Pa (WJAC) — Officials in Cambria County say a former Cambria Heights teacher/coach will serve jail time and probation after pleading guilty to having an inappropriate relationship with a female student District Attorney Greg Neugebauer confirmed that Isaac Vescovi was sentenced this week to approximately 8 months to two years in jail Police arrested Vescovi last October following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate Investigators discovered that Vescovi reportedly sent a 17-year-old student over 4,000 inappropriate messages According to online court records, Vescovi pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of felony school-intercourse/sexual contact with a student. Prosecutors note that Vescovi was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 25 years and he is prohibited from having any contact with the victim. EBENSBURG — A former Cambria Heights High School teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student last October has been sentenced to eight months to two years minus a day in county prison. Isaac B. Vescovi, 29, in January accepted a deal with the Cambria County District Attorney’s Office and pleaded guilty to one felony count of sexual contact with a student. His sentence was handed down in Cambria County Court on Tuesday. He was immediately taken into custody and transported to the Cambria County Prison. According to the case file, Vescovi was accused of communicating with the female victim through the school’s email system, texts and Snapchat messages. The conversations became “sexual in nature,” and Vescovi had sexual intercourse with the victim at his former residence in Patton during summer 2023, court documents state. Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer said the deal called for Vescovi to plead guilty to the highest charge — felony sexual contact with a student. The charges of corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communications facility will be dismissed 31 days after sentencing as long as Vescovi doesn’t appeal the case, Neugebauer said. Vescovi was also ordered by Judge Tamara Bernstein to pay $591.41 in restitution to the victim and a $2,000 fine. Vescovi is eligible for parole after eight months. “Your behavior in jail will certainly guide this court,” Bernstein told Vescovi. Upon his release from incarceration, Vescovi must complete 60 months of county probation and register his location and contact information with the Pennsylvania State Police as a Megan’s Law sex offender for 25 years. Vescovi was also ordered to have no contact with the victim. Vescovi is an “upstanding citizen” who deeply regrets his actions, said his defense attorney, Terry Graffius, adding his client sold his house, surrendered his teaching certification and was accepted into the Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s accounting program. “He wants to go on and live a productive life as an accountant,” Graffius said. Reading from a prepared statement, Vescovi said he is “deeply sorry” for his actions. He said he prays for the victim and her family and has burned bridges he may never repair with the Cambria Heights School District. Vescovi said he was also sorry for the emotional pain he inflicted on his parents, who were in tears watching him being placed in handcuffs last fall. “I cry about these memories every day,” Vescovi said. “Your honor, please know I am deeply sorry.” The victim, who was present with her family during the sentencing, didn’t speak publicly but addressed Bernstein through a statement Neugebauer read aloud. From the incident with Vescovi, the victim said she experienced alienation from her peers and her mental health and well-being were “severely impacted” to the point she had to drop all of her dual enrollment classes and forfeited her paid tuition. “I have frequent night terrors and sleep paralysis. Most of my time is now spent fully immobilized,” the victim said in her statement. “All of these things made me feel helpless.” Neugebauer said schools should be safe places for students and when positions of trust are abused, the punishment should be fitting. “There’s a reason why laws exist to prevent this type of conduct,” Neugebauer said. Bernstein said the time Vescovi will serve in prison “pales in comparison” to the lifelong impact his actions have on the victim. Vescovi violated the victim’s trust, the school district’s trust and other students’ trust, Bernstein said. “There are consequences (for your actions),” Bernstein told Vescovi. “I believe that you deserve that as well as the opportunity to move forward.” After Vescovi completes his five years of probation, he “should be fine” to move forward with his life as an accountant, Bernstein said. However, if he is found to be in violation of his parole, Vescovi can be served an additional 2.5 to five years of incarceration, Bernstein said. Bernstein asked Vescovi whether he understood the terms of his sentence and encouraged him to ask questions. “No, I understand,” Vescovi replied before being handcuffed and taken from the courtroom. Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520. A consulting firm that has been working with the city for a year — and that helped snag a new city manager — is ... A Blair County man is behind bars after police were alerted to a man allegedly assaulting a woman on Altoona’s ... Copyright © 2025 Central Pennsylvania Newspapers, LLC | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-946-7411 Greensburg Central Catholic’s Erica Gribble (23) celebrates with Georgia Evans after Evans hit a 3-pointer against Cambria Heights during a PIAA Class 3A first-round game Friday at Southmoreland High School. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Nolan Althof defends Cambria Heights’ Sienna Kirschduring a PIAA Class 3A first-round game Friday at Southmoreland High School. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Erica Rodriguez grabs a loose ball from Cambria Heights’ Markie Bender (left) and Kinsey Rogal during a PIAA Class 3A first-round game Friday at Southmoreland High School. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Jayla Peterson scores over Cambria Heights’ Markie Bender during a PIAA Class 3A first-round game Friday at Southmoreland. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Erica Gribble scores over Cambria Heights’ Gracey Vinglish during a PIAA Class 3A first-round game Friday at Southmoreland High School. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Georgia Evans (11), Avery Jones (31) and Erica Gribble defend on Cambria Heights’ Sienna Kirsch during first round PIAA action Friday, March 7, 2025 at Southmoreland High School. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Erica Gribble fights for a rebound with Cambria Heights’ Sienna Kirsch (l) and Gracey Vinglish during first round PIAA action Friday, March 7, 2025 at Southmoreland High School. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Nolan Althof (l), Erica Rodriguez (54) and Erica Gribble defend on Cambria Heights’ Sienna Kirsch during first round PIAA action Friday, March 7, 2025 at Southmoreland High School. Greensburg Central Catholic’s Erica Rodriguez pulls down a rebound between Cambria Heights’ Sienna Kirsch and Maelyn Dutko during first round PIAA action Friday, March 7, 2025 at Southmoreland High School. Fresh off back-to-back championships, Greensburg Central Catholic avoided the proverbial WPIAL hangover by knocking off eight days worth of rust, relying on its star power and finally accelerating past Cambria Heights, 61-31, in a PIAA Class 3A first-round girls basketball playoff game Friday night at Southmoreland. If GCC (22-5) was perturbed that it had to play at a neutral site because of having a small gym while other district champions got to play at home in the opening round, the Centurions took it out on the Highlanders (19-9), the third-place team from District 6 who trailed by only three at halftime (26-23). “We haven’t played a game since last Thursday,” GCC coach Chris Skatell said. “No live action. We picked it up and found our game. Just like the WPIAL playoffs, the first game is hard. This was important.” GCC advances to play Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (23-4) in Tuesday’s second round. GCC beat OLSH in the WPIAL semifinals 41-18. Jayla Peterson scored 23 points, and Erica Gribble added 21 — Gribble made five 3-pointers and Peterson hit three — to pace GCC, which outscored the Highlanders, 35-8, in the second half, including 26-6 in the fourth. Clingy from the onset, Cambria Heights faded as it managed just three field goals after halftime. “GCC did a really nice job defensively on us in the third quarter,” Cambria Heights coach Eric Thomas said. “They are longer than us, and they rebounded well.” Gribble, a Richmond commit, had 31 points, and Peterson added 16 in the WPIAL final, a 56-51 win over Shady Side Academy last Thursday at Pitt. In this game, Peterson had 11 in the first half, eight in the first quarter as GCC led 13-11. “Jayla got us going early,” Skatell said. “She understands the game. She has that will.” Gribble, who shook off two early fouls and had 13 in the second half, showed her shooting touch from long range. “I think if our team sees one of us on fire, we’re fine,” Peterson said. A close game early quickly burned out of control for the Highlanders. Sienna Kirsch tied it 18-18 in the second quarter, and Maelyn Dutko nailed a 3 to make it 23-23 with 30 seconds to go in the first half. But the Highlanders went cold from there, while GCC picked up its defense to key a 14-0 run and stretch the advantage to 35-23 late in the third. “For us, defense becomes offense,” Skatell said. “We needed to defend a little better, and we will.” Gribble hit a couple of deep 3s, and Peterson made two layups, the second on a feed from Gribble, to make it 44-25. “She was shooting 3 or 4 feet from the line,” Thomas said. “We knew what (Gribble) could do, but (Peterson) went off.” The lead reached 30, pushing the state game into the mercy rule briefly in the fourth. “The first (state game) is the hardest one to win,” Peterson said. “We practiced a week straight, and we were ready to play.” Thomas, a principal at Cambria Heights, took over the girls basketball program about two weeks before the start of the season. The former longtime Northern Cambria coach will part ways with four seniors, including Kirsch, who had 20 points in her final prep game and ended her career with more than 1,600 to finish second in program history. The rest of the team — two other girls — managed 11 points in the loss, with eight coming from senior Dutko, all in the first half. “I am really proud of the girls, they played their hearts out,” Thomas said. “The seniors really came together. This year was fun.” If Javascript is disabled browser, to place orders please visit the page where our photos are available to purchase If you are the site owner (or you manage this site), please whitelist your IP or if you think this block is an error please open a support ticket and make sure to include the block details (displayed in the box below) so we can assist you in troubleshooting the issue Pa (WJAC) — One local school district is expecting to save millions of dollars by installing solar panels Cambria heights will be one of the first schools in northern Cambria County to do something like this and we spoke with the school's superintendent to find out the latest on the project District officials say Cambria Heights High School will be completely solar powered within the next year Superintendent Ken Kerchenske says that right now the project is in the survey process and after all of the engineering reports have been reviewed Kerchenske says that within the first year the project will save the school one hundred thousand dollars The array itself will be about six acres long and will be on Penelec service property Kerchenske also says that the "power purchase agreement" was a safe bet for the school because the school will have developers to maintain the array "It was a natural fit at Cambria Heights because we do have a lot of land on our secondary campus and there was some push at the state level for schools to try to generate some revenue through these solar projects The problem is when you're looking at an array there'll be a lot for the school to purchase up front and a lot for the school to take care of the power purchase agreement makes more sense because the developer will actually maintain the array itself Kerchenske says that the school district submitted an application for the solar schools grant to hopefully purchase some panels for the rooftop of the elementary school in the future as well He also says he is excited because this project can be a way that the school district saves money for taxpayers PATTON — Coming off a successful year in 2024 Cambria Heights School District officials are looking to move forward with solar projects this year to save money According to Superintendent Ken Kerchenske the school board signed a power purchase agreement last year to mount a solar array at the middle and high school campus in Clearfield Township The 28-year agreement was approved in April with Envinity and its financial partner Construction for the panel will likely start this year noting the array will provide nearly 100% of the campus’ electricity needs at a reduced and fixed rate Kerchenske said the array will save the district over $2 million in electric costs over the next two decades He stressed the solar panels will not cost the district any money to build Kerchenske said Cambria Heights is looking to supplement a $1 million Public School Facility Improvement grant the district received in October with a bond to replace the boilers and HVAC system at the elementary school building in Carrolltown Borough The existing boilers are original to the building from 1992 adding the classrooms thermostats and master controls have to be replaced because the necessary parts to repair them are not available anymore Kerchenske said the elementary school has never had air conditioning but it will once the upgrades take place this summer The district also plans to switch all the existing fluorescent lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting the lighting will pay for itself because it’s so much more energy efficient,” Kerchenske said Cambria Heights officials approved an energy services contract with Schneider Electric Buildings Americas Inc for an energy savings project at the elementary school Kerchenske said the special meeting was called in order to have everything in place so contractors can work in the school over summer vacation we’ll clear out the elementary school and they’ll go to work with the hope of having the bulk of the project done by the time the kids come back in August,” Kerchenske said the board also approved a solar assessment at the elementary school as part of the requirements for the Solar for Schools grant application “We’re hoping that we can get basically free solar panels for the rooftop at the elementary school in Carrolltown through that grant,” Kerchenske said Although the board prides itself on not micromanaging what goes on in the day-to-day operations of the district said Cambria Heights has “a strong enough group of administrators” who lead the district in the best way possible He said it’s the district’s staff teachers and administrators who make Cambria Heights a strong district The district’s state assessment scores from the 2023-24 school year are a good indication of the district’s strength 52.6% of students placed proficient or advanced in English language arts 1.3% below state average; 48.5% placed proficient or advanced in math 8.3% above state average; and 84.6% placed proficient or advanced in science 25.4% of state average and 1.6% above the state’s goal of where all districts should be by 2033 “Our elementary science has always been strong and I think it’s the focus and the amount of time we put on science,” Kerchenske said noting the students are given at least 45 minutes of science instruction every day 67.3% of students placed proficient or advanced in English language arts 13.4% above state average; 38.7% placed proficient or advanced in math 1.5% below state average; and 75.8% placed proficient or advanced in science Even though the school is slightly below the state average in math Cambria Heights Middle School earned a 100% academic growth score in math and science and a 99% growth score in English language arts indicating nearly every student met or exceeded a year’s worth of growth across all three subject areas in the past year said the growth is a credit to the school’s teachers who individualized students’ needs and to the students who worked hard all year to prepare for the exams “That’s obviously something that I’m very “We are really happy with our scores.” middle school students began managing a hydroponics garden adding students enjoyed working with the Cambria County Farm Bureau last year Seventh graders planted corn in a field adjacent to the school and harvested their crops when they returned as eighth graders in the fall “Some of the stuff we’ve been doing has been really innovative and something that our students get to benefit from,” Lewis said of the school’s partnership with the farm bureau Lewis said his goal is to continue the school’s academic progress and to develop the students’ educational and we want to make sure we’re meeting our kids at what their needs are,” he said 81% of students placed proficient or advanced in English language arts 27.1% above state average; 57% placed proficient or advanced in math 16.8% above state average; and 60.9% placed proficient or advanced in science Kerchenske said the 2023-24 school year was “a really positive school year” for the district despite some challenges facing nearly every public school in the area Kerchenske said Cambria Heights has experienced a decrease in nearly 200 students from K-12 in the past decade “If you just walked through the building you wouldn’t necessarily know (enrollment is declining) because all of our classrooms are occupied,” Kerchenske said “We hope that starts to plateau here.” When asked what he hopes for Cambria Heights in 2025 “I would like us to be in a situation where parents in other school districts say I wish my kids went to Cambria Heights.'” Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520 Pennsylvania health officials are facing down a potential $500 million loss of federal funding CLEARFIELD — A Morrisdale man was sentenced in Clearfield County court Monday for assaulting two state troopers .. The city may apply to the International City and County Management Association for inclusion in a program that .. A Carrolltown woman is facing nearly 1,500 felony counts after embezzling about $198,500 from her employer over a .. WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve will likely keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged on Wednesday Copyright © 2025 Central Pennsylvania Newspapers LLC | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave. Pa (WJAC) — Officials with the Cambria Heights School District say a now former staff member who is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female student District Superintendent Ken Kerchenske confirmed that the school board voted Tuesday evening to accept the resignation of former math teacher and basketball coach Isaac Vescovi State police arrested Vescovi earlier this month following an investigation into allegations that he had engaged in sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl Police say the student told investigators that her "relationship" with Vescovi began in the spring of 2023 Authorities later discovered that Vescovi allegedly sent the teen thousands of inappropriate messages and that the two even engaged in sexual intercourse at his home in Patton Online court records show that Vescovi is facing a variety of charges headlined byfelony intercourse/sexual contact with a student and unlawful contact with a minor He has since posted bail following his initial arrest Cambria Heights #21 Trey Trybus take a hand-off to the house on a 1st & 10 to put the Highlanders up 8-0 on the first half PATTON — When teams are equally matched sometimes a special teams play makes the difference in the result With neither team budging on defense in Friday’s game between Bellwood-Antis and Cambria Heights in a District 6 Class 2A semifinal game at Cambria Heights Stadium Garrett Jasper’s punt that went out of bounds at the 1-yard line turned out to be monumental The Blue Devils snapped the ball out of the back of the end zone after three plays gained just 4 yards for a safety and then the Highlanders took advantage of a short field after the punt kickoff and scored a touchdown to take control of the game in an eventual 15-8 triumph “It’s been all year; I don’t know what else to say that hasn’t already been said,” Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said and I thought especially in the first part of the game we played a lot of the game on that side of the field Garrett’s punt was fantastic.” a 35-14 winner over Marion Center in the other semifinal at Mansion Park in the District 6 Class 2A championship next weekend and a lot of people made comments about us moving up to 2A,” Lewis said “So we’re proud that we proved them wrong and we’re headed back to the District 6 championship game.” Play of the game: Jasper’s punt was huge but the final result wasn’t decided until his tackle of Bellwood-Antis quarterback Holden Schreier along the sideline on fourth-and-10 from the Heights 34 with 5:19 to play 4 yards short of the first down “They made some big plays on defense and that was kind of the difference,” Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich said Player of the game: Cambria Heights gets so many contributions from so many players but even though Trey Trybus led the Highlanders with 104 yards on 16 carries Luke Mulraney’s 91 yards on 19 carries came at clutch times for several key first downs Mulraney hasn’t been used as much in the running game this year as last season but he also had a fantastic game defensively “It’s somebody different every week and that’s what makes us so dangerous,” Lewis said I’m proud of how we responded and how we played but we have a lot of kids that have a lot of pride Unsung hero: Heights quarterback Isaac Weiland was very accurate and sharp on his passes which helped open up the Highlanders running game we have that experience and it’s benefiting us on the football field.” Most vital statistic: Bellwood-Antis had only seven first downs and four of them came on the Blue Devils’ lone scoring drive I’m proud of the effort they have given all year Very proud of the effort and the progress we made this year with our guys,” Lovrich said “The seniors have done a great job being leaders and we’re definitely going to miss them and they made plays when they needed to make them.” won’t ya: Heights fumbled five times and lost three to help the Blue Devils stay in the game Several of the fumbles were a result of B-A punching the ball out “We work on turnover stations all the time for situations like that,” Lovrich said “If you’re going to be good at takeaways Lovrich on going from 2-8 last year to 8-4 this year: “You feel good about that but our goal was to play for a district championship we’ll probably feel a little better about it We wanted to be playing next weekend.” We have to limit our fumbles and turnovers but we did what we had to do to win.” Notable: Stephen Nelen and Marshall Eckenrode ran for touchdowns for the Highlanders Nelen’s run for a first down on third-and-3 from the B-A 26 sealed the game … Bellwood’s Quinn Focht was ejected in the final seconds after picking up a personal foul while Heights was taking a knee … Ethan Shawley caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Schreier to get Bellwood-Antis on the board and Cayden Pellegrine caught a two-point conversion pass … The teams’ only other meeting came in a 2019 playoff matchup won by Bellwood — also by the score 15-8 Records: Bellwood-Antis (8-4); Cambria Heights (12-0) Next week: Cambria Heights will play Richland for the District 6 Class 2A championship at Mansion Park next weekend CH–Safety (snap over punter’s head) BA–Shawley 5 pass from Schreier (Pellegrine pass from Schreier) PITTSBURGH — The 20-year-old man who fell from the top of a 21-foot-high wall onto the warning track at PNC Park .. Pa (WJAC) — State police in Cambria County are providing new details into the investigation of an alleged inappropriate relationship between a Cambria Heights teacher and a female student police filed charges against 29-year-old Isaac Vescovi for allegedly engaging in a "sexual relationship" with the student police were contacted by the school district last week to investigate "rumors" of an alleged inappropriate relationship between Vescovi and a 17-year-old girl authorities learned that the two first began communicating through the school's email system before Vescovi allegedly asked the teen for her Snapchat the two then began exchanging messages via Snapchat and text and the student stated that the conversations became sexual in nature police say the two also began exchanging sexually explicit photos during these alleged conversations Police say the student then described one incident where she reportedly visited Vescovi's home and the two "engaged in sexual activity." Authorities say the victim told investigators that this "relationship" continued for a short time before they stopped for a brief while Police say the alleged "relationship" reportedly began again where the victim admitted to again visiting Vescovi's home Troopers say the victim noted that Vescovi was also her high school basketball coach investigators say they discovered over 4,000 messages between Vescovi and the victim Vescovi threatened to harm himself if anyone ever found out about their "relationship." Vescovi was arraigned late Monday night on various charges including felony intercourse/sexual contact with a student and unlawful contact with a minor He is jailed at the Cambria County Prison on $300,000 bail Officials with the Cambria Heights School District say that while they "cannot comment on ongoing personnel issues," they are cooperating with the state police investigation State police in Cambria County say a local school teacher is facing charges accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female student Troopers say 29-year-old Isaac Vescovi, of Patton, who is a math teacher at Cambria Heights High School is alleged to have engaged in a "sexual relationship" with a female According to online court records Vescovi is facing charges of felony school-intercourse/sexual contact with a student corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor 6 News reached out to the Cambria Heights School District and received the following response from Superintendent Ken Kerchenske Officials say Vescovi is being housed at the Cambria County Prison and his bail is set at $300,000 This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more PATTON — Cambria Heights built an 18-point lead in the third quarter and then overcame sluggish play for a quarter and a half to secure a 63-54 victory against Richland in the District 6 Class 3A girls’ basketball consolation game on Friday at Cambria Heights High School gymnasium and will travel to WPIAL champion Greensburg Central Catholic in a first-round game on Friday “It’ll be a challenge for sure (Greensburg Catholic) is always in the mix at the state level They’re a great program,” Cambria Heights coach Eric Thomas said The Highlanders’ coach was happy his team could experience this kind of victory for the program It’s a really great thing for these girls because they have never reached this level A lot of them have played four years and received a lot of time to make this little playoff run is great for them and I love that we have this chance,” Thomas said Cambria Heights seniors Gracey Vinglish and Sienna Kirsch accounted for most of the Highlanders’ scoring Vinglish made good on 5 of 12 3-point field goal attempts and led all scorers with 23 points We have a couple of shooters who can really lay it up And I tell them all the time we need that because that opens up our inside driving game for Sienna So it’s a nice one-two punch when you can do that She was really hot tonight; and we really needed that.” Kirsch’s 3-point play at the 4:50 mark gave Cambria Heights its largest lead The Rams countered with a 13-2 run that sliced the difference to 46-39 at the end of three periods Richland stepped up its defensive pressure in the frontcourt and the Highlanders struggled at times to advance the ball up court “I attest that to the younger girls on the team,” Richland coach Paul Johnson said “They decided they would not lay around and take it “I thought a couple of our girls were more timid than they’ve been So we have to work on that,” Thomas said Richland’s physical style differs from what teams in the Heritage Conference typically offer “(Richland is) probably the most physical team that we’ve encountered Underneath we had some hard matchups with them I was a little bit worried about that coming in because I knew how physical they play underneath,” he said “And we didn’t see that much in the Heritage We were always just as big as the other team And I felt like this team was a little bit bigger and more physical But I didn’t anticipate us getting as flustered as we did on the press Then I thought we handled it pretty well.” Lanie Marshall’s only 3-pointer of the night helped the Rams (11-13) slice the deficit to six Sophomore Trinity Macey led the Rams with 16 points Cambria Heights’ lack of bench depth was tested when Markie Bender sat out much of the fourth period with four personal fouls She eventually fouled out of the game with 1:28 left We can’t get in foul trouble,” Thomas said Richland started the season 9-5 before it began a stretch of games in which it lost six consecutive contests to state playoff contenders Bishop Carroll Catholic “(We learned) that there’s no such thing as a bad experience the better you’ll get,” Johnson said “I felt that we were competitive in a lot of them and we had a good opportunity (to win).” Thomas said the Highlanders will need to play their best when they open their playoff campaign We’ll have to hit our outside shots and pick up our defense,” he said PATTON — Sienna Kirsch and Gracey Vinglish combined for 44 points as Cambria Heights won all four quarters in a 62-39 win over Conemaugh Township Thursday night in girls high school basketball while Vinglish had 20 as the Lady Highlanders evened their record at 3-3 Conemaugh Township 11 10 9 9 – 39 3-point goals: Conemaugh Township 3 (Fetterman Records: Conemaugh Township (2-4); Cambria Heights (3-3) CURWENSVILLE — Juniata Valley erupted for 26 in the first quarter Anna Taylor led with a game-high 19 points while Aubrey Anderson delivered 15 and Sage Walters pulled down 10 rebounds for the Lady Green Hornets Juniata Valley 26 10 19 8 – 63 Records: Juniata Valley (2-3); Curwensville (0-4) DUNCANSVILLE — Blair County Christian used a 10-point difference in the middle quarters to knock off Morgantown Christian 57-47 Gabi Dull registered 26 points to lead the 4-0 Lady Bobcats MORGANTOWN CHRISTIAN (47): Hashey 12 1-2 25 BLAIR COUNTY CHRISTIAN (57): Dull 12 1-4 26 Morgantown Christian 12 10 14 11 – 47 Blair County Christian 11 17 17 12 – 57 3-point goals: Morgantown Christian none; Blair County Christian 2 (Dull Records: Morgantown Christian (0-1); Blair County Christian (4-0) WARFORDSBURG — Northern Bedford was outscored by nine points in the second quarter of a 54-44 loss to Southern Fulton Addie Love led the Lady Panthers with 15 points Records: Northern Bedford (1-4); Southern Fulton (3-0) JOHNSTOWN– Portage sophomore Kendall Bednarski recorded a career-high 18 points to lead her team to a 62-41 victory over Conemaugh Valley Liana Bagby and Britton Myher contributed 12 points apiece for the Lady Mustangs CONEMAUGH VALLEY (41): D’Arcangelo 3 2-4 11 Burda); Conemaugh Valley 4 (D’Arcangelo 3 MORRISDALE — Williamsburg got out to an early lead on West Branch and never looked back in a 57-16 victory Levada Gorsuch tallied a game-high 20 points for the Lady Blue Pirates while LeeAnna Royer totaled 12 and Anastasia Ranalli finished with 11 3-point goals: Williamsburg none; West Branch4 (Guglieimi 2 Records: Williamsburg (4-1); West Branch (0-3) After winning the District 6 football championship in Class 1A last year Cambria Heights moved up to the Class 2A level this season and the Highlanders faced many naysayers who doubted that they could win another title at the higher classification Cambria Heights spent Friday night emphatically proving all of its doubters wrong The unbeaten Highlanders (13-0) controlled the second half of their District 6 Class 2A title game against Richland at Mansion Park using a ground-and-pound rushing game behind solid offensive line play to break open the game in the second half en route to a 42-21 district gold-medal victory The win earns Heights a berth in next week’s PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals against unbeaten Central Clarion (12-0) at a site and time to be determined advanced with a 41-6 drubbing of Farrell in a PIAA Class 2A first-round playoff game Friday night “We’ve been a second-half team all year and we forced our will on them in the second half tonight,” said Heights coach Jarrod Lewis whose team used its powerful rushing attack to break out of a 14-14 halftime tie “Our offense stepped up great in the second half “I’m really proud of our kids,” Lewis added “When we won in (Class 1A) last year and moved up to (Class 2A) there were people out there who thought that we couldn’t win a championship again But this is a credit to our kids and their professionalism We have great kids on this team who have great parents and our underclassmen have improved all year.” on senior running back Steven Nelen’s 59-yard touchdown bolt up the middle of the field less than two minutes into the third quarter and the Highlanders just kept rolling from there and I took it right up the middle of the field,” Nelen said of his game-changing run “We knew that we had to run the ball effectively and we couldn’t have done this without them “It’s awesome to win another championship,” Nelen added “We’ve worked so hard for this since this past summer This was one of our goals at the beginning of the season.” With Nelen rushing for 129 yards on 16 carries and his touchdown senior back Trey Trybus rushing for 106 yards on 16 carries and two scores rambling for 94 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns Heights amassed 365 of its 449 total yards via the run “Our offensive diversity makes us a tough team to defend,” Lewis said “We have so many guys touching the ball.” Heights came up with a big defensive play late in the third quarter that paved the way for the Highlanders to take a 28-14 lead Junior Carson Lobick stripped the ball from a Richland player and Eckenrode recovered it from his linebacker spot on defense at the Richland 19 Trybus ran 8 yards for a touchdown to give Heights some much-needed breathing room “We went into the locker room at halftime and we planned out what we were going to do,” Trybus said “We all came out and did our jobs in the second half This is the best offensive line I have ever played with.” The Highlanders’ offensive front includes senior center Braylon Rydbom senior guard Tristan Weakland and sophomore guard Jack Sherwood junior tackles James Houtz and Hayden Leamer “It was a whole team effort tonight,” Rydbom said “There were people saying that we were going to get destroyed after we moved up to 2A,” Rydbom said “I think that we proved those people wrong Trybus added a 4-yard touchdown run and Eckenrode broke off left tackle for a 41-yard TD scamper “There has been continuous improvement on this team throughout this season,” Lewis said “The players on this team are never satisfied Nelen’s big third-quarter touchdown run turned the momentum in Heights’ favor The strip by Lobick and fumble recovery by Eckenrode was a huge defensive play that helped Heights gain a strong upper hand Players of the game: Very tough to name just one Trybus and Eckenrode all deserve to take a bow Unsung heroes: The Heights offensive line helped open up the Highlanders’ running game in the second half Most vital statistic: Heights rolled up 449 yards as the Highlanders dominated the second half Richland coach Brandon Bailey: “Our kids played hard in the first half but we didn’t execute on our first offensive drive in the second half Then things kind of piled up on us from there We just didn’t make the plays that we needed to make Notable: Freshman quarterback Jake Regan threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns for Richland hitting senior wideout Austin Yarnick with a 34-yard scoring pass to open the scoring in the first quarter and connecting with sophomore wideout Jamere Christian on a 4-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter Christian made nine catches totaling 113 yards for Richland which also got a 3-yard touchdown run from Joe Mcaneny in the second quarter … Heights scored its first touchdown on a middle screen pass from quarterback Isaac Weiland to back Luke Mulraney that covered 19 yards in the second quarter when Eckenrode also scored his first touchdown on a 4-yard run Records: Richland (10-2); Cambria Heights (12-0) Next week: Cambria Heights faces unbeaten Central Clarion in a PIAA quarterfinal-round game at a site and time to be determined R–Yarnick 34 pass from Regan (Ritko kick) CH–Mulraney 19 pass from Weiland (Abrams kick) R–Christian 4 pass from Regan (Ritko kick) Cambria Heights High School students have gone above and beyond their goal to spread Christmas joy and cheer with young patients at UPMC Altoona students in the school host a friendly competition among the homeroom classes to see who can create the most Jared Boxes for the hospital a Cambria Heights teacher who organizes the annual donation The boxes contain a number of items to help children — ranging in age from infants to teenagers — at the hospital pass the time during their stay Inside the boxes are coloring books and crayons The students’ goal was to make 200 boxes this year They were able to deliver 239 boxes to the hospital on Friday in part thanks to high school science teacher Paul Eckenrode but made and donated 50 boxes with his family Cambria Heights students Noah Pierce and Levi Sever led the charge as they carried bags of boxes into the hospital’s lobby area to the sounds of a Charlie Brown Christmas tune “Linus and Lucy,” being performed by a player piano “This is so cool and humbling when you see these young people going out of their way to do something so special for the children who come through these doors and need that