House on the North Shore this week here on the MSA Sports Network. This years WPIAL Football Playoffs come to an end with all four Championship Games from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh along with the 2014 District Class A Championship Game from Altoona. We also have some winter sports with plenty of PIHL high school hockey contests including two more video-stream games along with men's and women's college basketball, plus its a Championship Friday Preview edition of This Week in the WPIAL ALL here at MSAsports.netWPIAL Friday Night HighLights for 11/14
November 15, 2014
Including this below article and for the days ahead, there will be a lot of talk about the eight teams that will square off for a WPIAL football championship at Heinz Field to cap off the 2014 District 7 Playoffs. But eight teams that enjoyed OUTSTANDING seasons came up one victory short of taking the full ride on the Highway to Heinz all the way to the North Shore. Five of those eight teams did not lose until Friday night while the other three tasted defeat for only the second time this season.WPIAL Football Playoff Semifinals Recaps
Ten WPIAL football teams came into Final Four Friday with a perfect 11-0 mark. Half of them are moving on to the finals while the other five suffer with a final mark of 11-1. That's the tough part of losing and seeing your season end one victory away from Heinz Field. Here are recaps from all eight WPIAL Semifinals games that you can hear archived on The Network. A special thanks to Brandon Showers, Josh Rowntree, Cory Campano, Bob Orkwis, Rob Matzie, Pete Blais, Mark Schaas and Sean Meyers for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:WPIAL Week 12 Friday Football Scores
November 14, 2014
The unkindest cut indeed. Lets examine losing the playoffs, which admittedly is never a good thing. Losing next week in the Finals is rough, but you have memories you can share with your kids and grandkids about playing in the Big House on the North Shore. Losing in the First Round stinks...losing in the Quarterfinals really stinks...but losing in the Semifinals when you are so close to reaching the goal of playing for gold and not getting that chance on the grandest stage REALLY, well, this is a family oriented website so we'll just agree it's bad. Eight teams will have that sick feeling after tonight while the other eight will think its sick that they are headed to the title game. check our twitter account or scores page for updated scores throughout the night.Scholastic Notebook – 11/14/2014
It has been well-documented how Pine-Richland quarterback Ben DiNucci has turned out to be one of the most prolific passers in the history of the WPIAL. But DiNucci also has benefitted from a terrific one-two receiving punch. It looks like you could call seniors D’ondre Gastion and Mike Merhaut are a receiving duo for the ages. There are no records available for best receiving one-two punches, but you can bet you will be hard-pressed to find many duos from the same team who have been as productive as Gastion and Merhaut. How many teams have had two receivers with 100 or more career catches? But that’s what Pine-Richland has in Gastion and Merhaut, a pair of seniors.District 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10 High School Football Playoffs UPDATE
November 13, 2014
While the WPIAL Football Playoffs hit Final Four Friday, other neighboring districts in Western Pennsylvania continued their gridiron postseason this weekend. All of these district football playoffs eventually funnel into the 2014 PIAA Football Playoffs and the Road to Hershey next weekend. Here are ALL the results from Friday and Saturday in the District 5, District 6, District 9 and District 10 playoffs. DISTRICT 6/8/9/10 CLASS AAAA Semifinals: Erie McDowell Trojans 35 - Brashear Bulls 6 State College Little Lions 29 - DuBois Beavers 7 DISTRICT 5/6/9/10 CLASS AAA Championship Game: Somerset Golden Eagles 27 - Clearfield Bison 0Chicks Picks – Week Twelve – 2014
Welcome to Week 12 of the high school football season. It has been a long journey down the Highway to Heinz this season. Approaching the last exit on the distinguished roadway, Chick’s Picks thought it would be an appropriate time for the entire MSA Sports crew to stop for a bite to eat. Leading the way, Chick’s Picks chose her favorite downtown restaurant. As the crew gathered in the lobby, the host approached—and was astonished when he saw who was in the party. “Why, Ms. Picks, it is an honor to host you and your friends in our establishment,” he said as he led the crew to their table. As the host distributed menus to each person, he noted, “Please take a close look at our weekly specials.”WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Twelve
November 12, 2014
The Final off ramp on the Highway to Heinz is here and the WPIAL Football playoff Steering Committee is celebrating one of their finest moments ever. Each classification features seeds 1,2,3 and 5 still standing as we get set for semi-final Friday. The semi-finals feature the top three passers in the WPIAL and the top two rushers for the year are still alive as well. All the games are fantastic and so we at Big Game Hunting must make "Sophie's Choice" in each classification. We do not have any problem with that. You can send your complaints to drebel@MSASports.net.2014 WPIAL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
