Sometimes the assignments that don't seem to have much promise more than live up to the billing. Deer Lakes boys basketball team pushed North Catholic to the limit Friday night. The Trojans came from 13 points down to trip up the Lancers.

North Catholic is one of the favorites to be the top seed in Class 4A. The WPIAL will release the playoff brackets on Monday.

The Deer Lakes boys basketball team got revenge on Friday night for a previous loss to Freeport in section play. Read my story in the Tribune Review.

The game featured a nearly four-minute scoreless stretch to start the game. Things heated up in in the second half.

​Collin Rodgers has continued his strong start for the Deer Lakes boys basketball team. By scoring 34 points against Highlands Tuesday night, Rodgers hit the 1,000-point plateau for his career. The Lancers beat Highlands 82-46 in Section 1-4A play thanks in parts to 34 points from Rodgers.

Deer Lakes (5-4, 2-2) has worked through some growing pains this season. The Lancers have won back-to-back games after dropping four of five. Deer Lakes will try to add more wins to its total at the Gateway Tournament this weekend.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

BUFFALO TWP - For more game details, read my story in the Valley News Dispatch.

PITTSBURGH - The Fox Chapel girls soccer team prevented South Fayette from three-peating as WPIAL Class 3A champions Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium. Lily McLaughlin scored off an assist from Emily McKee in double overtime to give the Foxes their first WPIAL championship since they won Class 4A in 2023.

​South Fayette knocked off Fox Chapel 4-0 in the final last season. The Foxes were unhappy with being tripped up by South Fayette last season and wanted to bounce back.

Deer Lakes holds off determined Bobcats
The sixth-seeded Lancers boys soccer team weren't exactly Cinderellas by the time they reached the WPIAL Class 2A final. Deer Lakes was playing a higher seeded team that was read hot. The Bobcats ripped apart Avonworth, beating them by six goals in the semifinals. Beaver started slow against Deer Lakes and never took a lead during a 3-2 decision Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium.

Zane Spencer scored the winning goal in the 68th minute for the Lancers. Anthony Furda and Caleb Kullen each scored for the Bobcats. 

HAMPTON TWP - Quaker Valley boys soccer coach Sean Ryan wasn't shocked with how the WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer field played out. He believed anything could happen.

Ryan, who led the Quakers to a Section 2-2A crown and the second seed, believed in the potential of every playoff team in their section. Three of those teams -- Quaker Valley, No. 4 Avonworth and No. 9 Beaver -- reached the semifinals.

 The Bobcats pounded the Antelopes 8-2 in the semifinals Monday at Hampton to reach the WPIAL Class 2A final at Highmark Stadium this week, while Deer Lakes used a pair of second half goals to topple Quaker Valley.

Beaver will have a rematch with Deer Lakes from their 2022 meeting, which the Lancers won to capture their second district crown.

Deer Lakes, which were the sixth seeded, knocked out No. 11 Central Valley and No. 3 North Catholic on its way to the final. Top-seeded South Park got knocked out in the quarterfinals by Beaver in a 2-1 decision.

The Quakers survived a 3-2 win over No. 10 Shady Side Academy in the quarterfinals.

"I said at the beginning of the season that our section is one of the strongest in 2A if not all of the WPIAL," Ryan said. "I feel pretty confident that three of our four teams made it to a semifinal. I feel Shady Side Academy was above their seeding. They weren't as low quality as a typical 10 seed, they felt like a four or five-seed. This Deer Lakes team could be a No. 2 seed in any other year as well.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Deer Lakes couldn't stop shooting itself in the foot during a 24-21 loss to Derry last week. Despite that, the Lancers were only 8 seconds away from knocking off the Trojans to improve to 2-1 on the season. Deer Lakes now has to figure out how to turn things around.

Luca Mangieri was one of the bright spots for the Lancers last week, catching touchdown passes of 79, 55 and 25 yards. Deer Lakes will need more of that in their Allegheny Conference opener against Freeport. The Yellowjackets are off to a 3-0 start, outscoring their opponents 119-13.

Freeport beat Derry 49-6 in Week 1. The Yellowjackets lean on running back Amos Glenn, who has been piling up rushing yards this season. The Lancers will need to be sharp to put a scare into Freeport.

