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WJPA Sports Archive

No. 3 Ohio State Tops No. 7 Penn State

October 22, 2023 7:39 am

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — All-American Marvin Harrison Jr. made 11 catches for 162 yards and a late touchdown as No. 3 Ohio State outlasted No. 7 Penn State 20-12. Penn State came in with the more heralded defense, but the Buckeyes held the Nittany Lions to a pair of first-half field goals and a touchdown with 29 seconds left when the game was already in hand. Penn State finally converted a third down on the late scoring drive, the first in 16 tries in the game. The Nittany Lions allowed a season-high 367 yards to the Buckeyes.

Pitt Edged By Wake Forest

October 22, 2023 7:38 am

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Wake Forest third-string quarterback Santino Marucci threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Hite with 7 seconds remaining to cap a dizzying turn of events in a 21-17 win over Pittsburgh. The teams combined for three touchdowns in the last 3:02, with Wake Forest (4-3, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapping a three-game losing streak. Marucci’s winning pass connected with Hite in the middle of the field as the tight end dove into the end zone. Christian Veilleux snapped out of Pittsburgh’s offensive doldrums by throwing 22 yards to Bub Means for a touchdown with 1:30 remaining but it wasn’t enough for the Panthers.

Phillies Push Diamondbacks To Brink Of Elimination

October 22, 2023 7:35 am

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona turned to Zac Gallen in its bid to take a lead back to Philadelphia in the NL Championship Series. The Diamondbacks’ ace labored against the Phillies for the second time in the series, putting his team on the brink of elimination. Gallen came up short in a battle of aces with Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler, and the Diamondbacks lost 6-1 to the Phillies in Game 5 of the NLCS. Wheeler shut down Arizona for the second game of the series, allowing five hits in six scoreless innings. Gallen was no match for his fellow ace for the second time in the NLCS, giving up a pair of homers and four runs in six innings. Unable to win with their ace, the Diamondbacks head back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Monday trailing 3-2 in the series.

HS Football, Week 8 Scores

October 21, 2023 4:15 am

Canon-McMillan lost its non-conference game at Peters Township but the Big Macs clinched a 6A playoff berth when Seneca Valley lost to Central Catholic. The Big Macs will host Mt. Lebanon Friday night with the winner avoiding Central Catholic in the 6A semifinals.  Peters Township remains unbeaten and will host Bethel Park with the 5A Allegheny Six top spot going to the winner. Trinity lost a non-conference game and got locked in to the 4A Big Seven 4th spot when Thomas Jefferson beat Connellsville. Wash High turned the ball over three times and lost late to Keystone Oaks, the Little Prexies’ first loss of the season. The KO win also clinched a share of the 2A Century Conference title for McGuffey. The Highlanders won their non-conference tune-up at South Park and will host Wash High next week with the conference’s top position going to the winner. Waynesburg had a chance to clinch a playoff spot but lost at home to Sto-Rox. #1 Fort Cherry remained perfect and clinched at least a share of the 1A Black Hills title with a comfortable win at Carlynton. Burgettstown downed Avella, clinching a playoff spot in the process while the Eagles’ hopes ended. California clinched a share of the 1A Tri-County South title and kept Beth-Center from securing a bid to the post-season. Bentworth’s win over Carmichaels kept the Bearcats slim hopes alive. West Greene’s win locked the Pioneers into second and Jeff-Morgan third. Mapletown and Carmichaels were both eliminated with losses. Ringgold (24), Chartiers-Houston (9) and Charleroi (8) losing streaks were extended with losses.

Non-Conference
Peters Township 23, Canon-McMillan 10
Linsly 27, Trinity 3
McGuffey 31, South Park 14

4A Big Seven
Laurel Highlands 21, Ringgold 19

2A Century
Keystone Oaks 21, Wash High 14
Brentwood 44, Charleroi 15
Sto-Rox 18, Waynesburg 13

1A Black Hills
Ft. Cherry 42, Carlynton 0
Burgettstown 28, Avella 6
Cornell 39, Chartiers-Houston 0

1A Tri-County South
California 62, Beth-Center 6
Bentworth 20, Carmichaels 12
West Greene 31, Jeff-Morgan 16
Monessen 36, Mapletown 20

