Sports
Laurel Highlands has accomplished several program firsts since the beginning of last year.
Laurel Highlands has accomplished several program firsts since the beginning of last year.
Southmoreland scored first Friday night, but visiting Elizabeth Forward responded with six unanswered touchdowns for a 42-6 Interstate Conference victory at Russ Grimm Stadium.
The New York Jets are handing the keys back to Zach Wilson as they visit Pittsburgh. The second-year quarterback missed the first three games of the season while recovering from right knee surgery. The Jets got off to a 1-2 start with veteran Joe Flacco at quarterback. New York coach Robert Saleh did not hesitate to turn to Wilson once he was cleared in part because the team is so heavily invested in Wilson's future. Pittsburgh is 1-2 and sticking with quarterback Mitch Trubisky for now rather than go with rookie Kenny Pickett. Trubisky and the offense have sputtered at times. The Steelers are 31st in the league in total offense through three weeks.
Something subtle has been taking place for several months on WWE television, and while it has actually been noticeable, it may not be obvious to most.
Beating Towson and Virginia Tech is one thing, beating Texas is something else.
Northwestern visits No. 11 Penn State on Saturday, and while the Wildcats are looking to snap a losing streak, the Nittany Lions (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) are looking to stay unbeaten before a bye and then a mid-October matchup at No. 4 Michigan. Penn State coach James Franklin so far has had the luxury of playing an awful lot of players. Nearly 60 Nittany Lions have rotated in and out of a lineup that hasn’t been tested outside a down-to-the-wire four-point victory at Purdue in the season-opener. The Wildcats (1-3, 1-0) have lost three one-possession games in a row after opening the season with a three-point win over Nebraska.
Texas and West Virginia meet Saturday with both teams desperate to avoid an 0-2 start in the Big 12. West Virginia has recovered from a slow start to win its last two games behind a maturing run game led by freshman CJ Donaldson. Texas is still waiting to see if freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers can finally return after injuring his clavicle against Alabama. Texas running back Bijan Robinson has been carrying a football to class this week after his overtime fumble against Texas Tech set up the winning field goal.
No. 24 Pittsburgh begins defense of its ACC title when it faces new-look Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are playing their first game under interim head coach Brent Key, who was promoted after Geoff Collins was fired following a 1-3 start. The Panthers are 3-1 through four games, weathering a slew of injuries in the process. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi says his team's success is a tribute to the depth the Panthers have built over the years. Pitt is led by junior running back Israel Abanikanda, who has averaged 154 yards rushing over his last three games.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Waynesburg Central prepared for next week's WPIAL Class AA team playoffs with a close 198-200 non-section victory against Trinity at Rohanna's Golf Course.
Mount Pleasant's Sophia Smithnosky and Emily Marne were victorious in the Section 1-AA doubles tournament consolation match Thursday to earn a berth into the WPIAL Class AA Doubles Championship.
Laurel Highlands’ football program has made great strides under fourth-year coach Rich Kolesar.
The Brownsville boys soccer team held off a late Mount Pleasant rally Thursday night for a key 4-3 home victory in Section 3-AA action.
Learned something a long time ago while struggling on how to get into writing a story.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is struggling without injured star T.J. Watt. The NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year is out indefinitely with a left pectoral injury. Pittsburgh is 0-2 without Watt in the lineup heading into a visit by the New York Jets. The Steelers have had trouble stopping the run, particularly in late-game situations. New England and Cleveland were able to rely on the run heavily to pull out narrow wins each of the past two weeks. Pittsburgh shuffled its starting lineup in hopes of a kickstart, bumping defensive tackle Montravius Adams to first string in place of veteran Tyson Alualu.
Running a football play right is difficult. Running the right football play is more difficult.
Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is getting creative with a deep unit that's built to create game-changing plays. So far, nearly 30 players have rotated in and out of a unit that’s fourth nationally in turnover margin at plus-8. Diaz’s defense has recovered five fumbles and picked off four passes and the Nittany Lions lead the country with 41 pass breakups, 16 more than second-place Illinois. Eleventh-ranked Penn State will put its solid defensive foundation to the test when it faces Big Ten rival Northwestern on Saturday.
When it comes to scoring points in football, Landan Stevenson is now at the top of two different lists.
Penn State announced that beer will be available for sale to the general public at Beaver Stadium beginning Saturday when the Nittany Lions host Northwestern. Penn State becomes the ninth Big Ten school to sell beer to the general public at football games. The ones that don’t are Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Beer will be sold in all areas of the stadium, except near the student section. Fans can buy two cans of beer at one time, and sales will stop at the end of the third quarter.
Ashlyn Basinger sits at 99 career goals after scoring five Wednesday night in Waynesburg Central's 6-0 non-section win against Bentworth.
Kevin Newman hit a winning single in the 10th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rebounded from a blown three-run lead in the ninth to beat Cincinnati 4-3 and send the Reds to their 96th loss, their most since 2015. Kyle Farmer hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Chase De Jong and Jake Fraley homered five pitches later to tie the score 3-3. After Johan Ramirez pitched a perfect 10th, Alexis Díaz intentionally walked Ben Gamel, and Newman dumped a two-out single into shallow center to score pinch-runner Rodolfo Castro from second.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn't panicking with his team off to a 1-2 start. Tomlin says he believes the offense is heading in the right direction even though it ranks next-to-last in the league in yards through three games. Tomlin says he likes what he's seen from quarterback Mitch Trubisky and has no plans to make a change. Tomlin did make a change at defensive tackle, bumping Montravius Adams to the top of the depth chart in place of veteran Tyson Alualu. The Steelers host the New York Jets in Week 4.
