November 16, 2024 8:39 am
Washington & Jefferson College and PennWest/California University have NCAA football playoff berths in sight entering this final day of the regular season. W&J plays at Allegheny this afternoon, looking to wrap up at least a share of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title. The Division III Presidents (8-1) are tied atop the standings with Grove City and Carnegie-Mellon entering play today. Grove City plays at 7-2 Westminster while CMU travels to Cleveland to take on 6-3 Case-Western Reserve. If the three tied teams all win, W&J claims the League’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, though all three would likely qualify for the newly-expanded 40-team field. We’ll have the W&J / Allegheny game live on WJPA Sports Network, starting with Presidents Football Preview at 12:30 pm. Kickoff on WJPA-AM (1450) is set for 1:05 pm. Listen Here!
West Division champion #17 California (8-1) hosts East champion #3 Kutztown (10-0) in the PSAC Championship game at CalU’s Adamson Stadium. Kutztown has likely already earned a trip to the Division II tournament. CalU would likely clinch a spot with a win which would be the Vulcans’ ninth straight since an opening week loss to Charleston WV, 23-19. Kickoff for the PSAC Championship game is set for 12 noon.
November 16, 2024 12:02 am
Matt Sieg ran for 220 yards and scored six touchdowns, leading Fort Cherry to a 49-14 win over Jeannette and a return trip to the WPIAL 1A Football Championship game. The junior quarterback scored five times on his last eight carries, including runs of 12, 43, 24, 47 and 4 yards. In the first half, Sieg completed 9-of-14 passes for 103 yards, moving him past 4,000 career passing yards and joining former Jeannette star Terrell Pryor as the only players to ever pass for 4,000 yards AND run for 4,000 yards. Fort Cherry faces Clairton next Saturday morning (11:00 am) at Acrisure Stadium for the WPIAL title.
Upper St. Clair placekicker Jacobo Echeverria hit a 28-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the second quarter. Nick McCullough returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, giving Peters Township a 7-3 win and a spot in next Saturday night’s WPIAL 5A title game. McCullough had a ball ricochet off him, leading to an interception that set up the USC field goal. Peters Township lost to USC, 21-7, in late September but turned the tables on their next door neighbors. The Indians play Pine-Richaland Saturday night (8:00 pm) at Acrisure Stadium.
WPIAL Football (click for brackets): 6A 5A 4A 3A 2A 1A
Friday, Nov. 15, Semifinals:
5A #3 Peters Township 7, #2 Upper St. Clair 3
5A #1 Pine-Richland 28, #5 Bethel Park 7
3A #5 Avonworth 14, #1 Imani Christian 6
3A #2 Central Valley 31, #3 Elizabeth-Forward 15
2A #1 Seton-La Salle 27, #4 Steel Valley 13
2A #2 South Park 28, #3 Ellwood City 7
1A #1 Fort Cherry 49, #13 Jeannette 141A
#2 Clairton 24, #3 Bishop Canevin 0
Saturday, Nov. 16, WPIAL Championships (Norwin Knights Stadium)
4A #1 Thomas Jefferson vs. #3 McKeesport, 12:05 pm
6A #1 Central Catholic vs. #2 North Allegheny, 6:05 pm
November 16, 2024 12:01 am
Msafiri Amisi buried a free kick from just outside the penalty area nearly 10 minutes into overtime, lifting Lancaster Mennonite to a 1-0 win over Bentworth in the PIAA 1A Boys Soccer championship match. The Bearcats had several good opportunities but couldn’t get a shot past Blazers’ goalie Lucas Kratz who notched his 10th shutout of the year. Amisi’s goal is the first the Bearcats allowed in 49 days, dating back to a 7-1 win against Greensburg Central Catholic on Sept. 26, a string of 11 straight shutouts coming into the state final. Bentworth was making its first-ever appearance in a team sport state championship game. Click for PIAA Soccer Brackets
Friday, Nov. 15, PIAA Soccer Championship, 1A Boys at Cumberland Valley
Lancaster Mennonite 1, Bentworth 0, OT
November 16, 2024 4:54 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zac Werenski and Dmitri Voronkov each had a goal and an assist, Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped a six-game skid with a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. Zach Aston-Reese, Mathieu Olivier, Damon Severson and Cole Sillinger also scored for the Blue Jackets. They improved to 6-8-2 with their first victory since Oct. 30. Anthony Beauvillier and Michael Bunting scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry, starting for the first time since Oct. 16, made 34 saves. The Penguins have lost five of six to fall to 6-10-3. Sean Monahan got the 300th assist of his career on Voronkov’s goal.
