Sports
This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 08/24/2014
August 24, 2014
The time is now! As Countdown to Kickoff 2014 concludes, it is time to kickoff a new high school sports year with the start of another high school football season this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We kick off the 2014 season with 32 WPIAL football games on Friday and Saturday with Friday's action starting with the MSA Sports Pregame Show and concluding with the one and only WPIAL Scoreboard Show.CTK ’14: MSA Sports Preseason Top Ten – WPIAL Class AAAA
Each and every Monday during the regular season, the MSA Sports Network will rank the Top Ten football teams in each classification. With days to go before the 2014 WPIAL football season kicks off, we present our Pre-season Top Ten teams. This article, we present the Top Ten in Class AAAA. Final 2013 record is in parenthesis. WPIAL CLASS AAAA PRE-SEASON WPIAL FOOTBALL TOP TEN: 1. WOODLAND HILLS WOLVERINES (10-3) (Week One - at Peters Township on MSA) 2. SENECA VALLEY RAIDERS (9-2) (Week One - host #8 North Allegheny on MSA)CTK ’14: WPIAL A Tri-County South Conference Preview
August 23, 2014
Respect. The Tri-County South Conference doesn’t have much of it from the rest of WPIAL Class A, and the only way to earn it is to “show up” in the postseason. The much-maligned Tri-County South is 0-12 in playoff games the past three years. Since the 2007 season, the only Tri-County South teams to win a playoff game are Monessen and Beth-Center. But Monessen is no longer in the conference. The last Tri-County South team to win a playoff game other than Beth-Center or Monessen was Jefferson-Morgan in 2006. Will things change this year? Well, Beth-Center looks to be the cream of the crop again, but some other teams have some experienced players. Here is an overview of the Tri-County South: AVELLA EAGLES:CTK ’14: WPIAL A Big 7 Conference Preview
August 22, 2014
Prior to 2005, the Big Seven Conference was the standard for Class A football in Western Pennsylvania. A conference member had claimed 16 WPIAL championships, but that came to an end with the rise to power of the Clairton Bears, who won six titles in seven years and ran off an amazing winning streak to put them among the nation’s best. The conference was dominated by the Rochester Rams, who won seven WPIAL titles during that stretch. The Sto-Rox Vikings moved in and took two straight trips to Heinz Field but could not come home with gold, falling to Clairton in 2012 and Cardinal Wurhl North Catholic in 2013.CTK ’14: WPIAL A Black Hills Conference Preview
Look at the makeup of the Black Hills Conference and the name doesn’t seem to fit any more. With the WPIAL’s realignment for this year, the Black Hills changed drastically. A name like the old Ohio Valley Conference might have been more appropriate. But some of the coaches in this conference let it be known that they still wanted to be called the Black Hills. So, Black Hills it is By any name, this conference figures to be highly competitive. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, the defending WPIAL and PIAA champ, is everyone’s team to beat. But after that, there could be quite a battle for the playoff spots. Here is an overview of the Black Hills: AVONWORTH ANTELOPES:CTK ’14: WPIAL AA Allegheny Conference Preview
August 21, 2014
When has the Allegheny Conference been able to say this: There are two Pitt recruits in the conference and one West Virginia recruit. As strange as it sounds, it is true. The Allegheny has two Pitt recruits in Kittanning receiver-tight end-linebacker Nick Bowers and Apollo-Ridge receiver-defensive back Tre Tipton, who are both seniors. The West Virginia recruit is Freeport linebacker Logan Thimons, who is a junior. All three made verbal commitments to their schools. They are certainly three of the players to watch in a conference that takes on a different look this season. Two teams from last year are out while three have moved in from different classifications.
