The meeting between Knoch and North Catholic's boys basketball team should be a compelling matchup of section rivals in the second round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs Tuesday night in Plum. But having the teams meet for the fourth time this early in the state tournament provides a compelling argument for seeding the state tournament.

​It's not practical with such a large tournament.

Since Pennsylvania takes 32 teams in each classification, there are many more schools out east than in Western Pennsylvania in the larger classifications. That means when the brackets come out, there is no way to fairly set things up so east meets west in the final. Knoch (23-4) and North Catholic (20-6) each took care of business against District 10 competition in the first round of states, knocking out Girard and Sharon, respectively.

The Knights are on a historic run for the program, collecting their first-ever WPIAL title and have a 23-4 record. Knoch beat North Catholic by 24 points in the WPIAL semifinals. However, the two teams split in the regular season.

The Trojans are an excellent team that have consistently stacked their schedule under coach Jim Rocco with strong competition. North Catholic will be motivated to play better than during the third meeting.

It would be nice to see this as a quarterfinal matchup. The semifinals will be difficult to reach this season. District 10 champ Erie Cathedral Prep is averaging more than 90 points per game and has plenty of talent.

Knoch and North Catholic will be another solid entry in the history between the two sides. It's just a shame the way Pennsylvania does its state playoff bracket forced it to happen again so quickly.

The Knoch boys basketball team was one example showing how tough the competition was in Section 1-4A in the WPIAL. Deer Lakes, North Catholic and the Knights all advanced to the second round of the PIAA Tournament.

PITTSBURGH - Reaching the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball championship game didn't bring Greensburg Central Catholic guard Erica Gribble any solace. The career 2,000-point scorer would have liked to added a third medal to her collection, but it didn't work out for the two-time defending champion Centurions. Section rival Shady Side Academy pulled away after halftime to grab a 57-40 win.

"I'm frustrated," Gribble said. "I wanted to win another one."

It was the Bulldogs' third win over GCC this season. Last season, the Centurions upended SSA, which went on to reach the PIAA final, in the championship game at Petersen Events Center. The Bulldogs were able to grab the championship thanks to an efficient offensive performance. Shady Side Academy shot 61.1 percent (22-of-36) from the field.

Karis Thomas scored 21 points for Shady Side Academy, while Cassie Sauer added 14. Gribble, who fouled out in the fourth quarter, scored nine points and had two rebounds. Avery Jones led GCC with 14 points.

Centurions coach Chris Skatell felt the Centurions played well.

"I thought we missed some opportunities in the first half where we could stretch things a little bit," Skatell said. "I thought we played well into the third quarter. Somewhere in the third quarter things got a little loose. The score isn't indicative of the game."

Bulldogs guard Karis Thomas said she felt what she saw from GCC was similar from the team's two matchups during the regular season.

"We didn't really see anything new," Thomas said. "They worked hard on defense. They tried everything."

Eagles fall short again
Serra Catholic took a tough loss where it lost to Neighborhood Academy in the 1A final for the second straight year. Read more about the game here. The Eagles didn't make a 3-pointer.

Brayden Graham, who scored 10 point for Serra Catholic, said the Eagles weren't discouraged with the defeat. They battled back to take the lead in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs closed the game on a 15-2 run to win the game.

"It feels good coming back here two times in a row," Graham said. "Losing both times is hard, but we're going to be back here next year."

Neighborhood Academy won despite shooting 38.8 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs were able to make five 3-pointers and 17 free throws to find an edge.

Knoch makes history
The Knights won their first WPIAL crown in school history. Read my story on it for the Tribune Review.

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

The annual wave of PIAA and WPIAL transfer hearing meetings are already causing a lot of headaches for athletes, administrators and sports fans around the area.

The WPIAL and PIAA agreed that Bishop Canevin's Brady Wagner will be ineligible for this football season after being ruled as having transferred due to "athletic intent." Wagner enrolled at Bishop Canevin and played baseball for the Crusaders last spring.

Another piece of transfer news is likely to cause waves soon. Former Seton LaSalle standout Khalil Taylor enrolled at Pine-Richland. There will be pressure on the district and state to be consistent with their rulings. There has already been plenty of clamoring about decisions made over the past few weeks.

Here's a look at some of the other notable decisions:

• Former Steel Valley great Charlie Batch, who went on to a professional career with the Steelers and Detroit Lions, was vocal over his disappointment when Seton LaSalle sophomore quarterback Anthony Smith was ruled ineligible by the WPIAL for the 2025 season.
• Lincoln Park's Josh Pratt was approved to transfer from Aliquippa to Lincoln Park, but is ineligible under PIAA rules to play in the postseason. 
• A pair of brothers who transferred from Knoch to Moon, Jackson and Brody Bauman, already had their postseason waivers denied. The Bauman boys moved schools after their dad, Alan, resigned as coach at Knoch
  

​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. 

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

July is the dog days of the summer for people interested in reading about -- or reporting on -- high school sports. But Fox Chapel is holding a series of 7-on-7s to help get ready for the upcoming football season. Six teams from across the Alle-Kiski Valley battled in out Wednesday night in O'Hara Township.

No score was kept at the the event that featured Armstrong, Burrell, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands and Knoch High Schools.

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