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Mike White's high school sports chat: 12.09.25
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Mike White
11:02
Well, put a bow on football season. Our player of the year and coach of the year come out Sunday. Basketball WPIAL section play starts this week. So let's talk.
HsFan
11:02
Has anything surprised you in this early Hoops season? Fox Chapel beating Char Valley caught my eye, considering what FC lost from last year. Seneca beating Peters was also  noteworthy. 6A section 1 could be fun this year.
Mike White
11:04
Hey HsFan. Fox Chapel beating Char Valley did catch my eye a little. Fox Chapel is still fine and always is competitive. So while the win might have been a little surprising, what was surprising the most was the score. Char Valley has very good guards. Foxex held them to the 40s. But one thing about Fox Chapel, they always defend. You're right. That was a little surprising.
Sleighborhood
11:04
Hey Mike, looks like neighborhood brought in like 10 new kids. Remarkable. State run likely on the way.
Mike White
11:05
I have no idea who is new at Neighborhood Academy. I know they had a lot of seniors, so 9th graders obviously would be new. One is Julius Page's son, who is very good. I've seen him. Was at Char Valley through eighth grade.
Mr Ed
11:05
Jaden Jones of Avonworth. Wow. What was crazy about Saturday was watching him, long, lean and lanky, great hands and athletic ability and then later watching Joey O’Brien of LaSalle the Notre Dame recruit. Also wore number 6 and a carbon copy athletically only older, more mature and expierenced. I don’t see any reason if he continues to work hard that Jones won’t be every bit as good when he’s a senior. In terms of the eye test, does Jones remind you of any great WPIAL receivers that you have seen? I was thinking Jonathan Baldwin in terms of build, height, and athleticism though as I recall I think in high school Baldwin had more body mass than Jones.
Mike White
11:08
Hey Mr. Ed. I really like Jared Jones. Have liked him ever since I saw him play TJ this year. He's long and fast. Very athletic, too. Only a sophomore and already has a couple of offers. Very good athlete also. Should be one of Avonworth's top basketball players. Pretty good genes, too. Dad Vertus Jones was a tremendous wrestler, state champ in high school. Also played football. Wrestling coach at North Hills and Avonworth football assistant. Vertus was twice NCAA runner-up in wrestling. Jared is good, but I'm not saying he's another O'Brien. O'Brien is one of the top players in the country. But Jared Jones' future is bright. How bout this stat: Jared Jones caught 11 TD passes this year that averaged 50 yards.
Hoop Guru
11:09
I know a referees job is tough and I’m not bashing them at all. In all your years of experience coaching and covering High school hoops, why is the charge call virtually never called correctly? Lol
Mike White
11:09
It's a tough call. Who says it's not called correctly?
David
11:09
Any surprises from teams you weren’t expecting to be on top or teams you thought would be on top but haven’t produced so far?
Mike White
11:10
Still pretty early. Some teams have played two games. This Norwin team interests me. Two close wins over Pine-Richland and Franklin Regional. Norwin returns some players. Interested to see what happens tonight against USC.
Mr Ed
11:10
Now that the season is complete, I’ll revisit my question of a couple weeks ago, on their level, where would you rank Avonworth among the best you have seen? Undefeated, win states, also beat WPIAL 4A champ, and beat Northwestern Lehigh who had 31 game winning streak and had also beaten the 4A state champ!
Mike White
11:11
Very, very good. Best I've ever seen on their level? Sorry, not ready to put them there yet. But very, very good. Dominant. Won every postseason game by 16 or more. I don't know if they had a weakness.
Nick
11:11
Who’s winning 6A in your opinion
Mike White
11:11
Well, we have New Castle No. 1 right now.
Jimmy The Greek
11:11
Mike, this Avonworth team was DOMINANT throughout the season.  Reminded me a lot of the 2021 Central Valley team.  Who you take in that game?
Also, when does WPIAL announce new conferences? Thank you!
Mike White
11:12
Now that would be a heckvua game. Wow. Let me think. Neither team really had a weakness. Man, flip a coin on that one.
BB Official
11:12
Fans in the stands. Learn the rules before you blurt out your comments and look like a goofball. You're there to support your student athletes. What gives you the right to yell at officials. Be Positive, Cheer for your team. Don't denigrate the officials and the other team. DON'T BE THAT GUY
Mike White
11:13
Three cheers for BB Official. Call most people don't understand or know: Over-and-back.
