Daemar Kelly is on the move again.

The former Penn Hills standout will be coming back to Pennsylvania to play at Mercyhurst. The Lakers compete in the Division I Northeast Conference after a long stint as members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Kelly played last season at Northern Illinois University.

Kelly made 15 starts for the Huskies, contributing 5.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Kelly was a 1,000-point scorer for the Indians and committed to Quinnipiac after high school. He chose to transfer after his freshman season.

Kelly moved on to Saint Francis (Pa.) and helped the Red Flash make a surprising run to the NCAA Tournament. His time with the Red Flash to be the most fruitful in his career thus far. Kelly started all 34 games he appeared in, averaging 8.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

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

The Penn Hills football program is going through some turbulence. Indians head coach Charles Morris and a majority of his staff recently resigned. Morris was 24-20 in his four seasons with the program and made the playoffs twice.

The district released a statement Thursday emphasizing the lifting program would start again and they are committed to making the best hire for the athletes. The letter, signed by Principal Bernard Taylor, Jr., emphasized that character was going to be a major consideration for who they pick next.

"As we think about the future of this program, we are committed to selecting a coach who not only builds a competitive team, but also develops young men of character," Taylor wrote. "We want leadership that helps all players grow both on and off the field. The central focus in this process, as it is with any staff hiring decision, is to find the individuals whose number one priority is student achievement and student well being."

The offseason has been unkind to the Indians.

Carter Bonner, who committed to West Virginia in April, transferred to Maryland powerhouse St. Frances Academy. Penn Hills graduate Drew Schifino recently reported for Sayless Media that running back Doryan Peay is transferring from to Imani Christian.

Last season, the Indians finished 3-7 overall, losing three of its final four games. The most devastating defeat came in the season finale to Plum, where the Mustangs returned a field goal Penn Hills blocked for a touchdown to seal a 20-14 win.

Before last season started, Penn Hills issued a statement online saying Morris' job wasn't in jeopardy after rumors were floated online that he had been let go by the school. 

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.

Amon Hawthorne wanted to find a way to play basketball in college at the highest level. During Hawthorne's senior season with Penn Hills, he made it impossible for anyone to not pay attention to what he had to offer. Hawthorne averaged 21.1 points per game to help the Indians advance to the second round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs.

Hawthorne topped 1,000 points in his career during the postseason to become the first Penn Hills player since Daemar Kelly to reach the mark. Penn Hills won the Section 1-5A crown and finished with a 20-8 record overall with an 11-1 mark in section. Hawthorne scored a season-high 44 points in a loss to Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

Slippery Rock finished last season 17-12 and 10-10 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play.

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

Jaden Dugger took a leap of faith to go from Georgetown to Louisiana.

The Penn Hills graduate saw all of his hard work pay off Saturday at the NFL Draft. Dugger, who is a linebacker, was chosen with by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round with the 154th overall pick. 

Dugger had a breakout season with the Ragin' Cajuns last season, finishing with 125 tackles. Sixty-four of Dugger's tackles were solo tackles. Dugger also recorded four sacks, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass. Dugger recorded a season-high 16 tackles against Louisiana Monroe and Southern Miss last season.

​Dugger originally went to Georgetown out of high school to play safety. After Dugger played two seasons with the Hoyas, he chose to transfer to Louisiana.

Dugger will look to be the 12th player from Penn Hills to suit up in the NFL. Aaron Donald, the All-Pro defensive lineman for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, was the last. He retired following the 2023 season.

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

PENN HILLS -- Shaler softball coach Tom Sorce wanted the Titans to think about each plate appearance Monday night at Linton Middle School. Every at-bat, Sorce had a plan. Don't pull this one. Try to think about where your hands, hips and feet are positioned.

Facing an overmatched Penn Hills pitching staff, Sorce wanted every hitter to be working toward the future. Later this week, the Titans will have a tough matchup with North Hills. Shaler beat Penn Hills 17-0 in three innings in Section 1-5A matchup.

"For the most part, we work on those little things because we believe it's more important than the stuff that comes out of the stats," Sorce said. "We want to do the little things to win games. That's one of the things I go with."

