Football
CTK 2012 – New High School Football Rules
August 3, 2012
As part of the Countdown to Kickoff, here are the new rule changes for the 2012 high school football season. Rule changes involve the definition of a catch, blocking restrictions on free (onside) kicks and the removal of a helmet during a down. The first major change defines what makes a catch. Prior to this season, officials could rule that a player in the air would have come down in the field of play, but was prevented by an opponent from doing so in completing a catch. The new rule any guess work out of the play, a player must come down with a foot or body part inbounds while maintaining possession, regardless of an opponent's action.CTK 2012 – 7:00pm Kickoffs in WPIAL
August 2, 2012
There are 125 schools in the WPIAL that field a high school football team. While a majority still begin at 7:30pm, the 'early risers' continue to grow and are nearly half. Now 52 of them will kickoff their home games at 7:00pm. Here is a list of schools that will get the thirty minute head start on Friday and Saturday nights.CLASS AAAA Foothills:Altoona Mountain LionsMcKeesport TigersCLASS AAAA Northern Eight:Fox Chapel FoxesNorth Hills IndiansCLASS AAAA Southeastern:Plum MustangsWoodland Hills Wolverines-----------------------------------------------------------CLASS AAA Northeastern:CTK 2012 – New Conference Alignment in WPIAL Football
Major changes have taken place to the look of the WPIAL football conference alignment for the next two years. The biggest change comes in Class AAAA and Class AAA where both classifications have shrunk from the standard four conferences to three conferences. Both Class AA and Class A will remain with four conferences.COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF 2012
July 31, 2012
The countdown to the start of the 2012 high school football season is underway. High School football training camps throughout Western Pennsylvania open up on Monday, August 13th as teams prepare for a new season starting Friday, August 31st and Saturday, September 1st. As has been the case in the thirteen previous years here at MSA Sports, the ONLY place to turn for original DAILY updates that help prepare fans for all the excitement of the 2012 high school football season in the WPIAL is 'Countdown to Kickoff' here at www.msasports.netCOMPLETELY UPDATED: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 07/30/2012
July 30, 2012
With great anticipation, we are ready to begin Countdown to Kickoff 2012 as July melts into August this week on the MSA Sports Network. We begin our coverage of the 2012 high school football season with a special edition of This Week in the WPIAL followed by the MSA Sports/Kennywood Park Preseason All-Star Team Presentation Show from Kennywood Park. We also have coverage of Class AA Eastern League baseball with the Altoona Curve hitting the road for series in Trenton and New Britain along with Frontier League play featuring the Washington Wild Things at River City before returning home to CONSOL Energy Park to face Lake Erie, plus all of the news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin is here at MSAsports.netMonday, July 30th:WPIAL Hires, Resignations and Commitments
July 18, 2012
Even though the school doors are locked and the student-athletes are preparing for a new school year, there has been plenty of news in the first couple weeks of July with athletic directors and coaches on the move as well as players making D-I verbal agreements.Butschle Steps Down at Sto-RoxThe 2011 WPIAL Class A runner-up is looking for a new coach just one month before training camp officially opens up. Ron Butschle's second stint as head coach at Sto-Rox has ended when he resigned due to personal reasons.Butschle, who led the Vikings to an undefeated regular season last fall and a berth in the district title game, hopes to coach again some day, but a family situation has forced him to step away at least for the 2012 season.Gateway Football Coach Terry Smith Keeps Job…For Now
July 12, 2012
Terry Smith is still the head football coach at Gateway High School, although his position as head coach and athletic director is up in the air after the 2012 season. On Wednesday night in front of a packed house at the high school auditorium, the Gateway school board voted 8-1 to prevent the athletic director of the school district to have a supplemental contract as the high school football coach. However, it would not go into effect until December 31st of this year.Last month, the school board approved a new 65 million dollar budget with plenty of cuts, including cutting the athletic directors position to part time.2011-2012 WPIAL and PITTSBURGH CITY LEAGUE CHAMPIONS on PARADE
July 6, 2012
What better way to celebrate America's Birthday and the end of another school year than with a parade. It has been another great high school sports year. All of us here at the MSA Sports Network and Management Science Associates thank our sponsors and fans for their support during the 2011-2012 school year. As we get ready for another great scholastic campaign in 2012-2013, we look back at all the WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League team champions on parade from this past school year.Football:Class AAAA - North Allegheny TigersClass AAA - Montour SpartansClass AA - Aliquippa QuipsClass A - Clairton BearsCity League - University Prep PanthersPIAA Class A - Clairton Bears
2012 MSA SPORTS MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – LUKE HAGY of MOUNT LEBANON
June 29, 2012
Whether he carried one, shot one, dribbled one, hit one or caught one, Luke Hagy’s high school career was a ball. In these days of teenagers specializing in one sport, Hagy was highly unusual. He had a ball year round. He was a three-sport athlete at Mount Lebanon High School, which is in the largest classification (Class AAAA) in the WPIAL. You don’t see many high schoolers playing three sports at a large school. But it wasn’t just playing three sports that made Hagy unusual. It was how much talent he had in the three sports – and how long he played the three.This Week on MSA Sports Network – 06/26/2012
June 26, 2012
