Scholastic Notebook – 02/26/2016

By: Bruce Markey
Friday, February 26, 2016 | 10:42 AM

For the Aliquippa boys and Norwin girls, Saturday could be a perfect day to walk hand in hand into WPIAL lore.

Both the Aliquippa boys and Norwin girls take undefeated records into WPIAL championship games Saturday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. If they both win, it will be only the fifth time in WPIAL history that boys and girls teams have won WPIAL titles with perfect records in the same year.

The first time it happened was 1983 when Sto-Rox and Mount Alvernia were both undefeated while winning WPIAL titles. The last time it happened was 2012 when Seton-LaSalle and New Castle did it.

It also happened in 2000 with Oakland Catholic and Blackhawk. In 1991, three teams actually finished perfect – the St. Francis and Apollo-Ridge girls, and the Blackhawk boys.

Aliquippa (24-0) meets Lincoln Park for the Class AA championship Saturday at 1. Aliquippa is actually trying to make history as only the second team to win back-to-back championships with an undefeated record. New Castle did it three consecutive times from 2012-14.

Norwin also is trying to win its second championship in a row. This year’s Knights are 24-0 and take on North Allegheny in the title game Saturday at 7 p.m.

Boy-Girl Thing

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic will try to do a double take on championships this weekend.

The CW North Catholic boys team plays Sewickley Academy in the Class A final Friday at 7 p.m. The next day at 11 a.m., the CW North Catholic girls take on Vincentian in the Class A final.

Only 13 times in WPIAL history has a school won both boys and girls championships. The first was Beaver Falls in 1985. North Catholic actually did it once before in 2009.

Drive for Five

Winning four titles in a row puts the Vincentian girls in an elite club. Winning Saturday will put the Royals in an even more elite club.

Only one team in the history of WPIAL girls basketball has won five championships in a row. Penn Hills actually won seven in a row from 1986-92.

First Timers

There are four teams in the championships this weekend that have never won a title – and they are involved in two of the games.

In Class AAAA boys, Pine-Richland will meet North Hills Saturday at 9. Neither team has won a championship. North Hills has never been to a title game before and this is Pine-Richland’s second trip.

In Class AAA girls, South Fayette plays Trinity Saturday at 3. Neither team has ever won a championship. This is Trinity’s first title game appearance while South Fayette has played in only one championship game – last year against Blackhawk.

Bradley to OLSH

In what some may view as a surprising move, Dan Bradley stepped down as Ambridge’s football earlier this week to become the new coach at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Bradley was Ambridge’s coach for two seasons and led the Bridgers to the playoffs this past season. He was Sto-Rox’s coach for two seasons before going to Ambridge.

Bradley is still the boys basketball coach at Avonworth.

Bonnaure Resigns at South Fayette

Rich Bonnaure put the South Fayette basketball team on the map. But Bonnaure has stepped down as the Lions’ coach.

Bonnaure resigned after 16 seasons. Before he became coach, South Fayette had been to the playoffs only seven times. In Bonnaure’s tenure, the Lions made the WPIAL playoffs 15 times. South Fayette also won a PIAA championship under Bonnaure and made it to the WPIAL finals once.

Tags: Aliquippa, Ambridge, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Mount Alvernia, North Catholic, Vincentian Academy