Tag: North Catholic
WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Eight – 10/21/2015
October 21, 2015
Week Eight arrives and we can smell the playoffs now. The post season party is just around the corner at the MSA World Headquarters, in fact pairings shows and medals are already making their appearances. But football is the biggie, the one where everyone shows up and Chix Picks prepares the fresh sushi bar. The Football pairing show is always likely to trigger a Schaasy and Mike Azadian argument about schools from Lawrence County versus schools from Allegheny County. Usually we have two people per classification and there is just enough sushi and just the right amount of seats to avoid problems. Next year though, six classifications for the first time, THAT could be a disaster at headquarters. Just another in the long list of reasons this particular reporter dislikes the move so much.WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – Week Seven – 2015
October 17, 2015
On the seventh Friday of the high school football season, there was a chill in the air throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. Or maybe based on the below performances, there was a thrill in the air. Friday marked the start of the 'Stretch Run' of the 2015 campaign, where the pressure starts to mount over the final three weeks as we inch closer to the on-ramp to the Highway to Heinz...much like real life, where we hope that on-ramp is not closed due to construction. Anyway, here are those players that shined in victory on a mid-October eve. Ronnie Jones - Pittsburgh Central CatholicChicks Picks – Week 7 – 2015
October 15, 2015
Welcome to Week 7 of the high school football season. The 2015 Stretch Run is here – that time of year when the regular season is coming down to the wire with key games and the postseason looming. Chick’s Picks feels that this is a critical time for the MSA Sports Network team to get mentally prepared for the playoffs, just as do the players and coaches around the WPIAL. So, each year, Chick’s Picks takes it upon herself to organize a group exercise activity as a means of building teamwork and mental toughness for this most important time of the season.WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Seven 2015
October 14, 2015
The “Stretch Run” for 2015 is on us, the final third of the regular season will start this weekend with several big games around the WPIAL. Players, whether you are playing for a number one seed, a conference title, a home playoff game, a shot at the playoffs, a winning season, or to get your only win of the season, play hard, keep your head up when you tackle and make the most of this time in your life. If you are going to watch, cheer hard, bellyache less about the refs and the coaches, support your kids and your team without feeling like you need to control or have some input as to how the other team should or should not conduct themselves. It’ll be so much more fun for you and the people around you. Need to know where to go, or which link to click?WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Four – 09/23/2015
September 23, 2015
One third of the regular season is in the books and there are still a lot of questions to be answered. There were some big games in week three that seemed to indicate that 2015 might be wide open with regards to the teams with a chance to reach Heinz Field. That’s what makes this job so much fun. You see, you research, and you get a feel for history, and coaches, and programs but the bottom-line is you cannot really know what will happen when those kids go out there and take the field every Friday night. We do know it will be fun, and we also know MSA Sports will be the ultimate place for you to find out what happened, and how and, why it happened. More unbeaten teams will fall this weekend, it’s time to go Big Game Hunting!
CTK 2015 – Class A Black Hills Conference Preview
August 28, 2015
The Hills have been alive the past two years. In 2014 and 2013, the a team from the current Black Hills Conference has made it at least to the WPIAL championship game. It was Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic in 2013 (then in Class A's Eastern Conference) and Avonworth last year. North Catholic won the title in 2013 and also the PIAA title, while Avonworth lost to Clairton in last year’s WPIAL final. Will the championship-caliber play continue this year? Possibly. Clairton is everyone’s team to beat in Class A, but North Catholic and Avonworth are considered two of the best teams again. Brentwood also looks like it has the makings of a team that could challenge for the top of the conference. Here is a look at the Black Hills Conference: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 – 02/20/2015
February 20, 2015
Highlands and Bishop Canevin are in the WPIAL boys basketball quarterfinals. Who would’ve thought you’d read that sentence this year? Highlands and Bishop Canevin are two of the biggest turnaround stories in the league over the past few years. Highlands (13-11) will play Indiana in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals tonight. Two years ago, Highlands finished 1-21 under first-year coach Tyler Stoczynski. Highlands started to show signs of improvement last year, but still finished 9-13 and out of the playoffs.2015 National Letter of Intent Day – MSA Sports Elite Eleven College Destinations
February 4, 2015
Wednesday was National Letter of Intent Day where high school seniors make their verbal commitments official by signing on the dotted line to the school of their choice. What were the final college destinations for the members of the 2014 MSA Sports The Elite 11 football all-star team? Here is a look: CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR - BRETT BRUMBAUGH, SOUTH FAYETTE QB, 6-4, 195, SR. DUQUESNE CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR - BEN DiNUCCI, PINE-RICHLAND QB, 6-2, 195, SR. PITT JORDAN WHITEHEAD, CENTRAL VALLEY RB-DB, 6-0, 185, SR. PITTScholastic Notebook – 01/09/2015
January 9, 2015
New Castle High School’s Malik Hooker apparently isn’t the only one who wears the athletic “genes” in the family. Hooker was one of the best two-sport athletes in the state the past two years, standing out in football and basketball. He now is a freshman football player at Ohio State, but is being redshirted this year. Two of Hooker’s younger brothers are now playing on the New Castle basketball. One of them is the team’s leading scorer in his first year as a starter. Marquel Hooker, a 5-foot-10 junior, is averaging 16.4 points a game. He never saw regular varsity time before this season.
