Tag: California
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Seairra Barrett
January 25, 2016
Seairra Barrett was one of the top basketball players in the WPIAL in recent memory during her accomplished career at Central Valley. Similarly, Barrett was one of the region's top volleyball players, as well, for the Warriors. She was a four-year letterwinner and earned all-state honors in both sports. With a six-foot frame and uncanny jumping ability, Barrett has continued her playing career in both endeavors at California University of Pennsylvania.Scholastic Notebook – 10/25/2015
October 25, 2015
The irony of it. Deer Lakes came into Friday night’s game with the leading rusher in the entire WPIAL this season Hunter Burns. When it ended, Apollo-Ridge had the top rusher ever in a WPIAL game. Duane Brown, a junior at Apollo-Ridge, put himself in the history books when he rushed for a WPIAL record 460 yards in a 56-35 victory over Deer Lakes. Brown was certainly a workhorse in the game, carrying the ball 47 times. Brown broke a 15-year-old WPIAL record. Connellsville’s Marcus Furman ran for 455 yards in a 2000 game. What’s funny is that Apollo-Ridge coach John Skiba and his team had no idea how many yards Brown had or that he had broken the WPIAL record until an announcer from your very own MSA Sports staff came on the field and told him after the game.WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week One 2015
September 2, 2015
The 2015 WPIAL football season will culminate in the crowning of football champions for the 101st time in WPIAL history, and no, Don Rebel has not covered all of those games. He had an out of town meeting in 1938 and a really bad cold kept him away once in the late forties, but he will be there this year. Also, Big Game Hunting will be with you the entire length of the high school football season as well. From week one through Heinz Field and then with every District 7 team as they continue into the PIAA Playoffs BGH and the MSA Sports Network will continue to provide you with the best, most thorough and up-to-date coverage of all the teams you love, and even the teams you love to hate. We kick-off the 2015 campaign with the defending champions from each classification.
CTK 2015 – Class A Tri-County South 7 Conference Preview
August 30, 2015
The Tri-County South is more like the Try Beating Beth-Center Conference Beth-Center moved into the Tri-County South in 2008. Since then, the Bulldogs have won the conference title five times, including four in a row. Beth-Center has lost only one conference game in the past four years. So the question is will Beth-Center’s dominance continue? Probably. The Bulldogs look to be the team to beat again, one year after they outscored conference opponents, 397-47.Scholastic Notebook – 05/29/2015
May 29, 2015
Spring is the time for things to bloom, right? This spring has been a time for a group of young WPIAL athletes to sprout. One of the storylines for spring sports in the WPIAL has been the young blood that has flowed through the league and made an impact. In case you didn’t notice, it has been a spring where an unusually a number of sophomores or freshmen did some terrific things in a few different sports. Let’s examine:
Greensburg CC Dethrones California To Win First WPIAL Baseball Crown
May 26, 2015
Greensburg Central Catholic scored three times in the fifth inning to break open a tie game en route to a 6-4 victory against California, capturing the Class A Championship at Consol Energy Park. Tommy Pellis and Collin Liberatore led the way for the Centurions, who captured their first baseball title in school history. Pellis went 3-4 at the plate and scored three times, and also added a pair of sparking defensive plays at shortstop. Liberatore notched the victory for No. 2 GCC, as he threw a complete game, yielding four runs while striking out 12. Liberatore’s final strikeout came against California cleanup hitter Aaron Previsky with the tying run in scoring position.Scholastic Notebook – 05/15/2015
May 15, 2015
The name is Aaron, as in Hank. The hitting this baseball season has been Hank Aaron-esque. California senior Aaron Previsky had a regular season for the ages. A year ago, Norwin’s J.J. Matijevic became the first known player to win the WPIAL triple crown (first in batting average, home runs and RBIs). Previsky didn’t do that, but his regular season also was terrific. Previsky finished with a .545 batting average, which was good for 13th in the WPIAL. But he was second in home runs with six and third in runs scored with 35.Scholastic Notebook – 05/08/2015
May 8, 2015
You know the saying. April showers bring May flowers and Seneca Valley blooms. OK, so the last few words aren’t part of the saying. But in WPIAL baseball lately, it fits. If Reggie Jackson used to be Mr. October, then Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega is Mr. May. Seneca Valley has made it to the WPIAL Class AAAA title game four years in a row. The Raiders are believed to be the first team in almost 100 years to make the championship four consecutive seasons. Allegheny High School won six consecutive titles from 1917-22. The WPIAL baseball playoffs start next week, and a natural question is will be a drive for five for Seneca Valley?Scholastic Notebook – 05/01/2015
May 1, 2015
Apparently, Bo knows softball. Bo Teets is in his sixth year as the girls softball coach at Monessen High School and is conducting one of the biggest turnaround stories in the WPIAL in any sport. Earlier this week, Monessen qualified for the WPIAL Class A playoffs. It is a monumental feat for the Greyhounds when you consider this will be the first time they will be in the postseason. It’s also quite impressive when you consider how far the Greyhounds have come under Teets. Teets was hired as Monessen’s coach before the 2010 season. He took over a program that was, in a word, horrible. The Greyhounds were 9-88 in six years before Teets.Scholastic Notebook – 01/23/2015
January 23, 2015
Laurel High School picked a Locke a few years ago. Now, the Spartans have found the keys to winning basketball. The Laurel boys team is one of the big turnaround stories in the WPIAL this season. The Spartans are 13-3 and in second place in Section 1 of Class AA. They are the MSA Sports No. 5-ranked Class AA team. The main directing the turnaround is Ken Locke. Laurel hired him before the 2012 season and Locke, a 1995 Laurel graduate, has done a great job in turning around the Spartans.
