Central Catholic Rallies For Section Title

The Central Catholic baseball team scored the final three runs of the game for a 3-2 Section 1-6A victory against Butler, and clinching the regular season section title in the process.

With the win, the Vikings have also swept the Golden Tornado in the process.

Leading the offense for Central Catholic were seniors Brandon Boyce and Vinny Rauso with RBI triples. Boyce also earned the win on the mound. Senior Marshall McGraw picked up the save.

With the win, Central Catholic improves to 8-3 overall and 7-2 in the section. The Vikings will look for their fifth straight win tonight when they travel to North Allegheny for a 7 p.m. section game.

Butler drops to 9-5 overall and 5-4 in the section. The Golden Tornado will host Seneca Valley on Thursday at 7 p.m. in their section finale.

Alumni Update – Central Catholic’s Austin Andonisio

Austin Andonisio was on the mound Saturday for Chatham University’s first-ever Presidents’ Athletic Coneference win, a 4-2 victory over Westminster College.

He allowed a pair of earned runs on seven hits while fanning three in the complete-game, nine-inning effort. He needed 120 pitches to log his first collegiate victory.

The Central Catholic graduate was named PAC Rookie of the Week for his performance.

(photo courtesy of Chatham University)

Central Catholic Baseball Hands Butler First Loss of the Season

On a frigid Monday night, the Butler bats couldn’t warm up, resulting in its first loss of the season.

Central Catholic struggled to put up runs as well, but it was enough as they knocked off top-ranked Butler, 3-1, in Section 1-6A play.

Senior Vinny Rauso recorded three hits and knocked in all three runs to lead the Vikings. Also picking up multi-hit games for Central Catholic was sophomore Brandon Gelp (2 for 4 with two doubles) and senior Andrew Walker (2 for 3).

Senior Marshall McGraw picked up the win for the Vikings.

Central Catholic improves to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the section, a game behind Butler for first place. Butler is now 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the section.

The Vikings will be back on the field on Wednesday when they host North Allegheny at 4 p.m. The Golden Tornado will travel to Seneca Valley on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Alumni Update – Central Catholic’s Christian Aldrich

Christian Aldrich hit .538 (7 for 13) in a pair of non-conference doubleheader splits for Thiel College last week.

He totaled four doubles and a pair of home runs while driving in eight runs and scoring five. He finished the week with a .563 on-base percentage. In Sunday’s split at No. 18 Baldwin Wallace University, Aldrich went 3 for 6 with a pair of doubles, three RBI and two runs scored.

The Central Catholic graduate was named Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Week for his performance.

(photo courtesy of Thiel College)

Boys Class 6A WPIAL Quarterfinal Preview

One of the deepest Class 6A boys’ basketball brackets in recent history will resume on Saturday with four quarterfinal games.

Neither game is featuring teams that play in the same section.

Below are capsules on each quarterfinal game.

No. 1 Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils (19-3) vs. No. 9 Latrobe Wildcats (16-7) At Canon-McMillan, 3 p.m.

Mt. Lebanon received the nod to be the top team in the bracket after winning the Section 2-6A regular season title. They received a by into the quarterfinals. There last game was a 76-54 win against Upper St. Clair on Feb. 9. They are averaging 71.3 points per game and are allowing 52.8 points per game. The Blue Devils enter Saturday’s game on a five game winning streak. Mt. Lebanon and Latrobe did not play each other in the regular season. The Blue Devils put three players on the all-section first team with the selections of seniors Antonio Garofoli and Caden Hinckley and junior Hayden Mitchell. Junior Michael Palmer was an honorable mention. Mt. Lebanon last made the quarterfinals in 2014-15, where they lost to North Hills 37-33…Latrobe enjoyed the week off between the first round and quarterfinals after enduring a battle of heavyweights against Butler, defeating the Golden Tornado, 73-66. Junior Reed Fenton, a all-section first-team pick, led the Wildcats with 24 points. Junior Bryce Butler, a second-team pick, had 23 points and senior Marcus Dudzenski finished with 15 points. The win was the second straight year the Wildcats knocked out Butler in the playoffs, as they beat them in the quarterfinals 70-64 last year.

No. 2 Woodland Hills Wolverines (19-3) vs. No. 7 Canon-McMillan Big Macs (21-2) At Baldwin, 1:30 p.m.

In a brutal Section 3, Woodland Hills came out on top with the regular season championship, earning them a bye into the quarterfinals. Their last game was a 55-37 win at Penn-Trafford on Feb. 9. The Wolverines are averaging 70.8 points per game and are allowing 56.6 points per game. Woodland Hills put two players on the all-section first team with senior Amante Britt and junior Keandre Bowles. Junior Olson Nicholson was an honorable mention and O’Dell Miller was named the Section Coach of the Year. Woodland Hills defeated Fox Chapel, 52-47, in the quarterfinals last season…Canon-McMillan has the most wins out of any team in Class 6A this season and still find themselves trying to prove that they can play with the big dogs. The Big Macs passed their first test in the first round with a 57-52 win against Seneca Valley. Senior Kenyon Lewis, a all-section second team pick, led the team with 16 points. Junior Drew Engel, an honorable mention selection, finished with 13 points and junior Ethan Beachy, a second-team pick, added 12. The Big Macs also have senior Jason Fowlkes, who was the team’s lone first-team selection, honorable mention selection, junior Elliott Walker, and are led by Section Coach of the Year, Rick Bell. Canon-McMillan lost to Pine-Richland in the quarterfinals last year, 67-64.

No. 3 Fox Chapel Foxes (17-5) vs. No. 6 Pine-Richland Rams (18-5) At North Hills, 12 p.m.

Both of these teams qualified to get the one at-large seed to receive a bye after not winning their section championship, and it was Fox Chapel that was awarded with it. The Foxes finished tied for second in Section 3. The Foxes last game was a 52-45 loss against Central Catholic. The loss snapped a 10-game win streak. They are averaging 62.1 points per game and are allowing 49.2 points per game. They landed two players on the all-section first-team with seniors Carson Cohen and Dom McGriff. Junior Ben Kelly was named to the second team. Fox Chapel lost to Woodland Hills in the quarterfinals last year…The fact that the two-time defending WPIAL champion is the No. 6 seed shows you how deep the classification is this year. The Rams will be making a return trip to North Hills after defeating Bethel Park there in the first round, 66-62. Senior Phil Jurkovec a first-team all-section pick, led the team with 23 points. Junior Dan Petcash, also a first-team selection, added 18 points in the win. Junior Greg Shulkosky was named to the second-team all-section this year. As mentioned before, Pine-Richland defeated Canon-McMillan in the quarterfinals last year.

No. 4 Central Catholic Vikings (14-8) vs. No. 5 Penn Hills Indians (20-3) At Canon-McMillan, 12 p.m.

It was a rough start to the season in non-section for Central Catholic, but the Vikings were able to turn it on to win the tough Section 1 championship to earn a first round by. Its last game was a 52-45 win at Fox Chapel on Feb. 12. The Vikings have won four of their last five games entering the playoffs. The Vikings are averaging 55.1 points per game and are allowing 53.9 points per game. The Vikings had two players make all-section first-team with seniors Luke Nedrow and Cole Mason. Junior Maurice Shipman was named to the second team and senior Justin Tarrant was an honorable mention. Chuck Crummie was named as the Section Coach of the Year. Central Catholic last made the quarterfinals in 2015-16, where they lost to Pine-Richland, 56-46…Penn Hills was the last Class 6A team to suffer a loss this season, but still had to sneak by Upper St. Clair, 52-51, in its first round game. Senior Cory Fulton, a all-section second-team pick, led the Indians with 15 points. Senior Daivon Stephens, a first-team pick, added 14 points. Also making first-team for Penn Hills was senior Cam Wiley. Seniors Keyshawn Adams and Myles Yarbrough were named honorable mentions. Penn Hills lost to North Hills in the quarterfinals last year, 59-58.

For a complete look at the updated bracket, click here.

Boys Class 6A All-Section Teams Announced

Boys Class 6A First-Team Photo Gallery

Girls Section 4-5A All-Section Teams

FIRST TEAM
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY
Kenzie Lasher	Armstrong	Senior	Guard/Forward	4
Laryn Edwards	Hampton	Senior	Guard	2
Ali Collins	Hampton	Senior	Guard	11
Harley Holloway	Kiski Area	Sophomore	Guard	5
Lauren Wasylson	Mars	Senior	Guard/Forward	4
Tai Johnson	Mars	Senior	Guard	23
Bella Pelaia	Mars	Sophomore	Guard/Forward	33
COACH OF THE YEAR
Dana Petruska	Mars
SECOND TEAM
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY
Jaylen Callipare	Armstrong	Sophomore	Guard	5
Isabel Palamone	Franklin Regional	Senior	Guard/Forward	21
Jordan Yaniga	Franklin Regional	Junior	Forward	13
Alex Reitz	Franklin Regional	Junior	Forward	33
Brooke Fuller	Hampton	Senior	Forward	35
Alek Johnson	Mars	Freshman	Guard	3
Kennedie Montue	Plum	Freshman	Forward	21
HONORABLE MENTION
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY
Loryn Bowser	Armstrong	Junior	Forward	30
Madi Lorigan	Armstrong	Junior	Guard	12
Haleigh Zimmerman	Indiana	Junior	Guard	1
Bailey Cills	Indiana	Senior	Guard	22
Hannah Potter	Kiski Area	Sophomore	Guard	22
Violeta Kenzevich	Kiski Area	Sophomore	Guard	30
Ellie Coffield	Mars	Freshman	Guard	1

Boys Section 1-6A All-Section Teams

FIRST TEAM
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY	HEIGHT
Ethan Morton	Butler	Sophomore	Guard	25	6-6
Luke Michalek	Butler	Senior	Guard	1	6-0
Luke Nedrow	Central Catholic	Senior	Forward	21	6-7
Cole Mason	Central Catholic	Senior	Guard	11	6-2
Dan Petcash	Pine-Richland	Junior	Guard	3	6-3
Phil Jurkovec	Pine-Richland	Senior	Guard/Forward	22	6-5
Chris Hart	Seneca Valley	Senior	Forward	5	6-4
COACH OF THE YEAR
Chuck Crummie	Central Catholic
SECOND TEAM
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY	HEIGHT
Maurice Shipman	Central Catholic	Junior	Guard	3	6-4
Zach Johnson	North Allegheny	Senior	Center	2	6-10
Kamron Taylor	North Hills	Senior	Guard	24	5-10
Greg Shulkosky	Pine-Richland	Junior	Guard	1	6-0
David Ritchie	Seneca Valley	Senior	Guard	21	6-1
Marcus Might	Seneca Valley	Junior	Center	20	6-8
Kiki Agbale	Shaler	Senior	Forward	15	6-3
HONORABLE MENTION
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY	HEIGHT
Luke Patten	Butler	Sophomore	Guard	20	6-4
Justin Tarrant	Central Catholic	Senior	Guard	22	6-3
Anthony Hattrup	North Allegheny	Junior	Forward	33	6-4
Mike Iuzillino	North Allegheny	Sophomore	Guard	5	6-0
Garret Barto	North Hills	Senior	Forward	44	6-3
Jacob Bunofsky	Seneca Valley	Senior	Guard	1	5-11
Mekhi Reynolds	Shaler	Sophomore	Guard	13	6-2

Boys Section 2-6A All-Section Teams

FIRST TEAM
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY
Nick Fiumara	Baldwin	Senior	Guard	34
Ryan Meis	Bethel Park	Sophomore	Guard	4
Jason Fowlkes	Canon-McMillan	Senior	Guard	14
Seth Younkin	Connellsville	Center	Senior	32
Antonio Garofoli	Mt. Lebanon	Senior	Guard	24
Caden Hinckley	Mt. Lebanon	Senior	Forward	23
Hayden Mitchell	Mt. Lebanon	Junior	Guard	4
COACH OF THE YEAR
Rick Bell	Canon-McMillan
SECOND TEAM
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY
Mike Goga	Baldwin	Senior	Forward	33
Justin Meis	Bethel Park	Senior	Guard	2
Alex Mullen	Bethel Park	Junior	Guard	13
Kenyon Lewis	Canon-McMillan	Senior	Guard/Forward	13
Ethan Beachy	Canon-McMillan	Junior	Guard/Forward	22
Tanner Gensler	Upper St. Clair	Junior	Forward	23
Kyle Meinert	Upper St. Clair	Senior	Guard	11
HONORABLE MENTION
NAME	SCHOOL	GRADE	POSITION	JERSEY
Drew Engel	Canon-McMIllan	Junior	Guard/Forward	22
Elliott Walker	Canon-McMillan	Junior	Guard/Forward	33
Jalen Rogers	Connellsville	Junior	Forward	12
Michael Palmer	Mt. Lebanon	Junior	Guard	20
Colin Cote	Peters Township	Sophomore	Guard	5

