O'HARA TWP - North Hills girls basketball coach Jason Pirring shouted the information his bench statisticians relayed to him Tuesday night at Fox Chapel High School. Fox Chapel was beating the Indians on the boards.

"Eight offensive rebounds," Pirring shouted toward his team.

The pesky Foxes made the Indians sweat during their non-conference contest. But North Hills did enough in the second half to pull away for a 46-43 win. Pirring had a blueprint for how to proceed following the season opener.

"Imagine what we're working on tomorrow, as well," Pirring said. "Offensive rebounds killed us tonight. We're not a big team either. They're not a big team, but they outhustled us."

North Hills (1-0) fought off a slow start on offense. The Indians shot 14 percent from the field in the first quarter and 20 percent (2-of-10) from the 3-point line in the first half. Fox Chapel led 17-16 at halftime and limited North Hills to five points in the first quarter.

"We couldn't rebound," Pirring said. "We're not making foul shots - we were shooting 50 percent from the line. You can't win games like that. We were making it harder on ourselves."

Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey was happy with how his team got on the glass. During the summer league, the Foxes struggled to score more than 32 points a game. Fox Chapel's shooting wasn't pretty in the first half either, but the extra opportunities provide more scoring chances.

Lyla Jablon scored six of her team-high 15 points in the first quarter. Emily McKee scored on a layup and drew a foul to stretch the Foxes' lead to 10-4 late in the first quarter.

Fox Chapel shot 11 percent from 3-point line in the first half. The Foxes, who shot 25.8 percent (15 of 58) for the game, saw their offensive go in waves throughout the game.

"I would say tonight was a little bit better," Matvey said. "A lot of people are going to play a zone against us because of the shooting. We're really good in our man sets and we're going to get to the rim. We still have things to work out, but I thought people started to look more comfortable."

North Hills took the lead, 18-17, in the third quarter on a transition basket by Zoey Devlin, who finished with 15 points. Delaney Amato made a 3-pointer to stretch the Indians lead to 27-22 and provide some breathing room.

Fox Chapel (0-1) hung around in the game. The Foxes cut the lead to 43-38 in the final three minutes on a jumper by Jablon. Fox Chapel got a stop on defense and cut the lead to 43-31 with 2:05 remaining on a 3-pointer from McKee.

The Foxes got the ball back after forcing a turnover when North Hills turned the ball over on a closely-guarded five seconds call. Fox Chapel missed a shot that could have tied the game on the ensuing possession. Devlin missed a pair of free throws that could have closed out the game.

The ensuing rebound landed in between three players and was kicked out bounds. The ball was awarded to North Hills, who extended the lead to four on a pair of Amato free throws. Fox Chapel's Bailey Sacco scored on a layup to cut the deficit to two points.

Amato split a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to stretch the lead back to three. McKee, who finished with 11 points, had a 3-point attempt to tie the game blocked.

​Matvey said he was happy with his team's effort.

"I talked to them after the game about let's be good early and often so when it comes down to the last quarter, we're sitting comfortable," Matvey said. "These guys are a little further along than I expected."

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.

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. 

North Hills took a devastating loss to Shaler last week that seemed to have the Indians on the outside looking in on the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. But North Hills didn't pack up its tents and head home.

Instead the Indians were able to trip up Penn Hills 17-6 to set up a chaotic final week for the Northeast Conference. The top three teams in the conference automatically qualify for the WPIAL playoffs, while any other playoff hopefuls would need to secure a wild card.

Pine-Richland (8-1, 4-0) has already qualified for the playoffs. The Rams, theoretically, could not win the conference title outright if it lost to the Titans next week, but that is highly unlikely. Shaler (3-6, 3-1) did its job by beating Fox Chapel 35-14 Friday night, but could risk falling into a three-way tie for third should Penn Hills (3-6, 2-2) beat Plum.

The Wild Card picture is murky for all of these teams, as the Northeast Conference is weaker than the other two 5A Conferences, the Allegheny Six and Big East. All of the teams will be eager to grab the third-place spot and avoid the Wild Card.

Trinity clinches first conference title since 1986
The Hillers built a 34-0 lead by halftime en route to a 48-0 win over Laurel Highlands. Trinity (5-4, 4-0) has flexed its muscles in Big Six Conference play. Owen Gardner opened up the scoring with a 49-yard touchdown run.

Jonah Williamson then threw two touchdown passes to stretch the lead to 21-0.

Moon trips up Upper St. Clair
The Panthers weren't able to maintain their spot in second place in the Allegheny Six Conference, losing 20-13 to Moon in double overtime. Andrew Cross gave the Tigers a lead by scoring on a 2-yard run in overtime.

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

ALLEGHENY TWP - Kiski Area's football team wanted to out physical Franklin Regional Friday night. The Cavaliers didn't exactly outmuscle the Panthers, but were able to do enough to pick up their first Big East Conference win of the season.

​Kiski's 14-7 win keeps the Cavaliers' playoff hopes alive. Franklin Regional (0-6, 0-3) is the only team that is likely out of contention for the playoffs. The Cavaliers opened up a three-game home stand with an important win. If Kiski wants to make the playoffs, the Cavaliers next two home games, against Latrobe and Armstrong will be vital.

