Westmoreland high school notebook: Latrobe’s Butler makes college decision

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 8, 2018 | 5:33 PM

Bryce Butler likes to hustle to his team’s end of the basketball court and score quickly. Keeping the offensive flow moving is what he knows. The get-it-and-go approach works at Latrobe and on the AAU circuit, and Butler fit in well with both uptempo programs.

A Division II college team also known for playing at a breakneck pace appears to be the perfect fit for Butler, a senior guard-forward at Latrobe. He verbally committed to play at West Liberty (W.Va.) of the Mountain East Conference.

West Liberty last year averaged 105.2 points and 34 3-point attempts per game.

“I definitely wanted to get it done before the season started,” Butler said of his commitment. “(West Liberty) has a tradition of winning and they play the same style as my high school team so overall it was just a great fit.”

Butler also considered Walsh (Ohio), his other offer. He averaged 20 points, six rebounds and three assists last season for Latrobe, which put up 71.6 points a game.

Butler’s brother, Austin, is a sophomore guard at Holy Cross. Their father, Eric, an assistant coach at Latrobe, played at Robert Morris and Eastern Kentucky.

Soccer playoffs

The WPIAL soccer regular season is winding into its last full week before the playoffs. Pairings will be drawn up by the league Oct. 17.

The top four teams in each section qualify.

A number of Westmoreland teams can still get into the postseason, but here are the local qualifiers so far, through the weekend:

Boys — Norwin in Class 4A; Franklin Regional in 3A; Mt. Pleasant and Southmoreland in 2A; and Greensburg Central Catholic in A.

Girls — Norwin and Penn-Trafford in 4A; and Belle Vernon and Greensburg Salem in 3A.

Volleyball playoffs

Like soccer, the top four teams in each girls volleyball section advance to the WPIAL playoffs. Oct. 18 is the final section date.

Local qualifiers so far include: Latrobe and Hempfield in Class 4A; Southmoreland and Derry in 2A; and Greensburg Central Catholic in A.

Net gains

The Latrobe girls are ranked No. 7 and Hempfield is No. 9 in the latest Western PA Volleyball Coaches Class AAAA poll.

Derry is No. 7 in Class AA, and Greensburg Central Catholic is No. 4 in Class A.

Greensburg Salem senior outside hitter Erica Steele was named a Class AAA player of the week.

Salopek shaken up

Norwin junior quarterback Jack Salopek saw a doctor Monday after he was hit in the head and knocked unconcious for a short time during Friday night’s 35-16 loss to Central Catholic at Carnegie Mellon.

He said he passed the test and will return to practice Wednesday but will take another impact test to determine if he can play Friday night at home against Canon-McMillan.

Salopek was leveled as he ran the football in the third quarter and apparently and blacked out. He did not return.

“I actually remember it all,” he said. “I don’t have any memory loss from it.”

Salopek finished 11 of 19 for 196 yards and an 85-yard touchdown pass to Gianni Rizzo in the loss.

Derry moves up

Derry (6-1) jumped a spot in the Tribune-Review Class 3A football rankings, to No. 2, after a 53-20 win over Uniontown — a nice bounce-back after a 25-22 loss to Elizabeth Forward.

North Catholic (6-1) went from No. 4 to No. 3, while Elizabeth Forward (5-1) dropped two spots to No. 4. Aliquippa (7-0) is No. 1.

Helm offered

Greensburg Central Catholic senior basketball player Geoff Helm picked up an offer from Shippensburg.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland