Tag: Blackhawk

Scholastic Notebook – 03/06/2015

March 6, 2015

Chassidy Omogrosso is Blackhawk’s Energizer bunny. The senior guard on the Blackhawk girls basketball team seemingly never stops on the court. Her motor is stuck on overdrive. While Comcast has bundle deals for cable television, Blackhawk has a bundle full of energy in Omogrosso. Omogrosso’s “run” through the recent WPIAL tournament was one to behold. She was close to unstoppable in the Class AAA playoffs, leading the Cougars to a second consecutive WPIAL title last Saturday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. No one has records for what is the greatest playoff run – scoring wise – for WPIAL girls basketball. But Omogrosso has to be somewhere near the top.

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Blackhawk Repeats as Girls AAA Champs With Win Over South Fayette

February 28, 2015

Blackhawk used a strong kick to break a tie in the final minute of the first half and never looked back in knocking off South Fayette --- Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh to repeat as Girls AAA champions. The title was the seventh overall for top-seed Blackhawk and marked the third time they have been able to repeat as WPIAL champions. The Cougars also won back-to-back District 7 crowns in 1996-97 and 1999-2000. The WPIAL’s leading scorer senior Chassidy Omogrosso got off to a hot start with 10 points in the opening quarter as the Cougars jumped out early to a 10-4 lead before the underdog and #10-seed Lions went on a 14-2 run to fight back and forge an 18-18 tie after the first quarter.

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Scholastic Notebook – 02/06/2015

February 6, 2015

Penn State football coach James Franklin lost out on the top player in the WPIAL class of 2015 when Central Valley’s Jordan Whitehead signed with Pitt. Other than Whitehead, Penn State had plenty of success in the WPIAL. At least more than the Nittany Lions have had in recent history. Penn State signed four players from the WPIAL this season. That might not seem like a lot, but it is more than the past four classes combined. In fact, only twice in the past 10 years has Penn State landed four or more players from the WPIAL. In 2010, Penn State signed five WPIAL players and four in 2007. Two of the past four years, Penn State did not sign one WPIAL player.

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Scholastic Notebook – 01/30/2015

January 30, 2015

With a little more than a week left in the regular season, Aliquippa and Sewickley Academy are the only two undefeated teams in WPIAL boys basketball at 18-0. For both, it is a return to glory this season. Aliquippa has a rich basketball tradition, but the Quips hit a rough patch from 2010-13, compiling a record below .500 for three consecutive seasons under coach Bobby Williams. Things started to return to normal last year under first-year coach Nick Lackovich when the Quips finished 20-7. Now, things are terrific at Aliquippa and this could be a team for the ages at the Beaver County school. It’s not known when the last time was Aliquippa finished the regular season with a perfect record. It has been at least four decades.

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Scholastic Notebook – 01/23/2015

January 23, 2015

Laurel High School picked a Locke a few years ago. Now, the Spartans have found the keys to winning basketball. The Laurel boys team is one of the big turnaround stories in the WPIAL this season. The Spartans are 13-3 and in second place in Section 1 of Class AA. They are the MSA Sports No. 5-ranked Class AA team. The main directing the turnaround is Ken Locke. Laurel hired him before the 2012 season and Locke, a 1995 Laurel graduate, has done a great job in turning around the Spartans.

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Joe Hamilton Resigns As Blackhawk Football Coach

January 20, 2015

In today’s world, only a few high school football coaches last more than ten years, let alone 39 years at the same school. That was the legacy of Joe Hamilton and the Blackhawk Cougars, but it came to an end Tuesday when Hamilton submitted his resignation. In the almost four decades at Blackhawk, Hamilton’s teams won 295 games, four WPIAL championships including three straight in 1991-92-93, played for the WPIAL title nine times and made three trips to the PIAA championship games.

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Scholastic Notebook – 01/16/2015

January 16, 2015

The Mars boys basketball team doesn’t have one senior in the starting lineup. That might lead you to believe the Planets are maybe a year away from making their mark on WPIAL basketball. But this Mars team has figured, why wait? Mars takes a 14-1 record into Friday night’s home game against Burrell. Mars is fresh off a 21-point victory Tuesday over a Hampton team that was previously undefeated and the MSA Sports No. 1 WPIAL Class AAA team.

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MSA Sports Countdown – Top 25 WPIAL Stories From 2014 – 01/01/2015

January 1, 2015

It has become a tradition like no other...at least during the holidays here at MSA Sports. It's time to look back at another high school sports year with the top stories from around the WPIAL in 2014. We conclude our countdown with the five stories that ended up #5 through #1. {Left:  Brianna Schwartz of Shaler crosses the finish line to win the WPIAL Girls Class AAA cross-county championship, her third straight title} #5 - Sister Power In 2013, the Kluska sisters made news when older sister Alyvia forfeited her WPIAL Class AA Consolation match to Michaela, thus earning the then freshman a spot in the PIAA girls individual singles tennis playoffs.

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MSA Sports Countdown – Top 25 WPIAL Stories From 2014 – #10-#6

December 31, 2014

It has become a tradition like no other...at least during the holidays here at MSA Sports. It's time to look back at another high school sports year with the top stories from around the WPIAL in 2014. We continue our countdown with the five stories that ended up #10 through #6. {Left:  After winning a third PIAA individual wrestling title, Kittanning's Jason Nolf accepts the Outstanding AA Wrestler trophy} #10 - The Storm Ends It was going to happen at some time this season that the New Castle Red Hurricanes boys basketball team would taste defeat. New Castle had an amazing run over the last three years, claiming consecutive WPIAL championships and finishing the run with a 31-0 season and a state title in March.

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Scholastic Notebook – 11/14/2014

November 14, 2014

It has been well-documented how Pine-Richland quarterback Ben DiNucci has turned out to be one of the most prolific passers in the history of the WPIAL. But DiNucci also has benefitted from a terrific one-two receiving punch. It looks like you could call seniors D’ondre Gastion and Mike Merhaut are a receiving duo for the ages. There are no records available for best receiving one-two punches, but you can bet you will be hard-pressed to find many duos from the same team who have been as productive as Gastion and Merhaut. How many teams have had two receivers with 100 or more career catches? But that’s what Pine-Richland has in Gastion and Merhaut, a pair of seniors.

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