Sports
FINAL WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoff Field
February 8, 2014
Here is the FINAL playoff picture for WPIAL Girls Basketball. 79 girls hoop teams are now set to play for the four district titles starting next weekend with every playoff game ONLY here on the MSA Sports Network. Class AAAA: (SET WITH 16 TEAMS) Section 1: Penn-Trafford (co-champ), Norwin (co-champ), Hempfield and Latrobe are in. Section 2: Fox Chapel (champ), Plum Penn Hills and Gateway are in. Section 3: North Allegheny (champ), Shaler, Seneca Valley and Pine-Richland are all in. Section 4: Mount Lebanon (champ), Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair and Baldwin are all in. Class AAA: (SET WITH 21 TEAMS)Franklin Reg Beats Latrobe in PIAA AAA Finals; Burrell Wins AA Consolation
The WPIAL showcased why they are so deep in AAA on Friday night, with all three PIAA qualifiers (Franklin Regional, Latrobe, North Allegheny) wrestling in the semi-finals. With Franklin Regional and Latrobe advancing to Saturday’s final, the WPIAL had its first ever all District 7 final in the PIAA tournament. The matchup was against two familiar foes, with Franklin Regional and Latrobe already wrestling each other twice over the last two weeks. In the first meeting in the Section 1 Championships, Franklin Regional beat Latrobe 46-28. In the WPIAL finals a week ago, Franklin Regional again was victorious, winning 42-19.2014 PIAA Team Wrestling Playoffs Recap
For a third straight year, the WPIAL Class AAA champion goes on a week later to win the PIAA Class AAA state crown. The gold rush continued for the Franklin Regional Panthers. A week after winning their first district team title, the Panthers once again knocked off the Latrobe Wildcats to win the schools first state crown. Also, after losing in the First round, Burrell won five matches to finish third in Class AA after sweeping through the consolation rounds. Here are ALL of the results from the 2014 PIAA Team Wrestling Playoffs at the GIANT Center in Hershey. 2014 PIAA TEAM WRESTLING CLASS AAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: FRANKLIN REGIONAL PANTHERS 37 - LATROBE WILDCATS 23FINAL WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoff Field
Here is the FINAL playoff picture for WPIAL Boys Basketball after Friday's games. 77 boys basketball teams are set for the four postseason tournaments that begin next weekend. Class AAAA: (SET WITH 16 TEAMS) Section 1: Hempfield (champ), Kiski Area, Norwin and Latrobe are all in. Section 2: Plum (champ), Franklin Regional, Gateway and Fox Chapel are all in. Section 3: New Castle (champ), Hampton, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley are all in. Section 4: Upper St. Clair (champ), Bethel Park, Mount Lebanon and Peters Township are all in. Class AAA: (SET WITH 21 TEAMS)PIAA Team Wrestling – Quarterfinals, Consolations & Semifinals Recaps
It was a memorable day for the WPIAL’s Class AAA representatives at the PIAA Wrestling Championships held at the GIANT Center on Friday. It will be an all-WPIAL final on Saturday afternoon in Hershey featuring Franklin Regional against Latrobe. This marks the third time in the past 17 days these two teams will battle with gold medals on the line. Franklin Regional beat Latrobe, 46-28, on January 22nd for the Section 1 title and then backed it up with a 42-19 pounding of the Wildcats last Saturday in the WPIAL championship match.Scholastic Notebook – 02/07/2014
February 7, 2014
Mars High School was built in 1918. So you could say it took almost 100 years for Mars to win a basketball section title outright. Now, Mars is on the verge of winning two sections in two years. Mars plays at Knoch Friday night in a big WPIAL Class AAA Section 1 game. Mars leads the section with a 10-1 record and is guaranteed at least a share of the section championship. Knoch is 9-2 in section and Indiana 9-2. But a Mars victory will give the Planets the section title outright. The first time they won a section title outright was last year and the Planets also made it to the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in school history.PIAA Team Wrestling – First Round Recaps
The WPIAL could not have asked for a better day in Hershey in AAA on Thursday, with all three WPIAL qualifiers advancing to Friday's quarterfinals. Winning easy were Franklin Regional and Latrobe. WPIAL Champion Franklin Regional, led by seven falls, two technical falls, and two forfeits, blew by District 3 third place finisher Wilson 67-9. They will wrestle District 10 Champion Erie McDowell on Friday at 2:00 PM. WPIAL Runner-Up Latrobe meanwhile cruised to a 60-6 win over District 4 Champion Jersey Shore. Latrobe won 13 of the 14 bouts wrestled, picking up 4 falls, a technical fall, and two forfeits. They will wrestle District 1 Champion Boyertown on Friday at 2:00 PM.2014 National Letter of Intent Day – MSA Sports Elite Eleven College Destinations
February 6, 2014
