Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford’s Allen gets another scholarship offer

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 18, 2020 | 6:46 PM

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Penn-Trafford senior football player Noah Allen is drawing Division I attention as national signing day (Feb. 5) approaches.

Allen received his second Division I FCS scholarship offer, from Butler. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Allen also has an offer from Valparaiso.

He had 15 receptions for 228 yards and two touchdowns this past season and added 20 tackles and three interceptions.

Johnson nears 1,000

Mt. Pleasant basketball standout Jake “J.J.” Johnson needs 22 points to reach 1,000 for his career. The Vikings (9-6, 3-2) host No. 1-ranked Knoch (12-1, 5-0) on Tuesday night in a Section 1-4A game.

Johnson would become the seventh boys player to reach the scoring milestone at Mt. Pleasant, joining John Rogers (1,265), Kevin Kozak (1,196), Chris Hobson (1,167), John Picarsic (1,221), Rob Patula (1,101) and Ryan Gumbita (1,038).

PIHL coaches

Coaches were selected for the PIHL All-Star Games to be played Jan. 26 at Robert Morris Island Sports Center.

Westmoreland County names picked for the games include Corey Mentch of Greensburg Salem (Class A assistant), Josh Werner of Latrobe (Class AA head coach), John Winebrenner of Franklin Regional (Class AA assistant) and Eric Grant of Hempfield (Class AA assistant).

The all-star schedule starts with the Class B game at noon, followed by Class A at 2 p.m., Class AA at 4 and Class AAA at 6.

Hetrick wins award

Kerry Hetrick, athletic director at Penn-Trafford, received the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association Distinguished Coaching Educator (DICE) Award.

The award goes to an AD with the greatest efforts, dedication, leadership and achievements in athletic administration.

The head of Warriors athletics since 2010, Hetrick was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame East Boros Chapter in 2014 and was named the Eastern Association of Interscholastic Football Officials High School Administrator of the Year in 2018.

Recruiting

Franklin Regional senior bowler Alex Smith signed a letter of intent to continue his career at Robert Morris.

Smith is best known for bowling two 300 games on the same day, in the same series (879) in his youth league a year ago.

It is a Pittsburgh region juniors record. Smith received two rings from the United States Bowling Congress, one for a 300 game and the other for rolling an over-800 series, which included 11 consecutive strikes.

• Norwin senior baseball player Aidan Shephard gave a verbal commitment to Mercyhurst. The Lakers are a Division II program. Shephard (6-4, 190) is an outfielder and also pitches for the Knights.

• Hempfield soccer player Zach Vanek, a senior midfielder, committed to play at Cal (Pa.).

• Norwin senior Logan Huss, a sprinter and standout relay runner for the Knights track and field team, announced he committed to Pitt-Johnstown. Huss is the cousin of Derry football standout Justin Huss.

• Division II Lake Erie offered Greensburg Central Catholic senior football player Luke Mazowiecki. A wide receiver and defensive back, Mazowiecki caught 31 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns this season. He had 65 tackles, five for loss, and six interceptions.

• Mercyhurst offered Derry senior lineman Max Malis. The 6-3, 270-pound Malis played on the offensive and defensive lines for the Trojans and also saw time at H-back.

• Yough senior tight end and defensive end Russell Pytlak (6-3, 235) also grabbed an offer from Mercyhurst.

• Lake Erie also extended an offer to Hempfield senior Paul Newill, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound offensive guard and nose guard.

• Penn-Trafford senior tight end and linebacker Cole DeFillippo (6-1, 200) received an offer from Division II Millersville.

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

Tags: Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough