TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need West Mifflin police officers left a visibly injured assault victim untreated in a holding cell for more than nine hours after arresting him last summer according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Monday alleges West Mifflin and seven police officers were at fault in the July 8 Officers watched as Vong crawled around in his cell kicking and flinching in “pain and agony” from a head injury Vong’s family alleges the police department lacked policies and training for officers governing how to handle people in custody the 31-year-old man from New Kensington was left to suffer from “untreated brain hemorrhaging culminating in his slow and painful death.” An autopsy report found Vong died from untreated trauma to his face and head The lawsuit also alleges Vong was handcuffed so tightly his wrists were cut and bleeding we’re all devastated by what happened,” Jonathan Nguyen said during a news conference Monday in Downtown Pittsburgh at the offices of lawyer Alec Wright He was joined by about 20 of Vong’s relatives some of whom cried as Nguyen recalled how Vong Wright filed the lawsuit on behalf of Angie Vong Lookabill Vong’s aunt and the administrator of his estate The complaint names as defendants two people it said were West Mifflin police officers during the incident Ronald Bobick and someone identified only by the last name Cheslock It also lists five unnamed defendants: John Doe police officers 1-5 said he and other borough officials cannot comment on pending litigation A West Mifflin police arrest report provided to TribLive by Wright indicates Vong was arrested at 2:56 a.m The heavily redacted report states Vong was being charged with a nontraffic citation for public drunkenness who was listed as the victim in the police report told TribLive he never spoke to Vong and his only involvement in the incident was calling police when someone banged on his door at 3 a.m Wright said the police blacked out almost the entire page-long narrative describing what happened Vong was assaulted early that morning while celebrating the Fourth of July with friends The lawsuit offers no details about the assault Vong approached homes and a gas station seeking medical help Police who responded to calls about Vong found him “injured delirious and seeking medical attention.” The lawsuit indicated Vong had “visible injuries to his face bleeding and bruising that were consistent with significant trauma officers left Vong “without justification” in a West Mifflin Police Department holding cell for about nine hours and eventually Vong lost consciousness on the cell floor When officers eventually found him unconscious rescue breaths or other basic first aid efforts Vong went into a coma and died three days later The West Mifflin police report lists Vong as being from New Kensington Wright said Vong was living with his mother there The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office Wright said he believes that’s where the mother of Vong’s children lived The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages Allegheny County Police investigated Vong’s death and turned over their findings to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office declined to comment Monday Mourning relatives keep photos of Vong in their homes and cars Everyone hangs out with people they shouldn’t hang out with be in places that they probably shouldn’t be in That shouldn’t be a death sentence,” Nguyen said He questioned why officers didn’t help Vong as he sat in a holding cell “He shouldn’t be dead right now,” Nguyen said Julia Burdelski is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service Julia Johnson struck out six in the 8-1 victory The Elizabeth Forward softball team has a laundry list of things it wants to accomplish this spring The Warriors can mark one thing off their list as they clinched the Section 2-4A title outright with an 8-1 victory over host West Mifflin Saturday afternoon under rainy conditions “Winning the section will always be our top priority,” EF coach Harry Rutherford said it feels good to check that goal off the list whose family on Monday sued West Mifflin in federal court alleging civil rights violations by several of its police officers in connection with the New Kensington man’s July 8 A federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges civil rights violations by West Mifflin and several of its police officers in connection with the death of a man last summer whose family claims he did not receive necessary medical attention while kept in a holding cell for more than nine hours swollen and cut from a prior assault when West Mifflin police arrested him July 5 had been going door to door in a residential neighborhood around 3 a.m officers left Vong in a West Mifflin Police Department holding cell for about nine hours lost consciousness on the cell floor and died three days later according to the lawsuit His family blames West Mifflin police for failing to train officers for medical screenings health and safety checks or other measures The family also is suing several officers involved in the incident arguing their failure to get Vong the medical help he needed led to his death who is listed as the administrator of Vong’s estate It names two people the lawsuit said were West Mifflin police officers