Tag: Ambridge

CTK ’16: New WPIAL Football Coaches

August 15, 2016

New Faces - New Places - New Hopes - New Dreams. While there were two fewer coaching changes this off-season then before the 2015 campaign, there were a couple of big names that hung up the whistle after last fall. Legendary McKeesport coach George Smith retired for a second time while record setting coach Tom Nola exited at Gateway. There are a lot of rookie head coaches getting their first crack, and some coaches who are just changing hats and addresses. Whatever the case, there are 17 coaching changes coming into this 2016 season. Here are the new football coaches that will be running the sidelines in the WPIAL this fall. CLASS 6-A: ALTOONA - Nick Felus replaces John Franco

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Beaver County Christian Ends Ambridge’s WPIAL AA Volleyball Run

May 28, 2016

The narrative was all too familiar before the championship of boys’ volleyball in Class AA. For the fifth straight season and for the eighth time in nine years, the Bridgers of Ambridge were in the house competing for a championship. They had won seven titles in the previous eight seasons, going 7-7 in their opportunities. But all good stories in sports come to an end eventually, and when the final volley was complete at Baldwin High School on Friday night, a new champion was crowned. A champion, in the Eagles of Beaver County Christian, whose name probably isn’t all too familiar for followers of the WPIAL. It was the first appearance for the team that hails from a school that has 33 male students enrolled in a volleyball championship game.

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Scholastic Notebook – 05/06/2016

May 6, 2016

It was against lowly competition, and each game lasted only five innings. But still, the recent pitching performances of Zach Bowen were ones for the national record book. Bowen is a sophomore at Serra Catholic who pitched back-to-back perfect games. Both games were blowouts and lasted only five innings because of the 10-run rule. Bowen’s first perfect game came April 27 against Clairton in a 17-0 win. Then this past Monday, Bowen pitched another perfect game in another 17-0 win, this time against Geibel Catholic. According to the National Federation of High School Associations record book, only two other pitchers are known to have thrown consecutive perfect games. Mike Bradley of Fort Bragg, Cal., did it in 1991 and Anthony Velasquez of Bayside, N.Y., in 2006.

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WPIAL Alum Q&A – Brandon Buck

May 3, 2016

The Ambridge Area boys volleyball team has become a dynasty in recent years. The Bridgers have claimed seven of the past eight titles in Class AA, including each of the past four. Brandon Buck was instrumental in Ambridge securing several of those titles, and now he's a key member of the St. Francis program. Brandon is this week's focus of the WPIAL Alum Q&A. Following the Bridgers semifinals loss in 2011 when Buck was a freshman, the outside hitter helped propel Ambridge to three straight titles over the Derry Area Trojans. In all three of those campaigns, Buck was honored as an All-State performer.

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Scholastic Notebook – 04/02/2016

April 2, 2016

The Pittsburgh Central Catholic football team won WPIAL and state titles this past season with a team that had five seniors sign with NCAA Division I-A colleges. Those talented players will never again wear the Vikings blue and gold, but Central Catholic is a must-stop for college recruiters again. It has become apparent that Central Catholic’s 2017 team will again be loaded with another handful of seniors who will play major-college football.

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Scholastic Notebook – 02/26/2016

February 26, 2016

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.

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Hometown Girls Volleyball Recap – Central Valley Warriors – 10/14/2015

October 14, 2015

The Central Valley Lady Warriors are playoff bound! Coach Josh Springer's squad clinched a playoff berth with a Section 2-AA victory over Ambridge in straight sets 25-17, 25-16, 25-21. Central Valley jumped to early leads in each of the first two sets, never trailing in either of the opening sets. The Lady Warriors capitalized on early miscues from the Lady Bridgers. Balen Brown was the main beneficiary, tallying five of her match-high 11 kills in the first set.

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CTK 2015 – Class AAA Parkway Conference Preview

August 20, 2015

It wouldn’t exactly be going out on a limb to predict that a team from the Parkway Conference will make the WPIAL Class AAA championship. After all, the past six Class AAA champs have come from the Parkway. In fact, over those six seasons, 10 of the 12 title game participants have come from the Parkway. It’s very likely that the Parkway will have another team in the championship game this year. But figuring out who that team will be isn’t easy.

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2015 WPIAL BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS – Results

May 26, 2015

Fox Chapel was the last team to win a Class AAA district boys volleyball title before North Allegheny went on a eight year run and the Foxes reclaimed their spot on top after the Tigers run ended in the Quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the run continues for Ambridge and the Bridgers claimed a fourth straight Class AA crown and the schools seventh championship in the last eight years. Here are ALL the results from the 2015 WPIAL Boys Volleyball Playoffs. 2015 WPIAL BOYS VOLLEYBALL CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Fox Chapel Foxes 3 - Seneca Valley Raiders 1  (MSA) WPIAL CLASS AAA Consolation: Bethel Park Black Hawks 3 - Plum Mustangs 1

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Ambridge Captures Fourth Straight WPIAL Boys Volleyball AA Crown

May 23, 2015

The Ambridge Area boys’ volleyball dynasty continued at Baldwin High School on Friday, as the Bridgers bested Obama Academy in four sets to capture their fourth-consecutive Class AA crown. The Bridgers have been a staple of success, now with seven titles in the past eight campaigns, while the Eagles were playing in their first season in the WPIAL. Despite the disparity in the history of the programs, all four sets were competitive, with Ambridge prevailing 25-19, 25-23, 24-26, 25-22.

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