Ryan
11:13
Who wins tonight’s non conference game Latrobe or mars go mars
Mike White
11:13
Could be a good one. I can't really make an informative pick. Have to see more and know more about Latrobe. Mars is pretty good, though.
TigerFan
11:14
Mike, Big fan of the sports chat, and have been following for years. I’m excited about my Mckeesport Tigers. Dan Derose is rough around the edges but he fits at the Port, has flipped the culture and is able to get these kids to buy in, compete hard, and play together. Offensive sets are crisp. Is he the most underrated coach in the WPIAL?
Mike White
11:14
He wins everywhere he goes.
Ethan Hellmann
11:14
Why the hate with the snub from the 22 ? What did I ever do to you ?
Mike White
11:14
We felt the other 22 were better picks. Doesn't mean Hellmann isn't good. Just means we felt other 22 were better.
11:17
Also, let me backtrack. Jimmy the Geek asked when the WPIAL will release football conferences. Vince Sortino of the WPIAL told our Keith Barnes yesterday that it won't be until probably March. WPIAL has to wait to see who might get bumped up because of PIAA competition classification formula and after appeals. Just tellin' ya what WPIAL said.
Trade
11:17
I saw Colin Dunlap post a letter sent by Fox Chapel's AD to the football parents regarding the future of the Head Coach. How about a trade with USC. Junko to Fox Chapel for their Head Coach.We gotta deal ?
Mike White
11:19
No, I think it was a letter from Fox Chapel coach to parents.  My opinion? Unreal. I think letter basically said if, what, 10 percent of parents want him gone, he will resign. Parents can vote. Never seen anything like it. Just when you think you've seen it all, a coach puts out a ballot to parents to vote on him as coach. What are we doing nowadays?
Frank
11:19
Hi Mike, love your work. New Castle is always good, but watching them this year, they could be up there with Blundo (or even John Sarandrea's) better teams. Cox and Harrison are a problem and you can see why there's all the hype around Marino Graham. Little early of course, but do you think they could be a state championship contender.
Mike White
11:20
New Castle is very good. Harrison is making 3's a lot this year and Graham is definitely a nice addition. They will be very tough to beat. State championship contenders in 6A from the WPIAL? I think you forget what lies on the other side of the state in 6A and how teams have to beat eastern teams in maybe quarterfinals and semifinals.
Mr Ed
11:20
Does the return of two writers to the HS Sports department impact you at all? Hopefully you will still do chat, Prep Talk, occasional stories?
Mike White
11:21
Glad to have Brad and Steve back. I'll still be doing what I've been doing. Now Mr. Ed, go eat some hay for lunch.
11:24
One thing I wanted to mention about PIAA football and something to watch for in future. Roman Catholic and Bishop McDevitt met in PIAA 5A title game the past two years. Will they both move up to 6A next year? Under the PIAA classification competiton formula, a football team must have 7 success points and five transfers over two years. Both Roman and McDevitt have enough success points. What we don't know is how many transfers they have had in two years. It's possible both might move up. That would mean more competition in 6A.
The return
11:24
So does The Fumbler return with the strike being over ?
Mike White
11:28
We have to find him. I got a post card from him at Christmas last year and it was from Tahiti. Kenny "The Horse" told me he saw him two years ago eating a hoagie at a Wal-Mart while The Horse was in Indianapolis for drum and bugle nationals. So we might have to issue an APB for The Fumbler. We also would like to locate The Dribbler for basketball predictions. Last I saw of him he was arrested in Smethport two years ago for taking bets on Turkeyfoot games. You may ask, where is Turkeyfoot? Well, it's right next to the turkey's leg. Wooooo hooooo. I'll be here all week.
Wpial basketball fan
11:28
Saw OLSH play they look good. Coach Rods a good coach with a good track record of winning. Do you think OLSH has a chance to win in a stacked 2a this year?
Mike White
11:30
Coach Rodriguez is very good. He's already proven that. They are definitely a top 5 team. But I still think Sewickley and Jeannette are the top two.
Saratoga
11:31
Roman and Mcdevitt moving up to 5A would make the 5A PIAA playoffs a lot more interesting. Would open up the entire class to Publics
Mike White
11:31
If they move up, Roman and McDevitt would move to 6A, not 5A.
Move Up/Down
11:31
Does Ihmotep have enough points to stay 6A or will they be back down in 5A for football?
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