distraction,” said Michelle Walters UPMC Altoona’s volunteer services manager Jamie Murphy’s homeroom won the competition for the second year in a row noting Murphy has a new group of freshmen students in her homeroom this year Those students and others who “helped a lot” with the competition delivered the boxes to the hospital Friday morning all students throughout the school were rewarded with fun activities for their participation in this year’s competition participate in “reindeer games” or play pickleball in the school’s gymnasium one of the students in Murphy’s homeroom said he and his classmates were proud to help others in need “I’m glad our homeroom could come together and help children,” Gormish said Cambria Heights High School students (from left) Alaina Bearer Kaitlyn Fox and Rylee Lane arrive at UPMC Altoona on Friday morning The students delivered 239 Jared Boxes to the hospital after competing in a friendly competition among homeroom classes to see who could create the most boxes Jamie Murphy’s homeroom class won the competition this year a member of Brianna Toth’s homeroom class said providing a small service for others is the greatest gift she and her classmates could give during the Christmas season “I think it’s a really nice tradition that we have at the school,” Wendekier said Wendekier said delivering the boxes to the hospital made her feel “fulfilled” as she understands how special the boxes are to patients spending their holiday in the hospital “I’m excited to do it every year because there’s different kids who didn’t think they would be here and now they are,” she said “I think it’s a nice thing to give back at Christmastime.” was one of the people responsible for starting the tradition four years ago noting McMullen’s grandparents lived within the Cambria Heights School District in Hastings McMullen was diagnosed with an incurable brain stem tumor in 1999 carried a bag of toys with him during his many trips to hospitals for cancer treatment and questioned why the other children didn’t bring toys to their exam rooms Deciding to share his toys with the other children according to the Jared Box Project’s website compassionate kid that anytime he saw another kid there who was going through the same struggles he always wanted to share his toys or his games,” Thomas said noting McMullen’s family was so moved by their son’s selflessness that they decided to start the box project after McMullen lost his life to cancer “This is a really good thing,” Thomas said UPMC Altoona President Mike Corso said the boxes they made “go a long way for our patients.” super appreciative of everything you’ve done,” Corso told the students as they gathered around tables covered with bags of boxes “It will certainly make a difference in people’s lives.” Walters said it’s “wonderful” to see how the Cambria Heights School District “comes together” to help the hospital’s young patients every year “The Jared Boxes coming into the hospital are always extremely meaningful,” Walters said “They’ve done such a wonderful job NORTHERN CAMBRIA — Cambria Heights stands alone Marshall Eckenrode’s 2-yard touchdown run with 4:01 remaining lifted the Highlanders to a hard-fought 21-14 victory against host Northern Cambria in the annual Coal Bowl game at Duffy Daugherty Stadium on Friday night The win gave Cambria Heights sole possession of first place in the Heritage Conference at the halfway point of the season followed a pass interference penalty on fourth and 12 advanced the Highlanders to the Northern Cambria 15 Play of the game: Cambria Heights defensive tackle Braylon Rydbom stuffed quarterback Ty Dumm for a loss of 10 yards on fourth and 2 with 3:09 left in the final quarter and the Highlanders nursing a one-touchdown lead Player of the game: Cambria Heights senior Jaxxon Jones led all rushers with 88 yards on 23 carries Unsung hero: Garrett Jasper found Trey Trybus for an 18-yard gain on a halfback option during Cambria Heights’ second possession The Highlanders advanced to the Northern Cambria 13 and Stephen Nelen scored five plays later to tie the score at 7 Most vital statistics: Cambria Heights limited the versatile Dumm to 46 rushing yards and 102 passing yards Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis: “I’ll tell you what; they are a tough team That’s a good football team.” More from coach Lewis: “That’s a shame that somebody had to lose tonight And (we had) two teams that battled.” Northern Cambria coach Sam Shutty: “I’m proud of our guys I think they battled from the start to the finish They didn’t want to lose this game; they gave everything they had our backs were up against the wall a lot of the drives we had we were playing with a short field most of the game Shutty on the crucial pass interference penalty: “That penalty down there really killed us I think that was the determination of this game It was definitely a key point to this game.” Rydbom: “All week we were looking at it and most of the time when he goes under center Cambria Heights guard/defensive end Tristan Weakland: “We came out; we tried to punch them in the mouth Notable: Dumm’s first-quarter scoring run marked the first time Cambria Heights had fallen behind this season … Nelen’s second-quarter touchdown run came after a Colts player inadvertently blocked Reese Wagner’s punt attempt The Highlanders began the six-play drive at the Northern Cambria 31 Kline (1-yard run) and the Colts’ Gage Shonsky (8-yard run) scored third-quarter touchdowns … Nelen added 46 rushing yards for the Highlanders … The Colts’ Caleb Dolney (85 yards) and Trybus (32) shared the game lead with three pass receptions apiece Next week: Cambria Heights plays host to Portage and Northern Cambria plays host to Marion Center on Friday PATTON — Cambria Heights rolled to a 35-0 lead before halftime and went on to complete a 45-0 rout of Portage in a Heritage Conference football game on Friday night at Cambria Heights High School Jaxxon Kline’s 1-yard touchdown run on the Highlanders’ first possession capped off a 12-play possession that set the tone for the evening Owen Gouse filled in for the injured Easton Slanoc at quarterback for Portage Play of the game: Cambria Heights wide receiver Trey Trybus out-battled two Portage defenders to haul in a 32-yard pass completion by quarterback Isaac Weiland in the first quarter The first play of the 47-yard drive preceded a 3-yard touchdown run by Stephen Nelen that pushed the Highlanders lead to 28-0 Player of the game: Trybus rushed for a game-best 117 yards and two touchdowns He also caught both of Weiland’s pass completions for 58 yards Unsung heroes: The Cambria Heights offensive line Most vital statistics: Cambria Heights held the Mustangs to four first downs and 48 total yards The Highlanders picked up 272 of their 330 yards on the ground The Highlanders’ Garrett Jasper punted twice for an average of 61 yards His second punt traveled 77 yards before it reached the end zone for a touchback Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis: “We just played well Our focus has been getting better each week And we’ve been pretty good all year on special teams And that was the same thing tonight.” Lewis on Jasper’s second-half punt: “Garrett boomed that punt Portage coach Marty Slanoc on Gouse’s effort: “It’s a really tough spot for him He stepped into a bear’s den with limited time to get prepared for it And we need to do better in a lot of the other aspects.” More from coach Slanoc: “When you take care of all the little things within a program and kids start owning it and realizing they have to be the leaders of the team That’s when you’ll reach your potential There are flashes of us being really good this year And there are flashes of us being not so good.” Trybus: “Our offense was great today I give all the credit to the (offensive) line we wouldn’t have gotten any of those yards.” I don’t practice (punting) that much I’ve always done it since I was in sixth grade I’m getting pretty good at this.’ But I don’t really practice it; I just do it.” Notable: Nelen and Trybus scored two touchdowns apiece for Cambria Heights … Trybus scored on runs of 3 and 49 yards … Weiland attempted only five passes and was not intercepted … Nelen’s touchdown reception followed a bizarre recovery of what turned out to be an onside kick The kickoff that followed Kline’s touchdown was untouched by a Mustangs player and recovered by Trybus at the Portage 26 … The entire second half was played on running time … Cameron Abrams kicked a 30-yard field goal and second-string quarterback Kaiden Ivory tacked on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second half … Isaac Willinsky led the Mustangs with 51 rushing yards … Cambria Heights did not commit a turnover but averages 48.0 yards per attempt after six weeks … Ellie Bender was named the 2024 homecoming queen and tailback/safety Luke Mulraney was crowned the homecoming king Next game: Portage plays host to United Valley and Cambria Heights visits Conemaugh Township on Friday CH–Nelen 26 pass from Weiland (Abrams kick) PATTON — At a school board meeting Tuesday Cambria Heights School District officials accepted the resignation of Isaac Vescovi a former high school mathematics teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student is charged with four felony counts of intercourse/sexual contact with a student criminal use of a communication facility and unlawful contact with a minor Vescovi was remanded to the Cambria County Prison but was released Oct Vescovi appeared in front of Magisterial District Judge Michael Zungali in Hastings Borough and waived his right to a preliminary hearing He is expected to appear in Cambria County Court but a docket with Vescovi’s case information has not been posted online