Penn-Trafford notebook: 4 golfers advance to WPIAL championships 1st round

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, September 21, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Penn-Trafford boys’ golf team isn’t having the season it had hoped for, but four individuals achieved their goal of making the WPIAL Class 3A championship first round Sept. 24 at Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg.

There they hope to finish in the top 36 to advance to the final round Oct. 1 at Oakmont Country Club.

Advancing from the Section 1 qualifier at Birdsfoot Golf Course were junior Aiden Dzurko (77), junior Jake Lenart (77), senior Anthony Barilla (78) and senior Owen Szekely (81).

McGhee places 9th

Penn-Trafford senior Jake McGhee finished in ninth place in Class 3A at the annual Red, White and Blue Invitational at White Oak Park on Sept. 7.

McGhee’s time was 16 minutes, 5 seconds. He was the fourth-fastest runner from the WPIAL.

Grove City senior M.J. Pottinger won the race.

Penn-Trafford eyes rematch

The Penn-Trafford field hockey team finds itself a game behind Peters Township in the Class 2A standings.

Peters Township won the first meeting, 2-1, and the rematch is Oct. 1 on the road.

Penn-Trafford has won eight consecutive Class 2A titles.

Turnovers costly

Penn-Trafford saw its two-game winning streak stopped in a 35-21 loss to Woodland Hills. The Warriors turned the ball over four times.

Jack Weishaar caught two touchdown passes in the loss and Derek Carr scored on a 10-yard run.

Quarterback Jonny Lovre threw three interceptions.

The Warriors (2-2, 1-0) will play host to Plum in a nonconference game on Sept. 27.

Yacamelli stepping up

As his production increases and his confidence grows, Cade Yacamelli is looking more the part of a Division-I running back.

But it didn’t start out that way.

Wisconsin’s redshirt sophomore initially was slotted as a defensive back when he left Penn-Trafford for Madison, a loop that surprised him but also intrigued him.

Who doesn’t want to play running back in the Big Ten?

A coaching change also threw a curveball at the athletic Yacamelli when Paul Chryst was fired and the Badgers brought in Luke Fickell.

While he never went as far as the transfer portal as other players did, Yacamelli reevaluated his situation and is now making the best of it.

Two weeks ago, he rushed for a career-high 73 yards on eight carries as the Badgers defeated South Dakota, 27-13.

With Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker not playing in Week 2, Yacamelli was elevated to the No. 2 back in the depth chart.

He added 39 yards on eight rushes in a 42-10 loss to No. 4 Alabama.

“Going into Week 1, I knew that it was gonna be kind of Chez (Mellusi) and Tawee with the 1-2 punch and then I was gonna rotate in on, certain plays and stuff,” Yacamelli told buckys5thquarter.com. “However, on Friday, we knew that (Walker) was down, so coach (Devon Spalding) came up to me and said, ‘You’re No. 2,’ which I kind of expected, that I was the next guy (up).

“But, I mean, honestly, like, when he told me that, it was kind of just like another day, you know. I mean, it’s just strap your helmet up and go play ball.”

Yacamelli, who saw time in the backfield last season, also played special teams in the fourth quarter last week.

“I mean, I really wish I would have found an end zone, maybe being a little bit selfish,” he said. “But, I mean, honestly, like to go out and just play hard and run hard. I mean, I want to establish energy. Like I said, I want to go out and enjoy the moment, let it fly.”

Fickell appreciates Yacamelli’s work ethic and approach to the game.

“Cade might be one of the most unselfish kids we have in this program,” Fickell said. “And from about the middle of the spring ball on, Cade has done nothing but impress every single coach and every single player in that locker room. Cade continues to battle and fight and work and takes every role that you give him and just accelerates at it. And he’s a heck of a running back.”

P-T grad honored

Former Westminster standout swimmer Matt Baurle (Penn-Trafford) was inducted into the Titan Sports Hall of Fame. Baurle was a four-time All-PAC first team selection and the conference swimmer of the year in 2016. He was an All-American in 2013 after finishing eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the NCAA Division III championships.

Staff writer Bill Beckner Jr. contributed.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn-Trafford