Local Sports

Thrilling Comeback Earns Wolverines A 25-24 Victory And WPIAL Playoff Bid

Ellwood City earned an automatic playoff bid with a thrilling 25-24 comeback victory over Beaver Falls on Friday. The Wolverines trailed by multiple scores at halftime and late in the third quarter before it swung momentum and overcame the deficit. After spotting the host Tigers two touchdowns by Kenny Jewell in the first quarter, Ellwood City was behind on the scoreboard early but responded with a Kam Hockenberry 27-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter to cut the deficit in half at 12-6. Christian Dawkins found the endzone three minutes later for Beaver Falls to stretch its lead out…


Ellwood City Boys Cross Country Team Places 3rd In WPIAL Championships, Advances to PIAA

The Ellwood City Boys Cross Country team finished with a bronze medal Thursday at the WPIAL Class 2A Cross Country Championships and will advance to the PIAA State Championships next weekend. “As a collective, we had an extremely successful day and I believe we shocked some boys teams,” said head coach Nate Brown. Lucas Bleakney was the first finisher for the Wolverines and took 6th overall with a time of 15:59.80. “All year the PIAA meet has been his goal,” says Brown. “He really wanted to get under 10 and met his goal.” Three runners, including Bleakney, medaled for their…


Lady Panthers Soccer To Face Defending WPIAL Champ Springdale In Quarterfinals

24The Riverside Lady Panthers soccer team used a shootout victory to secure its opening round victory in the WPIAL Class-A Playoffs on Tuesday at Central Valley. In the close encounter that went the distance, freshman Emma Jeannette stepped up and tucked home the winning penalty as #5 Riverside (8-3-1, 8-1-1) won 5-4 on penalties against #12 Riverview (8-5-0, 7-3-0). The Panthers victory avenges last years opening round loss at the hands of Sewickley Academy and will pit Riverside against #4 seed and defending Class-A Champion Springdale in the 2025 quarterfinals. Riverside will travel to Springdale for a 12:00 p.m. noon…


Dick Allen Mural Dedication Schedule For Saturday

The mural honoring Dick Allen, who was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame this past July, will be dedicated Saturday at 4:00 PM in Wampum. Allen’s son, Richard Allen, Jr. of Florida,, and his brother, Ron Allen of Ohio, will be among the family members in attendance. Award-winning artist Ernel Martinez from South Carolina, who created the mural, will be honored at the dedication. Martinez, who was also the muralist for the Dick Allen mural in Philadelphia, is renowned for his murals throughout the United States. He has created over 30 murals in the city of Philadelphia…


Playoff Implications For Ellwood City, Riverside Football Teams

Madness may ensue on Friday with several area football teams vying for playoff berths and seeding in WPIAL Class 2A. According to Lawrence County SportsNet, below are all 16 playoff scenarios in the WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference (MAC). In summary: – No matter what, Western Beaver is the top team in the MAC. They could be co-champs with Ellwood City or Beaver Falls, or Tri-Champs with Riverside and either Beaver Falls or Ellwood City, but WB would have the head-to-head advantage over all of them. – Riverside, it’s simple. Win and the Panthers are in the top three…


Riverside Girls Soccer, Volleyball Teams Each Earn Berths In WPIAL Playoffs

The Riverside Girls Soccer Team (8-3-1) captured the Section 1-A crown and earned a #4 seed in the 2025 Class-A Girls soccer WPIAL Playoffs. The Lady Panthers will begin their playoffs on Tuesday, October 21st against Riverview High School at Central Valley High school at 6:00 p.m. Class-A top seed Sewickley Academy rolled to a perfect 15-1 record in Section 3 while defending Class-A champion and 5-seed Springdale finished 10-1-1 in Section 4. With a victory Tuesday, Riverside would advance to play the winner of #4 Springdale/#13 Chartiers-Houston on Saturday, October 25th at a stie and time TBD. The WPIAL…


EC Routs Union 41-6; Riverside Knocks Off BF 21-18

Both local high school football teams picked up critical section victories Friday night as Ellwood City easily handled winless Union 41-6 while Riverside nudged past Beaver Falls 21-18. The victories improved each team’s respective record to 5-4 with a 4-2 mark in Section 2-2A. (Ellwood City holds the tie break, with a victory over Riverside last week) For Ellwood City, a second consecutive week with a 40-plus point outburst showcased an offensive unit that finished with 477 total net yards. The Wolverines posted 22 first downs and were a perfect 7-7 on fourth down conversions in the road victory over…


Registration Open for the 2025–2026 REC Wrestling Season

It’s that exciting time of year again—REC Wrestling registration for the 2025–2026 season is still open! If your child has ever wanted to step onto the mat, learn discipline and confidence, and have a blast doing it, now’s the perfect time to join. Practices begin Tuesday, October 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the North Side Wrestleteria (the North Side Elementary cafeteria). Wrestlers and families should enter through the back doors in the alley behind the school. Regular practices will be held Tuesdays & Thursdays: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Occasional Monday practices are depending on coach availability and special wrestling workshop…


PHOTOS: High Five! Smiley, Wolverines Defeat Rival Riverside On Senior Night

Talk about a high five! Senior Tyler Smiley went to the air and tossed five touchdown passes Friday Night as Ellwood City routed Riverside 48-14 on Senior Night. The quarterback connected with four different receivers on touchdown strikes with wideout DaiLonn Currie being the recipient of two. Ellwood City marched out early and collected four first half touchdowns to post a 26-0 halftime advantage. A 6-yard touchdown from Smiley to Colton Gullo opened up the scoring in the first quarter before Currie hauled in his first touchdown reception (24-yard) and Kam Hockenberry caught a 19-yard touchdown from Smiley late in…


PHOTOS: Ellwood City Falls To Western Beaver On Homecoming

Unbeaten Western Beaver (7-0, 4-0 Section 2A-2) knocked off host Ellwood City 29-12 Friday night at Helling Stadium. Sydney Woodhead was crowned homecoming queen at halftime. Jackson Kerr was crowned Homecoming King at a pep rally on Thursday. Standout junior running back Wyatt Sparbanie went down with an injury in the first quarter but the visiting Golden Beavers leaned on two additional supplies of offensive in the conference victory. Running back Braden Mayo rushed for two second half touchdowns and quarterback Amari Marshall finished with 198 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Sparbanie, who is one of the WPIAL’s…