WJPA Sports

Week Zero is gone. Chartiers-Houston, Trinity and Waynesburg have all moved up in class, coming off playoff seasons. McGuffey and Wash High have dropped in class: the Highlanders hoping to break a long losing streak, the Little Prexies looking to return to the championship round of the WPIAL playoffs. All 19 teams from the two-county area have non-conference games to open the new season including Burgettstown as the Blue Devils scrapped their long-time habit of playing two scrimmage games.

WJPA Sports Network will carry as many as 27 games during the 10-week regular season, thanks to an extended partnership with GreeneSports and a new agreement with the Canon-McMillan Football Alumni Association. Most of our games will include audio & video, on-air and online, including our YouTube channel. Links for all of our games will be posted weekly here: Watch/Listen Here! We open our coverage with a pair of Friday night games, ones pitting the four largest schools in the region:  Peters Township hosting Canon-McMillan and Ringgold visiting Trinity. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:30 pm for both games.

Week 1 Schedule (7 pm unless noted)
Mapletown at Avella
McGuffey at Bentworth
Brentwood at Beth-Center
Jeff-Morgan at Burgettstown
Mohawk at California
Canon-McMillan at Peters Township, 6:30 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Watch/Listen Here
Carmichaels at Leechburg
Charleroi at Monessen
Chartiers-Houston at Fort Cherry
Ringgold at Trinity, 6:30 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
Wash High at Steel Valley
West Greene at Waynesburg

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Ian Wheeler scored on a 2-yard run with 1:06 left, Steve Buechele completed an off-balance pass to Dante Pettis for a 2-point conversion and the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-27 in the preseason finale for each team Thursday night. The Steelers’ last chance to pull ahead ended with Drew Allar’s pass sailing behind tight end Lake McRee on fourth-and-7 with 44 seconds remaining. It was a disappointing finish for Allar in an outing the rookie was attempting to separate himself from Will Howard in the competition for the Steelers’ third-string job. In squandering a 10-point lead over the final seven minutes, the Steelers closed the preseason 1-2. Buffalo was 3-0.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is facing misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from what police described as a physical confrontation with his girlfriend three months ago. Jacobs was arrested May 26 and released from jail the next day as prosecutors decided whether to file charges. Jacobs was back on the field for organized team activities less than a week later and has been with the Packers for training camp. Jacobs’ attorneys issued a statement acknowledging the charges Thursday and saying the allegations will be addressed in court, not in the media.

Two days after the Southeastern Conference passed a rule barring players from returning to the league from the pros, a Texas judge put that rule on hold in a case involving more than 40 players. It was the latest piece of news in what has turned into a breakneck week of legal wrangling over the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility rule. The rule does not apply to college players who exhausted their fourth year of eligibility last spring; many are suing across the country for that fifth year.