Oct 27, 2023 5 min read

Oct. 28

1960 – Ron Skiles scores on runs of two and five yards in the first half and Ellsworth High School stuns Avella, 12-0, to eliminate the Eagles from WPIAL Class B playoff contention. It is the first loss for Avella to a Class B opponent since 1956.

1966 – Waynesburg’s Jeff Cree returns the second-half kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown to break a scoreless tie and the undefeated Raiders go on to beat Chartiers-Houston, 21-0.

1975 – Jim Boyles and Rich Roccon score goals as defending champion Trinity defeats Bethel Park 2-1 in the WPIAL soccer semifinals at Chartiers Valley.

1983 – Brian Davis rushes for 132 yards and scores two touchdowns as Washington clinches the conference championship with a 42-0 victory over visiting Albert Gallatin.

1988 – Mapletown’s Derek Bochna rushes for 301 yards – surpassing 3,000 for his career – and scores three touchdowns in a 31-13 victory at California.

1993 — Ron Francis becomes the 38th NHL player to score 1,000 points with a goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 7-3 loss to the Quebec Nordiques.

1994 – Jason White completes 11 of 17 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns as the Beth-Center scores 26 unanswered points in the second half and defeats visiting Jeannette 33-22 in a battle of Century Conference unbeatens.

1996 – Pitt hires Steve Pederson as its athletic director.

2004 – McGuffey’s Jeff Weiss runs away from the competition and wins the WPIAL Class AA cross country title. Weiss covers the 5K course at Slippery Rock University in 15:37 and beats the runner-up by more than one minute.

2005 – Ben Jennings rushes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, Mike Wise kicks two field goals and 15th-seeded Trinity upsets second-seeded Penn Hills 20-17 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA football playoffs.

2005 – Washington holds host Aliquippa to 56 rushing yards and C.J. Baker returns a punt 33 yards for the game’s only touchdown as the Prexies upset Aliquippa 7-0 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs.

2005 – Travis Hariff passes for two touchdowns and runs for two others, and Nick Workmaster kicks the game-winning extra point in overtime, as Bentworth defeats host Mapletown, 35-34, in the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Mapletown’s Ryan Geisel rushes for 221 yards and two scores.

2006 – Sidney Crosby scores his first career hat trick as the Pittsburgh Penguins rout the Philadelphia Flyers, 8-2.

2011 – Billy Simpson catches a 11-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left in the first half, then returns a fumble 25 yards for a score in the second half as Bentworth ends a 20-game football losing streak with a 19-8 victory over visiting Avella. 

2011 – West Virginia officially agrees to leave the Big East Conference and join the Big 12.

2011 – Andrew Erenberg rushes for 174 yards and four touchdowns as Peters Township defeats Canon-McMillan 46-27 to clinch a WPIAL Class AAAA playoff berth.

Oct. 29

1972 – Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson rushes for 189 yards and scores on a 96-yard run – the longest allowed in Pittsburgh history – but the Steelers defeat the Bills, 38-21, at War Memorial Stadium.

1976 – Chuck Amos’ 28-yard field goal in the third quarter gives Black Hills Conference leader Burgettstown a 3-0 win at West Allegheny.

1982 – Matt Carlisle rushes for 140 yards and Joe Phillips gains 107, including a game-winning 12-yard run in the fourth quarter, as playoff-bound Fort Cherry defeats Quigley, 20-16.

1983 – Bill Watson scores four touchdowns and Mapeltown clinches its first WPIAL football playoff berth with a 34-0 victory over Mon Valley Catholic at Donora’s Legion Field. Watson rushes for 184 yards on 13 carries and scores on runs of 72, 6, 11 and 68 yards.

1986 – Peters Township outshoots Sewickley Academy, 21-5, and the Indians’ Al Lopus scores the match’s only goal late in the first half as PT wins the WPIAL Class AA soccer championship. A free kick from 45 yards by PT’s Bill Donohue was misplayed by the Sewickley goalkeeper and Lopus kicked in the rebound.

1999 – Lanfer Simpson rushes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, and Lee Fritz runs for a score and passes for another, as visiting Waynesburg wins the Three Rivers Conference championship with a 25-7 victory over host Washington.

2000 – Frank Sworden resigns after 22 years as head football coach at McGuffey High School. Sworden had a 122-98-6 career record and the Highlanders won the 1994 WPIAL Class AAA championship.

2003 – Goalkeeper Jordan Marks makes three diving saves before teammate Nick Cattaneo scores on a penalty kick to give Peters Township a 2-1 victory in a shootout and the WPIAL Class AAA boys soccer championship.

2004 – Doug Rheam scores on an 80-yard TD run in the third quarter and Canon-McMillan gets the first WPIAL football playoff win in school history, defeating visiting Belle Vernon 22-0 in a Class AAA first-round game.

2004 – Rochester defeats Chartiers-Houston, 27-7, in the first round of the WPIAL Class A football playoffs, ending John Haught’s 29-year run as the Bucs’ head coach.

2011 – Joe Paterno breaks Eddie Robinson’s record for career victories by a Division I coach with No. 409 in Penn State’s sloppy 10-7 win over Illinois.