Tag: Franklin Regional
Chicks Picks for Week Nine
October 27, 2016
Welcome to Week 9 of the high school football season. As regular season play wraps up, Chick’s Picks knew that she needed to check in on The Boss at MSA Sports World Headquarters. For quite some time, Chick’s Picks had been aware of the overtime put in by The Boss this time of year. However, what she witnessed when she walked into World Headquarters was still a shock. There he was, The Boss, pecking away at his keyboard relentlessly with his two index fingers. Moments later, when The Boss finally realized that he had a visitor, Chick’s Picks noticed his tired, bloodshot eyes, unkempt hair, and disorder throughout his office.Big Game Hunting for Week Nine 2016
The final week of the regular season arrives and things are still a bit murky around the WPIAL, but as always the “Boss” has made it clear and precise, if you have questions about your team and their post season needs or desires, it is laid out here, http://www.msasports.net/articles/2016-wpial-football-playoff-picture. That amount of work can only be a labor of love, and when the boss is doing a labor of love, the worker-bees will almost always do the same. Like the famous line in Remember the Titans, “Attitude reflects leadership”. So, this opening paragraph is dedicated to my colleagues, each of them I know, doing this job because they love it.Scholastic Notebook – 09/23/2016
September 23, 2016
At Mapletown, Rush rushes. A lot. Dylan Rush is a junior running back at Mapletown who has enjoyed a big season so far. He is the second-leading rusher in the WPIAL with 1,027 yards. The only running back who is ahead of him is Armstrong’s Zane Dudek, who has 1,201. Rush stands only 5 feet 9 and weighs 180 pounds. You have to wonder how strong Rush’s back is, because he is carrying the Mapletown team on it. Rush’s number of carries isn’t on the high side. It’s on the ridiculous side. In four games, Rush has carried the ball 147 times. That’s 36.8 times a game. The rest of Mapletown’s team has 31 carries. On top of that, Mapletown has thrown 22 passes – and Rush has attempted seven of them.Big Game Hunting for Week One 2016
August 31, 2016
Big Game Hunting gets bigger! Nothing wrong with that, right? 2016 and our weekly four-pack gets rounded out to an actual 6-pack. While I am not a fan yet of six classifications; I am willing to give it a try and I am a huge fan of six-packs. When someone shows up at your door and they have a six-pack, they are automatically your friend. Well in 2016 I will be showing up at your door with a six-pack every week, so that will make us friends. That’s a good thing and so is more football talk, and so is researching and writing about 150% of the games for the same amount of money right? Er…. Without further ado, let’s for the first time in 2016, go Big Game Hunting!
CTK ’16: 5-A Big East Conference Preview
August 19, 2016
The 5A Big East Conference bares a strong resemblance for the former Quad-A Foothills Conference, as Connellsville, Greater Latrobe, Kiski Area, McKeesport, Penn-Trafford and Plum all remain intact. The other three spots, though, are comprised of teams previously in the AAA Greater Allegheny Conference, Franklin Regional, Gateway and Armstrong. Six of the nine squads qualified for the postseason last year, with Penn-Trafford reaching Heinz Field for the Quad-A title game and McKeesport also ranking among Quad-A's best. If the Warriors and Tigers take even a slight step back this year, though, the conference could be wide open.
Franklin Regional Blanked by 3-Time Champ Bayard Rustin in PA Cup A Finals
March 19, 2016
Bayard Rustin came into the PA Cup Class A Championship game as the defending 2-time titlists while Franklin Regional was making its first appearance in the championship after winning the Penguins Cup title for the first time. The experience advantage for the Golden Knights eventually wore down the Panthers as Bayard Rustin shut out Franklin Regional 6-0, capturing its 3rd straight PA Cup Title.2016 PIHL PENGUINS CUP PLAYOFFS Results
March 17, 2016
The history of the PIHL postseason is that the favorites usually prevail. Up until last year, the playoffs would re-seed, making it tough for surprise teams to go deep. this year under the bracket format, none of the three eventual Penguins Cup champions were favored at the start of the playoffs. Sure, Beaver was the top-seed in the Division II Playoffs and went on to win gold, but Erie Cathedral Prep was a #3-seed in AAA, Bishop Canevin was a #4-seed in AA and Franklin Regional was a #7-seed in A. Here are ALL of the results from the 2016 PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs. All results with (MSA) after are games that can be heard or viewed archived here on the MSA Sports Network.
Franklin Regional Uses Big Third Period To Win First Penguins Cup
March 15, 2016
Goaltending is arguably the most important ingredient for a team making a deep postseason run at any level of hockey. For the Franklin Regional Panthers, an unlikely source, freshman Daniel Soltesz, not only held his own in net, but was the key factor in Franklin Regional’s 4-1 win against South Fayette in the Class A Penguins Cup Championship at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. The victory marks the first ever hockey championship for the school. Soltesz made 44 saves, while Nicholas Carretta recorded a hat trick, as the Panthers scored all four goals in the third period for the triumph. Soltesz’s heroics kept Franklin Regional within striking distance, as the Lions outshot the Panthers 38-16 through the first two stanzas.
PIHL Notebook – 03/14/2016
March 14, 2016
Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. Having already presented you with our annual semifinal preview team capsules, how best to preview the 2016 PIHL Finals set for Monday and Tuesday at the brand new UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry? For that, we go back to something used periodically in this space over the years when the timing has worked out. Below, in diplomatic fashion, we build the case why each of the eight finalists can emerge victorious over the next two nights. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.” PIHL DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP:
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Nico Megaludis
February 8, 2016
The Franklin Regional wrestling program has been not only one of the best in the WPIAL, but in the entire nation over the past several seasons. While the Panthers have produced an array of Division I talent, Nico Megaludis stands atop the list of Franklin Regional grapplers. As a freshman competing in the 103-pound weight class in 2008, the Murrysville native posted a record of 37-1, and finished in third place in the state tournament. Megaludis moved up in weight class in each of his next three campaigns, and recorded an undefeated mark each time.
