2011 High School Football Radio Schedule

Here's the 2011 High School Football Broadcast as it currently stands.



As of now all games will be only on WTYM Radio 1380 AM - and can also be heard live on www.wtymradio.com



> Week 1 - Kittanning vs. Ford City

> Week 2 - Kittanning @ Plum

> Week 3 - West Shamokin vs Burrell

> Week 4 - Kittanning vs Highlands

> Week 5 - Ford City @ Freeport

> Week 6 - Kittanning vs Valley

> Week 7 - Ford City @ West Shamokin

> Week 8 - Ford City @ Apollo

> Week 9 - Apollo @ West Shamokin



It looks like a good mix of games. Kittanning (4) Ford City (4) West Shamokin (3)

2011 Fall High School Sports

2011 Fall High School Sports start today, with official practices.



We'll once again be doing High School Football Rankings after week 1.



You can also go the RizzoSports.com to oick a winner between, Kittanning and Ford City in week 1.

WPIAL Baseball / Softball Season Begins for Local Teams

Last year Ford City was the only Armstrong County baseball team finish the season over .500. In 2009 Ford City will look to make the playoffs for their fifth straight year. Kittanning has improved each of the last two seasons, and it’s fair to call them a playoff contender this year. I’m curious if the once proud Freeport and Leechburg Baseball programs will get back to the WPIAL playoffs. In softball, Leechburg has been Armstrong County’s premier program in any sport. They lost the WPIAL “A” Championship 1-0 last year, and a return trip will be their goal. The Ford City and Kittanning girls will look to make the playoffs again this season. The softball and baseball season is officially underway and next week section play begins.

PIAA Basketball Champions 2009

Here are the 2008-2009 PIAA High School Basketball Champions.

Girls
A - Bishop Guilfoyle
AA - Villa Maria
AAA - Archbishop Carroll
AAAA - Mount Lebanon

Boys
A - Girard College
AA - Imhotep Charter
AAA - Archbishop Carroll
AAAA - Penn Wood


Due to dropping attendance there is talk the Championship games will be moved from Penn State back to Hershey next season.

WPIAL Sports Future: Should PA to go 100 Districts

What happens if PA does go to 100 school districts? 

Since it’s a slow time for local sports I wanted to write a hypothetical look at the high school sport landscape should Ed Rendell’s plan for only 100 school districts be realized. The big question is what schools go into which district, supposedly in theory one per county and as many three for Allegheny County. This could lead to the expansion, contraction or destruction of the WPIAL. In theory a mega north Pittsburgh district wouldn’t have to play games out the district. Keeping games in district could be a cost saver. Some schools might receive increased athletic budgets while other see decreases. Riots might occur, but how could a two equal sizes schools in the same district not be given the same athletic budget? I doubt Pine-Richland and Shaler have the same athletic budgets. 

Kittanning and Ford City might be the state’s best case study. As they fall under the same school district. Ever wonder what the facilities and athletic programs would look like if each were its own district? It certainly seems a consolidation of districts would start to level the playing field in terms of facilities and money spent on training and coaching. Also another topic would be transfers, the WPIAL is very much against transfers, unless it's a coach changing schools. Its likely transfers would increase. One benefit, is it might be easier for students to participate in sports, their current school doesn’t offer. The only thing that is certain if PA goes to 100 school districts is the move would have a huge impact on high school sports, which would create ripple effects for years. 

High school sports seem to captivate people so much, its has been in the best interests of politicians to stay far away. The last thing they want is for people to pay attention to their antics in Harrisburg. However there are just too many special interests that would have a hand in reconstructing of PA school districts, therefore battle lines will be drawn, and the future of high school sports locally will be in for a big shake up.

WPIAL Basketball Champions - Girls & Boys 2009

Even though no local high schools made the finals this year, many local fans paid attention to this weekend’s WPIAL Basketball Championships. In Girls, starting with single “A” the winners were; North Catholic, Sto-Rox, New Castle, and Mt. Lebanon. I don’t recall any local team playing against these four schools this season. In Boys Basketball starting with single “A” the winners were; Sewickley Academy, North Catholic, Hampton, and Peters Township. North Catholic won the Girls in single “A” and Boys in double “AA”. Local fans were probably most interested in the Boys “AAA” match-up that had Hampton going against Highlands. Both teams play in the same “AAA” section as Kittanning, and Hampton was able to beat Highlands 84-59, which was third time this season they’ve defeated Highlands.

WPIAL Basketball Playoffs - Ford City Out

Just like that the WPIAL Basketball playoffs are over for local teams. Especially heartbreaking for Ford City fans, as both teams were knocked out last night.

