Westmoreland County high school notebook: Franklin Regional honors teammate with leukemia

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 13, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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During a brief pregame observance, senior players Cam Rowell and Cooper Rankin held a corner of the No. 44 Franklin Regional basketball jersey Tuesday night at midcourt as public address announcer Dean Berardinelli briefed fans about Caden Brush.

A junior basketball player at Franklin Regional, Brush is battling leukemia, and the Panthers took time to honor their teammate before a Section 3-5A game against Latrobe.

It is clear the Panthers are standing by their man.

“He’s been on our roster since Day 1,” Panthers coach Jesse Reed said. “He’s a great kid, and there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think about him. We respect his family’s privacy, but we want them to know we’re proud of him and we know he’s fighting.”

Reed clutched Brush’s jersey during the national anthem.

WVU offers Wetzel

West Virginia became the third Power 5 college football program to offer a scholarship to Latrobe junior football player John Wetzel.

A safety who also played quarterback for the Wildcats, Wetzel has offers from Boston College and Cincinnati.

Two Pitt assistants football coaches were at Wetzel’s basketball game Friday night. Pitt and West Virginia have offered Latrobe four-star linebacker Alex Tatsch.

That’s the spirit

When the WPIAL turned cheerleading into an official sport several years ago, calling it competitive spirit, Hempfield saw an opportunity to pack the trophy case.

Hempfield’s girls captured another WPIAL title this season, which is their fourth in a row.

Now, the Spartans will take their pom-poms to Hershey to compete for a third consecutive PIAA championship.

The state finals begin at 10 a.m. Friday at Giant Center.

Hockey all-stars

The PIHL will play its all-star games Jan. 28 at RMU Island Sports Complex on Neville Island.

A number of Westmoreland County players dot the rosters.

In 2A, they are Hempfield’s JJ Williams (F), Alex Smillie (F), Nick Eberhardt (D), Chase Spehar (D) and Evan Saltzgiver (GK); Latrobe’s Jacob Hannah (F), Joey Crimboli (F), Louie Amatucci (D) and Brock Pflugh (GK); Penn-Trafford’s Bryce Kropczynski (F), Robert Thatcher (F), Cam Kiste (D) and Cam Farrow (GK); Norwin’s Alex Thomas (F), Dom Cerilli (F), Aaron Varrati (D) and Owen Burmeister (GK); and Franklin Regional’s Max Rutkowski (F) and Brendan Yohe (F).

Class A (Gold) includes Greensburg Salem’s Carter Cherok (F), Chase Kushner (F), Mikey Kingerski (F), Dylan Swierczysnki (D), Noah Outly (D) and Tristan Gonzales (GK) and Kiski Area’s Ethan Bombalski (D).

In Division 2, Burrell’s Mike Morascyzk (F), Tyler Danko (F), John Lukac (D), Julian Kemp (D), Chantz Watkins (D) and Kooper Price (GK) made it.

The all-star game schedule opens with Division 2 at noon, Class A (Blue) at 1:50 p.m., Class A (Gold) at 3:40, Class 2A at 5:30 and Class 3A at 7:30.

Leopards on parade

Belle Vernon will have a parade to celebrate its WPIAL and PIAA football championships Sunday, Jan. 21, beginning at 1 p.m. The parade will cover Broad Avenue.

Recruiting

• Senior Amanda Woods of Ligonier Valley signed to continue her golf career at Cal (Pa.). Woods, a four-year letterwinner, tied a team record with a 40 in a match at Mt. Odin. She placed seventh at the WCCA Tournament in 2022.

• Penn-Trafford football player Carmen Metcalfe, a senior 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver and defensive back, received an offer to play at Division II Slippery Rock.

• Senior Keiran Lippman of Hempfield has an offer to play football at Seton Hill as a preferred walk-on. Lippman played quarterback, receiver and strong safety for the Spartans.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Jeannette, Kiski Area, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Norwin, Penn-Trafford