during the incident It also names five unnamed officers listed as John Doe police officers 1-5 Vong was assaulted early July 5 while celebrating the Fourth of July with friends He approached homes and a gas station seeking medical help West Mifflin police officers found him around 3:05 a.m The lawsuit indicated Vong had “visible injuries to his face including blunt force trauma” and was disoriented and delirious when he was arrested officers arrested Vong “without justification” and placed him a holding cell at the police station No one provided any treatment for his injuries or called for medical help officers watched Vong call for help while crawling around the floor of his cell and eventually Vong became unconscious and unresponsive When officers eventually found him unconscious on the holding cell floor The suit cites an autopsy report that confirmed Vong died from untreated trauma to his face and head The lawsuit also alleges Vong was handcuffed so tightly he was bleeding and cut on his wrists A news conference is scheduled for later Monday morning by Alec Wright Wright said no one has been arrested in connection with the assault on Vong A day after one owner of a troubled subsidized housing complex surrendered to local authorities two other owners have been arraigned.  according to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala They face a number of felony charges related to federal funds that subsidize the 326-unit Mon View Heights apartment complex in West Mifflin.  The two appeared virtually, as they remain under house arrest in a separate federal case and were granted unsecured bonds in the amount of $500,000.   The two are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 7 One of the owners of a troubled West Mifflin apartment complex facing felony charges related to the management and finances of the federally-subsidized property turned himself in to authorities on Thursday according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office surrendered himself to authorities in West Mifflin He was released on his own recognizance with a $500,000 unsecured bond and dealing in the proceeds of illegal activity and criminal conspiracy which owns the 326-unit Mon View Heights affordable apartment complex in West Mifflin Silber and Shulman previously pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud charges in a separate federal case Last year, Zappala’s office filed numerous charges against Mon View LLC, toured the site, and met with residents He called the complex “a dangerous environment” for both residents and the general public citing the hundreds of police calls to the complex as well as numerous serious health and safety problems such as an area of open sewage on the property’s grounds Mon View is one of a number of local properties linked to NB Affordable. Residents have complained for months of poor living conditions and pressed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for help but receive a federal subsidy to house low-income tenants Liani has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb Have a tip for the WESA newsroom? Email news@wesa.fm. The West Mifflin-based cat rescue will host a vendor show and flea market Saturday. a former West Mifflin quarterback and current teacher in the district is expected to be hired Thursday as football coach at his alma mater The school board agenda lists Pugh as the recommended candidate Pugh teaches elementary school and has coached a variety of West Mifflin sports teams He previously worked as a football assistant coach under Ray Braszo and assisted the boys basketball team when coached by Lance Maha Pugh replaces Rod Steele, who coached West Mifflin for six seasons. The school district opened all coaching positions to applicants. Steele initially reapplied for the job before withdrawing from consideration. Pugh earned all-conference honors in football at Bethany College. His son, Jake, quarterbacked Thomas Jefferson to WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2020. If Javascript is disabled browser, to place orders please visit the page where our photos are available to purchase. West Mifflin coach Rod Steele works with his team during practice Aug. 8, 2024, in West Mifflin. Steele was originally a finalist to retain his job but said Thursday he withdrew his name from consideration last month. All West Mifflin coaching jobs were open to applicants, with current coaches able to reapply. Steele coached the Titans for six seasons. “The more I thought about it, I decided to withdraw my name,” Steele said. “I felt it was the right time to move on.” West Mifflin went 27-34 under Steele with a 19-17 conference mark and three playoff appearances. The Titans went 5-5 last season and narrowly missed the WPIAL playoffs because of a slimmed-down, eight-team bracket in Class 4A. “Rod did a commendable job here at West Mifflin,” said athletic director Lance Maha, who was hired in July. “He was a great guy to work with. He really cared about kids, and he really cared about the program.” Steele also works for West Mifflin as a school police officer. Maha said the school expected to hire a football coach at its Feb. 20 board meeting. Steele won two WPIAL titles and a state championship at Steel Valley before becoming the Titans’ coach. His 2016 state championship team was the most dominant in WPIAL