Top five games
Throughout a school year spent covering high school sports, games can tend to blend together.
These, though, did not.
Here’s my collection of the best games that I covered from the 2012-13 season.
Keep in mind that I only covered one wrestling match – you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, and you don’t mess around with Joe Tuscano covering wrestling.
In no particular order:
Washington-South Fayette football. WPIAL Class AA semifinals. Probably the defining moment of Shai McKenzie’s career thus far.
The Wash High back carried 42 times – a career-high – for 293 yards and four touchdowns during a 26-14 win at Chartiers Valley.
The Prexies piled up 454 rushing yards and became pretty much the only team all season to disrupt South Fayette’s silky-smooth passing game.
Probably the best high school sporting event I ever covered in terms of on-field drama.
Alayna Astuto 18 strikeouts, a no-hitter through nine. Linda Rush a two-run homer in the top of the 12th.
Final out was a popout to Maddie Engel at first base, and the Big Macs went bonkers.
I’ve never tweeted so much at a high school sporting event – and probably could’ve done twice as much.
Brownsville at California, Friday, Jan. 30. Boys hoops. Gym’s packed, two neighboring towns going nuts.
For the junior varsity game.
I thought I had seen a wild high school atmosphere. I hadn’t.
Tanner Huffman and Brian Fisher combined for 53 points during the Trojans’ 76-72 victory that clinched the Section 5-AA title.
As a good friend of mine, Craig Rechichar – a proud Brownsville graduate – texted me that night: “Two towns that do not like each other.”
Yep.
WPIAL Class AAA final for girls soccer. All the late-game drama you’d want. Plus a killer spread at Elizabeth Forward.
Veronica Latsko headed in a corner kick from Rachel Troscinski with 8 seconds remaining in the second overtime to secure the victory for the Indians.
It’s their second WPIAL title in the past three years and a fine prelude to yet another PIAA Class AAA championship.
Wash High’s Josh Wise circles the basketball court at Canon-McMillan, left to right, stopping at the right wing. Pass from Darius Spinks. Wise drains a 3-pointer with eight-tenths of a second left. Washington 46, Canon-McMillan 43.
Tournament MVP and rightfully so.
Wise would go on to average 21.9 points per game, reach 1,000 for his career and earn Observer-Reporter All-District Player of the Year honors.