Jun 21, 2021 3 min read

It began a few weeks later than originally planned, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and with plenty of concern and trepidation.

The high school sports season ended last weekend, with heartbreak and tears for the West Greene girls softball team, the victim of a bottom-of-the-seventh comeback by Tri-Valley in the state finals. That was one day after the Bethel Park baseball team held off a late comeback by Red Land to cap a 25-win season with the PIAA Class 5A championship and dogpile on the field at Penn State’s Medlar Field.

Along the way, there were limited crowds, mandatory face coverings and social distancing. Hopefully, they will be only memories when fall sports begin. Somehow we made it to the finish line this year with only a few hiccups along the way.

But before looking ahead, let’s take a look back at a sports year that was like nothing we had ever experienced.

For some, the season was stop and go. Several local teams had their chance to compete in the postseason end abruptly because of contact tracing and COVID-19 protocals.

The basketball and wrestling seasons began – for one night – then were shut down for weeks before resuming. We missed having the WPIAL football championships played at Heinz Field and the basketball finals at the Petersen Events Center, and even the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament had to find a new venue outside of Washington County, which it had called home since its inception.

The football and basketball finals went off without a hitch at high school venues, and the spring sports championship competition looked much closer to normal, which was terrific, especially after those teams and athletes had their 2020 seasons canceled. The WPIAL softball finals even made their much-anticipated return to California University’s Lilley Field.

The area again had many individual state champions and team titles, highlighted by one of the most dominant wrestling teams the WPIAL has produced. There was a swimmer who was so good, he competed at the recent United States Olympic Trials, another swimmer who won a state title even though her school doesn’t have a team or a pool, and a girls basketball program that set the state record for consecutive wins.

Along the way, we lost some coaches – retired and active – to the COVID-19 virus, a reminder that we should take nothing for granted. Enjoy your sport and the people playing, coaching and officiating it, for you never know what the future holds for any of us.

While the games are gone for now, they’ll be back sooner than we realize. It is less than 70 days before the first high school football games are played. Summer is only a short break until we get to do it all over again, hopefully, without limited capacities.

Until then, take a look back at the 2020-21 year with this “Best of Sports” edition that details the top teams and athletes from the coverage areas of the Observer-Reporter and The Almanac.

Enjoy.

Chris Dugan is sports editor of the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com.