Freeport beat Derry 49-6 in Week 1. The Yellowjackets lean on running back Amos Glenn, who has been piling up rushing yards this season. The Lancers will need to be sharp to put a scare into Freeport.

Snake-bitten Shaler looks for relief
Titans coach Jim Ryan has to wonder which of the football Gods he upset this offseason. Shaler has started the season 0-3 with an overtime loss to Butler, an eight-point loss to South Fayette and a one-point loss to Hampton on its resume.

The Titans have yet to play a Northeast Conference game, so their is still plenty to play for. Shaler will have its hands full with an excellent Plum (2-1) team. The Mustangs have looked like a dynamic offensive team that will give all of their opponents issues.

Plum exorcised some demons last week by tripping up Gateway for the first time in 13 years. The Titans have scored 24 or more points in the previous three weeks, will Shaler find the same success against the Mustangs?

Penn Hills, Fox Chapel in search of leg up
The Indians have talented defensive back/wide receiver Carter Bonner, who Division I offers from Pitt, Penn State, Rutgers and Tennessee among others. Penn Hills hasn't been able to figure things out on offense. The Indians have only scored seven points in the first three weeks.

Penn Hills (0-3) has played tough competition in Woodland Hills and North Allegheny, but were likely hoping for a faster start. Fox Chapel improved to 2-1 with a 20-18 win over Knoch last week. Both of the Foxes' wins came against teams with a combined record of 0-6.

This is a must-win game for both sides if they want to make the postseason. Plum and Pine-Richland appear to be the best two teams in the conference, while its hard to tell what to make of the rest of the slate. North Hills, Penn Hills and Shaler are all winless.

Warriors ready for Wolvarena
Penn-Trafford is the only unbeaten team in the Big East Conference. But the Warriors won't be favored when they head to Turtle Creek to play Woodland Hills on Friday. The Wolverines are 1-2, but have played a brutal schedule. Woodland Hills took on Central Catholic and North Allegheny, two strong 6A teams, during the first three weeks.

Scoop Smith and Ziggy Moore give Woodland Hills dynamic playmakers on each side of the ball. The Warriors have won two of their three games on the road, but have been playing with fire. Penn-Trafford scored the game-winning touchdown in a 25-24 win over Moon last week in the final 20 seconds.

The Warriors recovered a fumble last to beat Norwin Week Zero.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

WEST DEER - Noah Stough insisted that Derry's performance in a back-and-forth road win over Deer Lakes Friday in a non-conference road contest was a better representation of what the team is.

The Trojans did a lot of good things during a 24-21 win. Derry recovered an onside kick to start the second half. The Trojans blocked a field goal and punt. 

The Trojans came behind twice during the fourth quarter in a win.

"This is really going to give us some good momentum going into next week," Stough said. "Last week was a fluke. Some players were out injured and we made mistakes. This game, I think, is going to keep pushing us."

Stough finished with 140 receiving yards and caught two touchdown passes. He also converted a fourth down on Derry's last drive that put them in position to score the winning touchdown with 7.9 seconds remaining.

There's a real argument to be made the game shouldn't have been as close as it was. Stough had a 58-yard reception on the first drive, but Derry fumbled the ball away at the Deer Lakes 3-yard line on the next play.

Deer Lakes stopped a drive in the second quarter with an interception in the endzone.

"I thought we created a lot now and there's a lot of stuff we have to clean up," Derry coach Mike Arone said. "I think we had three touchdowns called back because of penalties. We can't make those mistakes, especially on big plays where we're scoring touchdowns and continuously come back. But our kids never quit. They didn't put their heads down. They just kept fighting and fighting and fighting, and they were able to pull it out the end."

It was a tough loss for Deer Lakes, which found a lot of success in the passing game. Luca Mangieri caught three long touchdown passes from his brother, Dante. Luca caught scoring strikes of 25, 55 and 79 yards.

Lancers coach Tim Burk said his kids were resilient, but was disappointed with the end result.

"We just didn't make plays," Burk said. "We had the opportunity and you hope one of them would step up and make a play at a key moment. We couldn't do that tonight. The lack of game experience we have is tough. You can't simulate it in practice."