as of Tuesday’s meeting Vescovi retained Terry Graffius of the Johnstown-based Leventry According to the affidavit of probable cause Vescovi allegedly began communicating with the 17-year-old victim through the school’s email system The affidavit states the conversations became sexual in nature and they exchanged explicit photos of each other after Vescovi allegedly asked the victim for her Snapchat username The victim told state police Vescovi had sexual intercourse with her at his house in Patton which states they would occasionally meet in Altoona and allegedly exchanged more than 4,000 texts and Snapchat messages The affidavit states the victim told police she discussed the relationship with Vescovi who allegedly mentioned self-harm if he were to get in trouble because of their “inappropriate relationship.” Superintendent Ken Kerchenske said district officials filed a ChildLine report when they were made aware of the allegations against Vescovi which started the police investigation into “rumors” of the alleged relationship said Vescovi was discussed briefly during the board’s executive session for personnel matters “We discussed there was a resignation that was offered and it was accepted,” Fanelli said Vescovi’s resignation was effective Oct noting the district will soon advertise for a full-time teaching position to fill the vacancy “There’s a teacher right now who’s teaching those classes,” Kerchenske said The Trinity girls soccer team poses for a photo after its PIAA first round win over Cambria Heights on Tuesday .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Rymir Vaughn | rvaughn@pennlive.comTrinity girls soccer moves on Coming off a District 3 2A title game loss to Wyomissing the Shamrocks blanked Cambria Heights in the first round of the PIAA 2A state tournaments 3-0 • Sign up for PennLive’s daily high school sports newsletter Goalkeeper Ashley Berkheimer led Trinity’s defensive efforts with a three-save shutout Mia Scherr and Avery Walker were goal scorers for Trinity Trinity will face off against Quaker Valley in the quarterfinals of the PIAA state tournament Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Follow Rymir Vaughn on X —@RymirVaughn Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices PATTON — Cambria Heights School District officials said they’re prepared should an active shooter intrude at the school district During an active shooter drill Monday morning at the high school in Clearfield Township an actor fired blank shots in the building’s A-pod prompting a staged “hard lockdown” of the school Although the drill was part of an in-service day for teachers making the scenario feel more realistic for the teachers law enforcement and emergency management agencies involved senior Logan Barrett and middle school teacher Tammy Scott portrayed victims and were transported by Hastings Area Ambulance to Conemaugh Miners Medical Center in Elder Township where the drill continued with the hospital’s staff 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia and a number of noncredible threats made to districts throughout the state in recent months have made school officials students and parents nervous about the possibility of a shooter incident occurring at Cambria Heights “You always want to be prepared and alert,” Kerchenske said adding he hopes the drill “eases everybody’s mind to know that we do things like this to prepare.” quickly responded to the simulated shooter noting the district found a few areas of improvement to focus on should an actual shooter gain access to the school Gibbons said the district takes all threats seriously “We work hard to make sure we adapt to evolving threats and situations,” he said “This was an excellent opportunity to try to get our staff as acclimated as they possibly can to the idea of a lethal threat.” Freshman Benjamin Gormish said he feels safe within the high school’s walls noting the building has a unique layout from other districts in the area I’m really proud about that,” Gormish said the students received community service hours which they can use for National Honor Society senior seminars and any church group or volunteer organization community affairs officer for Pennsylvania State Police’s Troop A Greensburg station said training for an active shooter scenario is important for school district officials to do on a regular basis “Not only do they bring state and local law enforcement to the school but it shows the staff things to look for if this type of incident would occur,” Tappe said district teachers gathered in the high school auditorium and received further clarification about what to do if an actual shooter would ever enter the school Middle school teacher Paula Albright asked whether she should allow her students to message their parents or legal guardians from their cellphones if a shooter event occurs Tappe said reports of an active shooter will spread fast in a small town and suggested teachers let the students contact their parents so they know they’re accounted for and safe you’re never going to avoid mass chaos no matter what you do,” Tappe said the Cambria County Department of Emergency Services and officers from the Patton and Carrolltown police departments also participated in the drill The Patton Fire Department assisted with traffic control to prevent anyone from entering the district’s campus while the drill was ongoing PATTON — Cambria Heights senior Maria Wendekier has paid her dues as a high school soccer goalkeeper Wendekier said that she had a rough indoctrination into the sport as a freshman at the varsity level “I gave up a lot of goals as a freshman keeper,” Wendekier said developed and evolved as a player since the start of her high school career She turned in a shutout effort in the cage Monday night stopping all 10 Juniata High School shots that she faced and leading Heights to a 3-0 victory in a District 6 Class 2A semifinal-round matchup on the Heights soccer field The win pushes second-seeded Heights (15-2-2) into a championship final showdown with fifth-seeded Huntingdon Thursday night at a site and time to be determined Huntingdon advanced with a 2-1 victory over Penns Valley in Monday’s other District 6 Class 2A girls semifinal playoff game The Heights girls soccer program earned its first-ever berth in a district championship game Monday night by playing a solid game on both ends of the field against Juniata “Starting off the game with a good attitude is what I really think helped us win this game,” Wendekier said “Starting in my freshman year and working up to this point with all my teammates that I have played together with for such a long time really feels good,” Wendekier said Heights coach Nikki Spanik said that the school’s girls soccer program has grown in leaps and bounds over the past half-decade “We started out as a losing team six years ago but all of the girls have really worked over the years leading up to now and it’s really good to see something come out of all their hard work,” Spanik said Junior forward Brooklyn Galinis started the scoring for Heights providing the Lady Highlanders with the only goal that they would ultimately need when she converted a free kick from the lower left side of the field just 3:35 into the game threaded the needle perfectly with a kick into the upper right corner of the cage behind Juniata keeper Reagan Burd Cambria Heights boosted its lead to 2-0 at the 16:31 mark of the first half when junior midfielder Morgan Ross found herself free down the field after accepting a high towering kick from junior centerback Hallie Hayes Ross capitalized on her shot from straight away to give Heights a leg up at the intermission Heights put a bow on the victory early in the second half on a goal by senior forward Hannah Hite at the 10:47 mark that made it a 3-0 game we were pretty confident as a team,” Hite said “Our players told one another that if we do the best that we can and pull together Sixth-seeded Juniata (10-7-1) held its own territorially throughout the game and had several good chances near the Heights cage “I think that we played a good back-and-forth game tonight,” said Juniata coach Garrick Paden whose team upended third-seeded Central in last week’s quarterfinals to reach the semifinal round “We didn’t give up many opportunities Things just didn’t go our way tonight.” the Lady Highlanders will be in previously uncharted waters Thursday participating in a district championship game for the first time They hope to make further program history by winning the game “We knew that we had to play hard tonight “We’ll probably approach (Thursday’s championship game) like we did tonight’s game – staying organized and having each other’s backs throughout the game.” Shots on goal: Juniata 11; Cambria Heights 11 Records: Juniata (10-7-1); Cambria Heights (15-2-2) While the Cambria Heights girls soccer team spent the last three days preparing for Huntingdon a wrench was thrown into its plans just moments before kickoff at Thursday’s District 6 Class 2A title game Starting goalkeeper Maria Wendekier was injured during warmups and despite playing the opening five minutes she exited the game as sophomore Emma Gilbey took over in net Gilbey made several key stops to help lead the Lady Highlanders to a 1-0 championship victory over the Lady Bearcats and she was helping me so much through warmups,” Gilbey said the first thing I could think of was if she was OK and she gave me all the confidence that I needed.” Gilbey didn’t have an easy introduction to the game She was forced to make a sliding save on a shot from Grace Buonaccorsi just moments after entering She stopped all 11 shots faced and combined with Wendekier to earn the shutout “Emma stepped right in and did a fantastic job,” Heights