The action heats up on the pro baseball diamond as we officially bid farewell to June and welcome in July this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have coverage of Class AA Eastern League baseball with the Altoona Curve hitting the road to Harrisburg and Binghamton along with Frontier League play featuring the Washington Wild Things as they also hit the road to Traverse City and London, plus minor league football and all of the news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin is here at MSAsports.netMonday, June 25th:TALK SHOW - Rappin on Racin at 6:00pm on MSAsports.netPro Baseball: Class AA Eastern League - Akron Aeros vs Altoona Curve at 7:00pm on MSAsports.netThis Week on MSA Sports Network – 06/19/2012
June 19, 2012
The action heats up on the pro baseball diamond as we officially bid farewell to spring and welcome the Summer of 2012 this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have coverage of Class AA Eastern League baseball with the Altoona Curve and Frontier League play featuring the Washington Wild Things, plus the high school football all-star game season continues with the Lezzer Lumber Classic and all of the news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin is here at MSAsports.netMonday, June 18th:TALK SHOW - Rappin on Racin at 6:00pm on MSAsports.netPro Baseball: Frontier League - Washington Wild Things vs London Rippers at 6:30pm on WJPA-FM 95.3This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 06/04/2012
June 4, 2012
With the district high school baseball and softball postseason behind us, the focus switches to the diamond state playoffs starting this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have coverage of the First Round and the Quarterfinals from both the PIAA baseball and softball state playoffs along with pro baseball featuring the Class AA Eastern League's Altoona Curve and the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things, women's pro football featuring the Pittsburgh Passion and mens semi-pro football featuring the Tri-State Steel Storm, plus all of the news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, June 4th:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/29/2012
May 29, 2012
Plenty of Diamond Gold will be up for grabs post holiday this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have EXCLUSIVE coverage of all eight 2012 WPIAL Baseball and Softball Championship Games and all five WPIAL baseball and softball consolation games along with a pair of District 6 Softball Championship Games, plus news from the world of auto racing with Rappin on Racin, pro baseball featuring the Class AA Eastern League's Altoona Curve and the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things and women's pro football featuring the Pittsburgh Passion ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, May 28th:HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY FROM ALL OF US HERE AT THE MSA SPORTS NETWORK!Scholastic Notebook – 05/25/2012
May 25, 2012
Seven of the eight teams in the WPIAL baseball finals are quite familiar with this championship stuff. They all have won at least one title in the past nine seasons. As championship traditions go, the eighth team in the finals is like the odd man out. Belle Vernon has never won a WPIAL championship, and the WPIAL has been staging championships since 1914. Belle Vernon will try to win its first title when it plays Blackhawk in the Class AAA championship Tuesday night at Consol Energy Field in Washington.Scholastic Notebook – 05/19/2012
May 19, 2012
Aliquippa High School doesn’t have a track where athletes can practice. But the Quips always seem to have kids in the fast lane. On Thursday night at Baldwin, Aliquippa’s 400-meter relay won the WPIAL Class AA championship in grand fashion, setting a meet record and a school record with a time of 42.87 seconds. The team consisted of Hassan Thompson, Shaquere McBride, Dravon Henry and Kaylan Kenney. While this team’s run was impressive, having a group of top sprinters is nothing new for Aliquippa, despite the school not having a track. It was the seventh time in nine years that Aliquippa won the 400 relay title.Scholastic Notebook – 05/11/2012
May 11, 2012
The way the WPIAL baseball playoffs are set up, a team that makes it to a championship game could use its No. 1 pitcher in three of four contests. That is extremely good news for Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson pitcher Greg Schneider hasn’t just been unbeatable this season. It has been almost impossible to score on him. Schneider had one of the most dominating regular seasons of any pitcher in recent WPIAL history. Schneider, a Thomas Jefferson senior and a Pitt recruit, led Thomas Jefferson to the Class AAA Section 3 title. His statistics were remarkable.Scholastic Notebook – 05/04/2012
May 4, 2012
Peters Township not in the WPIAL baseball playoffs? It will seem strange, but it could happen. And if Peters Township doesn’t make the postseason, you can almost be assured it will be a close call. Peters Township, one of the WPIAL’s top baseball programs, hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2002. But the Indians are in fourth place heading into today’s game against Mt. Lebanon. Peters Township is 6-4 in section and 7-10 overall. The top three teams make the playoffs, and Bethel Park (8-2), Upper St. Clair (8-3) and Mt. Lebanon (7-3) are all ahead of Peters Township. If Peters Township loses to Mount Lebanon Friday night on MSA, Peters Township is out of the playoffs.PSFCA High School Football All-Star Game Sunday on MSA Sports
May 3, 2012
The annual all-star football game that highlights some of the top scholastic talent in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is back and will be played at Gateway High School on Sunday, May 6th at 2:00pm right here on the MSA Sports Network.MSA Sports Rick Smith and Josh Rowntree will have the call from Monroeville as some of the top talent from Eastern Pennsylvania takes on some of the best seniors here in Western Pennsylvania.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 04/29/2012
April 29, 2012
As the mercury keeps rising and the calender changes from April to May, we have stretch run regular season softball and baseball action this week here on the MSA Sports NetScholastic Notebook – 04/27/2012
April 27, 2012
It took four years for Serra Catholic pitcher Alain Girman to finally lose a game. Then it happened in consecutive days.
