Scholastic Notebook – 02/03/2017

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 3, 2017 | 1:37 PM

The spirit of 66 ended for one WPIAL girls team. But one boys team is close to getting into the same spirit.

The subject is section winning streaks. The Quigley Catholic girls had what was the longest section winning streak in the WPIAL at 66, but it ended Thursday night after a 56-48 loss to Cornell.

Turn to WPIAL boys basketball and look at Lincoln Park. The Leopards have a 64-game section winning streak. Lincoln Park has two section games remaining, and if the Leopards win both, they will finish the regular season with a 66-game streak. Lincoln Park plays Riverside and Ellwood City in its final two section games.

Lincoln Park has a ways to go to reach the WPIAL record for longest section winning streak among boys. That belongs to Blackhawk, which won 111 in a row from 1990-99.

Lincoln Park already has clinched at least a tie for the WPIAL Class 3-A Section 1 title. If it beats Riverside Friday, Lincoln Park wins the section title outright. Since its program started in the 2007-08 season, Lincoln Park has won or tied for a section title in every year but 2010-11. The Leopards’ section record is 100-8.

Cummings for 2,000

Speaking of Lincoln Park, Leopard senior guard hit a milestone last week when he scored his 2,000^th point. He is only the 28^th player in WPIAL history to score 2,000 points.

Foxes Sneak Up

When the season started, no media outlets were mentioning Fox Chapel as one of the top teams in WPIAL 6A boys basketball. But look at the latest MSA Sports rankings and you see the Foxes at No. 2.

There is no doubt Fox Chapel is one of the biggest surprises in the WPIAL this year. Under coach Zach Skrinjar, the Foxes are tied for first place in Section 2 with a 17-1 overall record and a 10-1 mark in section. Fox Chapel’s only loss was to Penn Hills in early January. But the Foxes avenged that loss by beating Penn Hills last Friday.

If Fox Chapel goes on and wins or ties for a section title, it would be the first at the school in 10 years and only the sixth in the past 40 years. Fox Chapel also won section titles in 2007, 2002, 1987, 1980 and 1977, plus two in the 1960s.

Coming Up At 11

The WPIAL team wrestling championships are Saturday on MSA Sports – 3-A at Penn Hills and 2-A at Chartiers-Houston. One of the best championship streaks in WPIAL history is on the line.

Burrell has won 10 2-A team titles in a row. The Bucs meet Derry in one semifinal at noon while Freedom takes on South Fayette in the other. The winners meet for the championship at 2.

If Burrelll wins its 11^th championship in a row, it would get close to the top three title streaks in WPIAL history. The Bethel Park boys swim team won 20 consecutive championships from 1981-2000. Norwin girls volleyball won 13 from 1974-86 and the Sewickley Academy boys tennis team is still riding a championship streak of 13.

While Burrell is going for its 11^th consecutive title, one other team won its 11^th consecutive this school year – the North Allegheny boys cross country team.

In Class 3-A wrestling, Franklin Regional is trying to win its third team title in four years. The Panthers face Kiski Area in one semifinal Saturday at noon at Penn Hills, while North Allegheny faces Canon-McMillan in the other. The winners meet at 2. There will be a new champion after 2016 winner Belle Vernon lost in the Quarterfinals.

Striving for Perfection

Greensburg Central Catholic and Pine-Richland are the only undefeated squads in WPIAL boys basketball. Neither has ever finished a regular season with a perfect record. Greensburg Central has two games left with Summit Academy and Jeannette. Pine-Richland has three games left with Seneca Valley, North Hills and Shaler.

McGuffey Uprising

The McGuffey boys basketball team will be in the WPIAL playoffs. That has happened only twice before.

But McGuffey is trying to win a section championship. That has happened only once before.

McGuffey and Belle Vernon are tied for first place in WPIAL Class 4-A Section 3 with 9-2 records. They play Friday night at McGuffey. The only other time McGuffey won a section title was 2002 when it won the 3-A Section 3 with a 12-2 record. McGuffey finished 19-5 overall that year.

What McGuffey has done this year is a big surprise. The Highlanders did not win a section game last season.

Stone to Iowa

Wednesday was letter-of-intent day for college football recruiting. It was the first day high school seniors could sign a binding letter of intent with a college. One of the bigger surprises came with New Castle’s Geno Stone.

Stone was a quarterback-defensive back at New Castle and had an excellent senior season, helping the Red Hurricanes reach a WPIAL title game. Stone made a verbal commitment to Kent State in December. But just recently, Iowa started recruiting Stone and offered him a scholarship. He visited and took it.

Stone was recruited as a defensive back.

Tags: Blackhawk, Burrell, Fox Chapel, Greensburg C.C., Lincoln Park