Sports
Aliquippa Comes Up Short in State Title Game to Southern Columbia
December 19, 2015
Doomed by seven turnovers, Aliquippa’s pursuit of perfection came up short, as the Quips fell to Southern Columbia 49-14 in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Hersheypark Stadium. With the triumph, District 4’s Southern Columbia captured its seventh state title, but the first for the Tigers in Class AA, as the previous championships came in Class A. The Quips were playing in their sixth PIAA title game, including victories in 1991 and 2003.WPIAL Big Game Hunting – State Championships
December 16, 2015
The final Big Game Hunting of the year is here, and I hear those sarcastic “ahhhs” throughout western Pennsylvania! I have names and numbers and email addresses, each of you will be hearing from me personally. District-7 after going .500 in the PIAA quarters improved that number to 1.000 in the semis moving two teams into the final weekend of high school football in the state. The Quips and Vikings look for state championships number 39 and 40 for the WPIAL in football this weekend. That sounds like a great reason to go Big Game Hunting one more time in 2015.MSA Sports Frozen Fab Five Hockey Rankings – 12/16/2015
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 NEW #1 teams in Class AA and Division 2. 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) PETERS TOWNSHIP INDIANS (7-0-4) (Last Week #1)PIAA Plays of the Week – Semifinals
December 15, 2015
After both Clairton and Thomas Jefferson were bounced for the PIAA postseason in the quarterfinals, the Central Catholic Vikings and Aliquippa Quips represented the remaining hopes for the WPIAL to capture gold in Hershey. Following the semifinals contests this past week, both of those teams are still alive, as they advanced to the state championships. The victories in the semis nearly mirrored the quarterfinals triumphs for the teams, as the Quips overcame a fourth quarter deficit, while the Vikings turned in a dominant defensive performance and won comfortably. With all of the great action from which to choose, this week's edition will feature two plays from each of the victories. 1. Aliquippa 30, Martinsburg Central 21MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Boys Basketball – 12/15/2015
Here are the latest MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Boys Basketball rankings for the 2015-2016 season. Check out the weekly boys rankings every Tuesday, along with boys hoops talk during The WPIAL Roundball Report every Wednesday night at 6:00pm and boys basketball broadcasts throughout the regular season with exclusive coverage of every boys WPIAL playoff game in February all here on the MSA Sports Network. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Boys Basketball Top Ten: 1. NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (3-1) (Last Week #1) 2. LATROBE WILDCATS (4-0) (Last Week #4) 3. PLUM MUSTANGS (4-0) (Last Week #6)MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Girls Basketball – 12/14/2015
December 14, 2015
Here are the latest MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Girls Basketball rankings for the 2015-2016 season...including a NEW #1 team in Class AAAA. Check out the weekly girls rankings every Monday, along with girls hoops talk during The WPIAL Roundball Report every Wednesday night at 6:00pm and girls basketball broadcasts throughout the regular season with exclusive coverage of every girls WPIAL playoff game in February sponsored by Carlow University all here on the MSA Sports Network. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Girls Basketball Top Ten: 1. NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (4-0) (Last Week #2) 2. PENN HILLS INDIANS (3-1) (Last Week #1)
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Luke Stork
Even though the warm December temperatures have not made the past few weeks feel like winter, on the high school calendar, it is certainly winter sports time. Consequently, the WPIAL Alum Q&A will shift its focus to former high school standouts who are now playing well at the collegiate level in basketball or hockey. This week, former Upper Saint Clair hockey player and current member of the Ohio State hockey team Luke Stork is profiled. Like several of the elite hockey players in the area, Stork did not spend his entire time during his high-school years playing with the school’s varsity team. Rather, Stork played just one year with the Panthers, in 2010-11.PIHL Notebook – 12/14/2015
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 Class AA team notching its first victory while a Division 2 powerhouse suffers its first loss. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a battle of two red-hot teams in Class AA. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.” MELTING THE ICE (Records listed indicate current unbeaten streak): Class AAA: Peters Township (6-0-4); Canon-McMillan (4-0-2); Erie Cathedral Prep (2-0-1)This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 12/13/2015
December 13, 2015
The end of another season and the end of the four classification era in Pennsylvania also marks the final cruise on the 2015 Road to Hershey this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have the final two scholastic football games of the year on Saturday as the two remaining 2015 WPIAL champions in Aliquippa in AA and Pittsburgh Central Catholic in AAAA play for a PIAA state football championship on Saturday.Scholastic Notebook – 12/11/2015
December 11, 2015
There is a Wildcat strike in WPIAL boys basketball this season. Big things are expected of the Latrobe Wildcats and coach Brad Wetzel’s crew has been impressive in the first week of the season. Latrobe is 3-0, including Tuesday’s victory against Pine-Richland, which was the No. 2-ranked Class AAAA team in the MSA Sports preseason Class AAAA rankings. This could be one of Latrobe’s best teams in a while, at least the best since the 2009 team that went 19-4. Latrobe is the odds-on favorite to win Section 1. If Latrobe wins the section, it would be only their fourth crown in the past 30 years. The others were in 1987, 1990 and 2009.WPIAL Big Game Hunting – State Semifinals
December 10, 2015
The quarterfinals sliced the number of District-7 teams in half and, shocked the entire community of high school football in the state of Pennsylvania. Erie Cathedral Prep over Thomas Jefferson was tough, but we had a feeling something like that could happen, District – 7 has typically, especially lately had difficulty in that quarters round. The jaw-dropper was Berlin Brothersvalley knocking off our Clairton Bears. No one saw that coming, I don’t think even Berlin Brothersvalley fans thought that would happen. Five turnovers are tough to overcome, even for the best. So we move to the PIAA semis with AAAA and AA games involving WPIAL teams.MSA Sports Frozen Fab Five Hockey Rankings – 12/09/2015
December 9, 2015
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. 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) PETERS TOWNSHIP INDIANS (6-0-4) (Last Week #1) 2) CANON-McMILLAN BIG MACS (5-2-3) (Last week #2)PIAA Plays of the Week – PIAA Quarterfinals
December 8, 2015
When the WPIAL champions were crowned at Heinz Field last month, the four victorious teams were qualified for the PIAA postseason. In the quarterfinals round on the road to Hershey, two of the four WPIAL representatives claimed victory, as Quad-A Champion Central Catholic prevailed, as did Class AA Aliquippa. Surprisingly, previously undefeated Clairton tasted defeat at the hands of Berlin-BrothersValley in Class A, while Thomas Jefferson came up just short against Class AAA powerhouse Erie Cathedral Prep. This week's edition of the top plays focuses on the critical moments that helped the Vikings and Quips continue their season. 1. Aliquippa 27, Karns City 17
