Tag: Woodland Hills

WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Semifinals

November 18, 2015

This past Friday night the world was attacked once again by a senseless act of terrorism. I wish I had some words that could make us feel better, but I don’t. I would just encourage you to be kind to one another, and kind to yourselves (easier said than done). We will move on, it is all we can do. The final off-ramp on the Highway to Heinz approaches now, very quickly, who can keep the vehicle on the mainline and make their way around the construction barrels to the North Shore? We find out this Friday night on the MSA Sports Network. 50-50 shot your team is in this week’s Big Game Hunting, if you still have a team in the race. Win this week and you are assured a spot in Big Game Hunting for the as long as your 2015 season continues.

Read More...

WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – Quarterfinals

November 14, 2015

Most of the teams that advanced to Round Three in the WPIAL football playoffs were expected to be there while others are surprise participants still cruisin' on the Highway to Heinz. Some of the teams dominated their opponents, then there were others caught up in a tight game into the second half before they finally pulled away to victory, while a handful of teams needed to rally to win and advance. Whatever the case, these players we salute were instrumental in leading their teams to a superstitious victory on Quarterfinals Friday the 13th. Brett Laffoon - Penn-Trafford

Read More...

Scholastic Notebook – 11/13/2015

November 13, 2015

A Steel Valley player made some history last week. Now, the Steel Valley team will try to make some more history Friday night. It went pretty much unnoticed, but Steel Valley running back DeWayne Murray surpassed 4,000 career yards rushing last week in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Although close to 70 runners have gained 4,000 yards rushing in their careers, it is a noteworthy feat for Murray because he is only a junior and is the first Steel Valley player to reach 4,000 yards. Murray has 4,097 yards on 363 attempts, an impressive 11.3 yards-per-carry average. Because he is only a junior, he has a good chance to next year become the 17th runner in WPIAL history to gain 5,000 career yards.

Read More...

WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – Week Nine 2015

October 31, 2015

WOW! There was a lot of offense on the final Friday of the regular season. Some were great tune-ups for the upcoming high school football postseason. Other were wrapping up the season and going out with a blaze of glory. Whether the driving force coming into the game was a conference title, a home game, a playoff berth or just plain old civic and school color pride, here are some of the top performances on a night we could sprain our arm tipping our cap to all who deserved it. Miles Sanders - Woodland Hills

Read More...

Scholastic Notebook – 10/25/2015

October 25, 2015

The irony of it. Deer Lakes came into Friday night’s game with the leading rusher in the entire WPIAL this season Hunter Burns. When it ended, Apollo-Ridge had the top rusher ever in a WPIAL game. Duane Brown, a junior at Apollo-Ridge, put himself in the history books when he rushed for a WPIAL record 460 yards in a 56-35 victory over Deer Lakes. Brown was certainly a workhorse in the game, carrying the ball 47 times. Brown broke a 15-year-old WPIAL record. Connellsville’s Marcus Furman ran for 455 yards in a 2000 game. What’s funny is that Apollo-Ridge coach John Skiba and his team had no idea how many yards Brown had or that he had broken the WPIAL record until an announcer from your very own MSA Sports staff came on the field and told him after the game.

Read More...

WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – Week Eight 2015

October 24, 2015

What a night for high school football in District 7. The skies were clear and the temps above average for late October, some teams clinched conference titles while others earned home field advantage in Round One and others still earned the right to participate in the upcoming postseason. Plus it turned out to be a record setting night for one junior running back. All this and the real fireworks don't begin for another two weeks. Here are some of the top standouts from the eighth Friday of the WPIAL football season. Duane Brown - Apollo-Ridge

Read More...

Chicks Picks – Week 8

October 22, 2015

Welcome to Week 8 of the high school football season. This week, we officially made it to the future.  Wednesday, October 21, 2015 marked the date when Marty McFly and Doctor Emmett Brown traveled into the future in Back to the Future Part II.  After so much talk about which of the movie’s predictions came true, Chick’s Picks took a moment to reflect on what she was doing back in the days of when the movie was set.

Read More...

WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Eight – 10/21/2015

October 21, 2015

Week Eight arrives and we can smell the playoffs now. The post season party is just around the corner at the MSA World Headquarters, in fact pairings shows and medals are already making their appearances. But football is the biggie, the one where everyone shows up and Chix Picks prepares the fresh sushi bar. The Football pairing show is always likely to trigger a Schaasy and Mike Azadian argument about schools from Lawrence County versus schools from Allegheny County. Usually we have two people per classification and there is just enough sushi and just the right amount of seats to avoid problems. Next year though, six classifications for the first time, THAT could be a disaster at headquarters. Just another in the long list of reasons this particular reporter dislikes the move so much.

Read More...

WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – Week Seven – 2015

October 17, 2015

On the seventh Friday of the high school football season, there was a chill in the air throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. Or maybe based on the below performances, there was a thrill in the air. Friday marked the start of the 'Stretch Run' of the 2015 campaign, where the pressure starts to mount over the final three weeks as we inch closer to the on-ramp to the Highway to Heinz...much like real life, where we hope that on-ramp is not closed due to construction. Anyway, here are those players that shined in victory on a mid-October eve. Ronnie Jones - Pittsburgh Central Catholic

Read More...

Scholastic Notebook – 10/16/2015

October 16, 2015

Aliquippa is the only school in the WPIAL to have four running backs rush for more than 4,000 yards in their careers. There will likely be one for the thumb by the end of the season. Aliquippa senior running back Kaezon Pugh went over 3,000 yards two weeks ago and now has 3,210. Barring injury, Pugh should get 4,000 this season. He has three regular-season games left and Aliquippa should play at least two playoff games. The Quips are undefeated and played in the WPIAL Class AA championship seven years in a row. What’s impressive about Pugh is his yards-per-carry average. It’s almost 10 for his career. Pugh has 3,210 yards on 324 carries (9.9 average).

Read More...