The Woodland Hills School District believes Brian Tarrant is the man to return the program to its perch atop the WPIAL. The school board gave him a vote of confidence earlier this week by extending his contract for two seasons.

The Wolverines are 20-9 in three seasons under Tarrant. The Wolverines are 6-2 this season and are on a five-game winning streak since losing to Central Catholic in Canton, Ohio back in Week 2.

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.

PENN HILLS - Jamie Montini received an emphatic hug from her daughter, Zakeira, in the middle of a swarming crowd.

Zakeira made a beeline for her mom, who was sitting in the front row, after scoring the point that snapped a 14-game section losing streak in section play Tuesday night in home. It was a night of high emotions for Zakeira, who also earned a bouquet of flowers and an invitation to homecoming after the match.

"That's the one thing I was thinking about after I scored that point," said Montini, a senior outsider hitter for the Indians. "'Cause I knew she was watching. I saw her screaming and I ran right to her and everybody started coming in. She was the main focus."

Penn Hills had to use every bit of creativity it had to beat Woodland Hills, 3-1. The Indians (2-7, 1-4) don't have a powerful offensive attack and rely on tips and misdirection to score points.

Penn Hills coach Raymond Ager III was happy to pick up his first Section 4-4A win since he took over the program in 2024.

​"It feels great, especially finding out it's been since 2023," Ager said. "It feels great to beat a rival who was trolling us on social media all week."

The Wolverines (0-8, 0-5) got off to a solid start behind the serving of senior setter/right-side Becca Busch. Woodland Hills scored the first three points and were in control for the entire first set.

Wolverines assistant coach Joey Cunningham said they were able to effectively utilize their serve.

"Honestly, I feel like with our team right now, we are good at utilizing our utility players," Cunningham said. "We have a lot of utility players right now that we could just very easily move around and pop around. I would say when we get it ruts, we can move someone up a little bit. they do very well with that."

Ager said that Penn Hills made a tactical change by switching liberos. The Indians leaned on Layla Smedley after the first set.

"She's an all-around athlete," Ager said. "She's like a ninja on the court. She really flies around and brings big energy."

The Indians won the second set, 25-14. In the third set, Penn Hills built a 23-9 lead before allowing Woodland Hills to roll off seven consecutive points.

"I feel like we like to into a little bit of a rollercoaster where we do really good and then it just kind of drops," Cunningham said. "I think we're getting used to and getting really good at getting ourselves out of that rollercoaster."

The Wolverines rallied in the fourth set to even things at 19 points. Woodland Hills leaned on Niyah Brown and Jayla Brown to help carry the attack. The Wolverines couldn't maintain the momentum, dropping three consecutive points that allowed Penn Hills to get some seperation and close out the match.

The Indians won the final set 25-21. Montini said she believed Penn Hills would find a way to break through this season.

"I was thinking about the ending, like I knew we were going to win and I felt that in my heart and God's presence," Montini said. "I felt that in the whole game that we were going to win and the student section carried us through that with our energy."

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.

 Kemon Spell scored every way you could imagine last Saturday at the Wolvarena. The McKeesport star junior tailback piled up 292 yards on the ground and got into the end zone five times during a beatdown of Delaware Valley.

The Tigers, who figure to play a large role in the WPIAL Class 4A title picture, will welcome 5A contender Peters Township this Friday. The Indians also opened with a big win over Canon-McMillan. Nolan DiLucia led the Indians with three touchdown passes. Cole Neupaver ran for 109 yards for Peters Township.

Peters Township beat McKeesport 42-7 last season at home. The Tigers are a proud program and will want to put on a better showing than they did last season. This should be a good contest.

Vikings want to right their ship
Central Catholic couldn't have opened with a tougher opponent than it did last week at the Wolvarena. The Vikings took on La Salle College, who has Mizzou commit Gavin Sidwar under center. Central Catholic, despite its massive size on the offensive line, couldn't get the ball moving against the Explorers.

The Vikings only put up six points and will have another tough challenge against Pine-Richlands. The Rams are the defending Class 5A champions and are loaded with talent. Aaron "Oobi" Strader plays quarterback, while Florida State commit Jay Timmons and Penn State commit Khalil Taylor give him strong options in the passing game.

The Rams will have to figure out how to handle Central Catholic's line, which includes Jimmy Kalis, Jon Sassic, Cole Bayer and James Halter. All of those players weight 270 pounds or more.

Pine-Richland won the matchup, 22-17, last season.

Deer Lakes looks for measuring stick
The Lancers picked up what ended up being their most impressive win of the season during the meeting between the teams last season. Deer Lakes beat the eventual WPIAL Class 2A champions by 13 points on the road. The Lancers would start the season 6-0 for the first time in school history before finishing 8-3 and losing in the first round of the 3A playoffs.

Deer Lakes (1-0) opened the season by smothering Keystone Oaks 23-7. South Park (1-0) knocked off East Allegheny, 33-26.

