Coaches revealed, honored by Tri-CADA
For the second straight year, the COVID-19 pandemic cost this area the Tri-County Athletic Directors Association Coach of the Year Banquet.
And for the second straight year, the winners will be recognized not at a banquet, but rather through this newspaper account and possibly be brought to a future banquet.
So let’s begin.
In wrestling, Joe Throckmorton is the Coach of the Year after leading Waynesburg to its second straight WPIAL team championship and its first PIAA team title.
Waynesburg sent five wrestlers to the finals of the Class AAA state tournament and three of them – Mac Church, Wyatt Henson and Luca Augustine – left as champions.
In football, TJ Plack was the winner. The Peters Township head coach led the Indians to a second straight WPIAL championship game.
Unfortunately for the Indians, the outcome was identical as Pine-Richland defeated Peters Township, 35-0, in the Class 5A final played at North Allegheny High School.
In volleyball, only the COVID-19 pandemic could stop Fort Cherry’s volleyball team. The Rangers, under head coach Mackenzie Biggs-Greene, went 15-0 and into the quarterfinals of the WPIAL in Class A.
That’s when COVID-19 struck and forced the Rangers to forfeit to Beaver County Christian.
In girls basketball, Trinity played one of its best games of the year in snapping Chartiers Valley’s state-record 64-game winning streak. That win helped the Hillers, under Kathy McConnell-Miller, earn the top seed in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs.
The rematch with Chartiers Valley came in the WPIAL championship game and the Colts ended the Hillers seasons with a 62-40 victory.
In boys basketball, Zack Keefer won the award for taking Frazier to the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, where the Commodores were beaten for the second time that season by Fort Cherry, 54-49.
In boys soccer, Bobby Dyer had another outstanding season at Peters Township. He led the Indians to the WPIAL Class 4A tournament, where they were the No.1 seed. After a 2-1 overtime victory against Baldwin, the Indians knocked off Fox Chapel 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals.
In the finals, another overtime game was nearly won by PT when a shot by standout forward Andrew Massucci hit the upright and glanced back into play against Seneca Valley.
Forward Beaux Liznewski scored his third goal of the game with 4:40 remaining in double-overtime to earn a 4-3 victory for Seneca Valley.
In girls soccer, Pat Vereb guided Peters Township to the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. The Indians defeated Seneca Valley 1-0 in the quarterfinals but fell 3-0 to North Allegheny in the semifinals.
There were no spring sports coaches honored because COVID-19 wiped out their seasons.
The Tri-CADA did award scholarships to eight student-athletes. On the boys side were Alexander Danko of Monessen; Nathan O’Savage of California, Dane Matuscin of Canon-McMillan and Hunter Voithofer of Carmichaels.
The four girls who will receive scholarships are Makayla Boda of California, Jersey Wise of West Greene, Bayleigh McCullough of Trinity, and Maria Mrosko of Laurel Highlands.