Boys
L – Ford City vs. Quaker Valley 54-55 ot
L – West Shamokin vs. Washington 31-48

Girls
L – Ford City vs. Jeannette 27-39
L- Apollo Ridge vs. Beaver 38-65

The lost also means, not PIAA playoffs for the Lady Sabers.

Ford City Boys Advance in WPIAL Playoffs

In the preliminary round of the WPIAL Basketball playoffs, the Ford City Boys were 59 – 49 winners over Avonworth. They’ll now face Quaker Valley at Shaler on Tuesday night. Ironically, the FC Girls will also be in action on Tuesday as they’ll meet Jeannette. The West Shamokin Boys were four-point winners over Fort Cherry and now they’ll face Washington. In girls’ basketball, Kittanning lost by 2 to McGuffey and Freeport was knocked out by Greensburg Catholic. The Apollo Ridge girls won, setting up a show down with top seed Beaver on
Friday.

Don’t forget about the big college basketball tonight as #4 Pitt travels to take on #1 Connecticut.
Pitt is actually ranked first in the famous RPI. The eyes of the college basketball world will be watching.

2009 WPIAL Basketball Playoffs

Friday with showcase most local teams

Girls
Kittanning vs. McGuffey @ Cornell on Friday at 6:30pm
Freeport vs. Greensburg Catholic @ Hampton on Friday at 6:30pm
Apollo vs. Brownsville @ Southmoreland on Saturday at 12:00pm

Ford City will not play until next Tuesday or Wednesday.


Boys
Ford City vs. Avonworth Antelopes @ Knoch on Friday,at 8:00pm
West Shamokin vs. Fort Cherry @ Northgate on Friday, at 8:00pm

Kittanning Boys & FC Girls Armstrong County Basketball Champions

Six years ago I created a formula for ranking all seven Armstrong County high school basketball teams, essentially creating a mythical County Championship. This year’s section realignment created some dramatic games. The Ford City girls finish the season 10-0 against county teams, including two narrow victories over 2nd place Apollo Ridge. The playoff bound KHS Girls took third, unfortunately for them didn’t have the opportunity to face FC or Apollo, which is just plain stupid. In boys, section champion Ford City could only secure 2nd place. Kittanning showed there is a huge difference between “AAA” and “AA”, as they defeated both Ford City and West Shamokin on the road in their only match-ups. It’s Kittanning’s first every title, boy or girls and the fourth straight the FC Girls. Congratulations!

Here are the final rankings of 2008-09

Boys
1. Kittanning - 157
2. Ford City - 156
3. West Shamokin - 147
4. Freeport - 85
5. Apollo Ridge - 80
6. Leechburg -30
7. Elderton - 27

Girls
1. Ford City - 193
2. Apollo Ridge - 156
3. Kittanning - 126
4. Freeport - 93
5. Elderton - 69
6. West Shamokin - 58
7. Leechurg - 19

Ford City vs. West Shamokin Basketball: Game of the Decade?

Tonight’s Ford City vs. West Shamokin game is certainly the most anticipated boys’ high school game of year. I can’t remember a game involving two Armstrong County schools in boys’ basketball since the turn of decade, where more was on the line. If Ford City wins, they’ll win the Section Title outright. A West Shamokin victory would give them a share of their first ever basketball Section Title. Ironically enough, tonight’s game won’t decide a county basketball Champion, we’ll have to wait until Monday’s West Shamokin vs. Kittanning finale to decide it officially. The game starts at 7:30 at West Shamokin H.S. It’s truly a rare occasion to have two schools playing for the Section Title on final night of section schedule. It will no doubt be a historic night for local high school basketball.

Ford City Girls Eye Section & WPIAL Titles

The Ford City Lady Sabers will lay claim to their first section title in 10 years with a win tomorrow night against West Shamokin. Ford City cleared their final hurdle by defeating Burrell, (the only section team to defeat them) 49-38 at home on Monday. Right now the 18-2 Lady Sabers are on a seven game winning steak. Ironically on Saturday they'll host the only other team to beat them, class "A" Mt. Alvernia. However a playoff warm-up against Kittanning would be a lot better to see instead. With the realignment of GCC, a Saber Section Title was expected, the real goal for this team is the WPIAL Title. With a lack of a clear favorite in “AA” Ford City fans are once again thinking about the elusive WPIAL Title.

Ford City Girls Basketball Eye Section Title

Ford City’s 53-52 Monday Night win over Apollo Ridge easily earns the title of game of the year. Trust me I feel bad for Apollo, as it’s the second time this season they lost to Ford City by a basket. Ford City just knows how to beat the Lady Vikings. The girls in the purple and gold are 16-2 on the year. In the next few days Ford City will have a chance avenged their only two defeats. First they host Mt. Alvernia tomorrow, and then on Monday it’s the epic conference showdown, soon to be sold out game against Burrell. With a win over Burrell, they Lady Sabers should claim at least a share of the section title. Oh and by the way the FC boys currently sit on top of their section. It could be a banner year for the Sabers. Anyone know the last time both girls and boys from Ford City won a section title.

PIAA to Consider 6 Classifications

The PIAA is considering expanding to 6 classifications for high school football starting in the 2010-11 season. I’m sure if football goes to 6 classes then basketball, soccer, volleyball and the rest would add classes too. This would surely not be in the best interests of the local high schools. While it’s hard to say who would be where enrollment wise, it’s safe to say Freeport, Ford City, Kittanning, and West Shamokin would not all be in the same classification. I think it going to be a hard sell, since the change would add travel, and hurt gate receipts. Would the WPIAL spilt, would local schools create a new athletic district, or leave the PIAA all together. I don’t know, but I do know six classes would not be welcomed by local football fans.

Local Sports News & Notes

West Shamokin with a great defensive effort defeated Freeport 34-28 in Boys Basketball. The Wolves keep the pressure on Ford City who won again. The Sabers have won six in a row. Freeport now is two games behind Springdale for the last playoff spot. Elsewhere, the Kittanning Boys lost to Knoch, in a game they had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

In Pittsburgh sports, the Pens enter the All-Star break tied for 9th in the East with 50 points. The loss Tuesday to Carolina was really tough, since the Pens are battling with them and Florida for the 8th and final seed. Pitt basketball is getting ready for their big showdown against West Virginia on Sunday.

Midseason H.S. Basketball Report

Local high school basketball teams have just completed the first half of their section schedule and it’s complete chaos is boys Section 1 “AA” basketball. Ford City’s win over West Shamokin has given them a one game lead over the Wolves, Burrell, and Springdale. All indications are this one could go down to the final week with all four teams vying for the title. Freeport has been playing better too, and could easily jump back in the playoff race with a win over Burrell on Friday Night. In girls a 6-1 Ford City and 5-2 Apollo Ridge team look headed to the playoffs. At this point the only thing we know for certain is there will be some important games down the stretch.

Kittanning defeats Ford City

The Kittanning high school boy's basketball team beat Ford City for the second consecutive year. This one was a 62-52 win in Ford City.

Kittanning vs Ford City: Boys Basketball Tonight

A lot of people probably think Ford City is favored to win tonight’s basketball game against rival Kittanning. However the Sabers are actually the team with the most to prove. Kittanning won last year’s boy games, so Ford City has pressure to win on their home floor. The Sabers have lost three out of their last four, including and an unexpected section lost at Apollo Ridge. Their last game, a tournament lost to St. Joe’s, was especially tough, since two week ago they beat St Joe’s by 30. Ford City (6-4) has only beat two WPIAL “AA” teams, and has a lot to prove against a 4-6 Kittanning squad. The Wildcats played well in at a recent tournament defeating Burrell. A win tonight will be a big boost to either team, and the game should be very exciting.

If you can't make the game, I'm covering it for WTYM 1380am, and it will air on Saturday morning.

Armstrong County Basketball Rankings 12/30/08

West Shamokin still leads the boys, while Kittanning gets ready for a huge showdown in FC. In girls Ford City is undefeated, and the Lady Wolves of West Shamookin have won 5 in a row.

Boys
1. West Shamokin - 173
2. Ford City - 120
3. Apollo Ridge - 11
4. Kittanning - 92
5. Freeport - 62
6. Elderton - 32
7. Leechburg - 10

Girls
1. Ford City - 180
2. Apollo Ridge - 146
3. Kittanning - 132
4. West Shamokin - 95
5. Freeport - 71
6. Leechburg - 37
7. Elderton - 10

Ford City Prepare for AR Tonight

It’s the biggest game to date as the 7-0 Ford City Lady Sabers host 7-0 Apollo Ridge Lady Vikings tonight at 7:30. Both teams enter the game averaging an identical 53.9 points a game. It’s actually a really good rivalry, as these teams honestly don’t like each other. Apollo however hasn’t beaten Ford City in the last two seasons. I would hope this game draws a large crowd to Red Mihalik Gymnasium. Ford City will be favored but Apollo has a lot of momentum, so it should be entertaining. In other local news before the Christmas break, Ford City is 10-0 in PIHL Open Division Hockey. Also Kittanning Wrestling is off to a great start.