Tag: Franklin Regional

PIAA Wrestling: Class 3-A FINAL Results

March 11, 2017

The expectation coming in to the Giant Center in Hershey was for the world to see history. But the history the crowd seen was certainly unexpected. At 126, Spencer Lee of Franklin Regional was looking to become the 13th wrestler in PIAA history to win four state championships. In his way was undefeated South Central champion Austin DeSanto of Exeter Township. The two battled for much of the match with DeSanto scoring last, a takedown just as the buzzer sounded to defeat Lee and shock the world, 6-5. Lee, who was wrestling with a knee brace, gave word to the media after his match that he had been wrestling all postseason with a complete tear of his ACL.

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WPIAL Alum Q&A – Josh Shields

February 27, 2017

For many years, Western Pennsylvania has been a hotbed for high-school wrestling. In particular, the Franklin Regional Panthers produced a few historic seasons recently. Josh Shields was one of the key components of the Panthers success, and now he's achieved similar success on the mat at Arizona State. Shields, who on Sunday claimed both individual and team gold, is this week's feature for the WPIAL Alum Q&A.

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MSA Sports Top 25 WPIAL Stories of 2016 – #20 through #16

December 30, 2016

It has become a tradition like no other...at least during the holiday season here at the MSA Sports Network. As we close out 2016 and another great high school sports year, we look back at some of the top stories from around the WPIAL in calendar year 2016. We continue our countdown with #20 through #16. #20 - FROM NUMBER ONE TO DONE

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Chicks Picks for Week Ten

November 3, 2016

Welcome to Week 10 of the high school football season. Chick’s Picks attended the annual Playoff Pairings meeting on Monday night.  After witnessing so much joy from the teams that punched their tickets to the postseason, Chick’s Picks couldn’t help but feel bad for those that missed out – especially those with only a few losses on the year. The situation reminded Chick’s Picks of a time when the MSA Sports crew got together for pick-up game of dodgeball.  The Boss and world-renowned broadcaster Sam Hall were the team captains.  Based on her athletic prowess, Chick’s Picks was sure that she would be drafted in the early rounds.

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Big Game Hunting for Week Ten

As we embark on the ‘Highway to Heinz’ or the Road to RMU I feel like we should all wear helmet decals in the postseason to honor the Beaver Bobcats, who in one Friday night; go from the number one team in the state of Pennsylvania in 3 A, to not in the playoffs. We need to keep a “Captain’s pick” spot open like they do in golf for the Ryder Cup team. Now we make our way towards the championships on the MSA Sports Network, huge games every week, as always send your complaints about those not included in BGH to @JohnnyLee@msasports.net as he takes over the complaint department for all playoff moaning. So with that out of the way we can get set to go postseason Big Game Hunting.

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Chicks Picks for Week Nine

October 27, 2016

Welcome to Week 9 of the high school football season. As regular season play wraps up, Chick’s Picks knew that she needed to check in on The Boss at MSA Sports World Headquarters.  For quite some time, Chick’s Picks had been aware of the overtime put in by The Boss this time of year.  However, what she witnessed when she walked into World Headquarters was still a shock. There he was, The Boss, pecking away at his keyboard relentlessly with his two index fingers.  Moments later, when The Boss finally realized that he had a visitor, Chick’s Picks noticed his tired, bloodshot eyes, unkempt hair, and disorder throughout his office.

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Big Game Hunting for Week Nine 2016

The final week of the regular season arrives and things are still a bit murky around the WPIAL, but as always the “Boss” has made it clear and precise, if you have questions about your team and their post season needs or desires, it is laid out here, http://www.msasports.net/articles/2016-wpial-football-playoff-picture. That amount of work can only be a labor of love, and when the boss is doing a labor of love, the worker-bees will almost always do the same. Like the famous line in Remember the Titans, “Attitude reflects leadership”. So, this opening paragraph is dedicated to my colleagues, each of them I know, doing this job because they love it.

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Scholastic Notebook – 09/23/2016

September 23, 2016

At Mapletown, Rush rushes. A lot. Dylan Rush is a junior running back at Mapletown who has enjoyed a big season so far. He is the second-leading rusher in the WPIAL with 1,027 yards. The only running back who is ahead of him is Armstrong’s Zane Dudek, who has 1,201. Rush stands only 5 feet 9 and weighs 180 pounds. You have to wonder how strong Rush’s back is, because he is carrying the Mapletown team on it. Rush’s number of carries isn’t on the high side. It’s on the ridiculous side. In four games, Rush has carried the ball 147 times. That’s 36.8 times a game. The rest of Mapletown’s team has 31 carries. On top of that, Mapletown has thrown 22 passes – and Rush has attempted seven of them.

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Big Game Hunting for Week One 2016

August 31, 2016

Big Game Hunting gets bigger! Nothing wrong with that, right? 2016 and our weekly four-pack gets rounded out to an actual 6-pack. While I am not a fan yet of six classifications; I am willing to give it a try and I am a huge fan of six-packs. When someone shows up at your door and they have a six-pack, they are automatically your friend. Well in 2016 I will be showing up at your door with a six-pack every week, so that will make us friends. That’s a good thing and so is more football talk, and so is researching and writing about 150% of the games for the same amount of money right? Er…. Without further ado, let’s for the first time in 2016, go Big Game Hunting!

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CTK ’16: 5-A Big East Conference Preview

August 19, 2016

The 5A Big East Conference bares a strong resemblance for the former Quad-A Foothills Conference, as Connellsville, Greater Latrobe, Kiski Area, McKeesport, Penn-Trafford and Plum all remain intact. The other three spots, though, are comprised of teams previously in the AAA Greater Allegheny Conference, Franklin Regional, Gateway and Armstrong. Six of the nine squads qualified for the postseason last year, with Penn-Trafford reaching Heinz Field for the Quad-A title game and McKeesport also ranking among Quad-A's best. If the Warriors and Tigers take even a slight step back this year, though, the conference could be wide open.

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