CHURCHILL - Imhotep Charter coach Richard Gullien, who was filling in for coach David Hargrove Saturday, has the right idea for what the early part of the basketball season should be about. The opportunity is there for most schools to take a trip and see competition they typically wouldn't see otherwise.

The Panthers left Philadelphia and traveled to Woodland Hills High School for the Play 4 Mae Showcase. Imhotep came away with losses to Shady Side Academy and Belle Vernon, but came away with information about the program.

"It's so early in the season and we're still just trying to find ourselves," Gullien said. "Every season has its own story, so the big adjustment was let's just stick to our principles, let's stick to our values and the discipline of the fundamentals and let that just kind of work its way throughout the game."

The Panthers missed six of their first seven 3-pointers against the Leopards, but came back to take the lead in the second half thanks to its aggressive defense. Read a full story on the game here.

​"I thought defensively we played well and we were able to create turnovers," Guillen said. 

​The Leopards bounced back after only scoring seven points in their season opener. Belle Vernon trailed by 10 points before it came storming back to beat the Panthers.

"It was just hustle," Belle Vernon forward Isis Almighty said. "We worked as a team and hustled."

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.

The Springdale football program announced this week that it was "postponing" its game with Leechburg this Friday due to a lack of healthy players available. It is a ridiculous way the WPIAL attempts to classify these games. During the high school football season, there are no bye weeks to make up games.

But the WPIAL has now faced three contests that were delayed due to a lack of healthy players. Shady Side Academy said it couldn't play Clairton in Week 2 due to a lack of healthy players, while Rochester said the same thing about its game with Neshannock in Week 3.

The hope is that these games could be made up on a weekday, but it doesn't seem practical. It also lacks fairness for a team that has ambitions of making the the postseason. The Blue Devils are 4-1 and are in contention for the Eastern Conference title. But Leechburg will now be forced to sit out a week and rest.

The Blue Devils picked up their most impressive win of the season last week, outmuscling Jeanette 36-27. 

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

FOX CHAPEL - A pair of sophomore quarterbacks made a strong impression during the Burrell and Shady Side Academy game Friday night at Michael J. Farrell Field. Buccaneers quarterback Antonio Perkins dazzled on the ground, while Javon Johnston had a strong overall performance during a 56-26 win by Shady Side Academy.

Perkins, who transferred in from Valley, ran for 174 yards and scored four touchdowns. He also passed for 53 yards, including a 43-yard connection with Trey Coury. Shady Side Academy coach Andrew Geisler said the Bulldogs had to adjust to slow down Perkins' running.

"Honestly, they did a tremendous job," Geisler said. "They exploited where we were a helmet short."

Johnston threw four touchdown passes and ran for four more. Cam Mallory was Johnston's top target, finishing with 142 yards and two touchdowns. BJ Mallory also caught two touchdown passes and finished with 147 yards through the air.

First-year Burrell coach Dom Girardi said it was hard to slow down Shady Side Academy's offense. The Bulldogs were a threat to score every time they touched the ball.

"It's just that," Girardi said. "They have some great athletes. (BJ Mallory) is a real legitimate receiver threat. () is quick and shift. (Cam Mallory is phenomenal. It was a tough matchup for us."

Burrell led briefly in the second quarter, 20-16, following a touchdown run by Johnston. The Buccaneers ended up giving the ball away on three possession with fumbles. Shady Side Academy converted all of them into touchdowns and led 38-20 at the half.

"I think our mentality changed," Johnston said. "We doubted them in the beginning. Then we focused up and went from there. We got better and better."

Girardi said Shady Side Academy wanted to pressure Johnston, but he was able to thwart their pressure.

"Johnston throws a nice ball," Girardi said. "If we did get some pressure, he was able to make plays."

The Bulldogs have started slow in consecutive games. Geisler said he would like to see that improve as the season rolls on.

"We've been sluggish our first two games out," Geisler said. "It's something we need to break habit wise. They've risen to the occasion and they understand we are never out of the ball game."

Central Catholic gets revenge on Pine-Richland
There was some thought Pine-Richland may be the best team in the WPIAL regardless of class. But the Vikings got revenge on their northern rival Friday night. Central Catholic took the lead just before halftime on a 13-yard touchdown catch by Maceo Watkins from Owen Herrick.

The Vikings never gave the lead back. Central Catholic benefitted from three touchdowns from Roman Thompson. The Rams (2-0) were shut out after halftime.

There was no magic in McKeesport
Kemon Spell let the news leak out Thursday night in a post that was quickly deleted off X. The Penn State recruit didn't play after suffering an ankle injury. McKeesport didn't fare well without its top running back, who is a junior. 

Peters Township's defense exploited the Tigers, handing McKeesport a 35-0 shutout defeat. 

Mars finds way to beat Bethel Park
The Black Hawks offense steamrolled Seneca Valley in Week Zero, putting up more than 50 points in a win. Bethel Park came back down to Earth this Friday, allowing Mars running back Liam Corcoran to score on a 2-yard run with 15 seconds remaining in a 17-13 defeat.

The Planets improved to 2-0.
​
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.

Shady Side Academy senior Karis Thomas helped the Bulldogs make history last season. The 1,000-point scorer led Shady Side Academy to the PIAA Class 3A final for the first time in school history. She announced her commitment to play at Purdue Fort Wayne Friday afternoon on X.

Thomas averaged 19.4 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a junior. The Bulldogs were the WPIAL runner-up in addition to making a trip to Hershey for the state final. Purdue Fort Wayne finished 27-9 season, losing in the Horizon League championship game.

The Mastodons picked up two wins in the WNIT before being eliminated by Cleveland State.

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

The long basketball season has ended. Due to a scheduling mishap, the PIAA was forced to extend the state tournament to make its date for the GiANT Center in Hershey. Shady Side Academy reached the state tournament for the first time by beating OLSH 43-29 at Fox Chapel.

Read my game story about it for the Trib High School Sports Network.

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

The Shady Side Academy girls basketball team appeared to be headed toward the state playoffs with an opportunity to finish the year unbeaten. But section rival Greensburg Central Catholic made sure the Bulldogs would feel some adversity before the PIAA Class 3A playoffs started. The Centurions leaned on 31 points from Erica Gribble to steal a 56-51 win on Thursday night at Petersen Events Center.

GCC, which was the No. 2 seed, lost both of its regular-season meetings with the Bulldogs (24-1). Shady Side Academy won the first meeting between the two teams this season by 29 points. During the WPIAL championship game, Gribble, who is committed to Richmond, controlled the game down the stretch.

Gribble scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were playing without 6-foot-2 forward Cassie Sauer. Karis Thomas led the Bulldogs with 5 points. The Bulldogs only played six players. Cameron Capel, the daughter of Pitt men's basketball coach Jeff Capel, also finished with 12 points for the 

Belle Vernon wins first WPIAL championship since 1978
The top-seeded Leopards played an excellent first half and were able to ride that 13-point lead at the break to a 54-49 win over North Catholic in the 4A title game. Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino, 73, collected his seventh WPIAL title of his coaching career. Salvino led Monessen to six titles, the last of which game in 2017.

This was the second time Salvino guided Belle Vernon (21-4) to the WPIAL championship game. The Leopards lost to Highlands in the 2020 championship game. Tommy Davis led Highlands with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win against the Trojans. Trevor Kovatch and Zion Moore also scored 12 points for the Leopards.

Jason Fredericks led North Catholic (19-6) with 20 points. The Trojans struggled from the field, only making 38.1 percent (16-of-42) of their field goal attempts.

All in the Neighborhood
Neighborhood Academy has only been a part of the WPIAL in boys basketball since 2020. The Bulldogs brought home their first championship in the Class A game by beating Serra Catholic, 67-44. This was Neighborhood Academy's second straight year in the title game.

The Bulldogs lost to Imani Christian in the final last year. Courtney Wallace led Neighborhood Academy with 21 points and 18 rebounds. Serra, which lost to the Bulldogs twice in the regular season, only trailed by a point after the opening quarter.  Mark Johnson and Owen Dumbrowski tied for a team-high 14 points for the Eagles (21-4).

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.