Sports
2017 PIAA GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFFS Results
March 26, 2017
When it comes to girls high school basketball in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the East is the Beast. It was a clean 6-0 sweep for teams from the eastern side of the state in the state championships. Among those from the west that had to settle for the runner-up silver trophy were North Allegheny in 6-A, Trinity in 5-A and Bishop Canevin in 3-A. Here are ALL of the final scores from the 2017 PIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs. All results with (MSA) after them are games you can hear anytime you want archived here on The Network. 2017 PIAA CLASS 6-A GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Boyertown Bears 46 - NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS 35 (MSA)
Sellout Crowd Sees Reading Edge PIne-Richland for Boys 6-A State Title
March 25, 2017
The Giant Center in Hershey officially holds 10,500 attendees. It was near max capacity (9,531) for the PIAA Class 6A Boys Basketball Championship on Saturday night, and approximately 80% were supporting the Reading Red Knights. Nearly 8,000 fans dressed in red, but it was one red-clad player in particular who caused the havoc against Pine-Richland. Miami commit Lonnie Walker led his team in every major statistical category en route to a 64-60 Reading victory in a back-and-forth instant classic.
Peters Township Claims 5th PA Cup State 3-A Title
The front of the net is space reserved only for the courageous as goaltenders and their defensemen are not a very welcoming group when they have to share that space around the goal crease. But if you want to score goals in tight playoff hockey games, then you have to have the courage and willingness to venture into that area, and maybe, just maybe you can slam home a rebound for the decisive State Championship winning goal.
Archbishop Wood Beats Trinity to Repeat as PIAA Girls Champs
Archbishop Wood's slow down offense and tenacious defense added up to a 34-26 win over Trinity in the PIAA Class 5-A Girls Championship game Saturday night. The Vikings regularly held the ball outside the three-point line for upwards of 45 seconds while Trinity sat in a 2-3 zone inside the arch. The District 12 champions hit three treys in the game's first 4 minutes to lead 9-0 but scored only one more field goal before halftime. The Hillers struggle to take care of the ball and get good looks at basket, but stayed within reach, trailing 14-7 at the half.
Downingtown East Defeats Plum for 2-A PA Cup
If the 2017 Class-AA Pennsylvania Cup had theme songs, the title track for the Plum Mustangs would have been "It's Been A While" by Staind. After winning their first Penguins Cup and since 1989, Plum was looking to make it two for two in state title games as well. But for Downingtown-East, as Foreigner sang "It Feels Like The First Time", as the Cougars claimed their first Pennsylvania Cup in program history in their third state championship appearance, beating Plum 3-1 at the RMU Island Sports Complex on Neville Island.
Bayard Rustin Beats Franklin Regional in OT for PA Cup 1-A Title
Sophomore forward Matt Owens, who had a hat trick in the Golden Knights 6-0 PA Cup win over Franklin Regional last year, was the hero again for Bayard Rustin as he beat Danny Soltesz on a breakaway 3:07 into overtime to give Bayard Rustin its 4th consecutive PA Cup hockey championship.
Neumann-Goretti 3-Peats in Holding off Bishop Canevin in Girls 3-A
Defeating a two-time defending state champion is no easy task. Bishop Canevin seemed up to the task getting a double-digit lead over Neumann-Goretti in the first quarter. However, the Saints' pressure defense forced 26 Bishop Canevin turnovers, and despite a great fourth quarter comeback attempt, the Lady Crusaders fell to Neumann-Goretti 62-56 in the PIAA Class 3A Girls Basketball Championship.
North Allegheny Falls to Boyertown in PIAA Girls 6-A Finals
March 24, 2017
In a contest between two teams making their first ever PIAA title game appearance, it was the Boyertown Bears who won state gold with a 46-35 decision over the North Allegheny Tigers from the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Boyertown used a critical 20-4 run in the second half to claim its first state crown. Senior Abby Kapp, a Bucknell recruit, led Boyertown with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Sewickley Academy Wins State Title in Overtime Upset of Constitution
When Sewickley Academy trailed 16-4 to Constitution late in the first quarter of the Class 2A PIAA Championship, it appeared unlikely that the Panthers would pull off the upset. Sewickley Academy rallied, though, forcing overtime on a late 3-pointer, and then dominated the extra frame to prevail 68-63 at the Giant Center in Hershey. By knocking off the powerhouse squad from Philadelphia, Sewickley Academy (26-4) captured its third PIAA title, joining Panthers’ squads from 1997 and 2010 in the record books.
Lincoln Park Falls Big to Neumann-Goretti in Boys 3-A Finals
As the clocked ticked on the end of Lincoln Park’s season, the Leopards (25-6) took their lopsided loss in stride in the PIAA boys 3-A title game to District 12 powerhouse Neumann-Goretti (24-7), falling by a final score of 89-58.WPIAL Baseball: 2017 Season Preview
March 23, 2017
2016 WPIAL baseball champions covered the entire district with teams winning titles from the north (Riverside in AA), south (Serra Catholic in A), east (Norwin in AAAA) and west (Chartiers Valley in AAA). But in the new expanded PIAA and WPIAL classes, four champions is so last year. Now, the season of change heads down the stretch run and onto the diamonds as we try to figure out which teams are where in the bloated six classifications. So with the first pitch on 3/24, we give you the Preseason Top Ten and Players to Watch. CLASS 6-A Preseason Top Ten: 1) NORWIN KNIGHTS 2) BUTLER GOLDEN TORNADO 3) CANON-McMILLAN BIG MACS 4) PINE-RICHLAND RAMSWPIAL Softball: 2017 Season Preview
A mild winter is leading into a mild start to spring. While the roller coaster ride Mother Nature will put all of us on over the next couple of months will be interesting, so will the action on the diamond in the new world of six classifications. While the great thing about high school softball is they will decide the six champions on the field and not in the rankings, that doesn't slow us down from dishing out our Preseason Top Ten and Players to watch in each class. CLASS 6-A Preseason Top Ten: 1) HEMPFIELD SPARTANS 2) SHALER TITANS 3) CANON-McMILLAN BIG MACS 4) LATROBE WILDCATS 5) BETHEL PARK BLACK HAWKS 6) BALDWIN HIGHLANDERS
PIAA Basketball Championship Recaps
While 6 WPIAL teams played for titles, there were other championships handed out this weekend in Hershey. Here are recaps of all of those games.WPIAL Baseball: 2016 Season Review
There were a couple of new kids on the block and some programs that are used to success left standing with district gold once the dust cleared in WPIAL baseball in 2016. Three top-seeds were stunned in the finals as a pair of #2-seeds in Riverside (AA) and Serra Catholic (A) were joined by an 8th-seed in Chartiers Valley (AAA) and a 14th-seed in Norwin (AAAA) in the district champions circle. Joining them in the golden parade was Vincentian Academy, who won the schools first ever PIAA baseball state title. Before we look ahead, we look back at the 2016 WPIAL Baseball season. FINAL 2016 WPIAL BASEBALL STANDINGS:WPIAL Softball: 2016 Season Review
A year ago, some new faces flashed championship gold in WPIAL softball as both Mount Pleasant in AAA and West Greene in A won their first ever softball district titles while Ellwood City won the AA championship for the second time and first in nearly a decade. The exception was Hempfield, who repeated as AAAA champ with their third WPIAL championship in eight years. Both Hempfield and Yough went on to win a PIAA state softball title as well. Before we look ahead, we look back at the 2016 WPIAL Softball season. FINAL 2016 WPIAL SOFTBALL STANDINGS:2017 PIHL PENGUINS CUP PLAYOFFS Results
In a postseason of tight and extremely competitive hockey, two of the four PIHL championship games were decided by 6-1 scores and another was a 5-2 final. However there were dramatics as the D-II title was decided in a 2-1 overtime thriller. In the end, Franklin Regional repeated in Class 1-A, while Peters Township in 3-A, Plum in 2-A and Meadville in D-II also claimed PIHL high school hockey gold. Here are ALL the results from the 2017 PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs. Results with (MSA) after are game you can hear archived here on MSA Sports while games with (MSA Video) after the score are contests you can watch archived here on The Network. 2017 PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS 3-A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Peters Township Upsets Top-Seed PCC for 3-A Pens Cup
March 22, 2017
The 6th-seeded Peters Township Indians finished their Cinderella run through the 3-A Penguins Cup Championships by beating top-seeded Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 5-2, at the UMPC Lemieux Sports Complex on Wednesday night. The underdog run by the Indians including them beating #3 Canon McMiillan in the opening round (2-1), #2 North Allegheny in the semi-final round (7-0) and the Vikings in the championship game.
Meadville Wins D-II Title With OT Thriller Over Carrick
Meadville had been tormenting goalies all season long, as the Bulldogs averaged more than 10 goals per game in the regular season and the playoffs. It finally seemed that a goaltender had their number on Wednesday, though, as Carrick’s Nathan Norkevicus made save after save, many in spectacular fashion. In overtime, though, Meadville captain Jeff Millin capitalized on a turnover and roofed a shot past Norkevicus to give Meadville the 2-1 win, as the Bulldogs claimed their first Division 2 Championship at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township.
Plum Pounds Latrobe For First Pens Cup in 28 Years
March 21, 2017
In two previous meetings against Latrobe during the regular season in PIHL Class AA, Plum lead early, blew a lead, rallied and won, and in the second game trailed early, rallied, trailed again and rallied to win again. This time, in the PIHL Class 2-A Penguins Cup Finals on Tuesday night at the UPMC Mario Lemieux Sports Complex in Wexford, Plum didn't leave anything to chance. The Mustangs, the highest scoring team in Class AA with 117 regular season goals, struck early and left little doubt in claiming the AA title with a 6-1 win over the Wildcats, a team that got hot at the tail end of the regular season and surged to its fifth Penguins Cup final since 2008.
Franklin Regional Repeats as PIHL Pens Cup 1-A Champs
For nearly the first 14 minutes of the PIHL Class A title game between Franklin Regional and Indiana, it seemed as if the goaltenders on each respective side would be perfect, seemingly feeding off the raucous atmosphere inside the UPMC Sports Lemieux Sports Complex. However, that changed 13:50 into the first period, when Oldrich Virag netted his first of two goals as the Panthers beat the Little Indians 6-1 for their second straight PIHL Penguins Cup Class 1-A championship. The Virag opening tally came off a feed from Justin Gismondi and Nick Carretta, all three of which had multiple point games.