Wednesday was National Letter of Intent Day where high school seniors make their verbal committments official by signing on the dotted line to the school of their choice. What were the final college destinations for the member of the 2013 MSA Sports The Elite 11 football all-star team? Here is a look: CHASE WINOVICH, THOMAS JEFFERSON QB/RB-LB, 6-4, 220, UNIVERSITY of MICHIGAN NIKO THORPE, PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC LB, 5-10, 225, SENIOR FORDHAM UNIVERSITY2014 National Letter of Intent Day – Division I Football Players from WPIAL
February 5, 2014
Here are the seniors from the WPIAL or Pittsburgh City League who have signed to make their verbal commitments to Division I-A colleges. High school seniors could not sign a binding letter of intent until Wednesday, February 5th. AKRON Brock Boxen, Beaver Falls (DL, 6-3, 260) Chandler Kincade, Blackhawk (QB, 6-4, 210) ARMY Shafer Swan, Pittsburgh Central Catholic (WR, 6-2, 180) BALL STATE Jake McPhatter, New Castle (RB-DB, 5-11, 170) BUFFALO Adam Mitcheson, Kiski Area (K-P, 6-2, 190) FLORIDA STATE J.J. Cosentino, Pittsburgh Central Catholic (QB, 6-4, 215)MSA Sports Top Ten – PIHL Hockey – 02/05/2014
Here are the latest MSA Sports Sports Frozen Fab Five rankings of PIHL hockey teams in each of the four classifications. Don't miss the PIHL Notebook every Monday on our website and the weekly PIHL Power Play Show every Wednesday night at 8:00pm here on the home of the best high school hockey coverage, the MSA Sports Network at www.MSAsports.net PIHL CLASS AAA: 1) PETERS TOWNSHIP INDIANS (13-2-0) (Last Week #1) 2) PENN-TRAFFORD WARRIORS (11-4-0) (Last Week #3) 3) BETHEL PARK BLACK HAWKS (13-3-0) (Last Week #2) 4) NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (9-4-1) (Last Week #4)MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Boys Basketball – 02/04/2014
February 4, 2014
Here are the latest MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Boys Basketball rankings for the 2013-2014 season...including another NEW #1 team in Class AA. Each Tuesday during the regular season, MSA Sports will release a new Top Ten boys hoops rankings plus daily updated standings with various daily broadcasts and the WPIAL Roundball Report on Wednesday nights at 6:00pm ALL here at MSAsports.net WPIAL CLASS AAAA: 1. New Castle Red Hurricane (19-0) (Last Week #1) 2. North Allegheny Tigers (16-2) (Last Week #3) 3. Hampton Talbots (18-2) (Last Week #2)MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Girls Basketball – 02/03/2014
February 3, 2014
Here are the latest MSA Sports Top Ten WPIAL Girls Basketball rankings for the 2013-2014 season...including another NEW #1 team in Class AAA. Each Monday during the regular season, MSA Sports will release a new Top Ten girls hoops rankings plus daily updated standings with various daily broadcasts and the WPIAL Roundball Report on Wednesday nights at 6:00pm ALL here at MSAsports.net WPIAL CLASS AAAA: 1. North Allegheny Tigers (16-1) (Last Week #1) 2. Fox Chapel Foxes (16-3) (Last Week #4) 3. Mount Lebanon Blue Devils (14-4) (Last Week #2)PIHL Notebook
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 one-goal games all over the place, including some overtime action in Section 1-AAA and a Section 3-A battle heard right here. Last but not least, we round things out with a broadcast doubleheader preview set for Thursday in Class AAA and the Open Class. 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 (3-0-0); Penn-Trafford (3-0-0)This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/02/2014
February 2, 2014
The 'Stretch Run' of the 2013-2014 high school basketball season wraps up with the final week of section play this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have all of the big games from around the WPIAL in both boys and girls basketball as well as plenty of District 6 and District 9 boys and girls hoops along with men's and women's college basketball, PIHL high school hockey and action from the PIAA Team Wrestling Playoffs, plus Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle, the PIHL Power Play Show and The WPIAL Roundball Report hits the road to Coach's Bottleshop and Grille ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, February 3rd: TALK SHOW - Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle powered by Synerfac at 7:00pm on MSAsports.net
Franklin Regional Wins First Ever WPIAL Team Wrestling Gold
February 1, 2014
Last year Franklin Regional came one match away from winning WPIAL gold as a team. This year, they didn’t let it go down to the last match, dominating action while beating Greater Latrobe 42-19 for their first ever WPIAL team championship. The match started at 138 pounds, where Franklin Regional bumped their lineup up one weight class each from 138 to 170 pounds. The Panthers would jump out to an early 19-0 lead thanks to a fall, technical fall, and two major decisions. Greater Latrobe would fight back, registering a pair of victories, one by technical fall, to cut the lead to 19-8. But Franklin Regional would regain control, winning four of the next five matches en route to a 42-19 victory.
