Early agate
Oct. 31
1952 – Frank Bonus throws a 40-yard touchdown pass to Bill Braner midway through the fourth quarter, then intercepts a late Redstone Township pass as Washington High School remains undefeated with a 7-0 victory over the Black Hawks in Republic.
1958 – Cecil pulls out a 14-13 victory over Snowden in the final two minutes as Ed Patnesky throws a 12-yard touchdown pass to Steve Macik and Bruce Gossett kicks the winning extra point.
1970 – A bobbled snap from center to the punter with less than a minute remaining leads to a safety and gives West Greene a 2-0 victory over visiting Mapletown.
1973 – The Pittsburgh Pirates trade backup catcher Milt May to the Houston Astros for left-handed pitcher Jerry Reuss.
1974 – John Colombo takes a pass from Rich Roccon and beats the Springdale goalkeeper with a shot in the second period for the match’s lone goal as Trinity defeats the two-time defending champion Dynamos, 1-0, in the WPIAL soccer championship game at Pitt Stadium.
1975 – Avella scores 30 second-half points and defeats Mapletown 37-6 to win the Tri-County South Conference football championship. Jim Floyd scores on runs of 60 and 65 yards and throws a 25-yard scoring pass to Gary Kusik.
1980 – Pete Gianfrancesco scores on a one-yard plunge in the third quarter and Burgettstown defeats Washington 6-0 to clinch a WPIAL playoff berth.
1985 – Immaculate Conception and Mon Valley Catholic each qualify for the PIAA Class AA volleyball tournament during WPIAL round-robin play with Farrell and California at Ambridge High School.
1986 – Chris Bahner, a German exchange student, kicks a 38-yard field goal with 25 seconds left to give Canon-McMillan a 21-20 victory over Trinity, spoiling the Hillers’ bid for an undefeated regular season.
1987 – Freshman John Ivory kicks a 40-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining to give Washington & Jefferson, ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division III, a 38-36 victory over host Carnegie Mellon. The Presidents overcome a 22-7 halftime deficit. W&J running back A.J. Pagano has a big game with 357 all-purpose yards. It’s W&J’s first win at Tech Field since 1971.
1990 – The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jim Leyland is named National League Manager of the Year.
1997 – Scott Belcastro runs for three touchdowns and passes for another as Washington wins at fifth-ranked Bentworth 41-21 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA football playoffs.
1997 – Jefferson-Morgan’s Adam Swinchock scores eight touchdowns in the Rockets’ 64-42 Week 10 victory over Avella. Swinchock scores on runs of three, 46, three, 26, five and 75 yards, catches a five-yard TD pass and returns a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown. Swinchock also scores on a pair of two-point conversion runs and finishes the game with 52 points.
1997 – Fort Cherry’s Mike Vernillo rushes for 275 yards and touchdowns of 78, 72, 24 and 31 yards as the Rangers defeat Monessen 40-12 in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Vernillo boosts his season total to 2,116 yards.
2004 – The Pittsburgh Steelers score 21 points during a four-minute span of the first quarter and beat New England, 34-20, snapping the Patriots’ NFL-record 21-game winning streak.
2006 – Bentworth defeats traditional power Elderton 27-25, 25-21, 14-25, 18-25, 15-12 to advance to the WPIAL Class A volleyball semifinals for the first time in school history.
2012 – Jake Wilcox and Ivan Viveros scores goals during the second half to give 13th-seeded Canon-McMillan a 2-1 victory over Peters Township in the WPIAL Class AAA boys soccer semifinals played at Baldwin.
2012 – Veronica Latsko scores two goals and Peters Township dominates play throughout as the Indians blank Gateway 3-0 in the WPIAL Class AAA girls soccer semifinals.