"Once Monday hits, every week is a season," Cavaliers coach Colyn Haugh said. "We forget about last season. It's not longer in our minds. We recharge the batteries, reset the engine and we are good to go."

Kiski isn't healthy, as starting quarterback Landyn Armstrong didn't play against Franklin Regional. The Cavaliers also lost running back Ashton Taylor in the third quarter when he got his leg rolled up on. Lorenzo Price stepped in and played running back for Kiski to finish the game.

"It's next man up," Haugh said. "The thing is that Lorenzo is the price who has been waiting in the weeds, waiting in the weeds and waiting in the weeds and it's been hard on him. To his credit, today he got his opportunity and he took advantage of it." 

New Castle shows its for real
Marino Graham has the Red Hurricane trending toward contending for a WPIAL Class 4A crown. Graham ran for 105 yards and threw for 179 more to help New Castle beat Aliquippa 18-12 in its Parkway Conference opener.

The Red Hurricane (5-1, 1-0) had mostly leaned on its defense to find success this season. The win over the Quips showcased some of that talent. New Castle has recorded its previous four victories by completing shutouts.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic wins title rematch
The Vikings are going to be hard to stop. Pittsburgh Central Catholic (5-1, 3-0) dominated North Allegheny with a strong defensive effort to record a 21-6 win. Roman Thompson scored a pair of touchdowns for the Vikings.

Central Catholic beat North Allegheny in the 6A title game last season. The two teams have met in the 6A final in the previous three seasons, with the Tigers taking two of three.

Pine-Richlands rolls past Fox Chapel, 63-3
This game isn't one that is worth mentioning because of its result. Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne shared a letter before the game that Fox Chapel Athletic Director Michael O'Brien had requested the two teams shorten the quarters of the game because of the wide gap in skill level between the two teams. The Rams won their meeting 71-0 this year.

The response to O'Brien's request was strange, as the school faced criticism over taking this approach. This isn't a rare occurrence, as Butler did this in games against Central Catholic before leaving the WPIAL and going independent. I think the reaction to this has been overblown.

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.

PENN HILLS - Fox Chapel girls volleyball coach Diana Andreyko isn't afraid to take chances. When the Foxes' coach didn't feel their attack was effective enough, she called 5-foot-6 freshman outsider hitter Sasha Pechersky up to varsity to add punch.

Fox Chapel played an imperfect match Tuesday night at Penn Hills High School, but was able to walk away with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-5 sweep in Section 4-4A action. Andreyko said that her team, which reached the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs last season, is still trying to determine what kind of team they will be.

"Right now, unfortunately, we are struggling with girls stepping into their roles." Andreyko said. "We have a lot of inexperienced players and youth. Last week against Woodland Hills, I had a JV player who I have on my varsity roster come up and step in. If it comes to that, the ninth graders will have to step in. I will pull the ninth graders to come up and do the job."

Fox Chapel (2-3, 2-1) leaned on the DiRocco sisters against Penn Hills. Emma DiRocco, who finished with eight kills and seven service aces, led the Foxes attack. Lucy DiRocco had a team-high nine kills.

Andreyko said she would like to see the Foxes developed a consistent second option to support Emma, who has committed to play at Old Dominion.

"A second offensive player that's consistent would be a God send," Andreyko said.

Penn Hills (1-4, 0-2) appeared it may take a set for the first time in section play. The Indians leaned on setter KJ McGee's energy to take an 18-13 lead.

"We played tough," Penn Hills coach Raymond Ager III said. "They stuck together. We've been trying to learn how to sticker together and play more. Cohesively, it's something that we're getting used to."

Lucy DiRocco smashed a kill to halt the Indians' momentum in the second set. When Emma DiRocco took over serving not much later, Penn Hills had a hard time regaining its footing. The Foxes surged past Penn Hills 25-22.

McGee said that the Foxes did a good job of cutting off where the Indians hoped to push the ball.

"We were hoping to find those spots again," McGee said. "We found them in the second set and I guess we got a little bit unlucky in the third because they were able to hide those sets or those spots."

Andreyko was happy with her team didn't allow a lapse to drop a seat.

"Having them step up in the third set showed a lot of resilience," Andreyko said. "So I am happy with the fact that, you know, they didn't go down to the level of a play that obviously we don't wanna be at. I was proud of them for that, but certainly it's stressful."

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.

SHALER TWP - The Shaler girls volleyball team didn't need to do anything dynamic Tuesday night at home against Fox Chapel. The Titans needed to be mindful of what was happening. 

The Foxes have a young team and would have unorthodox moments where they were out of system. Shaler didn't get flustered and found ways to score points during a 3-0 sweep.

​"That was actually our focus of the match was out of system play," Shaler coach Annie Carter said. "We had to make sure we're playing good defense when it is wonky like that. Those were our two focuses and I think they did a great job."

Titans middle blocker Sophie Spynda said she felt Shaler handled Fox Chapel's approach well.

"I think we did pretty good," Spynda said. "They gave us a lot of opportunities with balls that we could put down. We were able to kill the ball."

