VALLEY SPORTS HISTORY
2005
2005
• It was deja-vu in more ways than one when the Belle Vernon Area girls basketball team hosted Southmoreland. The Leps came within 50 seconds of pulling off an upset on the Scotties but fell short bowing 48-43 in a key section matchup. Senior Ava Nickens lead the Leps with 15 points and ripped down 15 rebounds, while senior point guard Brooke Panepinto added 10. Thanks to sophomore sensation Vanessa Abel, the Scotties were able to overcome deficits of 10 and 11 points to earn the victory.
• Yough couldn’t have picked a better time to play their first game of the season. It came at home against section-leading Indiana. Coming off successive losses to Belle Vernon and Southmoreland and facing a team that defeated them by 20 points earlier in the season, the Lady Cougars rebounded to win a convincing 59-34 victory. Yough coach Lou Zadecky said, “We put everything together. The girls wanted to redeem themselves for the last two games. They knew we had to win and got the job done.”
1995
• A lot of high school stars enjoy the college recruiting process, but not Monessen’s Patric Greene. Greene is an intensely private person, known for his quiet demeanor as for his athletic skill. The versatile 6-2, 172-pound Greene has chosen West Virginia University to start his collegiate career. Greene who visited Penn State, Clemson, Maryland and WVU said his choice came down to a matter of location. “Besides being a good program, the location was important. The deciding factor for West Virginia was how close it is. I wanted to stay close to home.”
• The waiting finally ended for Belle Vernon Area’s hard-luck basketball team. The Leps upset visiting Uniontown, 69-63, for their first Quad A Section 2 victory of the season. The presence of Kasey McIntyre, who didn’t play in the Leps’ 73-65 loss to Uniontown earlier in the season made a big difference. McIntyre poured in 23 points – including 17 in the first half – which the Leps lead 39-26. Vince Graham topped the Leps with a game-high 24 points.
1985
• Who is going to coach the Ringgold football team? That question may or may not be answered next month. Ringgold School Board President Roger D’Emidio said, “You don’t dismiss a guy like Bill Connors and just bring in another coach. We want to replace him with someone of the same caliber. If that means offering someone a four or a five year contract that’s what we’ll do.” According to D’Emidio there have been 15 applicants for the position since Connors was fired, despite leading the Rams to the playoffs for the last three years.
• Charleroi’s basketball team kept their playoff hopes alive with a 68-62 victory over visiting Burgettstown.. The Cougars moved into a fourth-place tie with the losers, a game behind third-place Brownsville. Charleroi never trailed after taking a 22-10 lead in the first quarter thanks to Shawn Lee. Lee outscored the Blue Devils in the first period when he scored 11 of his 15 points. Sophomore Scott Smith topped the Cougars by scoring a game-high 16 points while juniors Brock Witmyer and John Arnold added 14 and 10.