Boys Class 6A WPIAL Playoff First Round Preview

When the WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball playoff bracket was released earlier this week, the the top four seeds were revealed, along with the rest of the bracket.

There was seven teams that could have received byes, but the top four in that order were Mt. Lebanon, Woodland Hills, Fox Chapel and Central Catholic. Mt. Lebanon, Woodland Hills and Central Catholic all won their respective sections and Fox Chapel may be the hottest team out of them all, winning nine of its last 10 games and finishing in second place behind the Wolverines in Section 3-6A.

All first round games will be played on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Below are capsules on each of the first round games.

Butler Golden Tornado (18-4) vs. Latrobe Wildcats (15-7) At Fox Chapel

At the beginning of the season, both Butler and Latrobe were contenders to win their respective sections. Although they were unable to complete the task, both pose as a serious threat to cut down the nets in the WPIAL Championship Game. The Golden Tornado finished in third place in Section 1-6A after losing its final two section games of the season. They are averaging 68.3 points per game and are allowing 59.2 points per game. Butler was led by sophomore Ethan Morton, who finished the regular season averaging 24 points per game. Butler lost in the Class 6A WPIAL Championship Game last season and the PIAA quarterfinals…Latrobe also lost its final two section games of the season and finished in fourth place in Section 3-6A. The Wildcats are averaging 72.5 points per game and are allowing 67.3 points per game. Through 21 games, junior Reed Fenton led Latrobe with 23.3 points per game. Junior Bryce Butler averaged 20.9 points per game. Latrobe lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals last year to Butler, 70-64. They also lost in the PIAA first round to Pine-Richland.

Penn Hills Indians (19-3) vs. Upper St. Clair Panthers (11-11) At Baldwin

Penn Hills was the last boys team in 6A to suffer a loss, but was unable to crack the top four seeds and get a bye. They finished tied for second place with Fox Chapel in Section 3-6A and won three of its final four section games of the season. They are averaging 68.5 points per game and are allowing 55.9 points per game. Through 22 games, senior Daivon Stephens led the Indians with 18.2 points per game. Penn Hills lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals last year…Upper St. Clair finished fourth in Section 2-6A and lost its final two games of the regular season. The Panthers are averaging 62.3 points per game and are allowing 60.5 points per game. Upper St. Clair was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Canon-McMillan Big Macs (20-2) vs. Seneca Valley Raiders (14-8) At West Allegheny

Canon-McMillan was a game away from winning its first section title in over 40 years and was the only team in Class 6A to reach 20 wins in the regular season, but still find themselves in a first round matchup. They finished behind Mt. Lebanon by a game in Section 2-6A and won 16 of its last 17 games in the regular season. Its lone loss was to Baldwin, which cost them the section. The Big Macs are averaging 62.7 points per game and are allowing 47.3 points per game. Senior Jason Fowlkes led the team with 17.8 points per game through the regular season. Canon-McMillan lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals and PIAA first round last year…Seneca Valley finished fourth in Section 1-6A, but is one of the hottest teams entering the playoffs. The Raiders won six of their last seven games in the regular season, including wins at Butler and Pine-Richland. They are averaging 55.5 points per game and are allowing 53 points per game. In 19 games, senior David Ritchie led the team with 15.7 points per game. Seneca Valley missed the playoffs last season.