coach Nikki Spanik said “Maria has been our starter all year but got hurt in warmup and Emma came right in and made some big saves for us.” the Lady Highlanders (16-2-2) claimed their first-ever district title “We have grown so much as a team the last few years and have really become a family,” said Heights senior defender Emma Spanik who helped stymie the Bearcats’ attack “You could see it on the field before and after the game and those connections throughout the years helped us get to this point.” Cambria Heights finally broke the seal with only 6:50 remaining in regulation with a corner kick from Ella Lamb Following a stint of pressure in the attacking end that was rewarded with a corner kick Lamb curled the ball toward the net before it bounced off the hands of Bearcats keeper Molly Millar and into the back of the net I always look to see if there’s an opening to shoot,” Lamb said “There wasn’t a lot of time left I couldn’t believe it when it went in.” Huntingdon (12-9) sustained pressure throughout the night and made life difficult for the Highlanders’ defense The Lady Bearcats rattled off six of the last seven shots prior to Lamb’s goal Huntingdon received two shots off the bounce Gilbey made a desperation stop on the second attempt as the game remained scoreless “Cambria Heights played a very different style than us and it was hard for us to defend,” Huntingdon coach Allen Gwinn said “They took a lot of long shots down the field and would chase them down and we weren’t very used to defending those types of plays.” Led by the defensive quartet of Emma Spanik Heights limited the damage to give its offense a chance “My defense had my back the entire time,” Gilbey said “I knew they were going to be there for me and they helped keep us in the game.” The Highlanders struggled to find their way early and didn’t record a shot for the first 15 minutes of the game A shot from Morgan Ross was denied just 13 seconds before halftime and Hannah Hite couldn’t find the back of the net on a breakaway you really have to focus,” Emma Spanik said “It could’ve went either way tonight We continued to push into the very end.” Cambria Heights advances to the state tournament for the first time in school history Tuesday where it will face the second seed out of District 3 “We have to keep this momentum,” Emma Spanik said we’re going to put in the effort and the time in practice to keep this going We’re going in with the same attitude we’ve had tonight and we’re there for each other.” Records: Cambria Heights (16-2-2); Huntingdon (12-9) PATTON — A Cambria Heights High School teacher was arrested Monday by state police in Ebensburg for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a student faces four felony counts of school – intercourse/sexual contact with a student Vescovi was arraigned Monday night before Magisterial District Judge Kevin J He was remanded to the Cambria County Prison and posted 10% of $300,000 bail Tuesday An investigation began Friday when police received a ChildLine report from the district alleging there was a “rumor” of an inappropriate relationship between Vescovi and a 17-year-old female student the victim stated the relationship began in spring 2023 when she was a sophomore student in Vescovi’s homeroom class according to the affidavit of probable cause which states Vescovi was also the victim’s basketball coach The two allegedly began communicating through the school’s email system and later communicated through texts and Snapchat messages after Vescovi reportedly asked for her Snapchat username and they exchanged explicit photos of each other The victim told police she visited Vescovi’s house in Patton “a handful of times” throughout the summer of 2023 and they would occasionally meet in Altoona the relationship stopped for a while but they began communicating again in January The affidavit states Vescovi allegedly had sexual intercourse with the victim twice and exchanged more than 4,000 text messages over the summer The victim told police she discussed the relationship with Vescovi who mentioned self-harm if he were to get in trouble because of their “inappropriate relationship,” the affidavit states the Cambria Heights School District has removed Vescovi from the high school’s staff directory on its website Superintendent Ken Kerchenske said Vescovi will remain on administrative leave until the investigation is complete but (school board members) need to wait for more results from this investigation,” Kerchenske said Vescovi is scheduled to appear in front of Price for a preliminary hearing on Oct Pa (WJAC) — Officials from two Cambria County school districts say they were alerted overnight to reports of an alleged threat that was circulating on social media School officials from both Cambria Heights and Northern Cambria school districts say state police were contacted to investigate the alleged online threat authorities say troopers determined that the social media threat were not credible an additional police presence was utilized during the school day and officers will also be on site for both schools' home football games on Friday night Northern Cambria officials add that police have identified the student Cambria Heights High School graduate Brad Hudak started what has been his long and very eventful career in sports officiating as a Little League Baseball umpire in his hometown of Patton back in the late 1990s Now living with his wife and their three children in the Butler County town of Evans City has enjoyed a continually upward trajectory in the officiating realm advancing from the high school football officiating ranks to college gigs in the Football College Subdivision (FCS) Missouri Valley Conference and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Mid-American Conference before being hired by the Big Ten Conference back in 2017 Hudak — who works as an umpire on the football field standing directly behind the linebackers on defense — has had some great experiences in his eight years as a Big Ten football official he has been a member of the crew that worked the Texas-Michigan game in September in Ann Arbor the Alabama at Wisconsin game the following week and two key November conference games — the Indiana at Ohio State matchup and the Notre Dame-USC regular-season finale in the Los Angeles Coliseum “It was great this year with the new schools joining the Big Ten,” Hudak said “I got to work at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (California) for (a) UCLA (game) and I got to work the Notre Dame-USC game in the L.A It was good to go see historic stadiums like that for the first time.” Hudak cites his most memorable career officiating opportunity to date as the Jan 2021 Rose Bowl game between Notre Dame and Alabama — which was moved from Pasadena to AT&T Stadium in Arlington but it was still the Rose Bowl,” Hudak said “It doesn’t matter whether they played it in Pasadena or Arlington – that one sticks out for me because the Rose Bowl is the grand-daddy of them all.” Hudak has also had the opportunity to work two Orange Bowl games and his most recent assignment was at the East-West Shrine Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington this past Jan For all of his thrilling on-the-field assignments Hudak said that the most important and rewarding facet of his officiating career has been the network of friends and associates that he has met through officiating along with the chance to learn from the best of those officials as well as the opportunity to give back himself by mentoring other young officials or prospective officials who are just starting out in the profession it’s definitely the friends that I’ve made through all of this,” Hudak said when asked what has been the most fulfilling and rewarding part of his officiating career “It’s amazing the number of people who I can talk to just by picking up the phone and calling them to discuss a play or an issue that I may be facing “These include officials who might have worked Super Bowl games or who are still working Super Bowls or national championship college games – people who I never thought that I’d have the opportunity to be talking to when I started in officiating over 25 years ago,” Hudak added the late Cambria Heights athletic director and long-time PIAA football official as being one of the most influential and positive mentors in his career development as an official “One gentleman who made a big impact on my career was Tom Link passed away a few years ago and is no longer with us,” Hudak said “When I first moved to the Pittsburgh area but Tom Link knew everybody here in officiating and he helped to get me into the right chapter of football officials here and he talked to a couple of people here who looked after me.” Link always made himself available to guide Hudak along “Tom really helped me to develop as an official and I was always able to call him up during the football season and we’d talk about a game that I worked or he would answer any questions that I had,” Hudak said “I would have never gotten into college football had it not been for Tom and some of his officiating friends “Being put on a high school football officiating crew with some of Tom’s better friends here was so important in my officiating career after I had worked one year of high school officiating convinced me to get into college officiating,” Hudak added One of Hudak’s officiating friends and associates in Paul Sroka Sroka and Hudak’s officiating bond goes back over two decades and includes both high school and college officiating Sroka and Hudak worked WPIAL high school football games together on the same officiating crew in the Pittsburgh area back in 2002 and 2003 then worked on the same collegiate officiating crew in the Mid-American