Burrell Remains Great After Title Win Number Eight
Some things never seem to change. This is especially true when it comes to high school wrestling in Western Pennsylvania. For the eighth straight season, Burrell (12-3) won the WPIAL Class AA team championship with a 34-28 thriller Saturday afternoon over previously undefeated South Fayette (20-1) at Chartiers Valley High School.Scholastic Notebook – 02/01/2014
The son is shining all over area basketball this season. It is quite common to see a coach’s son do well in WPIAL basketball. But it just seems there are more than usual father-son combos doing well this year. Four sons whose father is the head coach are averaging between 17 and 22 points a game for teams that all have at least clinched a WPIAL playoff berth, or are in good shape to make it to the postseason. * Julian Batts, a junior guard at Jeannette, averages 22 a game for the Jayhawks. His father is Adrian Batts. Jeannette is tied for second place in Class AA Section 3. * Matty McConnell averages 19 a game for Chartiers Valley, which has clinched at least a tie for the Class AA Section 5 title. His father is Tim McConnell.2014 WPIAL TEAM WRESTLING PLAYOFFS RECAP
In the end, the two top seeds in each classification came away with the gold. The Burrell Buccaneers domination of Class AA continued with a record 8th consecutive WPIAL Team Wrestling championship after beating the South Fayette Lions for a second straight year in the Finals on Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School. The title is the 10th overall in school history. Meanwhile in Class AAA, Franklin Regional knocked off rival Latrobe in the championship match to claim the Panthers first district team wrestling title. North Allegheny and Jefferson-Morgan won their consolation matches on Saturday to earn a berth in the 2014 PIAA Team Wrestling Playoffs next week. Here are ALL of the final results from the 2014 WPIAL Team Wrestling Playoffs.MSA Sports Top Ten – PIHL Hockey – 01/29/2014
January 29, 2014
Here are the latest MSA Sports Sports Frozen Fab Five rankings of PIHL hockey teams in each of the four classifications. Don't miss the PIHL Notebook every Monday on our website and the weekly PIHL Power Play Show every Wednesday night at 8:00pm here on the home of the best high school hockey coverage, the MSA Sports Network at www.MSAsports.net PIHL CLASS AAA: 1) PETERS TOWNSHIP INDIANS (12-2-0) (Last Week #1) 2) BETHEL PARK BLACK HAWKS (13-2-0) (Last Week #2) 3) PENN-TRAFFORD WARRIORS (9-4-0) (Last Week #4) 4) NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (8-4-1) (Last Week #3)WPIAL to GCC: Suspend Boys Basketball Coach or Else
January 28, 2014
The WPIAL has no authority over personnel at district schools, but they do have the power to keep a school out of their postseason tournament. On Tuesday, the WPIAL ruled that Greensburg Central Catholic High School would have to suspend boys basketball coach Greg Bisignani at least three games or else they would not be allowed to participate in the upcoming WPIAL boys basketball playoffs. The ruling came following a hearing on Monday after Coach Bisignani was accused of making contact with a game official following the Centurions 66-63 loss to McKeesport on January 18th. Bisignani denied he made contact with the official. The Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball program has also been put on probation for the rest of the season.