Freshman Gia Colamarino delivered one of the things Sorce was looking to see. Colamarino looked strong in fall ball, but her power hitting hadn't shown through in the early stages of the varsity season. She smashed a three-run home run in the second inning to stretch Shaler's lead to 15-0.

"It's going to build her confidence up and show that all the hard work she's been putting in has been paying off," Sorce said. "This is a good game to do that. Now, if we could transition that and get in bigger swings as we move along, the hard work she's been doing in the gym and the stuff we've been tracking, it will give her confidence. Sometimes you have a little bit of wide eyes as a freshman."

Shaler (5-1, 3-0) has won two in a row since losing to defending PIAA champions Penn-Trafford. The Titans pressed the issue with Penn Hills early, plating 12 runs in the first inning. Addison Aleski delivered a double and a triple in the first inning for Shaler.

Jayla Antomachi, Olivia Gieraltowski, Leah Eich, Ellie Nickel and Alyssa Schaffold also collected hits for the Titans in the opening inning.

"When we're up like this, we can work on things," Sorce said. "Nothing is better than going against live pitching. When you are going against live pitching and have runners in scoring position, we want to hit behind the runner. That's one of the things I was talking about during the game. It's tough to duplicate in practice."

Penn Hills (0-5, 0-3) has a young team and has had a hard time generating runs against a difficult schedule. The Titans didn't throw star pitcher Bria Bosiljevac against the Indians. They instead had Taylor London step inside the circle. She only allowed one hit, a single to Penn Hills sophomore Addy Helsel.

London finished with nine strikeouts.

"Her windup was a little odd to try to time up, but I got it down," Helsel said. "It was pretty slow at first, but she had a good whip and a lot our girls were struggling, but it happens."

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.

Herb Sendek, a 1981 Penn Hills graduate, appeared in position to end several streaks Friday afternoon. The Santa Clara men's basketball team was two seconds away from their first NCAA Division I Tournament win since 1996 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Sendek, who has coached the Broncos since 2016, was stung by a missed timeout call and late magic from Kentucky.

After Allen Graves made a 24-foot 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining to put Santa Clara ahead, Kentucky's Otega Oweh caught the ensuing inbounds pass and raced down the floor. He pulled up for a 32-foot trey that bounced off the glass and threw the net as time expired to even the score. Kentucky, the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Regional, went on to win 89-84 in overtime. Sendek was upset after the game because he was clearly signaling from the bench for a timeout after Graves' 3-point make and before Oweh got the ball.

Officials didn't grant him the timeout. Sendek, who is 187-128 during his time at Santa Clara, led the 10th-seeded Broncos in March Madness for the first time. Sendek, who has also coached at Arizona State, N.C. State and Miami (Ohio), last won a tournament game with the Sun Devils during the 2008-09 season.

Sendek, who is 600-423 coaching at the Division I level, had his best season during the 2004-05 season when he lead the Wolfpack to the Sweet 16.

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

Penn Hills will be losing one of its top players for next season. Carter Bonner announced on X Wednesday afternoon that he will play next season at powerhouse Saint Frances (Md.) Academy for his senior season. Bonner was limited to four games last season due to an injury.

The Indians struggled to a 3-7 record last season and finished 2-3 in the Northeast Conference. Penn Hills missed out on the playoffs when Plum returned a kick the Indians blocked for a touchdown in the final week of the season. Bonner played his freshman season at Shady Side Academy.

Bonner moved to Penn Hills during his sophomore season.

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 - The progress McKeesport wrestling coach Adam Alfer is chasing isn't anything complicated. With a lineup full of inexperienced wrestlers, Alfer wants to see the Tigers learn from their mistakes.

McKeesport picked up its first dual meet win of the season when it beat Penn Hills, 48-24, Monday night on the road. The Tigers (1-10) received seven forfeits. Tigers freshman Jamal Hafiz picked up McKeesport's lone win on the mat when he pinned Jayden Fuqua at 121 pounds.

