Category: Sports

Week 9 High School Football Preview: October 25, 2019

Tonight several playoff spots, seedings and bragging rights will be on the line as the 2019 WPIAL Football regular season comes to a close this weekend.

Particularly on the line in tonight’s broadcast game is the Tri-County West Conference title and a strong shot at the #1 overall seed in the 3A Playoffs. Aliquippa is 9-0 overall, a game ahead of Central Valley in the full standings, but both the Quips and Warriors enter the game with identical conference records of 6-0. The Quips are defending state and section champions, with their only loss last season coming at the hands of the Warriors last year at Sarge Alberts Stadium. Coverage on Beaver County Radio begins with a Pep Rally with Matt Drzik and Zach Ulrich from 5:30 to 6:30, then pregame from Aliquippa commences at 6:30 with kickoff at 7:00 on WBVP, WMBA & 99.3 FM.

All games listed below kick off at 7:00, except for (*) starting at 7:30. Local teams designated in bold.

1A
Cornell at OLSH
Bishop Canevin at Rochester*
2A
Riverside at New Brighton
3A
Central Valley at Aliquippa (WBVP/WMBA/99.3)
Beaver Falls at Hopewell
Quaker Valley at South Park
4A
Blackhawk at Beaver*
Ambridge at New Castle
5A
Moon at West Allegheny
Non-Conference
Ellwood City at Brentwood
Steel Valley at South Side Beaver

BREAKING: Pirates Part Way With Frank Coonelly

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Frank Coonelly’s 12-year run as president of the Pittsburgh Pirates is over after another losing season.

The club announced Wednesday that it is parting ways with Coonelly effective immediately. The team said Coonelly’s replacement will be introduced on Monday.

He helped oversee a brief renaissance that resulted in three straight playoff berths from 2013-15.

Coonelly said he understood that “change was necessary” following a stunning second-half collapse in which the Pirates went 25-48 and plummeted to last in the NL Central. The team dismissed manager Clint Hurdle on the final day of the regular season.

“Frank and I both agreed that it was clear a change in the day-to-day leadership of the club is needed,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “This leadership transition gives us the opportunity to refresh our entire operations.”

The Pirates have fallen off the pace in recent years, finishing below .500 in three of the last four seasons.

The freefall included a number of off-the-field incidents this season, including the arrest of All-Star closer Felipe Vázquez on felony charges relating to an improper sexual relationship with an underage girl.

Relievers Keone Kela and Kyle Crick were suspended after heated arguments with staff members.

WPIAL Girls’ Soccer First Round Begins Tonight

Eight local ladies’ soccer teams kick off their second seasons as the WPIAL Playoffs begin tonight. All 1A & 2A games begin at 6:00pm. All 3A & 4A games begin at 8:00pm. Local teams below designated in bold.

1A
Springdale vs. Seton LaSalle (at Seneca Valley)
McGuffey vs. Bishop Canevin (at Peters Township)
Serra Catholic vs. South Side Beaver (at West Allegheny)
Ellis School vs. Freedom (at Moon)
Chartiers-Houston vs. OLSH (at Montour)
Mohawk vs. Bentworth (at Upper St. Clair)
Riverside vs. Shady Side Academy (at Butler)
Carlynton vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (at Hampton)
2A
Highlands vs. Yough (at Penn-Trafford)
Waynesburg Central vs. Freeport (at Plum)
Quaker Valley vs. Deer Lakes (at Mars)
Mount Pleasant vs. Burrell (at Kiski Area)
Brownsville vs. Steel Valley (at Belle Vernon)
3A
Thomas Jefferson at Montour
Franklin Regional at West Allegheny
South Fayette vs. Oakland Catholic (at Peters Township)
Gateway at Plum
Ambridge at Belle Vernon
Trinity at Mars
Ringgold at Kiski Area
Elizabeth Forward at Hampton
4A
Pine-Richland at Penn-Trafford
Hempfield at Moon
Fox Chapel at Upper St. Clair
Connellsville at Butler
Canon-McMillan at Seneca Valley

