Westmoreland County high school notebook: Reitz family adds to WPIAL title collection

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Hang another WPIAL championship on the Reitz family tree.

Jeannette natives Ray and Ryan Reitz, a father-and-son coaching duo at Central Catholic, brought home a Class 6A title last week with the Vikings’ 42-7 victory over North Allegheny.

Next, they are primed to chase a PIAA championship. Ryan is the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, while Ray coaches the defensive backs.

The most recent WPIAL championship was their first together.

Combined, the Reitzes have seven WPIAL titles and one state title.

Ryan has four WPIAL and one PIAA as a coordinator at Jeannette and Central (two WPIAL titles at each place), and a state title at Jeannette. Ray, the former Jeannette head coach, has two WPIALs as a coach and one as a player (1971). He also has a PIAA title with the Jayhawks.

This is the Reitzes’ third coaching stop together. The others were at Hempfield and Latrobe.

Fralic finalist

Derry senior football player Dylan Pitzer is one of six finalists for the seventh Bill Fralic Memorial Award, given to the WPIAL’s top two-way lineman.

The 6-foot-7, 275-pound Pitzer, who is the Class 3A finalist, played tackle and defensive end for the Trojans this season and was disruptive on both sides of the football.

He is the sixth player from Westmoreland County to make the finals for the award. The others were Joe Enick of Penn-Trafford (2022), Steve Macheska of Belle Vernon (2022), Fintan Brose of Hempfield (2019), Zach Crutchman of Jeannette (2019) and Billy McChesney of Greensburg Salem (2021).

Enick is the only local winner of the award.

Sam Clancy, the former Pitt basketball star who played in the NFL, will be the guest speaker at the Fralic pancake breakfast set for 10 a.m. Dec. 6 at Longue Vue Club.

Player of the month

Ringgold senior forward Landon Vaccaro was named the PIHL Division 2 player of the month for October.

Vaccaro, who attends Belle Vernon but plays for Ringgold on a co-op, racked up 16 points in a six-game stretch, with 11 goals and five assists.

Warriors stay hot

Penn-Trafford not only had the best record in PIHL Class 2A hockey, but the Warriors (7-1-0-0) also were leading the class in goals with 41.

The Warriors have four players with double-digit points: Ben Zierski (14), Brock Bienemann (13), Sean Goodman (11) and Liam Lehneke (11).

Jones goes for gold

Vertus Jones is known for his exploits on the wrestling mat, but the former Greensburg Salem star is trying to help Avonworth win its second straight football title.

Jones is an assistant coach for the Antelopes, who will play Imani Christian on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium in the Class 3A final.

Jones’ son, Jaden, is a sophomore receiver and defensive back who has shown playmaking ability. He is listed as a quarterback.

The elder Jones also serves as the head wrestling coach at North Hills, where he teaches health and gym. He was a high-level wrestler for the Golden Lions. Jones finished his career 146-12-1 and won two WPIAL titles in 1994 and ’95, before taking a PIAA championship in ’95 at 171 pounds.

He went on to become a three-time All-American at West Virginia, placing second twice.

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

Tags: Avonworth, Central Catholic, Derry Area, Greensburg Salem, Jeannette, Penn-Trafford