December 3, 2023 6:40 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Alabama is again top dog in the Southeastern Conference — and perhaps headed to the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide ended Georgia’s 29-game winning streak with a 27-24 victory over the No. 1 Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Now the big question: Is Georgia’s bid for a third straight national title over? Iron Bowl hero Jalen Milroe threw a pair of touchdown passes and No. 8 Alabama’s defense dominated much of the way after giving up a score on Georgia’s opening possession. It was a compelling playoff statement for a Bama team that lost to Texas early in the season.
December 3, 2023 6:38 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sean Couturier scored the lone goal in the shootout and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Saturday night. Tyson Foerster scored his fourth of the year in regulation and also continued a three-game point streak with an assist. Tippett scored his eighth and Scott Laughton scored a short-handed goal. Samuel Ersson made 29 saves for the Flyers. Guentzel scored twice in regulation and Kris Letang added his second for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry stopped 31 shots.
December 2, 2023 12:47 am
Matt Sieg ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, leading Fort Cherry past Redbank Valley, 33-23. The win extends the Rangers best season ever and put Fort Cherry into the PIAA 1A championship game next Thursday against defending champion Steelton-Highspire. Shane Cornali’s punt return early in the fourth sparked the Fort Cherry rally from down 16-13 with 12 minutes to play.
Peters Township survived a bus flat tire, missed opportunities early, a blocked punt and a lost fumble to get by Cocalico, 14-9, improving to 15-0 on the season. The Indians clinched their first-ever trip to the state finals where they’ll take on Imhotep Charter. Peters Township missed possible touchdown passes on its first three possessions but took a 14-3 lead at the half, thanks to a pair of late touchdowns. Cocalico scored to open the second half, pulling within 14-9. Through the second half, the Indians struggled to get out of their own way, taking penalties, missing blocks & open receivers. Halfway through the fourth, a dropped snap led to a blocked punt but the PT defense kept Cocalico out of the endzone. That defense had to hold again following a fumble recovered by Cocalico inside the Peters 20-yard line with 100 seconds to play. Six plays later, the defense had done its job and the Indians exhaled, then celebrated. PIAA Football brackets
PIAA Football Semifinals
Friday, Dec. 1
1A Fort Cherry 33, Redbank Valley 23
1A Steelton-Highspire 48, South Williamsport 21
2A Westinghouse 28, Beaver Falls 8
2A Southern Columbia 39, Dunmore 7
3A Belle Vernon 42, Hickory 16
3A Northwestern Lehigh 33, Wyomissing 24
4A Aliquippa 52, Selinsgrove 32
4A Dallas 26, Bishop McDevitt 23, 2OT
5A Peters Township 14, Cocalico 9
5A Imhotep Charter 42, Strath Haven 14
Saturday, Dec. 2
6A North Allegheny 24, Harrisburg 12
6A St. Joseph’s Prep 49, Central Bucks South 0
December 2, 2023 3:35 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsubrgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick says he will play this weekend against Arizona after being sidelined for more than a month. Sunday’s game against the visiting Cardinals would be his first action since suffering a hamstring injury against Jacksonville on Oct. 29. Fitzpatrick says the the lengthy recovery process can be “annoying.” But he added that he had to be patient in building back to full speed. Fitzpatrick has participated fully in practice all week.
December 2, 2023 3:34 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed catcher Ali Sánchez to a 1-year deal. The move gives Pittsburgh another player to throw in the mix behind the plate with Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis. The 26-year-old Sánchez spent all of last season with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno. He hit .311 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 43 RBI in 67 games. Sánchez also threw out 22 base runners. Sánchez has appeared in seven major league games, five for the New York Mets in 2020 and two for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. The Pirates also claimed right-handed pitcher Roddery Muñoz off waivers from Washington. Muñoz, 23, went a combined 4-6 with a 5.42 ERA in 34 total appearances at multiple levels of the minors in 2023.