"We're just trying to build some confidence in all the moves that they're working on in practice and the repetition their taking," Alfer said. "We want the kids to understand the way the moves work when you hit them out here, not just in the wrestling room, we want the kids to advance into some of the moves they've been working on. Hopefully, it carries into the postseason. We're a young team and hopefully the program continues to grow the sport."

Hafiz improved to 6-8 on the season with five of his wins coming via fall. With the win over Fuqua, Hafiz snapped a two-match slide and won after not wrestling for 10 days.

"He's had an up-an-down season," Alfer said. "He understood coming in that he's been building confidence over the past couple matches and has been working hard in the mat room. He finally put it together against a good kid from Penn Hills."

Penn Hills (0-4) has struggled to keep its numbers up with injuries and eligibility issues. The Indians won four of the five contested matches against McKeesport.

Penn Hills senior Daemon Phipps, who improved to 21-5 with a pinfall win over Isaiah Johnson at 121 pounds, improved to 85-36 in his career on the Indians' Senior Night. Indians coach Jeremy Packer said his team has done the most with what they have available.

The most competitive bout of the night was the 133-pound match between Xavier Nicholas and Evan Morgan. Morgan picked up the first takedown before Nicholas rallied to score a pin. Tony Gay-Scott (172 pounds) and Zakariyaa Lahujjiddin (285) also won for the Indians, winning by pin and injury default, respectively.

"It would be nice if we had a deeper lineup and then we could be a senior-led team and then they could be leading us to wins," Packer said. "It is what it is this year. We're just kind of learning and growing in every match and trying to get better."

McKeesport 48, Penn Hills 24
107: No match
114: Brady Helfrich (M) win by forfeit
121: Jamal Hafiz (M) pin Jayden Fuqua
127: Daemon Phipps (P) p. Isaiah Johnson
133: Xavier Nicholas (P) p. Evan Morgan
139: Jayden Cotton (M) wbf
145: Tyler Faulk (M) wbf
152: Tory Anderson-Pearson (M) wbf
172: Tony Gay-Scott (P) p. Evan Leone
189: Naragana Roka (M) wbf
215: Mahiya Brown (M) wbf
285: Zakariyaa Lahujjiddin (P) injury default Alex Winowitch

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 - Milani Oliver shot down the idea that scoring 1,000 points was a lifelong goal. The Penn Hills senior was pushed in that direction once she demonstrated she had the ability to reach for the stars. 

"As a freshman, it actually wasn't the goal," Oliver said. "But when I was like a sophomore and junior, (coach) Robert (Cash) was telling me to step it up and I could get it if I work hard enough to do it. He was pushing me the whole time I got it."

Oliver hit that mark early during a 48-12 Section 1-5A contest with Gateway Tuesday night at home. Oliver, who finished with 11 points to push her career total to 1,007 points, was happy to part of the lineage of Penn Hills athletes to reach the mark. Hannah Pugliese, who now plays at Slippery Rock University, was the last Indians' player to reach 1,000 points in 2014.

Before that, Penn Hills assistant coach Desiree Oliver was the last player in the program to take her scoring total that high.

"It feels great," Milani said. "It actually feels great being apart of that."

Putting aside her personal accomplishment, Milani knew that the Indians to pick up an emphatic win against Gateway. Penn Hills has lost five consecutive games entering the matchup and the Gators have wallowed at the bottom of the section all season.

"I feel like this win right here, it sets up for some of the goals we set before the season started," Milani said. "I feel like this sets us up to be good. I think our biggest competition is going to be Fox Chapel and Plum. Winning this game gave us our confidence back."

Milani said this Penn Hills has a strong support system in place alongside her. She is hoping to try and lead the Indians back to the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs during her senior season. She isn't sure what will be next for her after high school.

"For college, it's still undecided," Milani said. "I was getting a lot of emails and getting a lot of looks, but I don't know yet."

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

The opener at The Challenge at Allderdice required overtime to find a winner. Penn Hills did just enough in overtime to pull out a 58-57 win over the defending PIAA and WPIAL Class 1A champions.

I wrote a story for SBLive, which the link will be posted here. The Bulldogs were without a few key players, but showed plenty of fight.

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