Conference from 2009 to 2016 who currently splits the college football seasons working games in the FBS Conference USA and FCS Southland Conference said that Hudak took to officiating like a fish takes to water “Brad is one of the brightest rules guys I’ve ever been around,” Sroka said “I got Brad on my crew when he was a 23-year-old guy and he had an immediate feel for the game when we were officiating together at the high school level “He knew how to man the umpire position and he controlled things in the middle of the field so that nothing got out of hand,” Sroka said “It was apparent right away that he has very good judgment We later worked together in small college conferences before working together in the Mid-American Conference He has always had outstanding rules knowledge and he has always been a good communicator on the field I can’t say enough positive things about Brad.” Hudak realizes the importance of paying forward the guidance that Link and other veteran officials like Sroka provided him in his formative years in the profession “I need to always focus on where I am now and to be the best that I can be there,” said Hudak whose educational background is in engineering and technology and whose full-time occupation is as a program manager for a Pittsburgh area marketing systems organization “But I also always want to give back to the officiating profession because that’s the thing that I was taught coming up through the ranks – to give back and help out the (NCAA) Division II and Division III officials as part of the group that I am associated with,” Hudak said Hudak does his part in this realm by observing high school football games on the weekends that he is off during the Big Ten Conference football season as well as by attending clinics all over the country to mentor and encourage younger officials and by providing Zoom calls to share the knowledge that he has accumulated over his career “It’s about taking the time to give back and what’s amazing is that you become a better official by teaching others more than from learning from some one else all the time,” Hudak said Hudak has a nephew who lives in Coatesvile is a college student at Millersville University and is a budding PIAA football and baseball official “I had the opportunity to speak at the PIAA officials convention this past year and I had my nephew come up there and I was able to introduce him to a lot of people who I know in officiating,” Hudak said “I am trying to get him hooked into the right (officiating) chapters so he can learn and become a better official,” Hudak added “Without the network of friends that I have made in officiating I would never have had that opportunity.” Hudak is part of an eight-person field officiating crew for the Big Ten games Along with Hudak manning the umpire position he is accompanied on the field by the center judge There are also two officials who are situated in the replay booth – a communicator and a replay official Hudak said that maintaining composure and having a balanced temperament is essential to having success in officiating Keeping things “calm in the midst of the storm,” as Hudak says we need to decide the methodology that we need to incorporate in order to keep the players playing the game and not engaging in what we call ‘non-football acts’ after the play is finished,” Hudak said Different situations call for different responses by the officials “There could be a wide variety of methodologies that need to be used,” Hudak said it’s about being very soft-spoken with the players players and coaches harbor no ill will toward the officials “We’re out there dealing with players and coaches who have raw emotions those players and coaches aren’t really complaining to you or aren’t really upset with you but they just want to vent a little bit or they might just be upset with themselves or their own team,” Hudak said works as the center judge on Hudak’s Big Ten Conference crew Nelson has had a 16-year officiating alliance with Hudak starting in the Missouri Valley Conference before moving on together to the Mid-American Conference and the Big Ten Conference he’s a great person,” Nelson said “He’s a very knowledgeable official who possesses good common sense and a strong knowledge of the rules he has always carried himself in a very professional manner and he’s always ready to work and that’s very important in officiating because we’re all spending 10 to 12 weeks together each football season,” Nelson added “He puts the crew first before himself.” and having a short memory concerning the plays is also among the top demands of the job for any official you have to make lightning-quick decisions based on what you see on the field,” Hudak said “The fans and spectators have the opportunity to look at multiple views of a play but the officials (only) have the opportunity to see a play once and we have to process exactly what we see an official has to have the ability to move past each call and each decision,” Hudak added “You have to have the ability to compartmentalize and put each call in the past Something that was said to me by a former official in the National Football League was to treat each play as its own game If you can do that and move on without any baggage from the previous play it’s going to help you to get through the game and it’s going to help you to become a better official.” Men and women must take tests to either become officials initially or to stay in the game once they make it on to the field in football is something that he has always enjoyed doing every official has to take a yearly college football officials (CFO) test we also have to take weekly quizzes in the offseason “(The clinic test) is not just a basic simple test – there are challenging questions in there pertaining to new rules and recent rule changes,” Hudak said “It also requires that you be able to apply the decision-making process as you’re reading each question you don’t have all the time in the world to look at your rule book.” The clinic test will determine which officials have stayed up to date on the rules this test will make that quite evident,” Hudak said “Different conferences and different supervisors of officials have their own requirements about what you have to score on the test in order to keep working “Some supervisors will take you off assignments and you will lose games if you don’t score well on the rules test or on certain other things throughout the season,” Hudak said that’s up to the individual conferences and supervisors so I haven’t had to worry much about keeping up to date on all of the rules.” Sroka believes that Hudak possesses the talent and ability to officiate in the National Football League “I have commented to others that I am shocked that he is not in the NFL,” Sroka said “He just has all the qualities that I would look for in an NFL umpire from his physical and mental attributes to his understanding of the game “Brad has already done a ton of big college games Brad is the prototypical football umpire.” Hudak admits to entertaining thoughts of someday officiating in the NFL but his present focus is on the task at hand for him in collegiate officiating my goal is to become the best umpire in the Big Ten Conference,” Hudak said Sports officiating isn’t for everybody and it is certainly not for the thin-skinned It’s been a well-substantiated fact that officials in many sports and at many levels have been dropping out of the profession at a marked pace over the years largely as a result of the unsportsmanlike conduct and verbal and even physical abuse that they’re often subjected to from fans “We need to build up the officiating ranks,” Hudak said “The biggest issue that we have right now is our dwindling number of officials I try to do my best to convince people to become officials but it’s also very important that we retain the officials that we have the easiest part is to get people to try it – the hard part is retaining them,” Hudak added especially with the poor treatment of officials and the poor sportsmanship that’s been showing up all over the place.” the rewards and friendships that are built through officiating make it well worth the tradeoff “I’ve been to places all over the world that I would never had the chance to visit had it not been for officiating,” Hudak said “I tell people who are considering getting into officiating that there is a network of people out there that is going to help them to grow and that is going to help them to become better officials.” And many of the people that Hudak has met through officiating over the years have become his most devoted friends “It’s so rewarding because of all the friends that you make in officiating,” Hudak said I also have friends outside of officiating because they’re the only ones who know what we go through Education: 1998 graduate of Cambria Heights High School; 2002 graduate bachelor’s degree in engineering/technology; 2007 graduate Employment: Hudak is employed full-time as a senior programs manager at Matthews Marketing Systems in Cranberry and has had a long career as a college football official including an affiliation with the Big Ten Conference since 2017 Cambria Heights celebrated its homecoming with the crowning of the king and queen on Sept 27 before the football game against Portage Homecoming committees can email photos of homecoming kings and queens to community@altoonamirror.com The National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S along with the Central Labor Council of Blair .. Join the Railroaders Memorial Museum on May 8 for the last speaker in its History After Hours Lecture Series The Blair County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Blair County Youth program will graduate 22 Blair County students ..