history, winning by mercy rule over every opponent. West Mifflin made the WPIAL playoffs in 2019, ’22 and ’23. Steele said he didn’t know when or where he might coach again but was leaving that door open. “If an opportunity arises and it’s the right fit for what I want to do, then I’ll pursue it,” he said. “I’ll sit back and see what happens.” Steele said his plans also include watching his son, Rico, play football as a redshirt freshman offensive lineman at Bowling Green. He said one way to measure his coaching staff’s success was the number of players they sent to college. Senior lineman Jaiden Brown-Demery signed with Akron in December. Steele has coached some Division I talents but said many others over the past six years later played at an NCAA Division II or III school. “We were developing student-athletes and giving them the opportunity to go off to school and be successful,” Steele said. “We’ve put a lot of kids in college.” ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. West Mifflin’s Armand Hill avoids Knoch’s Kody Schubert on Oct. 18, 2024, at West Mifflin High School. The 5-foot-10, 178-pounder rushed for 1,693 yards on 188 carries and scored 23 touchdowns as a sophomore last fall. Hill listed a dozen college offers, including Pitt, Penn State and Michigan. He announced his decision on social media. A four-star prospect, Rivals.com ranked Hill at No. 134 overall in his class and ninth among running backs. He is the first commit in the 2027 class for new West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. At West Mifflin, Hills plays both running back and defensive back. He earned first-team all-conference honors on offense last season. If Javascript is disabled browser, to place orders please visit the page where our photos are available to purchase Pittsburgh Union Progress With West Mifflin moving up from Class 3A to Class 4A many wondered whether the Titans’ terrific tailback Armand Hill might find tougher sledding on the ground in his follow-up campaign after bursting onto the scene as a history-making freshman last fall Hill authored another performance for the ages to help keep West Mifflin’s playoff hopes alive carrying the ball 28 times for 344 yards and four touchdowns in the lopsided victory that would surely be remembered as a once-in-a-lifetime outing but Hill isn’t like most running backs So, how do these jaw-dropping numbers and astonishing highlight-reel runs come so naturally to him? “I was always a running back,” Hill said. “My granddad used to tell me I was going to play big-time football.” Keep in mind, Hill has played in only 21 games so far in his career — and he didn’t even take over as the Titans’ starter in the backfield until more than halfway through his freshman season. “The thing about Armand is, he’s not a flashy guy,” said West Mifflin coach Rod Steele. “He’s not a loud spoken guy. He’s a humble kid. He’ll give credit to all his teammates before himself. He’s a quiet kid. He’s not long winded. He’s a one- or two-answer guy. He’s not one to sit there and talk about his play. “He’s a great student and a great kid. He’s who you want on your team as a teammate.” A slender sophomore with soft hands, sublime cuts, superb vision and scintillating speed, the 5-foot 10, 173-pound Hill certainly isn’t the most physical runner in the area — but he might be the most electric. Every time he touches the ball, Hill is a threat to turn nothing into something and make an ordinary play into something extraordinary. It has happened so many times now, in fact, Steele has simply come to expect it and almost take it for granted. With his prolific performance on Friday, Hill is now up to 1,452 yards rushing with 19 touchdowns on 179 carries in 2024. As a freshman, he ran for 1,526 yards and 20 TDs, giving him 2,978 yards rushing for his career. That means Hill needs just 22 yards in the regular-season finale at Hampton on Friday night to become one of a select few WPIAL players to rush for more than 3,000 yards before the end of his sophomore season. “He’s a kid who works on his game,” Steele said. “He has natural ability. He sees a lot of things and does a lot of things that coaches just can’t coach. He has a natural instinct for the game. He has great vision, great balance. He’s a tough runner. “He has all the intangibles that great backs have, and that’s why he’s special. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s doing what he’s doing.” Hill currently holds nearly a dozen FBS scholarship offers, including Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Michigan and Syracuse, and he is also an exceptional cornerback who has started on defense since the beginning of his freshman season. Steele anticipates more offers to come in the near future as Hill continues to rewrite the record books, but for now, he’s just enjoying the show along with everybody else while watching from the best seat in the house. “If I take him out and put his backup in, he doesn’t say a word,” Steele said. “And he’s a lockdown corner, too. He’s pretty special.” In his first taste of the playoffs last season, Hill rushed for 202 yards in only three quarters in an eventual 42-21 defeat against Elizabeth Forward. Hill started cramping in both legs toward the end of the third quarter, and team doctors advised him to sit the remainder of the game. And although it was a painful