The Kiski girls and boys wrestling teams swept Fox Chapel Wednesday night.

Chris Heater had nothing against the Kiski Area wrestling team participating in the Trinity Duals again this season. The Cavaliers' opened last season there and enjoyed the event. But Heater chose to take his team to the Sheetz Kickoff Classic in Greenville instead.

The Cavaliers wanted a fresh batch of opponents. Eight of the teams in the event were from District 9 or 10. The only other WPIAL team to participate beside Kiski was Armstrong.

Kiski (6-0) won all five of its duals at the event. Mario Hutcherson, Cooper Roscosky, Gavin Murphy, Bear Joseph and Jackson Pollick all went 5-0 for the Cavaliers.

"We went to Trinity last year and we wrestled three teams that we saw again later in the season," Heater said. "I just wanted to go somewhere where we wouldn't see anybody and give our guys the chance to wrestle five matches and see where their endurance and conditioning was. It was a good opener for us."

Kiski will host another intense dual event this weekend. The Cavaliers will have a number of strong WPIAL programs -- Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, North Allegheny, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township and Waynesburg Central -- along with District 9's DuBois and District 10's Fort LeBoeuf.

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.

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.

The WPIAL was in a bad spot when the PIAA chose to expand to six classes in football about a decade ago. Compared to the Philadelphia area, Pittsburgh didn't have enough big schools to form a competitive league. Since Pine-Richland dropped to Class 5A, North Allegheny and Central Catholic have run away with the largest classification.

The Norwin Knights would like to enter the conversation. After losing a controversial game on a late fumble to Penn-Trafford in Week Zero, the Knights have rebounded with three consecutive wins. Norwin's offense has been excellent all season. The Knights (3-1, 1-0) have scored 30 or more points in all four of their games.

Norwin won their Quad County Conference opener with Seneca Valley, 56-13, last Friday. The Raiders couldn't slow down Norwin quarterback Tristyn Tavares, who threw three touchdown passes and scored twice on the ground. North Allegheny (4-0, 1-0) thumped another hopeful Westmoreland County program, Hempfield, last weekend.

North Allegheny never allowed the Spartans to get in the game, putting up 56 points in a dominant win. The Tigers were tested in the season-opened against Woodland Hills, but have rolled since. North Allegheny leaned on a balanced rushing attack last week.

Quarterback Brady Brinkley piled up 85 rushing yards and scored twice. Luke Rohan finished with 88 yards on the ground and scored.

Leechburg, Jeannette search for leg up in Eastern Conference
The Blue Devils and Jayhawks both opened the season with disappointing results. Leechburg dropped a difficult 20-16 decision to regional rival Apollo-Ridge, while Jeannette saw a 20-point lead slip away in a loss to Mt. Pleasant. Since then, both teams have followed similar paths.

The Jayhawks and Blue Devils are each on three-game winning streaks. Both are hoping to position themselves for a first-place showdown down the line with Clairton. Leechburg knocked off Jeanette in a game that sent the Jayhawks into a mini three-game tailspin. Expect Jeannette quarterback Kymon'e Brown to be locked in for this contest.

Can Kiski push Penn-Trafford?
The Cavaliers' offense has a pair of dangerous receiving options in Teegan Shirley and Aven Shirley. Kiski is coming off a difficult loss to Gateway last Friday. The Cavaliers nearly overcame a 15-point deficit to topple Gateway. Kiski (1-4, 0-1) will be desperate to get a conference win as it heads to Harrison City to take on Penn-Trafford.

The Warriors (3-1, 0-1) took a difficult loss last week to Woodland Hills. Penn-Trafford didn't have the firepower to match a talented Wolverines' offense. Penn-Trafford is a consistent, physical team. Expect this game to be a close one in a Big East Conference where the playoff race will be tight.

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.

MONROEVILLE - Gateway football coach Don Holl didn't care how the Gators won Friday night. He knew they needed a lift. Gateway avoided a four-game losing streak by making two key stops on defense in the fourth quarter at Antimarino Stadium.

The Gators saw their lead shrink from 15 to three points over a six-minute stretch. But Gateway's defense forced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs to seal a 34-31 Big East Conference win over Kiski Area.

"You gotta find a way to win," Holl said. "People talk about complimentary football. Tonight, sometimes the defense had issues. Sometimes, the offense and special team had issues. You have to find a way to win a game. I think our defense said this is going to be us if the offense can't put it away."

The Gators (1-3, 1-0) helped themselves by getting off to a fast start. Gateway scored 28 points in the first half. The Gators recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and scored three plays later. Gateway quarterback Mayson Mitchell made several big plays for the Gators.

Mitchell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 34-19. He also threw three touchdown passes. Mitchell was also intercepted three times.

Mitchell said he wanted to move on quickly from mistakes.

"You have to talk to your coaches," Mitchell said. "You have to flush it you know. You gotta go to the next play and just keep going. You have a whole game."

Shaler snaps losing skid
The Titans had lost each of their first three games by eight points or fewer. Shaler threw its hat in the ring for the Northeast Conference playoff race by picking up a 27-20 win over Plum. The Titans forced six turnovers and made life miserable for the Mustangs.

Penn Hills blows by Fox Chapel
The Indians (1-3, 1-0) struggled to score during the first three weeks of the season. All of Penn Hills' scoring issues went out the window during a 49-14 win. Doryean Peay led the Indians with 180 rushing yards.

Putting the work in
Aliquippa's J.J. Work helped pull the Quips out of the Flames Friday night. Aliquippa won 19-6 over Mars, but the game was closer than the score may indicate.

The Planets were ahead 6-0 after three quarters. But Aliquippa rallied behind two touchdowns from J.J. Work. Qalil Goode iced the win with a 43-yard pick-six with 6 seconds remaining.

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

Kiski set up a first-place Section 2-5A showdown with Penn Hills next week by beating Plum 57-30. The Cavaliers were dominant defensively, limited the Mustangs to 11 points in the first half. 

Jacob Musselman led Kiski with 16 points, while Colin Keller had 14. Max Grice and Mekhi Samuels each scored 10 points for the Mustangs.

Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo

Burrell and Kiski has long been the best among the WPIAL's rivalry matches in Westmoreland County. The Buccaneers didn't fold in the face of pressure Saturday at Kiski. Facing a 33-point deficit, Burrell picked up six wins and forfeit to rally past Kiski 35-33.

​The Buccaneers have now beat the Cavaliers in three straight seasons. Before this current streak, Kiski had won 10 in a row.