Sports
Quips Quest For Perfection Ends With Loss in PIAA AA State Title Game
March 21, 2015
Aliquippa won its first 29 games of the 2014-15 season, but the Quips suffered their lone defeat to Conwell-Egan Catholic 62-51 in the PIAA Class AA Boys Championship at the Giant Center in Hershey. After falling behind by double digits in the first half, Aliquippa staged a furious comeback bid in the second half, frequently trimming the deficit to two points. The Eagles never relinquished their lead, though, and capitalized from the charity stripe to seal the victory. The Quips (29-1) started the contest strong, scoring six straight points to take an 8-2 lead. Conwell-Egan responded with a run of its own, however, as the Eagles scored the final eight points of the stanza to take a four-point lead through the first quarter.
Erie Cathedral Prep Wins Third PA Cup With 3-1 Win Over Downingtown East
“Come early, cheer loud” was the motto for the Erie Cathedral Prep Ramblers and, on Saturday at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena, their fans proved it and their players thanked them for it. Penguins Cup Champion Cathedral Prep (21-2-0), fueled by a large, orange clad student cheering section, edged out a 3-1 win over Flyers Cup Champion Downingtown East in the Pennsylvania Cup Class AA Championship Game.
Vincentian Academy Bombs Old Forge to Defend Girls Class A State Title
The Vincentian Academy girls secured their place in history, as the Lady Royals turned in a dominant performance en route to an 86-38 victory over Old Forge to repeat as PIAA Class A champions at the Giant Center in Hershey. In a rematch of last year’s championship tilt, the Lady Royals were keyed by suffocating defense and a stellar performance by senior forward Brenna Wise. Wise, the two-time MSA Sports girls’ player of the year, recorded a triple-double, as she netted 30 points, 11 rebounds and 13 steals. Wise’s defensive effort epitomized the contest, as Vincentian Academy forced 45 Blue Devils’ turnovers. Junior forward Lexi Griggs also provided a memorable contribution for the Lady Royals, as she scored 24 points by shooting 9-12 from the field.
Big Third Period Lifts Bayard-Rustin Past Mars in PA Cup Class A Finals
In the first of three Pennsylvania Cup Championships at Pegula Ice Arena in State College, the Flyers Cup Champion Bayard Rustin Golden Knights (22-1-4) overcame a furious start and lopsided shooting margin by the Penguins Cup Champion Mars Fighting Planets (20-5-1), scoring the final four goals of the game and prevailing 5-2. The win for Bayard Rustin is their third State Championship Game victory in program history and second in a row, as the Knights defeated Quaker Valley 5-2 in last year’s Championship game.
2014-2015 MSA SPORTS BOYS ALL-NETTERS
March 20, 2015
If there would be a catch phrase that would describe the boys All-Netters team, it would be “On Guard.” The All-Netters team is made up of the top 10 players in the WPIAL, as selected by the MSA Sports staff. This year’s first team is made up of five guards. The second team has three guards. Nine seniors make up this year’s team. The only two Division I college signees in the WPIAL this year also are on the team. Here is a look at the All-Netters teams as well as the Player of the Year. FIRST TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Matty McConnell, Chartiers Valley 6-1, Sr., G
2014-2015 MSA SPORTS GIRLS ALL-NETTERS
Most of the girls on the All-Netters team are going places. The All-Netters team is the top 10 players in the WPIAL and is picked by the MSA Sports staff. This year’s team has seven players going to Division I colleges, including one who is going for softball. The team includes three players who scored more than 2,000 points, and all four WPIAL champions are represented. Here is a look at the player of the year, and the first and second teams of the All-Netters. FIRST TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brenna Wise, Vincentian Academy 6-1, Sr., G-F
PIAA Basketball Recaps for Boys AAAA, Boys AAA, Boys A and Girls AAAA
All the action is complete in Hershey as eight state champions were crowned. Here are recaps of all of the games not involving WPIAL teams: Quad A Boys: Roman Catholic Cahillites 62 – Martin Luther King Cougars 45 Leading 30-29 at the break, Roman Catholic held Martin Luther King to just 4 points in the third quarter and a 4 of 34 shooting performance in the second half to claim their first ever PIAA Quad-A boys championship. This game was a rematch of the District 12 final, a two point win for Roman Catholic, the Catholic League champion. Rider recruit Gemil Holbrook led with 20 points including 12 in the final two quarters.
Unbeaten Neumann-Goretti Too Much For Seton-LaSalle in PIAA Girls AA Finals
Eight minutes and ten seconds was all it took to undo the reign of the Seton-LaSalle Rebels as PIAA Champions. The Rebels went without a field goal from the 4:30 mark of the opening quarter to 4:20 of the second as the Neumann-Goretti Saints pulled away to take a 20-point lead during that stretch and finish a 30-0 undefeated season with a 79-34 victory in the Class AA girls title game at Hershey’s Giant Center. {Left: The seven seniors from Seton-LaSalle girls team hold silver basketball trophy as runner-up after falling to Neumann-Goretti}
Indiana Takes Down Unbeaten Carrick For First PIHL Division 2 Championship
Someone should really stop calling Indiana “Little.” In a massively tenacious defensive effort, the Indiana Little Indians (16-5-1) used a physical trap and special teams to grab a 5-2 win over Carrick (23-1-0) in the PIHL Division 2 Championship Game on Thursday night at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center. T.J. Petro’s shorthanded goal at 10:59 of the second period evened the game at 2-2 and swung momentum to the Little Indians, who scored the final four goals of the game, claiming their first Division 2 (previously the Open Classification) Championship in program history.PIHL Playoff Recaps for Monday, March 16th
March 17, 2015
The Final Four teams from the PIHL's Class B and Class C went head-to-head Monday in the PIHL Division II Semifinals. in the end, Carrick remained undefeated while 2nd-seed Indiana is title game bound after both the Cougars and Little Indians were on the winning side of 4-2 results. Here are summaries from both games played at the Bladerunners in Warrendale on Monday. A special thanks to Adam Hoerner and Cory Campano for their help on these recaps. PIHL DIVISION II Semifinals:Indiana Win First Ever 2015 PIHL Division II Hockey Championship
March 16, 2015
In previous years, it was called the PIHL Open Class high school hockey playoffs. Now it is titled the PIHL Division II hockey postseason for teams from this years Class B and Class C. The first ever champion was crowned Thursday at the Robert Morris University Sports Complex on Neville Island. It was there that Indiana handed Carrick the Cougars first loss of the 2014-2015 season to secure the schools first ever high school hockey golden crown. Here are all of the results from the 2015 PIHL Division II Hockey Playoffs. Any results marked with (MSA) after it can be heard archived here on the MSA Sports Network. PIHL DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:PIHL Notebook – 03/16/2015
Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. With the 2015 Penguins Cup champions crowned, there is still more to do. Since we honored the three “pure” classifications with semifinal preview capsules last week, it’s only fair we give the same treatment to the fine folks in Division II. Plus, we have a brief look at the PA Cup Finals being played this weekend in State College, though at present we only know two out of the three final matchups. So, let’s light the lamp on this special postseason edition of “PIHL Notebook.” PIHL DIVISION II SEMIFINALS:
Canon-McMillan, Cathedral Prep & Mars Win 2015 PIHL Penguins Cup Titles
March 15, 2015
It took four goals for Canon-McMillan, Erie Cathedral Prep and Mars to be crowned new champions in the PIHL. All three winning teams at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh scored four goals and skated away with Penguins Cup championships. All three will now represent the west in the three Pennsylvania Cup state championship games on Saturday, March 21st at Penn State. Here are ALL the final results from the 2015 PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs. All games marked with (MSA) afterward can be heard archived here on the MSA Sports Network. 2015 PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Canon-McMillan Big Macs 4 - Butler Golden Tornado 0 (MSA)This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 03/15/2015
After a loooong four months, the winter high school sports season is finally coming to a golden end this week on the MSA Sports Network.