McKeesport falls on hard times
There was a lot of interest in the rematch from last year's WPIAL Class 4A title game this weekend. But the Tigers' offense could never get going. Penn State commit Kemon Spell left with an injury to his ankle in the first quarter of a 16-7 loss to Thomas Jefferson.

Spell told Brad Everett of the Pittsburgh Union Progress he hoped to be back after being out for a few weeks.

"Will be in much better form when I come back," Spell wrote on X.

Despite Spell being out for much of the game, McKeesport's defense held tough. The Jaguars scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard sneak by Harrison Kolling with 52 seconds remaining.

Penn-Trafford squeaks by Moon again
The Warriors have had the Tigers' number for the past five years. Penn-Trafford, which outlasted Moon in the 2021 WPIAL Class 5A title game, won by one score against the Tigers for the second straight season. 

Landyn Stikkel caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Nate Demond with 6.8 seconds remaining to allow the Warriors to steal a 25-24 win. Penn-Trafford, which leads the all-time series again Moon 6-2-1, beat the Tigers 14-7 last season.

Antelopes rumble by Quips
Aliquippa got a majored boost to its storied program when Mike Warfield returned as coach. The Quips got their first major test of his new tenure, falling 23-7 at home to the defending Class 3A champions, Avonworth. Dimitri Velisaris scored two touchdowns for the Antelopes.

Avonworth will get a stiff test next weekend when it welcomes undefeated defending 4A champions Thomas Jefferson to its stadium.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted via email at [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo

 Kemon Spell scored every way you could imagine last Saturday at the Wolvarena. The McKeesport star junior tailback piled up 292 yards on the ground and got into the end zone five times during a beatdown of Delaware Valley.

The Tigers, who figure to play a large role in the WPIAL Class 4A title picture, will welcome 5A contender Peters Township this Friday. The Indians also opened with a big win over Canon-McMillan. Nolan DiLucia led the Indians with three touchdown passes. Cole Neupaver ran for 109 yards for Peters Township.

Peters Township beat McKeesport 42-7 last season at home. The Tigers are a proud program and will want to put on a better showing than they did last season. This should be a good contest.

Vikings want to right their ship
Central Catholic couldn't have opened with a tougher opponent than it did last week at the Wolvarena. The Vikings took on La Salle College, who has Mizzou commit Gavin Sidwar under center. Central Catholic, despite its massive size on the offensive line, couldn't get the ball moving against the Explorers.

The Vikings only put up six points and will have another tough challenge against Pine-Richlands. The Rams are the defending Class 5A champions and are loaded with talent. Aaron "Oobi" Strader plays quarterback, while Florida State commit Jay Timmons and Penn State commit Khalil Taylor give him strong options in the passing game.

The Rams will have to figure out how to handle Central Catholic's line, which includes Jimmy Kalis, Jon Sassic, Cole Bayer and James Halter. All of those players weight 270 pounds or more.

Pine-Richland won the matchup, 22-17, last season.

Deer Lakes looks for measuring stick
The Lancers picked up what ended up being their most impressive win of the season during the meeting between the teams last season. Deer Lakes beat the eventual WPIAL Class 2A champions by 13 points on the road. The Lancers would start the season 6-0 for the first time in school history before finishing 8-3 and losing in the first round of the 3A playoffs.

Deer Lakes (1-0) opened the season by smothering Keystone Oaks 23-7. South Park (1-0) knocked off East Allegheny, 33-26.

Woodland Hills looks for second consecutive win over rival
The Woodland Hills and Penn Hills game didn't finish last season after a shooting down the street forced a stoppage in the game with 10 minutes remaining. The Wolverines were on their way to a win with a 26-6 lead over their rivals in the "King of the Hills" rivalry game. The matchup this season is a meaningful one for both sides, despite not being a conference game.

The Indians were shut out of for the first time in five seasons when they lost to New Castle, 12-0, in Week Zero. Woodland Hills gave North Allegheny all it could handle, but ended up losing to the Tigers 28-26 on a late touchdown. Scoop Smith and Ziggy Moore, who committed to Miami (Ohio) and N.C. State, respectively, both looked good in Week Zero.

The Indians are hoping to get their offense moving in the right direction, as highly-touted receiver Carter Bonner provides Penn Hills with a strong target in the passing game.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.