Pine-Richland Rams (17-5) vs. Bethel Park Black Hawks (13-9) At North Hills

The two-time defending WPIAL champion Pine-Richland is back to defend its title, but will have to do so without receiving a bye this year. They finished second behind Central Catholic in Section 1-6A and won four of its last five games in the regular season. They are averaging 72.4 points per game and are allowing 56.9 points per game. In 21 games, junior Dan Petcash led the Rams with 17.9 points per game. Senior Phil Jurkovec averaged 15.8 points per game in 14 games…Bethel Park finished in third place in Section 2-6A, winning three of its last four games entering the playoffs. They are averaging 57.7 points per game and are allowing 53 points per game. The Black Hawks have made the playoffs after finishing tied for last in the section a year ago.

For a complete look at the bracket, click here.

Central Catholic ends Fox Chapel’s Streak In Playoff Tune-up

Monday night’s non-section between Central Catholic and Fox Chapel meant nothing in terms of the standings or playoff seedings, but meant a lot in determining who will remain one of the hottest teams entering the Class 6A playoffs.

The Vikings, who clinched the Section 1-6A regular season title, traveled to Fox Chapel and came away with a 52-45 victory. In the process, it snapped the Foxes’ nine game win streak.

Both teams should receive a higher seed, and could meet again in the playoffs.

The teams were deadlocked at 23-23 at the half, but the Vikings were able to squeeze a little bit more out of their team in the second half. The Vikings held the Foxes to five points in the third quarter and erupted for 22 of their own in the fourth quarter to finish off the victory.

Leading the way for Central Catholic was junior Maurice Shipman with 17 points. Senior Carson Cohen had a game-high 22 points for Fox Chapel.

The Vikings finished the regular season with a 14-8 record. The Foxes will enter the playoffs with a 17-5 record.

Central Catholic Claims Section Title With Win Against Butler

A year removed from missing the playoffs, the Central Catholic boys’ basketball team stands at the top of one of the toughest sections in Class 6A.

The Vikings claimed the Section 1-6A regular season championship with a 61-54 win against Butler, who was also vying for the section title in the game.

The win also avenged a previous loss to Butler on Jan. 15 to split the season series.

The Vikings came out strong, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter. They were able to maintain the lead until the first few minutes of the fourth quarter when Butler used an 8-0 run to start the quarter to tie the game.

Central Catholic was able to respond to retake the lead and hold on for the win.

Seniors Justin Tarrant and Luke Nedrow led the Vikings with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Sophomore Ethan Morton had a game-high 23 points for the Golden Tornado.

Central Catholic improves to 12-7 overall and finishes 10-2 in the section. The Vikings will host Lincoln Park in a non-section game on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Butler falls to 17-3 overall and 8-3 in the section. They are tied with Pine-Richland for second place. The Golden Tornado will close out their section play on Friday when they host Seneca Valley at 7:30 p.m.

Pine-Richland Makes Close Section Race Even Closer

Entering Tuesday night’s games, it was a safe bet that the section title race for boys basketball in Section 1-6A was going to come down to the final day between Butler, Central Catholic, and Pine-Richland.

The Rams made sure that it will remain a three-team race until the very end with a 78-65 win at Central Catholic. The win pulls Pine-Richland a half-game behind Butler and Central Catholic for the section lead. It also allowed the Rams to split the season series with the Vikings, who defeated the Rams on the road, 53-52, on Jan. 5.

Central Catholic started fast with a 14-8 lead after the first quarter. That would be the last quarter Pine-Richland trailed. The rams took the lead for good in the second quarter, taking a 34-25 lead into halftime.

A big contributor to Pine-Richland’s win was the return of junior Andrew Kristofic to the starting lineup. Kristofic only returned last week after being sidelined with a broken thumb during football season, but paced the Rams with 24 points. Senior Phil Jurkovec had 17 points in the win.

Seniors Cole Mason and Luke Nedrow both had 20-point games. Mason finished with 24 and Nedrow with 21.

Pine-Richland improves to 15-4 overall and 7-2 in the section. The Rams are back in action on Friday when they host Seneca Valley at 7:30 p.m.

Central Catholic drops to 10-7 overall and 8-2 in the section. The loss snapped its four-game win streak. The Vikings will look to rebound on Friday when they travel to North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m.