Woodland Hills looks for second consecutive win over rival
The Woodland Hills and Penn Hills game didn't finish last season after a shooting down the street forced a stoppage in the game with 10 minutes remaining. The Wolverines were on their way to a win with a 26-6 lead over their rivals in the "King of the Hills" rivalry game. The matchup this season is a meaningful one for both sides, despite not being a conference game.

The Indians were shut out of for the first time in five seasons when they lost to New Castle, 12-0, in Week Zero. Woodland Hills gave North Allegheny all it could handle, but ended up losing to the Tigers 28-26 on a late touchdown. Scoop Smith and Ziggy Moore, who committed to Miami (Ohio) and N.C. State, respectively, both looked good in Week Zero.

The Indians are hoping to get their offense moving in the right direction, as highly-touted receiver Carter Bonner provides Penn Hills with a strong target in the passing game.

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.

​MURRYSVILLE - Semaj Robinson took what Plum football coach Matt Morgan said to heart. Before what turned out to be Franklin Regional's final drive of the first half, Robinson was challenged to do better.

The way Robinson responded -- and how Plum handed adversity during a 42-13 road win over Franklin Regional Friday night -- may be an indicator for which direction the Mustangs are headed. Plum finished last season 2-8 and weren't a major player in the WPIAL Class 5A playoff picture. 

Robinson intercepted Franklin Regional sophomore quarterback Dom Devola in the endzone before halftime to slam the Panthers' momentum to a halt. Plum was ahead 21-0 and Robinson made sure it stayed that way with a leaping grab.

​"Last drive, I got in trouble because I wasn't trying my hardest," Robinson said. "In practice, I know I can be better. That gave me more motivation to get the pick."

Plum (1-0) took risks throughout the first half. The Mustangs saw the good and bad sides of taking chances. Plum's first gamble, on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line on the game's opening possession, ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Nonnenberg to Brendan Marsten.

"We wanted to get the ball early and score early," Morgan said. "We wanted to control the game from the start. That's how we wanted to approach this whole night. I thought we gave it to them on both sides of the ball."

The second time Plum went for it on fourth down, running back Elijah Jackson was stacked up an inch short on fourth and one. The Mustangs' offense was effective at pulling them out of the hole.

The Mustangs' first-half success allowed Plum to survive a second-half swoon. The Panthers cut the lead to 21-13 toward the end of the third quarter, but Plum responded with 21 unanswered points to pull away.
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"We had to respond on offense," Morgan said. "We had a guy miss a line on the kickoff. That's why they got the ball back. We knew they were going there to and the guy didn't shift. We bounced back and finished the game."

Clairton has special night spoiled

Tyler Boyd made the trek back to hometown to see his alma mater, Clairton, open the stadium that now bears his name with an interesting matchup with Imani Christian. The Bears scored the opening touchdown before allowing 19 consecutive points in a 19-12 loss to Imani Christian. The Saints (1-0) are viewed as the top contender for the WPIAL Class 3A crown.

Taris Wooding earned the honor of becoming the first player to score in the refurbished stadium, catching a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Thompson. David Davis and Gabe Jenkins -- both Penn State recruits -- scored touchdowns for the Saints.

Vikings return favor, stun Jeannette
The Jeannette Jayhawks snapped out of a midseason 3-game losing streak to make the WPIAL Class 1A semifinals this season. After a few years in the wilderness, people were thinking Jeannette had turned a corner. The Jayhawks, however, built a 23-0 lead before seeing it slip away against Mount Pleasant.

The Vikings had blown a lead against Jeannette last season, allowing a late touchdown pass in a loss. Mount Pleasant returned the favor by not allowing Jeanette to score in the final two quarters.

North Allegheny holds off Wolverines
Woodland Hills made it known that the Wolverines want to be serious players on the WPIAL stage during the preseason. North Allegheny had to score on fourth-and-goal with 50 seconds left to escape the Wolvarena with a 28-26 win.

Luke Rohan scored the game-winning touchdown for the Tigers. The game featured several lead changes and was a good choice for first game of the KDKA Kickoff Classic. Pittsburgh Central Catholic played in the night cap at the Wolvarena, dropping a 23-6 decision to La Salle College.

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.

Woodland Hills graduate Atiyah Walker recently signed with Mercyhurst University to play on the Lakers' inaugural women's flag football team. The Lakers will be led by coach Zack Helsley.

Walker was a standout quarterback/linebacker for the Wolverines' last season. Walker was chosen to be a member of the Steelers Big 33 flag football team. 

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

The Woodland Hills girls flag football team recorded another shutout by beating Penn Hills 25-0 at Yuhas-McGinley Stadium.

Woodland Hills and Latrob picked up a pair of wins on Sunday at Woodland Hills. The games were moved to Woodland Hills High School from the Wolvarena.
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