Parr throws 2 TDs as Duquesne tops Sacred Heart, 20-6

Parr throws 2 TDs as Duquesne tops Sacred Heart, 20-6
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Daniel Parr threw a pair of five-yard touchdown passes and Mitch Maczura kicked a pair of field goals as Duquesne stopped Sacred Heart, 20-6, Saturday in a battle of last year’s Northeastern Conference co-champions.
The Dukes (4-2, 2-0) came into the game with the 13th-ranked defense in the Football Championship Subdivision, limiting opponents to just 317.2 yards per game. They held the Pioneers to 233 yards of total offense and allowed them just 10 first downs.
Parr completed 15 of his 26 pass attempts for 149 yards, hitting Kellon Taylor to cap a 13-play, 83-yard drive, then finding Dontay Mayfield to cap an eight-play, 81-yard drive just before halftime to put the Dukes up, 17-0.
A.J. Hines carried the load on offense for the Dukes, carrying 29 times for 142 yards. Defensively Duquesne limited Sacred Heart to just 84 passing yards and picked off Logan Marchi three times.
Sacred Heart (3-4, 1-2) got on the board in third quarter when Julius Chestnut brook loose for a 61-yard touchdown run. Chestnut finished with 128 yards on 20 carries.

New Brighton HC Joe Greco Talks About His 2019 Squad On Sports Slam

Few teams in Beaver County, and perhaps the WPIAL, have had quite an improvement in football success from 2018 to 2019 than the New Brighton Lions.

The main architect behind the turnaround is head coach Joe Greco, whose Lions are 6-3 overall, 4-2 in the Midwestern Athletic Conference, and on the precipice of a spot in the 2A WPIAL football playoffs. Greco called in to the Saturday Sports Slam with Greg Benedetti and Matt Drzik to talk about the toughness of this year playing in the MAC, and what the key aspects of his team’s success in 2019 have been.

But it’s not just about the football for Greco, who has been the New Brighton head coach since 1998. It’s also about making sure his students are doing as well off the field in both academics and representing the community, and he spoke about that during his interview as well.

To listen to the interview, click on the player below.

Bob Barrickman Talks Playoff Standings, Geneva’s Senior Night, & The Battle Of 15010

My, how time flies.

With the high school season down to its final week of the regular season, and both college and pro football reaching the midway points to their schedules, Beaver County Radio’s Bob Barrickman joined Matt Drzik & Greg Benedetti on the Saturday Sports Slam to talk football–lots of it.

Barrickman recapped the Beaver Falls victory over Blackhawk on Friday Night, the logjam in the Midwestern Athletic Conference, the Week 9 matchup between Aliquippa & Central Valley, and how Geneva will recover from both injury and loss heading into Senior Night against the Washington & Jefferson Presidents.

To hear the conversation, click on the player below.

“Thru the Eyes of Sly Washington” South Park vs. Central Valley Friday October 18, 2019

