Northern Lights

By: Bruce Markey
Thursday, May 10, 2012 | 6:58 AM

In the May edition of the Northern Lights, a new football coach at New Castle and a look ahead to the upcoming baseball playoffs will be on deck.
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COWART HIRED AT NEW CASTLE:
31 year old Joe Cowart, the starting quarterback and safety of the 1998 WPIAL championship team, was named the new head coach of the Red Hurricanes last month, but it wasn't without some controversy.  Accusations were made by school board president Allen Joseph of members of the high school administration, asking candidates to step aside to pave the way for another candidate, former New Castle star Bruce Clark, who went on to play at Penn State University and for the New Orleans Saints.

Another issue was that there are no teaching positions open, in fact several teachers were furloughed last year.  Cowart served on Frank Bongivengo's staff the last four seasons and is a teacher in the building. He played at Allegheny University and coached at Clarion before returning to New Castle. He is also the great-nephew of Lindy Lauro, who passed away in January.

The night before Cowart's hiring, he became a father, Cowart told the New Castle News that he was floating on Cloud Nine with the birth of his son and being named head coach.  Former Neshannock coach Pat Cuba and current Union coach Stacy Robinson were also among the eight finalists.
 

BASEBALL PLAYOFFS ARE COMING:
The WPIAL will finish the baseball regular season later this week and some tough decisions will await the steering committee making the playoff field.  Starting in Quad-A, Norwin should get the number one seed, how does the committee deal with the teams of Section 1 and 3, who have taken great pleasure in beating each other up. Another factor to take into account is the success those sections have had over the years in the post-season.  Two teams that will not be in the post-season in 2012 are Pine-Richland and Peters Township, possibly opening the door for some new blood in Quad-A.
 

In Class AAA, could everyone be chasing Blackhawk and Hopewell. The Cougars have a talented club led by sophomore pitcher Brendan McKay and senior Matt Emge, Hopewell will count heavily on Stephan Mrkonja and Tim Hughes.  Thomas Jefferson, South Park, Mars and Belle Vernon are looking to challenge the Section 1 powers.
 

Class AA, one needs to look to the North to find a top contender, there are three of them coming out of Section 5, which sent three teams to the semifinals last season, with two of those teams making the post-season again.

Riverside made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season in 2011, but parlayed that opportunity into a WPIAL and PIAA championship. Dan Oliastro lost almost his entire team but a couple of key components remain.

Laurel also returns with several veterans and junior pitcher Brandon Ritchie, the Spartans will look to make their first final.  That said, Ellwood City is a title favorite, the Wolverines can hit, play small ball if needed and get great pitching from Christian Kerns and Anthony Carusone. If these teams are broken up enough in the bracket, three of four is a strong possibility.

Some AA teams that can ruin the Section 5 party, Shady Side Academy and Burrell. Section 1 proves to be interesting, with only South Fayette sewing up a post-season spot entering the final week.
 

Class A may be the most interesting of all the classes, before the season, you could have guessed any combination of defending WPIAL champion Neshannock, defending PIAA champion Serra Catholic and California to make the title game.
Neshannock and California are still solid choices, the Lancers rolling thru Section 3 and Cal the same in Section 1. Serra Catholic still needs to clinch in the final week for the opportunity to defend.  John Sansone, the outstanding shortstop of the Lancers and Alex Strittmatter make a tough combination to beat for the Lancers to repeat.

T.D. Conway gets it done on both the mound and at the plate for Cal, Alain Girman is still going to be a tough pitcher if Serra gets in.

Bentworth, Beth-Center, OLSH, and the three-headed monster of Vincentian Academy, Springdale and Avonworth in Section 4 look to challenge.

Another tough team to beat will be Union, the Scotties have a good pitcher in Joe Salmen and Union can smack the ball around the yard. Defense has been an issue for the Scotties, that will need to improve if Union is to compete.