Tag: West Allegheny

Big Game Hunting for Week Eight 2016

October 19, 2016

Week eight brings with it the answer to a question put forth here back in week one. How will I personally feel about the change to six classifications after seeing it for a season? The answer now, is the same as it was for me at first blush. I hate it, hate it with the fiery passion of 1000 suns, not to put too fine a point on it. It does nothing to accomplish any of the goals it portends to. It is going to exclude some very good teams, possibly great teams from the playoffs and include some very bad teams. Not to mention we are only in week eight and little is left that matters in terms of games of import in the largest classification. Nonetheless, we are nothing if not intrepid here at BGH, so let’s go Big Game Hunting!

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MSA Sports Friday Night HighLights for Week Four

September 24, 2016

When it comes to arithmetic, I am at about the same level as Jethro Bodine from the famed Beverly Hillbillies. It's all about 'Gozintas'. If you are left scratching your head at the first sentence, let me explain. three Gozinta six two times. Four Gozinta 24 six times. And so on and so forth. Last night around the WPIAL, high school football teams were putting up numbers as if they were playing Techmo Bowl (pre Madden for you youngsters) instead of actual football on actual playing fields. The first Autumn Friday of the season saw scoreboards lighting up like it was a Christmas tree on the first day of winter. Needless to say, the more points scored, the more players were 'Gozinta' the end zone.

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CTK ’16: 5-A Allegheny Nine Conference Preview

August 18, 2016

One of the best aspects of the football realignment is the potential to build new and exciting rivalries. The Allegheny Nine Conference certainly provides some captivating possibilities, as former Quad-A Powerhouses Woodland Hills and Upper St. Clair are now joined by an elite team from AAA, West Allegheny. Six of the nine teams qualified for the postseason in 2015, with North Hills, Hampton and Chartiers Valley joining the aforementioned three. Meanwhile, two teams that finished at the bottom of their respective Quad-A conferences, Baldwin and Fox Chapel, join former AAA squad Moon to round out the newly-formed 5A section.

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Mount Pleasant Crushes West A For Surprise AAA Softball Crown

June 3, 2016

When the Mount Pleasant Vikings finished third in their section and were given the No. 12 seed for the Class AAA postseason, it seemed unlikely the Vikings would make a deep playoff run. Not only did Mount Pleasant capture gold on Friday, the Vikings did so in convincing fashion, with a 10-0 mercy rule win against West Allegheny. Courtesy of its five-inning victory at Lilley Field at California University of Pennsylvania, Mount Pleasant claimed its first WPIAL softball title. On their path to the championship, the Vikings knocked off the No. 1, 3, 4 and 5 seeds.

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2016 WPIAL Softball Championship Preview

June 2, 2016

The WPIAL softball championships have a trio of new faces this year. The championships will be played Friday at California University of Pa.’s Lilly Field and three of the eight participants have never been so close to WPIAL gold medals. Mount Pleasant, West Allegheny and West Greene are all making their first appearances in a championship game. Meanwhile, Hempfield, Baldwin, Ellwood City, South Park and Chartiers-Houston have all won at least one championship before. The games were rained out Thursday and rescheduled for Friday. Here is a look at each championship: CLASS AAAA: The game: Baldwin (13-3) vs. Hempfield (20-2), 2:30 p.m.

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WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2016

April 13, 2016

A current NBA player, a former Parade All-American girls basketball player, two dominant teams and four highly successful coaches highlight the WPIAL Hall of Fame class of 2016. This is the 10th class for the WPIAL Hall of Fame, and selections were announced Wednesday at a news conference at the Heinz History Center. Inductees will be honored at a banquet at the Green Tree Doubletree June 10. A Hall of Fame committee selects inductees in five categories: athlete, coach, team, contest official and contributor. The WPIAL also inducts a Heritage Award winner and a Courage Award winner. Here is the 2016 class: ATHLETES

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PIHL Noteboook – MSA SPORTS ALL-ICERS TEAM

March 24, 2016

Welcome to the final edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. With the 2016 Penguins and Pennsylvania Cup champions crowned, there is just one more order of business we must attend to. It’s time once again to unveil the annual “All Icers” teams as voted on by the MSA Sports Network staff. Did your favorite player make the First Team? How about the Second Team? Read on to find out as we light the lamp on the final 2015-16 edition of “PIHL Notebook.” 2015-16 MSA SPORTS NETWORK “ALL ICERS” – FIRST TEAM: Brendan Johns – Latrobe Regular Season: 20 GP, 37 G, 31 A, 68 PTS, 7 PP, 1 SH, 5 GW, 3.40 PTS/GM Playoffs: 1 GP, 0 PTS

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WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Quarterfinals

November 11, 2015

Quarter-finals week on the MSA Sports Network after a pretty chalk first round, really a very chalk first round just four upsets by seed and three of those in the eight – nine games, the other a ten seed over a seven seed. This Friday, I think you will see the chalk go by the wayside as I predict upsets will be the order of the weekend, but hey I know nothing, we’ve gone out of our way to make that abundantly clear here week after week. Just 16 games on this Friday night make sure you get out to one or listen to one here on the MSA Sports Network, even better if you do both of those things. Here are my picks for Week 11 of Big Game Hunting.

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WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – First Round

November 7, 2015

The lights are just a little bit brighter as 64 teams entered the district postseason three wins away from reaching every teams ultimate goal, a spot on the parking list for Championship Saturday at Heinz Field. There is no question that in the ultimate team sport, you need everybody in to win and advance at this point, but sometimes you need a player to step up and take control with an outstanding performance to keep your season alive at least for another week. So we tip our playoff caps to these ten players who were shining bright on a clear and crisp tenth Friday of the 2015 football season. Phil Jurkovec - Pine-Richland

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Chicks Picks – Week 9 – 2015

October 29, 2015

Welcome to Week 9 of the high school football season. Each year, Chick’s Picks heads up the official MSA Sports Network Halloween Costume Committee.  This is a critical role, as finding a group costume that suits the personalities of the entire MSA Sports Network team can be quite a challenge.  After managing this task for 15 years and running low on ideas, Chick’s Picks found this challenge to be exceptionally daunting this Halloween. Then, an email came through from The Boss, and it suddenly all made sense.  The Boss wrote, “MSA Sports will continue our tradition in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month by wearing PINK on Friday.  Do what you can to wear pink for the cause at your football game.”

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