PERRYOPOLIS -- Frazier had its way with visiting Mapletown early on in their Section 2-A girls volleyball showdown on Tuesday night.
The Albert Gallatin girls volleyball team returned home from Connellsville Tuesday night with a 3-0 victory in Section 3-AAA play.
Cross country
YORK RUN -- Laurel Highlands' Matt Schwerfeger reeled in Uniontown's Mason Stewart as they entered the stadium track at Albert Gallatin, but Stewart had enough left in the tank for a first-place finish in the Section 2-AAA finale.
Laurel Highlands' Nate Schwertfeger finished 31st with a score of 12-over 83 at Champion Lakes Golf Course Tuesday to make the cut in the WPIAL Boys Class AAA Individual Championship first round.
Miguel Andújar hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh inning, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Andújar’s hit snapped a 1-all tie and came in his second game with the Pirates. The designated hitter was claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees on Sunday. The Pirates loaded the bases with one out on a single by Oneil Cruz and walks to Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski by Buck Farmer (2-2). Andújar then hit a long drive off the top of the bullpen door in left-center field, clearing the bases.
The Pittsburgh Penguins enter the season with plenty of familiar faces after bringing back stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. They will be joined by longtime captain Sidney Crosby, who says Pittsburgh's championship window remains open. The Penguins have gone out in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last four seasons. That streak includes a tough Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers last spring. Crosby says the Penguins remain intent on winning it all.
GREENSBURG -- Eleven local golfers continued their season by another week after advancing through Monday's WPIAL Boys Class AA Individual Golf Championship played at Hannastown Golf Club.
Ashlyn Basinger scored four goals and assisted on two others Monday afternoon to lead visiting Waynesburg Central to an 8-2 victory at Monessen in Section 2-A action.
Geibel Catholic senior Claire Konieczny enters next week's final round of the WPIAL Girls Class AA Individual Golf Championship trailing Seneca Valley's Eva Bulger by four strokes.
Colin Brady rambled for 349 yards and five touchdowns as West Greene held off visiting Bentworth, 49-33, for its first win of the season in a Tri-County South game on Friday night.
California University utilized a dominating running game and a stifling defense at Adamson Stadium to roll to a 49-7 victory over Edinboro on Saturday afternoon while opening Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West action.
Research shows that bear road-kill accidents have risen steadily in Pennsylvania since 1995.
The 1957 Uniontown Red Raiders football squad had a banner season posting an undefeated 8-0 record.
There was some solid pro wrestling news this week, so let’s take a look at things.
LEMONT FURNACE -- Laurel Highlands' Matt Schwertfeger gained separation with about a mile to go, and the sophomore didn't allow the field to make up the ground for a first-place finish in the 31st A.J. Everhart Invitational Saturday morning at Penn State Fayette.
Brownsville senior Jolena Quarzo added another title to her resume after winning the PIAA Foundation Invitational held at Hershey Park.
LEMONT FURNACE -- Forest Hills' Delaney Dumm wasn't in front of the pack early in the 31st A.J. Everhart Invitational, but the senior certainly was at the finish Saturday morning for the girls title.
Tailback Israel Abanikanda rushed for four touchdowns and quarterback Kedon Slovis returned from injury to help No. 24 Pitt defeat Rhode Island 45-24. Abanikanda had 19 carries for 177 yards. That tied for second-most TDs in a game in program history and matched Darrin Hall's four against North Carolina in 2017. Marquis DeShields scored a pair of touchdowns for Rhode Island, the alma mater of Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi. The Rams, playing their first-ever game against a ranked FBS opponent, trailed by 10 points at halftime before Pitt pulled away after the break.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is struggling following a 29-17 loss to Cleveland that dropped them to 1-2. The Browns ran for 177 yards on the ground, including 113 by star Nick Chubb. Pittsburgh has allowed each of its first three opponents to run for at least 124 yards and appears to be little improved over a group that finished dead last in the NFL against the run in 2021. The Steelers are playing without All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt, who is out indefinitely with a left pectoral injury. Pittsburgh is now 0-6 without Watt since he entered the NFL in 2017.
Johan Oviedo tied his career high with seven strikeouts in seven innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0 to snap an eight-game losing streak. Oviedo (4-2) retired the final 16 batters he faced, allowing just three hits on 82 pitches without issuing a walk. The right-hander went at least seven innings for the first time this season and second time in 24 career starts. The Pirates (56-96) ended Chicago’s four-game winning streak, and now must win at least seven of their final 10 games to avoid reaching 100 losses for the 10th time. Wade Miley (1-2) gave up one hit over the next three innings before leaving with left oblique tightness in the fifth.
Laurel Highlands’ defense stepped up with a stout performance and its offense did just enough to help the Mustangs pass a tough road challenge on Friday night.
Belle Vernon set the tone with two first-quarter touchdowns and went on to defeat host Thomas Jefferson, 21-7, in a non-conference clash of two top WPIAL programs on Friday night.
JEFFERSON — Cole Jones threw three touchdown passes to Houston Guesman, the final two in the fourth quarter to rally Jefferson-Morgan to a 28-14 victory over Beth-Center in a Class A Tri-County South Conference game Friday.
Monessen picked up its biggest win in years on the football field Friday night with a 28-20 win over previously undefeated California.
It was the Landan Stevenson Show again Friday night as Mapletown handily defeated Carmichaels 42-0 to remain undefeated in the Class A Tri-County South Conference.
CONNELLSVILLE -- Connellsville made big plays in all phases of the game in the fourth quarter for a feel-good 20-6 Big 7 Conference victory against visiting Ringgold at Connellsville Stadium.
