Pine-Richland notebook: Heckert, Kerns picked for Big 33

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, February 26, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Pine-Richland seniors Max Heckert and Isaiah Kerns will get one last game on the football field together and take part in a prestigious event.

Heckert and Kerns were selected to play for Pennsylvania in the annual Big 33 Classic high school all-star game. This year’s contest will be held at 7 p.m. May 28 at Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania will take on an all-star team from Maryland.

Kerns, a Charleston recruit, will play on the offensive line, and Heckert, a Slippery Rock recruit, was selected as an inside linebacker. They are two of 13 representatives from the WPIAL and City League.

The Big 33 Classic is famous for having a representative from the game in every Super Bowl.

This year, Miles Sanders (Woodland Hills) of the Philadelphia Eagles and Chad Henne and Frank Clark of the Kansas City Chiefs were the Big 33 alumni in the Super Bowl.

Other alumni include Darrelle Revis, Ben Roethlisberger, LaVar Arrington, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Tyler Boyd and Ty Law.

Ryan Palmieri, John Rottinghaus, Jake Beam and Matt Nicely were selected to play in the East/West All-Star game during Big 33 Classic weekend. The game matches up at team of Western Pa. players against an Eastern Pa team.

Voit in OHL scoring race

Pine native Ty Voit is tearing up the Ontario Hockey League.

In 53 games with the Sarnia Sting, Voit, 19, ranked third in the league with 80 points. He had 16 goals and an OHL-best 64 assists.

Voit, a 2021 fifth-round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, was eight points behind Windsor’s Matthew Maggio for the scoring title.

The Sting had 14 games remaining in the regular season as of Feb. 22. Sarnia was third in the Western Conference behind London and Windsor and on the verge of clinching a playoff spot.

Big 56 announces honors

A pair of Pine-Richland boys and girls basketball players earned all-section honors from Big 56.

For the girls, junior guard Madison Zavasky was named to the first team in Section 1-6A and senior guard Sarah Pifer earned second-team honors. The duo led Pine-Richland into its first-round playoff game Feb. 23 at North Allegheny, which was past the deadline for this edition.

For the boys, senior guard Josh Gimbel made the second team in Section 1-6A and senior guard Owen Luellen was an honorable mention.

Palmieri shines on mat

Robby Palmieri has enjoyed a breakout junior season as a wrestler at Baldwin-Wallace and recently was rewarded with an All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection.

Palmieri (141 pounds) was one of eight Yellow Jackets to make the list.

After finishing 13-11 last year, Palmieri has compiled a 28-11 record this season with three pins.

He helped Baldwin-Wallace win a third consecutive OAC title. The Yellow Jackets qualified for regionals, which were scheduled for Feb. 25-26 in Cleveland.

The NCAA Division III National Championships follow March 10-11 in Roanoke, Va.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

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