Mars Dethrones Three-Time Champ Quaker Valley 4-2
Mars turned in an out-of-this-world performance in dethroning the three-time defending champion Quaker Valley 4-2 to capture the Class A Penguins Cup Championship at Consol Energy Center. {Left: Mars didn't miss much Saturday, but this third period shot goes sailing wide of the Quaker Valley cage}
Canon-McMillan Blanks Butler 4-0 to Win Penguins Cup AAA Championship
March 14, 2015
Sometimes the most unlikely heroes are found in championship games and the Class AAA PIHL Championship game was no exception. Austin Czartorski scored two goals in ten seconds to help the Canon-McMillan Big Macs to their second championship with a 4-0 victory over the Butler Golden Tornados at Consol Energy Center. {Left: Austin Czartorki's two goals 10 second apart late in second was a huge key to Big Macs second Penguins Cup in five years}
Cathedral Prep Rambles to AA Pens Cup Crown
A lot has happened in 17 years. 1997 was the second year of the second term for President Clinton, the movie Titanic won 11 Oscars, a gallon of gas was $1.22 and the price of a movie ticket was $4.59. 1997 was also the last time Erie Cathedral Prep won a Penguins Cup high school hockey championship, until Saturday. {Left: Erie Cathedral Prep goalie Jacob Kucharski keeps the puck out despite heavy traffic in front in leading Ramblers to 2015 Penguins Cup Class AA crown} The Ramblers got clutch goaltending from Jacob Kucharski and a pair of goals from Trevor Faulkner to beat the Armstrong RiverHawks 3-1 Saturday at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh to win the 2015 PIHL Class AA Penguins Cup Championship.Scholastic Notebook – 03/13/2015
March 13, 2015
This is the time of year in basketball where coaches often look to their seniors or experienced players for leadership and to make key plays in playoff games. But for a few teams in the WPIAL, “fresh” faces can be seen on the court. The New Castle and Mars boys, and also the Chartiers-Houston girls have made it to the PIAA quarterfinals and freshmen have fueled their runs. * For New Castle, 6-foot freshman forward Marcus Hooker is averaging 10 points and seven rebounds a game for a team that will play Archbishop Carroll tonight in the Class AAA elite eight. Hooker is the younger brother of Malik Hooker, a former New Castle star who is now a freshman football player at Ohio State. Marcus also plays football.
PIHL Playoff Recaps for Wednesday, March 11th
March 12, 2015
A fantastic three days of Final Four high school hockey at the Robert Morris University Sports Complex on Neville Island came to an end Wednesday with a pair of overtime thrillers. While the two favorites prevailed, it was anything but easy in clinching another trip to the PIHL Penguins Cup Finals for both Quaker Valley and Mars. Here are recaps from those two games as well as the fourth and final Division II Quarterfinals playoff game, A special thanks to Bob Orkwis, Josh Rowntree and Sean Meyers for their help on these recaps. {Above: Connor Quinn scores overtime game winner to lift Quaker Valley over Hempfield Wednesday in a Class A Semifinals game. Special thanks to David Hague for the photo} PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS A Semifinals:PIHL Playoff Recaps for Tuesday, March 10th
March 11, 2015
Another defending champion has bit the dust in the PIHL Penguins Cup high school hockey playoffs. It was not a good day for high-seeds as top-seed North Allegheny lost by seven and defending champion Peters Township was knocked out by the lowest seed still alive in #6 Butler. Here are recaps from the two Class AAA Semifinals in the Penguins Cup playoffs along with another Quarterfinals game in the PIHL Division II postseason. A special thanks to Sean Meyers, Sam Hall and Mike Azadian for their help on these recaps. PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA Semifinals:
