WPIAL Basketball Playoff Tonight on RSW.

Tonight on RSW we’ll welcome the playoff bound Kittanning High School girls to the show. The Lady Wildcats won their last three section games to earn a trip to the “AAA” playoffs. I’ll be speaking about the season and the upcoming playoffs. The WPIAL will be announcing the playoff pairing tonight’s so there will be plenty to talk about. Both Ford City’s girls and boys’ teams won their section titles this season, and will be headed to the playoffs. The West Shamokin boys and the Freeport and Apollo Ridge girls will also be headed to the playoffs. With all the local teams in the playoffs I hope to hear your thoughts and opinions tonight at 7:30 on FLTV.

Kittanning vs. West Shaomkin Tonight

Two area coaches led their teams to exceptional seasons.

Tonight’s West Shamokin at Kittanning Boy’s Basketball game will showcase two local coaches who’ve done great jobs this season. West Shamokin’s Mike Nagy is no stranger to winning basketball games, but very few people would have predicted this year’s squad to finish the regular season with a 17-4 record. The Wolves’ defense has only given up 40 points a game, as they prepare for another trip to the WPIAL playoffs. In his second year at Kittanning, head coach Bill Henry has made the Wildcats a threat to win on any night. An 8-13 overall record is a huge step forward for the Wildcat’s program. A win tonight in their final game would give Kittanning a strong case for top team in Armstrong County.

Also I'll be covering the game for WTYM radio 1380 am. The can be heard Tuesday morning.

Boxing Matches in Kittanning on Saturday Night

Tonight on RSW, we'll be talking boxing tonight on Rizzo Sports Weekly. I’ll be speaking with a few local A.M.A. amateur boxers as they get ready for their weekend bouts. If you haven’t heard, Saturday night 7:00 pm Kittanning High School will host an A.M.A. Boxing Tournament. Tickets are on sell now for $10, as fundraising for the Wildcat Football Team. We’ll talk about the event and discuss some boxing strategy, so you don’t want to miss the show tonight. Also we’re back on cable after a week absence and I’m looking forward to hearing from you. See you tonight 7:30 on FLTV.

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.

Kittanning Wrestling into Playoffs & FLTV Update

First off if you missed the show last night you can watch it at FamilyLifeTv.com. If you don’t have the internet, feel free to voice your opinions to Comcast. From what I understand, I’ll be back on cable next Tuesday to pre-game for the Super Bowl.

Kittanning’s Wrestling Team will face traditional power Burrell tonight at 6PM in the section playoffs. Should they defeat Burrell, they would wrestle at 8PM against the winner of Shady Side vs. Valley. Who ever emerges victorious will be section champs. Regardless of tonight results the Wildcats will wrestle next week in the

Kittanning, Ford City Hockey Game in the Cards?

Last night on RSW, we discussed the possibility of Ford City and Kittanning facing off in an end of the season hockey game. I’m a strong advocate for both schools competing against each other in every sport. This would be a good showcase for both teams and their sport. There are many people, who have never been to a high school hockey game. The intrigue created by this game would bring in many first timers. Both teams also share the rink with Freeport, and neither have the YellowJackets on their schedule. The kids want it, the fans want it, so I hope the people involve will make it happen. My advice is, find a way to make these games a permanent fixture, and it will be win for everyone.

Steelers Look to Advance to AFC Championship Game.

The big sports story this weekend will be the Steelers hosting the Changers in the NFL Playoffs. If all things were equal the Steelers would have an advantage over San Diego Sunday, simply because of the weather conditions. With Tomlinson injured, it’s doubtful the Changers will be very effective offensively. Fourteen points will probably be enough for the Steelers. It might be interesting but I fully expect the Steelers to win, as they’re eying a Super Bowl.

I also wanted to clarify a point from yesterday’s column, where I said, Freeport and Ford City were scheduled to play Thursday night. The game was actually played on Wednesday night with Ford City squeaking out a 40-39 win. The FC Boys have another critical match-up tonight at Burrell.

Also the Kittanning Boys are now 6-6 overall and in a playoff hunt.

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

Kittanning Boys Basketball Win Section Game!!!!

The Kittanning Boys Basketball Team defeated Knoch 45-40 last night at Kittanning High School. The win gives Kittanning their first section victory in 63 attempts. It was on December 9th 2003 against Mars when the Wildcats won their last section game. Technically the Wildcats won a section game last season after the fact via a Valley forfeit. This however officially puts an end to it, as the Cats can celebrate a section victory for the first time in years. The Kittanning Boys are the best story of this young basketball season. Their next local game is at Ford City on Jan 2nd. See you there.

Armstrong County Basketball Rankings 12/16/08

It's the first rankings of the new season.  West Shamokin tops in boys,  while undefeateds Ford City and Apollo Ridge are on a collision course in girls. 

Boys

1. West Shamokin - 160
2. Ford City - 135
3. Apollo Ridge - 104
4. Kittanning - 81
5. Freeport - 50
6. Elderton - 43
7. Leechburg - 20

Girls

1. Ford City - 170
2. Apollo Ridge - 164
3. Kittanning - 139
4. Freeport  - 119
5. Leechburg - 52
6. Elderton - 15
    West Shamokin - 15

Kittanning Football's keys against FC.

I’m sure everyone is getting prepared for the big game in Ford Cliff tonight. If you’re not going to be at the game, once again it will be live on FLTV and WTYM 1380.

I’m going to approach this piece by looking at what Kittanning can do to reverse the trend, and pull the upset tonight. First off the game has been moved to the final weekend of the regular season, I won’t take part of the credit for that, I’ll take all the credit. With that said, weather could be a factor, so if it gets ugly out, it will favor Kittanning.

It goes with out saying for Kittanning to win; the score will have to be close. Secondly we all know they can’t have turnovers, another given.

The only unfortunate thing about having no out of conference games is it’s difficult to tell how good teams are. Ford City is ranked 8th in current WPIAL Football Rankings. The fact of the matter is, the Sabers seem slightly below the level they’ve been at for the prior 3 seasons. Kittanning could easily be 7-1, but as it stands, this game is their version of WPIAL championship.

Back to the keys for Kittanning, the Cats match-up well against FC on the line. This is really the only factor giving Kittanning a chance, that they must be able to get positive yards on the ground. Logan Atwood’s injury will hurt Kittanning as he is clearly their best weapon against Ford City. An already predictable offense is now even more predictable. Trust me, Kittanning doesn’t have a bag of trick plays either for this game.

The Cats will need to take patience to a whole new level, and posses the football 70% of the time. 5 yard runs time and time again, will be best offense and in turn best defense against Ford City.

What are you’re thoughts….

Kittanning vs. Ford City Football

If you want to vote for the winner of the Kittanning vs. Ford City Football game, please do so on the homepage of www.RizzoSports.com

Enjoy the Game!

WPIAL Football | Rivalry Week

It's the last week of the WPIAL regular season, and this year some of best rivalries are also the most important games.

Gateway vs. McKeesport
Woodland Hills vs. Penn Hills
North Hills vs. North Allegheny
Jeannette vs. GCC
Beaver vs. Beaver Falls
Rochester vs. Monaca
Riverview vs. Springdale

Vote on WPIAL Games Here

Local Fans can the vote on Kittanning, Ford City Game Here

Ford City vs. Kittanning

Ford City is coming off a huge win against Burrell, and Kittanning has won 5 games in a row. The early line has Ford City as 12 point favorites at home. Let the voting starts early, who do you think will win the big game.

www.rizzosports.com

Kittanning Football's Playoff Chances

I'll be at Burrell tomorrow night to cover the Kittanning game live on WTYM 1380. If you missed the show on Tuesday, I broke down the Wildcats' playoff chances. As of now they're tied with Freeport and Burrell with 3-3 section records. The problem for Wildcats fans is the lost to Freeport. We all know the Cats have to win out to have a chance, that's a given since only the top 4 teams make the playoffs. Freeport goes to West Shomkin, Deer Lakes, then they host Summit Academy, if Freeport wins out, they will make the playoffs over Kittanning simply because they won the head to head match-up. Kittanning fans best hope is Deer Lakes pulling an upset next week, not to mention the Cats going 3-0 the rest of the way.

There also is a chance Valley could finish the season with 3 loses, but they make the playoffs over Freeport and Kittanning should they all finish with 3 loses. Then Freeport would take the fourth spot since they defeated Kittanning.

Kittanning Lands Another Major Junior Fishing Tournament

National Guard Junior World Championship will be held in Kittanning next July. The event will coincide with 2009 Forrest Wood Cup Bass Fishing Tournament taking place in Pittsburgh.

Kittanning Football: Must Win Home Opener

Kittanning Football will be facing one of their most important home openers in recent memory as they host the Valley Vikings (0-1). Both teams need a win, and Kittanning can't afford to be 0-2 before heading to Shady Side next week. Rain could be in the forecast Friday, and if you can't make the game, I'll be taping the game for WTYM which should air Saturday morning @ 8am.

WTYM will carry the Ford City vs. West Shamokin game live Friday as the Sabers look to make it 20 conference wins in a row.

WPIAL Football Scheduling Hurts Kittanning & Ford City

Everyone has a right to be upset with the 2008 WPIAL Football schedule. Kittanning and Ford City have to share Friday nights. The teams both play at home and the road on the same nights. This will cost local programs $$$$ in ticket revenue. I would expect ticket revenue to be down significantly for the upcoming season. A lot of local fans rotate between the home games of the two teams, and this season they'll be left with a local option. This is not good for everyone involved.