WJPA Sports

High school football sprints into Week 3 Friday night, including a pair of games on the WJPA Sports Network. Canon-McMillan takes Route 19 north to face Upper St. Clair. The Big Macs will look to rebound from their loss to Trinity when they kickoff on WJPA-FM (95.3). Meanwhile, on WJPA-AM (1450), we’ll get our first look at Wash High as the Little Prexies visit California. Wash High is 2-0 and top ranked in Class 1A. The Trojans are 1-1 coming into this match-up of returning WPIAL playoff teams. Both games on the WJPA Sports Network will include audio & video, on-air and online, including our YouTube channel. Watch/Listen Here!

Week 3 Schedule (7 pm unless noted)
Avella at Charleroi
Keystone Oaks at Bentworth
Leechburg at Beth-Center
Rochester at Burgettstown
Wash High at California, 6:30 pm, WJPA-AM (1450)  Watch/Listen Here
Canon-McMillan at Upper St. Clair, 6:30 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3)  Watch/Listen Here
Jeff-Morgan at Chartiers-Houston
Fort Cherry at Laurel
West Greene at McGuffey
Mt. Lebanon at Peters Township
Hampton at Ringgold
Trinity at Hempfield
Greensburg Central Catholic at Carmichaels
Mapletown at Serra Catholic
Waynesburg at Albert Gallatin

CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 25th homer and doubled among three hits, Shota Imanaga tossed six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday to end a four-game slide. Seiya Suzuki had three hits, including a wind-blown triple, scored three runs and drove in one as the Cubs finished with 16 hits against three Pittsburgh pitchers and ended the Pirates’ four-game winning streak. Chicago remains well behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee but is in position for a wild card. Michael Busch doubled and had three RBIs, and Carson Kelly doubled in a pair of runs.

ATLANTA (AP) — Cooper Rush will be the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback on Sunday at Pittsburgh after Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out on Friday with an oblique injury suffered in Thursday’s practice. Falcons first-year coach Kevin Stefanski says undrafted rookie Jack Strand will be the backup. The late change in plans for the season opener came after Stefanski announced Monday that Tagovailoa will open the season as the starter and Michael Penix Jr. will be inactive. Penix did not play in a preseason game as he continues his recovery from a torn ligament in his left knee that ended his 2025 season.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike McCarthy and Kevin Stefanski are starting new chapters with their teams as the 2026 season opens. McCarthy, now head coach of the Steelers, returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh. He faces high expectations, especially after replacing Mike Tomlin. The Steelers made subtle changes, keeping quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a final season. McCarthy knows he needs quick wins to satisfy fans. Meanwhile, Stefanski takes over the Falcons after a largely successful stint in Cleveland. Stefanski is aiming to build a foundation for future success.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson and Deebo Samuel caught touchdown passes from Brock Purdy, and the San Francisco 49ers routed the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in the first NFL regular-season game in Australia. Purdy passed for 205 yards against the Rams’ ineffective defense at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 100,021 fans. That’s the seventh-largest regular season crowd in NFL history. The San Francisco defense frustrated NFL MVP Matthew Stafford into a 15-for-25 performance for just 155 yards. Kyren Williams scored the NFL’s first Australian touchdown on a 5-yard rush to begin the second quarter. but the Rams’ offense struggled from there.