NLCS Tied At 2, Houston Leads ALCS 3-2

October 21, 2023 4:04 am

A couple of late comebacks made Friday the most dramatic night of baseball’s postseason so far. Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros, following another bench-clearing scuffle with the rival Texas Rangers, rallied for a 5-4 victory in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series. Hours later in Phoenix, pinch-hitter Alek Thomas tied the score with a two-run homer in the eighth and Gabriel Moreno followed with a go-ahead single as the Arizona Diamondbacks stunned the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 to even the NLCS at two games apiece. That marked the first time in major league history two teams rallied to win postseason games on the same day after trailing by two runs or more in the eighth inning or later.

High School Football Week 8

October 20, 2023 12:01 am

When next-door-neighbors meet, it ALWAYS means something, even when it’s a non-conference game.  #1 Peters Township, with a 5A playoff berth already in hand, and 6A Canon-McMillan, a squad in good shape but not quite in yet, meet tonight at Peters Township and on WJPA-FM (95.3) and online. The game pits the two largest enrollment districts in Washington County. McGuffey visits 3A playoff qualifier South Park while 4A Trinity hosts Linsly, both in non-conference action. The Hillers clinched a playoff spot last week.

Our other radio feature game has Keystone Oaks, on the edge of a 2A playoff spot, visiting #1 Wash High on WJPA-AM (1450) and online.  The Little Prexies have already clinched and they play next week for at least a share of the Century Conference title. Waynesburg has a shot to clinch a 2A playoff spot tonight as well.

Elimination is the order of the night in the 1A Tri-County South as the bottom four teams,. all still alive heading into action, square off against each other. The losers of those games are officially eliminated. The top four teams also play each other, with California, West Greene and Jeff-Morgan already holding playoff spots. Beth-Center takes the final berth with a win or a Monessen loss.

1A Black Hills Conference includes Avella visiting Burgettstown with both teams trying to stay in the hunt. Avella is out with a loss and Burgettstown is in trouble. Ft. Cherry tries to clinch at least a share of the conference championship. Here’s this week’s schedule for Washington & Greene County teams (7 pm unless listed)

Non-Conference
Canon-McMillan at Peters Township, 6:30 pm WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here
Linsly at Trinity
McGuffey at South Park

4A Big Seven
Laurel Highlands at Ringgold

2A Century
Keystone Oaks at Wash High, 6:30 pm WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here
Charleroi at Brentwood
Sto-Rox at Waynesburg

1A Black Hills
Ft. Cherry at Carlynton
Avella at Burgettstown
Cornell at Chartiers-Houston

1A Tri-County South
Beth-Center at California
Bentworth at Carmichaels
Jeff-Morgan at West Greene
Mapletown at Monessen

WPIAL Volleyball, Soccer Playoffs

October 20, 2023 12:30 pm

Soccer playoff brackets were released Thursday by the WPIAL.  Friday, girls volleyball playoff pairings followed with a dozen teams from the two-county area listed. 4A #3 Canon-McMillan is the highest seed among the local teams. 4A Peters Township and 3A Trinity both are listed on the #7 lines of their brackets. Action begins with preliminaries Monday and the finals are set for Saturday, Nov. 4 at Peters Township’s AHN Arena. Click for WPIAL Girls Volleyball brackets

Preliminary Round, Monday
2A #16 Charleroi vs. #17 Hopewell, 6 pm at Ringgold
2A #19 Ft. Cherry vs. #14 Waynesburg, 7:30 pm at Peters Township
3A #14 Ringgold hosting #19 West Mifflin, 7:30 pm

First Round, Tuesday
4A #7 Peters Township vs. #10 Shaler, 6 pm at Upper St. Clair
1A #9 Burgettstown vs. #8 West Greene, 6 pm at Serra Catholic
1A #10 Chartiers-Houston vs. #7 Beaver County Christian, 6 pm at Frazier
1A #11 California vs. #6 Carlynton, 6 pm at Bishop Canevin
1A #13 Mapletown at #4 Greensburg Central Catholic, 7:30 pm