Fox Chapel, which is 0-1 in section, had a hard time delivering on the attack. The Foxes finished with 13 attack errors and 12 kills, hitting -.026 percent. Fox Chapel coach Diana Andreyko said the Foxes only have one returning starter, Emma DiRocco, who recently committed to play at Old Dominion University.

DiRocco finished with a team-high six kills and added three blocks. Addy Quimby also had four kills for Fox Chapel.

​"We have to have a lot of patience," Andreyko said. "We have the understanding outside of one returning players, these kids haven't had the exposure and the experience. Most of them do not play club volleyball where they are playing the sport all year round. We want to stay patient and stay encouraging."

The Titans (2-3, 1-0) were encouraged that they were were able to stop a three-match slide. After opening the season with a win over Mt. Lebanon, Shaler had to face-off against the defending state champion North Allegheny, defending WPIAL Class 3A champion Mars and perennial power Pine-Richland.

"We started our season off with some harder games," Titans senior setter Bella Hoffman said. "It's been a little bit more laid back, but we've been able to run more plays and work on fine-tuning some things."​

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.

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.

SHALER TWP - Carlo Prati watched the Fox Chapel girls soccer team, with six new starters, go through the learning process together Monday night at Biles Field.

In the first half, Fox Chapel learned the importance of variety in the attack. During the second half of the Foxes' 2-1 Section 1-3A win over Shaler, Fox Chapel worked on situational awareness. The Foxes played the last 24 minutes down a player after Caylie Wilkinson was issued a straight red card for an aggressive foul.

Prati said after the match he was told Wilkinson had slapped a Shaler player on the follow through to an attempted tackle.

Prati was happy with how the Foxes (2-0, 1-0) handled things down the stretch. If anything, Prati was worried they were too aggressive. Emily McKee, who recently gave a verbal commitment to Pitt, scored both of the Foxes' goals.

"I thought they did really well," Prati said. "At times, I had to keep telling them to hold back a little bit because they wanted to attack. We wanted to try and play the ball in the corner and run out of here with a win."

Shaler (0-1, 0-1) was happy to see progress against Fox Chapel. The Titans made the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in four decades last season. During their two meetings with Fox Chapel, Shaler was outscored 10-2.

Naudia Zotter scored the Titans' goal Monday night to cut the deficit to one goal in the 70th minute. 

Titans coach Bill Ament watched the film of the second match with Fox Chapel last season -- a 5-1 defeat -- before the teams met again. What stood out to Ament was how his players had grown physically. Sophomore defender Lily Trgovic was one of the many players that stood out to Ament.

"They looked like little babies last year," Ament said. "Lilly Trgovic looked liked one of the smallest people on the field. She was ready to go (on Monday). We are bigger, faster and stronger than they were last year." 

Fox Chapel controlled most of the possession in the first half, but had a hard time generating chances. McKee created the spark in the 25th minute. She beat Shaler defender Zoey Cieslak in the race for a 50-50 ball. From there, McKee was able to get the ball inside the box and sneak a shot past Shaler keeper Paige Querio.

"I thought we did OK," Ament said. "We have a lot of the same girls from last year. We were hoping to be more competitive and thankfully we were. We made two mistakes and unfortunately it found Emily's foot both times. I can't say how proud I am of these girls. I've been waiting for this feeling when we go against elite competition and almost pull one off."

Fox Chapel wasn't able to generate much else in the attack during the first half. The Foxes would get the ball forward, but weren't able to get the last connecting pass to put the shots away.

"We were very predictable," Prati said. "I told them that at halftime, you can't be so predictable every time going to the same person over and over again, making the same runs. With six new starters, it's going to take time with them getting used to each other."

In the second half, McKee doubled Fox Chapel's lead on a shot from 25 yards out in the 58th minute. She launched the ball from outside the box into the top corner that went above the leaping Querio.

McKee nearly scored again in the 63rd minute, hitting a looping shot that bounced off the crossbar.

"In the pregame, she hammered one in the upper corner," Prati said. "I said 'Emily, let's see if we can do that tonight.' The second goal she scored was a laser. After that, she hit that one off the crossbar. She helped us for sure today."

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.

A team from the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association placed fifth at the 61st Williamson Cup, which the Quebec Golf Association at Le Club Laval Sur Le Lac hosted. Team WPGA's Carson Kittsley, a Fox Chapel student, finished in four-way tie for fifth place a 5-over par 147.

Kittsley shot 72 in the first round and 75 in the second round. Team WPGA shot a 22-over par 448, finishing two strokes behind Maryland State Golf Association. Golf Ontario won the tournament with a team of 435. Michael Qualich (Baldwin), Ty Hartman (Thomas Jefferson) and Jacob Crissman (Shaler) also competed for Team WPGA.

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

Apollo-Ridge was the smallest of the three schools at the Fox Chapel Big Man Challenge. The Vikings were able to hold off larger opponents Fox Chapel and Knoch to win the event.

With football season quickly approaching, several schools have worked on events to get linemen included in the summer workout fun. Seven-on-seven competitions are focused on skills competitions.

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