November 30, 2023 12:01 am
Washington County has two teams in the PIAA Football playoffs for the first time, thanks to Fort Cherry & Peters Township winning their first-ever WPIAL titles and Peters Township’s quarterfinal win in their state playoff debut. In Friday’s semifinals, Fort Cherry faces District 9 champion Redbank Valley in the 1A bracket while Peters Township takes on District 3 champion Cocalico in the 5A tournament. Hear the two local games Friday night on-air and online. PIAA Football brackets
PIAA Football Semifinals
Friday, Dec. 1
1A Fort Cherry vs. 9-1 Redbank Valley, at Farrell HS, 6:30 pm on WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here
2A 7-1 Beaver Falls vs. 8-1 Westinghouse, 7 pm at West Allegheny HS
3A 7-1 Belle Vernon vs. 10-1 Hickory., 7 pm at North Allegheny HS
4A 7-1 Aliquippa vs. 4-1 Selinsgrove, 7 pm at Central Cambria HS
5A 7-1 Peters Township vs. 3-1 Cocalico, Mansion Park, Altoona, 6:30 pm on WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here
Saturday, Dec. 2
6A 7-1 North Allegheny vs. 3-1 Harrisburg, 1 pm at Mansion Park, Altoona
December 1, 2023 3:44 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Goalie Tristan Jarry scored an empty-net goal and made 39 saves in the Pittsburgh Penguins; 4-2 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Thursday night. Jarry stopped a dump-in and sent the puck end-to-end into the net with 1:08 left. Jeff Carter scored the go-ahead goal in the third period for the Penguins, who also got goals from Sidney Crosby and Drew O’Connor. Steven Stamkos and Tanner Jeannot scored for the Lightning. NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov had two assists to tie his career high with an eight-game points streak. He finished with a team-record 28 points (in 14 games) for the month of November.
December 1, 2023 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping their offense can take another step forward when they host struggling Arizona. The Steelers piled up 421 yards in a win over Cincinnati in Week 12, their highest total in three years. Quarterback Kenny Pickett says it’s time for those yards to translate into points. Pittsburgh is 7-4 as December begins despite an offense that ranks 28th in the league in scoring. The Cardinals offer a chance for the Steelers to find the end zone. Arizona is 31st in the league in scoring defense. The Cardinals gave up 37 points in a loss to the Rams last week that dropped them to 2-10.
November 29, 2023 3:00 am
Sport-by-sport school listings have been posted by PIAA for the next two-year cycle, covering the 2024-2025 & 2025-2026 school years. Some changes to these lists are still possible due to enrollment appeals, schools’ opportunities to decide to “play up” in classification, and the application of PIAA’s competition formula following this year’s championships. PIAA Enrollment Reports
One of the appeals to be heard next Wednesday by the PIAA Board of Directors is Charleroi’s request for relief from a tabulation error that resulted in the district reporting more students than are actually enrolled. Charleroi administration caught the error of 30 too many boys and 30 too many girls when the PIAA released Classification Parameters earlier this month. The District asked PIAA Headquarters to adjust for the error but was told it was past the published deadline and would have to be appealed to the Board of Directors. Woodland Hills is in a similar situation and has appealed its placement. Historically, the PIAA Board has denied such requests. If Charleroi fails in its appeal, its football team would move up to Class 3A. Boys & girls soccer, baseball & softball will be moving up in class regardless of the appeal.
Here are the other changes for the next two-year cycle:
Beth-Center girls volleyball and softball move down to 1A
Burgettstown girls volleyball moves up to 2A
California boys basketball, baseball and softball move up to 2A
Charleroi football, baseball and softball move up to 3A, boys & girls soccer move up to 2A
Chartiers-Houston girls volleyball and softball move up to 2A
Fort Cherry baseball moves up to 2A
McGuffey football moves up to 3A
Peters Township girls basketball moves down to 5A
Ringgold girls soccer moves down to 2A
Wash High baseball, girls basketball and softball move up to 3A
Jeff-Morgan girls basketball moves up to 2A
Waynesburg softball moves down to 2A
West Greene boys basketball moves up to 2A
November 30, 2023 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson says he needs to do a better job of getting control of his emotions going forward. Cameras caught Johnson standing idly by during a teammate’s fumble early in a victory over Cincinnati. Johnson had let a potential touchdown pass slip through his hands on the previous play, and his frustration bled over to a lack of effort that caught the attention of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Johnson says he’s not perfect and the one mistake does not define him as a player.