First Round, Wednesday
3A #7 Trinity vs. #10 Latrobe, 6 pm at North Catholic
3A #14 Ringgold/#19 West Mifflin at Oakland Catholic, 7:30 pm
2A #16 Charleroi/#17 Hopewell at #1 Freeport, 7:30 pm
2A #19 Ft. Cherry/#19 Waynesburg at #3 Quaker Valley, 7:30 pm

Quarterfinals, Thursday (times to be determined)
4A #3 Canon-McMillan hosting #6 Penn-Trafford/#11 Bethel Park

The WPIAL Soccer Committee has released the brackets for the upcoming district playoffs. Eight Washington/Greene teams are included in the boys brackets, led by Charleroi, the top team in the 1A Boys bracket. Five girls teams also qualified. Charleroi and Peters Township girls received #3 seeds in their brackets, highest among County girls teams,  Action begins Saturday with first-round games for the boys, local girls team begin play Tuesday. The eight brackets set the path to WPIAL Championship games Nov. 2-4 at Highmark Stadium at Station Square.  Following first-round/quarterfinal matchups with bracket links. Click for WPIAL Soccer brackets

First Round
3A Boys #14 Ringgold at #3 Moon Area, Saturday, Oct. 21, 3 pm
3A Boys #15 Trinity at #2 Hampton, Saturday, Oct. 21, 1 pm
2A Boys #13 McGuffey at #4 Avonworth, Monday, Oct. 23, 7 pm
1A Boys #1 Charleroi hosts #16 Beaver County Christian, Saturday, Oct. 21, 1 pm
1A Boys #7 Bentworth vs. #10 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Saturday, Oct. 21, 3 pm at South Fayette
1A Boys #13 Beth-Center vs. #4 Seton-La Salle, Saturday, Oct. 21, 3 pm at Thomas Jefferson
1A Girls #3 Charleroi hosts #14 Riverside, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 7 pm
1A Girls #8 Chartiers-Houston hosts #9 Eden Christian Academy, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 7 pm
1A Girls #10 Waynesburg vs. #7 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 6 pm

Quarterfinals (times to be determined)
4A Girls #3 Peters Township hosts #6 Fox Chapel, Thursday, Oct. 26
4A Girls #5 Canon-McMillan at #4 Seneca Valley, Thursday, Oct. 26
4A Boys #7 Canon-McMillan at #2 North Allegheny, Saturday, Oct. 28
4A Boys #6 Peters Township at #3 Butler, Saturday, Oct. 28

Trevor Lawrence Comes Through Late; Jaguars Hold Off Saints

October 20, 2023 4:40 am

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Travis Etienne ran for two touchdowns, Foyesade Oluokun returned an interception for a score, and Christian Kirk’s 44-yard touchdown after a short catch over the middle lifted the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 31-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence returned from a sprained knee that forced him out of the final minutes of a victory over Indianapolis on Sunday. He led Jacksonville with 59 yards rushing and completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and one TD to help the Jags win their fourth straight. The Saints were in position for a tying TD when they drove inside the Jacksonville 10 in the final minute only to stall out on four straight incomplete passes.

NLCS; Marte Walk-Off Single Leads Arizona Over Phillies

October 20, 2023 4:37 am

PHOENIX (AP) — Ketel Marte capped a three-hit afternoon with a walk-off single in the ninth, rookie Brandon Pfaadt pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 to close to 2-1 in the NL Championship Series. On the verge of falling behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, Arizona tied the score on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s RBI double. Gurriel opened the ninth with a leadoff walk off Craig Kimbrel, stole second and took third on Pavin Smith’s infield single. Marte drove in the tiebreaking run with one out.

Astros Pull Even In ALCS

October 20, 2023 4:34 am

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — José Abreu hit a three-run homer right after Yordan Alvarez’s tiebreaking sacrifice fly, and the Houston Astros pulled even in the AL Championship Series with a 10-3 victory over the Texas Rangers in Game 4. The Astros led 3-0 only four batters into the game. They responded immediately after Texas got even on Corey Seager’s opposite-field homer in the third inning. Adolis García also homered for the wild-card Rangers, who have dropped two games in a row at home after starting this postseason with seven consecutive wins — six on the road. Game 5 is Friday afternoon at Texas before the best-of-seven series shifts back to Houston for Game 6 on Sunday. Jose Altuve had three hits and scored three times in his 100th career playoff game.