Westmoreland high school notes: P-T’s Lisbon gets first 2 D-I offers

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, March 9, 2019 | 6:41 PM

A running back with breakaway speed, one who averaged nearly 9 yards a carry last season, has his first two Division I offers.

Penn-Trafford junior Caleb Lisbon is expected to draw many more offers, but Navy will be the pace car after the Midshipmen offered last week. Fordham followed a few days later.

Lisbon (6-foot, 195 pounds) rushed for 1,329 yards last season and scored 19 touchdowns. He ran for 8.5 yards per carry. As a safety, he made 26 tackles.

Warriors coach John Ruane said Lisbon fits the Warriors’ zone-read offense perfectly because of field vision and lack of hesitation when the line creates a hole.

Army, Colgate and Villanova also have shown interest.

Local hockey final?

The PIHL Class AA championship could match teams from Westmoreland County.

Latrobe and Franklin Regional will play back-to-back Wednesday night in the semifinals at Robert Morris Island Sports Center.

Latrobe (15-4-1) plays Pine-Richland (19-0-1) at 7 p.m., and Franklin Regional (12-6-2) plays Upper St. Clair (15-3-2) at 9.

Latrobe, one of the top defensive teams in the classification, has not won a Penguins Cup since 2013.

Franklin Regional edged Mars, 3-2, in the quarterfinals as goaltender Daniel Soltesz made 37 saves and Olda Virag scored the winner. The Panthers, though, lost two, one-goal games against Upper St. Clair.

The Panthers won Penguins Cup titles in Class A in 2016 and ‘17.

Flack to Mount Union

Tribune-Review Westmoreland Football Player of the Year Justin Flack of Derry announced last week he will continue his playing career at Division III power Mount Union. He was recruited as a running back.

Flack, who made a number of big plays to help lead the Trojans to the WPIAL Class 3A championship last season at Heinz Field, rushed for 1,334 yards and 38 touchdowns.

He also was a formidable defensive back, intercepting five passes. He returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns.

His late pick-6 in the WPIAL semifinals against North Catholic was instantly legendary in Derry circles. His score with 1:20 to play capped a 21-point comeback for the Trojans, who won 36-29.

Flack, who scored eight touchdowns in a game last season, also considered Baldwin Wallace, Waynesburg and Juniata.

More for Brose

Hempfield’s Fintan Brose is pulling in offers by the bunches.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound tackle announced five additional offers over the past week-plus: Navy, Princeton, Buffalo, UMass, and Youngstown State.

His offers do not lack variety, either.

Interested schools hail from the SEC, Mid-American and American Athletic conferences, as well as the Ivy League.

He has eight offers, including Vanderbilt and Kent State.

“I think interest will continue to grow over the spring and summer,” Hempfield coach Rich Bowen said. “He has unlimited potential.”

Orie all-state

Hempfield senior Mackenna Orie was named to the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association All-State first team in the shot put.

The DePaul recruit won the event at the Pennsylvania indoor championships last month at Penn State with a school-record throw of 47 feet, 7¹⁄₂ inches, besting the previous record (Rachel Serafin) by 4 inches.

Orie also set a school record in the weight throw (46-6¹⁄₂) earlier in the season.

Hempfield’s Jared Bannon made the all-state second team. He won a state title in the 60-meter hurdles.

Greensburg Salem’s Cam Binda was an honorable mention selection in the mile.

More recruiting

• Yough senior football player Mason Brunson, a receiver and defensive back, will play at Saint Vincent.

• Southmoreland’s Olivia Ledbetter will continue her golf career at Westminster.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Latrobe, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Penn-Trafford