Sports
Path to the Pete Recaps From Wednesday 2/24
February 24, 2016
While it may not measure up to the incredible hardwood action on Tuesday, there was still plenty of excitement at the four venues hosting WPIAL Semifinals action on Wednesday. While the boys Quad-A #1-seed fell in double overtime, the favorites were winners in Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A as in those three tournaments, it will be #1 vs #2 at The Pete on Saturday afternoon. Here are summaries from all eight WPIAL Semifinals games on Wednesday. A special thanks to Dennis Fischer, Tom Hays, Cory Campano, Steve Nagler, Aaron Anderson, Bob Gregg and Bob Barrickman for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:Path to the Pete Recaps From Tuesday 2/23
February 23, 2016
While Tuesday was a bad night for top-seeds, it was a GREAT night to be a high school basketball fan. Five of the eight Final Four games turned into thrillers with teams laying it on the line for a spot in Championship Weekend. Four #1-seeds entered the night two wins from securing an expected championship. The night ended with only one team still alive and great heartbreak for eight teams that now must wait for the state postseason. Here are recaps from the Boys AAA, Boys A, Girls AAAA and Girls AA Semifinals. A special thanks to Mike Azadian, James Dotson, Bob Barrickman, Bob Orkwis, Josh Rowntree, Mark Schaas, Kevin Zielmanski and Randy Gore for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAA Semifinals:Path to the Pete Recaps From Monday 2/22
OK, so technically this second year of consolation games to determine PIAA playoff berths from the WPIAL is not the Path to the Pete. That ended in the district Quarterfinals for these teams. who bounced back to keep their season alive into Thursday or into the PIAA postseason and which teams ended their season on a two game skid? Here are recaps from the the two Consolation Semifinals game from each playoff bracket. A special thanks to Mark Uriah, Kyle Dawson, Rob Matzie, Dennis Fischer, Bob Orkwis, Paul Paterra, Brandon Showers, Bob Gregg, Nate Regotti, Josh Rowntree, T.J. DiStefano, Sean Meyers and Don Rebel for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS AAAA Consolation Semifinals:
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Angela Heintz
In the 2011-12 season, the Seton-La Salle girls basketball team achieved history, as the Lady Rebels went undefeated en route to the WPIAL and PIAA championships. While several players and coaches contributed to reach those accomplishments, arguably nobody was more important than Angela Heintz. Heintz, who now excels for Mercyhurst University, is this week's feature for the WPIAL Alum Q&A. Heintz was a junior in 2011-12 when the Rebels recorded those accolades, and individually, she was recognized as an All-State performer that campaign, as she averaged more than 14 points per contest. In the PIAA title game against York Catholic, she notched a team-best 18 points and five assists.PIHL Notebook – 02/23/2016
Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. First up, “Melting the Ice” provides your weekly thermometer of streaking teams around the league. Meanwhile, this week’s “Scoreboard Watch” includes a battle between two defending Penguins Cup champions in Class AAA, a playoff clincher in Class AA, and two offensively charged affairs in Class A and Division 2. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, featuring some of the best defenses Class AA and D2 have to offer. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.” MELTING THE ICE (Records listed indicate current unbeaten streak):This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/22/2016
February 22, 2016
There is plenty of district gold to be won on the hardwood, on the mat and in the pool this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have ALL the Semifinals, Championships and Consolation boys and girls games in the 2016 WPIAL Basketball Playoffs along with the District 6 boys and girls high school hoop playoffs. We also have the 2016 WPIAL Individual Wrestling Class AA Championships and the Class AAA-4 Sectionals, the end of the regular season in PIHL high school hockey and the 2016 WPIAL boys and girls Diving Championships, plus Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle and The PIHL Power Play Show and The WPIAL Roundball Report on a special night ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, February 22nd:2016 WPIAL Individual Wrestling Class AA Sectionals Results
February 20, 2016
The field for the 2016 WPIAL Class AA Individual Wrestling Championships is now set following the results from all three Double-A sectionals on Saturday. The top five wrestlers from each section qualify for the district championships next weekend at South Fayette High School and here on MSA Sports.Path to the Pete Recaps From Saturday 2/20
Two WPIAL defending champions were bounced in the opening round and two more were eliminated on Saturday as the Final Four were finalized, as were the Consolation Semifinals in all eight brackets set for Monday. After Indiana boys in AAA and Seton-LaSalle girls in AA were dethroned in the First Round, Saturday brought then end of the one year title run of Chartiers Valley boys in AAAA and the two year run of Blackhawk in girls AAA. Here are the summaries from Quarterfinals Saturday in Boys AAAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A along with an update on a health scare for one head coach that puts all of these games in perspective.Pgh Obama Turns Over Allderdice for City League Girls Crown
Obama Academy (20-4) used a smothering 2-2-1 press defense to help run away with a 64-33 win over Allderdice (11-13) on Saturday afternoon at the Peterson Events Center. Michaela Porter, daughter of former Pitt star Darrell Porter, scored a game-high 21 points and snagged 13 rebounds, leading the Eagles to their third straight Pittsburgh City League Girls Basketball Championship win over the Dragons. The win was not as easy for Obama Academy as the final score indicated. The Eagles would hop out to a 19-3 lead, but see the Dragons end the first half on a 16-3 run. After 16 minutes, Obama Academy would lead 22-19. But the Eagles outscored Allderdice 42-14 in the second half due, in large part, to 37 forced turnovers in the game.Allderdice Scorches Obama for Boys City League Title
James Jackson scored 24 of his game-high 28 points in the first half, leading Allderdice (23-1) to a decisive 74-47 win over Obama Academy (14-7) on Saturday afternoon at The Peterson Events Center. The win gives the Dragons, Pennsylvania’s #1 Class AAAA ranked team, their third straight City League title and sixth in the last seven years. It is the third straight year that Allderdice has defeated Obama Academy in the title game. “We’ve been in the big venues,” said Allderdice head coach Buddy Valinsky on his team’s hot start and dominance throughout. “When they’re turned up and focused, they’re a very good team.”Path to the Pete Recaps From Friday 2/19
Quarterfinals Weekend began with every boys and girls district basketball team knowing they were no longer in do-or-die mode. Sure, you lose and your WPIAL title hopes vanish, but with the Consolation Round, hopes that your season would continue into the state playoffs keep the season going for this weekends losers. Here are summaries from Quarterfinals Friday in Boys AAA, Boys A, Girls AAAA and Girls AA around the WPIAL hardwood. A special thanks to Mark Uriah, T.J. DiStefano, Randy Gore, Tom Hays, James Dotson, Bobb Gregg, Dennis Fischer, Lee Mohn, Steve Nagler, Cory Campano, Mark Schaas, Bob Barrickman, Sean Meyers, Bob Orkwis and Melissa Carle for their help with these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:Scholastic Notebook – 02/19/2016
February 19, 2016
The first round of the WPIAL boys and girls basketball playoffs are over, and this opening round set a record for records. For sure, the 2016 first round should always be remembered for so many memorable individual scoring performances. Hockey has the Frozen Four. The WPIAL first round had the Hot Four. Four players – two boys and two girls – broke long-standing scoring records for their classifications.2016 WPIAL Football Schedule Released
As the tide continues to roll toward the major changes in WPIAL sports starting this fall, the WPIAL has released the much anticipated 2016 district football schedule. This includes conference and non-conference games in nine weeks of the regular season from Friday, September 2nd through Friday, October 28th. The schedule will be reversed home and away in the 2017 season. One of the most anticipated regular season football games is actually a non-conference game that pits district and state powers against each other in a 'dream' matchup. Defending Class AA champion Aliquippa travels to Neil Brown Stadium on October 7th to face defending Class A champion Clairton, this despite the fact the Bears are still in 1-A and the Quips have moved up to 3-A.Path to the Pete Recaps From Thursday 2/18
After four days of action on the court and an extra day of wait thanks to Mother nature, the First Round of this years Path to the Pete is finally in the books with very few surprises. Only four double digit girls seeds are on their way to the Quarterfinals while even fewer double digit seeds...three, are moving on to this weekend in the boys postseason. Here are summaries from the final night of Round One in Boys AAAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A on another night when nearly all of the favorites took care of business.Path to the Pete Recaps From Wednesday 2/17
February 17, 2016
While 24 WPIAL Basketball Playoff games were scheduled for Tuesday, the only winner was Mother Nature as the 12 boys and 12 girls opening round games were pushed back 24 hours. On Wednesday, the higher seeds all prevailed with the exception of three teams including two defending champions. #4 Peters Township in Girls AAAA was upset in the opening round Wednesday, as were two-time defending Girls AA champion and #3-seed Seton-LaSalle and defending Boys AAA champion and #7-seed Indiana. Here are the summaries from the end of the First Round in Boys AAA, Boys A, Girls AAAA and Girls AA.MSA Sports Frozen Fab Five Hockey Rankings – 02/17/2016
Here are the latest MSA Sports Sports Frozen Fab Five rankings of PIHL high school hockey teams in each of the four classifications for the 2015-2016 high school hockey season...including a NEW #1 team in Class A. Don't miss the latest rankings every Wednesday during the regular season, plus PIHL Notebook every Monday on our website and the weekly PIHL Power Play Show every Wednesday night at 8:00pm with audio and video game broadcasts as well here on the home of the best PIHL high school hockey coverage, the MSA Sports Network. PIHL CLASS AAA: 1) NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (13-4-1) (Last Week #1)WPIAL Girls Sports Realignment
February 16, 2016
We all knew it was coming. A major change to the WPIAL high school sports landscape based on the PIAA's decision to increase from four to six classifications in basketball and softball, plus the increase in other sports such as soccer, volleyball and lacrosse. The WPIAL Board of Control approved the various steering committee's re-alignment suggestions starting with the 2016-2017 school year. This alignment also will be for the 2017-2018 school year. For interactive listing, CLICK HERE. GIRLS BASKETBALL Class 6AWPIAL Boys Sports Realignment
We all knew it was coming. A major change to the WPIAL high school sports landscape based on the PIAA's decision to increase from four to six classifications in football, basketball and baseball, plus the increase in other sports such as soccer and lacrosse. The WPIAL Board of Control approved the various steering committee's re-alignment suggestions starting with the 2016-2017 school year. This alignment also will be for the 2017-2018 school year. *For an interactive listing, CLICK HERE FOOTBALL Class 6A
