Tag: Highlands

WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Eleven

November 5, 2014

And so we are off on the Highway to Heinz, some great games in the first round as always but things will really pick up here in the quarters. The first round was fairly “chalk” with A being the only classification to lose more than one higher seeded team, yes Beth Center and Frazier were both from the TCS. AA lost only an eight seed as South Park blocked Beaver’s attempt at a game-winning field goal as time expired. AAA saw only their seven seed, Montour go out falling hard to Mars. AAAA had just one upset but it was by far the biggest “eyebrow raiser” of the night as the Plum Mustangs ousted the four, Penn Hills. Who will surprise us in the quarters? Let’s go Big Game Hunting, and see if we find anything!

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WPIAL Friday Night HighLights for 9/26

September 27, 2014

We hit the midway point of the 2014 WPIAL football regular season with points a plenty. Offenses around the district continue to amass record setting numbers with good solid defenses creeping closer to the endangered species list. Friday night saw 12 teams score over 50 points and five of those teams eclipsed the 60 point plateau. And that doesn't even include the traditional 70+ point total for Clairton. With those mind-numbing numbers, here are some of the top performers from the Fifth Friday of the season. Connor Slomka - Pine-Richland

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WPIAL Friday Night HighLights for 9/19

September 20, 2014

Neither players or coaches can complain about the weather in the first four weeks of this season as Mother Nature has cooperated very nicely. And the turned toward huge offensive numbers continued around fields in Southwestern Pennsylvania on the fourth Friday of the WPIAL football season. Thus it makes our job that much tougher with so many young men who deserve post-game kudos, only a few can receive our top ten tip of the cap. Ben DiNucci - Pine-Richland

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CTK ’14: WPIAL AA Allegheny Conference Preview

August 21, 2014

When has the Allegheny Conference been able to say this: There are two Pitt recruits in the conference and one West Virginia recruit. As strange as it sounds, it is true. The Allegheny has two Pitt recruits in Kittanning receiver-tight end-linebacker Nick Bowers and Apollo-Ridge receiver-defensive back Tre Tipton, who are both seniors. The West Virginia recruit is Freeport linebacker Logan Thimons, who is a junior. All three made verbal commitments to their schools. They are certainly three of the players to watch in a conference that takes on a different look this season. Two teams from last year are out while three have moved in from different classifications.

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Scholastic Notebook – 11/29/2013

November 29, 2013

It was a pretty big deal this fall when Sto-Rox’s Lenny Williams became the WPIAL all-time leading passer. But it’s looking like Williams’ record might not last more than a year. South Fayette’s Brett Brumbaugh appears to have a very good shot at Williams’ record next year. Let’s look at the numbers and the possibilities: Williams, a senior, finished his career with 8,508 yards. Besides that being the best in WPIAL history, it also was fifth-best in state history. Sto-Rox lost lost last week in the WPIAL Class A finals and the loss means Williams can’t add more distance between himself and Brumbaugh.

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WPIAL Plays of the Week – Week Ten 2013

November 5, 2013

The Highway to Heinz started out with a bang. Big plays, upsets, stats galore and performances for the ages. In all, it was an exciting Week Ten of WPIAL Football (and kudos to non-playoff Week 10 winners, especially Plum for breaking a WPIAL-long 25-game losing streak). Let's take a look back at Week Ten's best plays before hopping back on the road in the Quarterfinals. #1 Penn-Trafford 22, Penn Hills 16

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Chicks Picks – Week Ten – 2013

October 31, 2013

Welcome to Week 10. As yet another high school football season begins to wind down, Chick’s Picks spent some time with Team MSA Sports simply reflecting on her tenure at the network.  She shared her stories with the team, from her first day as an intern many moons ago, to her first venture in prognosticating.One of the network’s newer members, who shall remain nameless, seemed preoccupied during the team’s storytelling session.  Unable to make sense of this reaction, Chick’s Picks said, “Young man, are we boring you with this MSA Sports history lesson?”  He responded, “Chick’s Picks, it’s just that I was only two years old when you started working here.  So, please forgive my disinterest.”

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2013 Big Game Hunting – The Football Fourpack for Week 10

October 30, 2013

I’m on the Highway to Heinz, the Highway to Heinz, with apologies to AC/DC there will in fact be stop signs. In fact 32 teams will get off this Friday night after the shortest trip imaginable on the Highway to Heinz. But for those naysayers who claim there are too many teams in the playoffs, I dare you to ask any member of those 32 teams if they would give back the memory of making the playoffs even after getting dumped in round one, the answer is no, they would not. In fact, they would do it all again even knowing the heartbreak was coming right at them. That’s why the playoffs in the WPIAL are perfect just the way they are. Now let’s stop bickering about it and go Big Game Hunting!

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MSA Sports Big Game Hunting – Week Four

September 18, 2013

Week four brings with it the time to separate the wheat from the chaff in the WPIAL football season. You might get to this week with a pretty nice looking record based on some favorable scheduling. Time is running out on teams dodging the upper echelon of their section. Sooner or later , you are going to run into a playoff caliber football team, if it is sooner, it will be this week, if it is later it will be next. But, after Friday we will know a lot more about who will be playing in November and whose seasons will come to a grinding halt before trick-or-treat time has even arrived.

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CTK 2013 – WPIAL Triple-A Greater Allegheny Conference Preview

August 17, 2013

Will the Greater Allegheny be as defensive again? Last year was the first season of the “new” Greater Allegheny, where nine teams were in the conference, including a few that used to play in the old Keystone Conference. Although the conference featured some standout offensive players, it seemed defense was the cornerstone of a number of teams. Mars, Franklin Regional and Knoch gave up less than 100 points in conference games.No other conference in Class AAA had three teams give up less than 100 points in conference games.Points could be hard to come by again in 2013. The main reason is some teams lost some key offensive players (except Mars).

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