November 10, 2014
There is no Cinderella in the field, no long shots with several eye-brow raisers on their resume. No, only the strong have survived in the first two rounds on the Highway to Heinz. In fact, a tip of the cap to the district football steering committee as all four #1, #2, #3 and #5 seeds have done what was expected through two rounds and now they are headed to the Semifinals. Here are ALL of the final scores through the Quarterfinals, plus the sites and times for Final Four Friday in the 2014 WPIAL Football Playoffs heard ONLY here on MSA Sports. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 11/09/2014
November 9, 2014
The journey on the Highway to Heinz is half way through and continues in full force this week here on the MSA Sports Network. The WPIAL Football Playoffs hit the Semifinals and Final Four Friday. We also have a pair of District 6 Class A Semifinals football postseason games and four PIHL high school hockey contests including two video-stream games, and the debut of men's and women's college basketball, plus its another edition of This Week in the WPIAL ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, November 10th: No BroadcastsWPIAL Friday Night HighLights for 11/7
November 8, 2014
Gone but not forgotten from the WPIAL football championship chase on the second exit on the Highway to Heinz: Two Vikings, Two Rams (one that was Golden)...several members of the cat family including as pair of Panthers, a Tiger, a Mountain Lion and a Wildcat...a few birds such as an Eagle and a Jayhawk...a Wolverine, a Mustang, a Talbot, a Little Indian and a Planet. Some were awaken from their golden dreams but players listed below, whose ride on the Highway to Heinz will continue for another week toward the hard to reach town of Final Foursville. Ben DiNucci - Pine-RichlandWPIAL Football Playoff Quarterfinals Recaps
While there were some hints early on, some ooohs and aaahs as certain scores trickled in with upset alert written all over them. But in the end, 14 of the 16 higher seeds won and advanced with the lone exceptions begin a couple of #5 seeds defeating two #4 seeds. Here are ALL the recaps from the 16 games on Quarterfinals Friday, with archives of all these games available on The Network. A special thanks to Brandon Showers, Gero Von Dahn, Sean Meyers, Adam Hoerner, Paul Paterra, T.J. DiStefano, Sam Hall, Rob Matzie, Dennis Fischer, Rob Longo, Bob Orkwis, Randy Gore, Charlie Weston, Mark Schaas, Bob Barrickman and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals:Scholastic Notebook – 11/07/2014
November 7, 2014
If the first round of the WPIAL playoffs proved anything, it was that the Foothills are alive. Since coming back to being a WPIAL conference in 2006, the Foothills was always thought to be the weaker sister to all of the other Class AAAA conferences. Sure, it might have had a strong team like a Gateway, Penn-Trafford or even Central Catholic. But as far as strength from top to bottom, the Foothills didn’t measure up. This year, though, the Foothills flexed some muscle like never before. Four Foothills teams won first-round games – Penn-Trafford, McKeesport, Altoona and Plum. It was the first time since 2006 that the top four teams in the Foothills won first-round games. The two that lost were fifth-place Norwin and sixth-place Connellsville.WPIAL & City League Week 11 Friday Football Scores
We came upon the second exit on the Highway to Heinz, where the lines between favorites and underdogs was supposed to be a little more blurred. While that might been the case in Class AAAA, the other three classifications seem to have a little more clarity in who advancing would surprise nobody and which teams winning Friday would raise plenty of eyebrows. Here is a rundown of the 16 WPIAL Quarterfinals results, all heard only here on The Network. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals: Pine-Richland Rams 49 - Altoona Mountain Lions 7 (MSA) McKeesport Tigers 20 - Plum Mustangs 5 (MSA) Penn-Trafford Warriors 35 - North Allegheny Tigers 31 (MSA)District 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10 High School Football Playoffs
While the WPIAL Football Playoffs hit the Quarterfinals Friday stage, other neighboring districts in Western Pennsylvania are also now into their gridiron postseason. All of these district football playoffs eventually funnel into the 2014 PIAA Football Playoffs and the Road to Hershey. Here are ALL the final results from Friday and Saturday schedule in the District 5, District 6, District 9 and District 10 playoffs. DISTRICT 5/8 CLASS AA Semifinals: Chestnut Ridge Lions 35 - Westinghouse Bulldogs 0 DISTRICT 5 CLASS A Quarterfinals: Berlin-Brothersvalley Mountaineers 61 - Conemaugh Township Indians 0 Shade Panthers 15 - Northern Bedford County Panthers 0