(Center Twp., Pa.) It was a beautiful fall night for high school football in Beaver County on Friday night, October 18, 2019. Tom Hays and Bruce Frey had the call on 1460 WMBA  for this key match-up in the play-off race for the 3A Tri-County West Conference. The Warriors were the host at Sarg Alberts Stadium on the campus of Central Valley High School. Central Valley  led throughout the very one-sided game against South Park, despite the Eagles efforts. The Warriors put the first score up on the board with a one yard run into the end zone by Ameer Dudley. Ameer took that momentum into the second quarter with an eight yard touchdown pass. With five seconds to go in the half, South Park’s Mason Kasprack scored a 15 yard touchdown. This was quickly followed by a 78 yard Center touchdown by Miles Walker, ending the half 21-7 in favor of the Warriors. Central Valley kept that speed going into the second half,with Jawon Hall scoring a 12 yard reception followed by a 73 yard reception taking the game into the fourth 35-7. South Park could not compete with Central Valley’s offense as Justin Thomson started off the fourth quarter with a 12 yard reception into the end zone, followed by Amarian Saunders running the ball 25 yards for their last touchdown. The Eagles weren’t going down without a fight, as Xander Robertshaw took the ball 20 yards for the final touchdown of the game. The Warriors triumphed over the Eagles 48-13. The Warrior victory sets up a battle for the section title next Friday from the pit in Aliquippa. The host Quips are 6-0 in the section and 9-0 overall after beating Keystone Oaks on Friday nigth 55-7. The Warriors will go into the game also with a 6-0 section record but are 8-1 overall with their loan loss on the season being a non-conference game against Thomas Jefferson. 1230 WBVP, 1460 WMBA, and 99.3 FM will have coverage of the game Friday night October 25, 2019 starting with a tailgate party out front of “the Pit” in Aliquippa hosted by Beaver County Radio’s Matt Drzik and Zach Ulrich starting at 5:30 pm. Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays will call the action for Beaver County Radio starting with the pre-game at 6:30 and the game starting at 7:00 pm.

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Check out the photos below from award winning photographer Sly Washington in this weeks edition of “Thru the Eyes of Sly”

 

Beaver Falls Beats Blackhawk 41-28

The scoring started on the first drive tonight with a 1 yard rush TD from Josh Hough for the Tigers. A botched snap on the extra point made the score 6-0. After Blackhawk missed a 36 yard field goal, Hough scored again from 3 yards out. A failed 2-point conversion led to a score of 12-0. 1 play and 65 yards by Josh Butcher later, Blackhawk was on the board 12-7. On Blackhawk’s next drive, Matt Ranza had an 80 yard catch and run for a touch down, giving Blackhawk their first lead 14-12. Just before halftime, Blackhawk was able to add to their lead with a 62 yard TD run by Josh Butcher, leading to a halftime score of 21-14.

Beaver Falls was able to take the lead back in the 3rd quarter with two 1 yard TD runs by CCBC Player of the game Shileak Livingston, as well as 2 successful 2-point conversions, giving the Tigers a 28-21 lead. Blackhawk was able to tie it up at 28 with a 12 yard TD run by Logan Calior. The 4th quarter was all Tigers with 2 more TD’s from Shileak Livingston, bringing the score to the final tally of 41-28.

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Scores From Across the Valley 10/18/19

Friday, October 18, 2019:

 

Beaver Falls
Blackhawk         1230 WBVP-AM, 99.3 FM		 41
28   Final
South Park
Central Valley                1460 WMBA-AM		 13
48   Final
                        WPIAL Class 5A Allegheny Eight Conference      
Moon
Woodland Hills		 27
12   Final
Peters Twp.
Bethel Park		 30
7   Final
Uppper St. Clair
Chartiers Valley		 51
18   Final
                        WPIAL Class 4A Northwest Eight Conference      
Ambridge
South Fayette		 6
61  Final
Beaver
Montour		 7
46    Final
New Castle
Highlands		 28
22    Final/OT
                        WPIAL Class 3A Tri-County West Conference      
Aliquippa
Keystone Oaks		 55
7   Final
Hopewell
Quaker Valley		 41
26    Final
South Park
Central Valley		 13
48    Final
                        WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Conference      
Shenango
New Brighton		 28
33  Final
Mohawk
Ellwood City		 17
13  Final
Western Beaver
Neshannock		 0
36  Final
                        WPIAL Class 1A Big Seven Conference      
Sto-Rox
Laurel		 15
23     Final
Union
OLSH		 0
34     Final
                                           Non-Conference      
Freedom
Apollo Ridge		 19
27    Final
Greenburg Central Catholic
Cornell		 0
8   Final
Monessen
Rochester		 12
41    Final
Valley
Riverside		 14
24   Final