November 16, 2024 4:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Damian Dunn made four 3-pointers and scored 23, Guillermo Diaz Graham added a double-double and Pittsburgh had no problems dispatching West Virginia 86-62. Dunn hit seven of his 12 shots from the floor — including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc — and 5 of 7 at the free-throw line for the Panthers (4-0). Diaz Graham finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the second of the junior’s career. Reserve Jonathan Powell hit four 3-pointrs and scored 16 to lead the Mountaineers (2-1) in their first road game of the campaign.
November 16, 2024 4:48 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jake Paul won a unanimous decision over Mike Tyson as the hits didn’t match the hype in a fight between a young YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion. All the hate from the pre-fight buildup was gone, with Paul even stopping to pay homage with a bow to Tyson before the final bell sounded at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. The fight wasn’t close on the judge’s cards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 edge and the other two calling it 79-73. Tyson came after Paul immediately after the opening bell and landed a couple of quick punches but didn’t try much else the rest of the way.
November 15, 2024 12:02 am
With Tuesday’s win, the Bentworth boys soccer earned a trip to the PIAA Championship match, the first team in school history to reach the state finals. Friday afternoon, the Bearcats will face District 3 runner-up Lancaster Mennonite for the 1A Boys state championship. Through a partnership with NFHS Network, we’ll carry this match live on the WJPA Sports Network. Our coverage will include the NFHS audio on WJPA-AM (1450) and online. Listen Here! Airtime for the match will be 3:55 pm with a 4:10 pm scheduled start at Cumberland Valley’s Eagle View Middle School. For those with an NFHS subscription, we have included the link to the network video feed. Click for PIAA Soccer Brackets
Friday, Nov. 15, PIAA Soccer Championship, 1A Boys at Cumberland Valley
Bentworth vs. Lancaster Mennonite, 3:55 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here! / Watch Here (NFHS subscription required)
November 15, 2024 12:01 am
Washington County’s defending football champions return to the field AND the WJPA Sports Network Friday night, moving to the WPIAL semifinals. Peters Township, the returning 5A champion, takes on Upper St. Clair at Bethel Park and on WJPA-FM (95.3). 1A defending champion and #1 seed Fort Cherry faces Jeannette at Canon-McMillan and on WJPA-AM (1450). We’re also producing the multi-camera video for the Fort Cherry/Jeannette game, available via NFHS Network. Airtime for both games is 6:30 pm with kickoff shortly after 7 pm. Watch/Listen Here!
WPIAL Football (click for brackets): 6A 5A 4A 3A 2A 1A
Friday, Nov. 15, Semifinals:
5A #3 Peters Township vs. #2 Upper St. Clair (at Bethel Park), 6:30 pm, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
1A #1 Fort Cherry vs. #13 Jeannette (at Canon-McMillan), 6:30 pm, WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here / Watch Here (NFHS subscription required)
Here’s the rest of the WPIAL football playoff schedule for the weekend:
Friday, Nov. 15, Semifinals (all 7 pm):
5A #1 Pine-Richland vs. #5 Bethel Park at North Hills
3A #1 Imani Christian vs. #5 Avonworth at West Allegheny
3A #2 Central Valley vs. #3 Elizabeth-Forward at Montour
2A #1 Seton-La Salle vs. #4 Steel Valley at West Mifflin
2A #2 South Park vs. #3 Ellwood City at North Allegheny
1A #2 Clairton vs. #3 Bishop Canevin at Peters Township
Saturday, Nov. 16, WPIAL Championships (Norwin Knights Stadium)
4A #1 Thomas Jefferson vs. #3 McKeesport, 12:05 pm
6A #1 Central Catholic vs. #2 North Allegheny, 6:05 pm
November 15, 2024 4:33 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley rushed for 146 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Philadelphia Eagles stretched their lead in the NFC East with a 26-18 win over Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. Jalen Hurts ran for the go-ahead touchdown for Philadelphia after he was evaluated for a concussion following a hard hit in the second quarter. He finished with 221 yards passing. The Eagles won their sixth straight since their bye to improve to 8-2. Washington fell to 7-4 with its second straight loss. Daniels was stopped on a fourth-down scramble when the Commanders were in range for a go-ahead field goal.
November 15, 2024 4:36 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens is filled with “villains on both sides” as Mike Tomlin put it. Lamar Jackson is still waiting for his chance to become one. Seven years into his career, the Ravens quarterback has more NFL MVP awards with two than he does victories over the Steelers. Jackson takes a 1-3 mark as a starter against Pittsburgh into Sunday’s showdown at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers have hit another gear since Russell Wilson returned from a calf injury last month. Pittsburgh is undefeated in his three starts, with the offense averaging 30 points a game.
