George Guido: WPIAL playoffs could use home-court advantage

By: George Guido
Saturday, February 5, 2022 | 4:51 PM

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The WPIAL is looking at using home floors for at least the initial round of the upcoming 110th basketball tournament.

The league office is expected to send out a list of requirements to contending schools this week outlining what needs to be done to host a game.

This will be the third time the WPIAL has played early-round games on home courts. It was done last year because of the pandemic with attendance restrictions and schools reluctant to open their facilities.

Back in 1984, the other open tournament season, home floors also were used.

Mason to be recognized

Highlands will honor 2012 graduate Micah Mason on Thursday for his upcoming induction into the WPIAL Hall of Fame.

The ceremony was scheduled for Friday, but the game against Indiana was postponed because of inclement weather.

Mason, the WPIAL’s 10th all-time leading scorer, finished his career with 2,272 points. He will be inducted May 27 at the Green Tree Double Tree hotel.

On Jan. 25, 2011, Mason set the Alle-Kiski Valley’s all-time, single-game scoring record with 64 against Valley in a 101-83 Golden Rams victory. It broke the original mark of 61 in a game set by Elders Ridge’s Marty Bolo in 1966.

Mason, who went on to play at Drake for a year before transferring to Duquesne, is the WPIAL’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals with 346.

Stampede to The ’Boro

Edinboro football coach Jake Nulph, an Apollo-Ridge graduate, wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to concentrate on the Alle-Kiski Valley for recruits.

He signed six players last week — including the last two Valley News Dispatch defensive players of the year — as the signing season ended.

Nulph inked Brayden Dunmire of Kiski Area, the 2021 defensive selectee, along with 2020’s Logan Dexter of Springdale. Dunmire’s Cavaliers teammate, Matt Hilty, also is headed North along with Fox Chapel’s Zidane Thomas and Plum’s Logan Brooks.

Additionally, North Allegheny’s Kyrell Hutcherston, who began his career at Kiski Area before transferring, is headed to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference school.

The new recruits join Burrell’s Mikey Scherer, Plum’s Reid Martin, Apollo-Ridge’s Klay Fitzroy, Knoch’s A.J. Karenbauer and Deer Lakes graduates Jack Hollibaugh and Hunter Burns on the Fighting Scots roster.

Nulph quarterbacked Apollo-Ridge to a 9-0 regular-season record in 2000.

He was hired at Edinboro in early 2020, but the football season was wiped out because of the pandemic. The Fighting Scots were 4-6 this past season but won their final three games of the season.

Shoop to South Florida

Former Riverview multisport standout Bob Shoop will be the defensive coordinator at the University of South Florida.

He has spent 32 seasons in coaching, 17 as a defensive coordinator. Shoop has seen 20 of his players selected in the NFL Draft.

Shoop worked under James Franklin at Vanderbilt and came with Franklin to Penn State. He was with Miami (Fla.) last season and Michigan in 2020.

Shoop was the winning pitcher for Riverview in the 1983 PIAA championship game as the Raiders defeated Schuylkill-Haven, 4-3.

He was inducted into the A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

It not surprising that he is successful as a coach. After all, he played for three local hall-of-famers at Riverview: Chuck Wagner in football, Jack Schmitt in basketball and Beebe in baseball.

Tags: Highlands, Kiski Area, Riverview, Springdale