experience both mentally and physically, Hill proved that he is capable of shining under the bright lights come playoff time. “I feel like I’m good under pressure,” Hill said. “I like big games.” Going into the season finale, the Titans (4-5, 2-2) must take down the Talbots on senior night to keep their playoff hopes alive. With only eight playoff berths available in Class 4A this year, qualifying for the postseason will be harder than ever before — and in the end, West Mifflin’s fate will lie in the hands of the WPIAL’s playoff steering committee. When it’s all said and done, Steele believes his team’s resume and quality of competition will speak for itself. And if that’s not good enough, perhaps the presence of the WPIAL’s most mesmerizing talent might be enough to secure the Titans’ ticket to the big dance. Of course, another 300-yard game on Friday certainly wouldn’t hurt — and knowing Hill and his flair for the dramatic, it wouldn’t be wise to bet against it. “I think when you give him the ball, it’s just a matter of time,” Steele said. “Any given carry. Just watch the play and see what happens. He’s just a special kid who does special things with the ball in his hands.” Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com. Knoch’s Jackson Bauman scores against North Catholic on Feb. 4. The Knights were on their defensive game, and then some, in a first-round contest against West Mifflin on Friday at Knoch High School. The No. 12 Titans were limited to just four points in the second half, and the No. 5 Knights, led by a 30-point effort from junior Jackson Bauman, pulled away for a 56-23 victory. The win sets up a quarterfinal matchup Wednesday at No. 4 Avonworth. “We kind of said that no one was allowed to talk about Avonworth,” Knoch coach Alan Bauman said. “We had to keep our full focus on West Mifflin. Avonworth is a sold team that is well-coached. They have a winning DNA over there. “You don’t want to take playoff wins lightly. Every time you get a playoff win, you want to enjoy it. For us to give up just four points in the second half and to finish the game on a 55-15 run, we need to celebrate that. We want them to enjoy this, but we will soon turn the page and get ready for Avonworth.” Knoch returns to the quarterfinals and has another chance to advance to the final four. Last year, the Knights met No. 1 Lincoln Park in the round of eight and suffered an 81-58 loss. “It is really motivating that we are in the exact same spot as last year,” Bauman said. “It is exciting because we are going to play a great team.” A Bauman layup with 3 minutes, 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter put Knoch ahead 54-23 and enacted the 30-point mercy rule running clock. Junior Teegan Finucan finished with 12 points. Nine came in the second half. Bauman responded after having to leave the game for a short time in the first quarter when he suffered a bloody lip battling on the floor for a loose ball. He had 20 points at halftime and added 10 more in the second half. “I think it was a matter of me calming down with the expectation of the playoff game,” Bauman said. “Coming back after I busted my lip, it motivated me to get back into it. We needed a run, and I was able to make some plays for my team.” Knoch limited West Mifflin’s leading scorer, senior guard Daven Reynolds, to just three points. All three came in the first quarter. Reynolds came in averaging nearly 20 points. “He is such a dynamic scorer,” Coach Bauman said. “We wanted him going left and wanted to contest everything. We thought if we let him go right, he was really going to control the game. We were able to disrupt his rhythm.” Arnez Logan, a sophomore forward, led the Titans with six points. West Mifflin, which finished its season 8-15 overall, struggled from the free-throw line, going 4 for 13 in the first half and 6 of 19 for the game. The Titans also committed 17 turnovers and found themselves in foul trouble most of the night. Reynolds and fellow starters Jose Perez and Julian Dewberry each picked up their fourth fouls in the first half of the third quarter. Dewberry and Perez fouled out early in the fourth. Despite all of that, Titans coach Hal Minford was happy with the way his guys fought. “We got out early and then just couldn’t put the ball in the hoop,” he said. “(With) 19 at halftime, we played their game. They run a 2-2-1 zone to slow things down, and we played into it. “From where we were at in September to where we’re at now, I am proud of these guys. I am a first-year coach, and I have five seniors and three of which were my middle school students. I’ve known these kids a long time. They have created a winning attitude at West Mifflin for these young guys to move forward. They came and worked every single day, and we got better as the season went on.” Knoch started out cold from the field as Knights shooters missed their first eight field goals, and West Mifflin built an 8-1 lead. Bauman broke that early drought with a layup at the 1:05 mark of the opening frame. The Titans led by two at the end of the first, but the Knights scrapped all the way back. Bauman converted a three-point play — a layup and a free throw — to give Knoch its first lead of the game, 14-13, with 5:55 left until halftime. Bauman scored 15 of his 30 points in the second quarter. He sank two free throws with 2:06 until the break to put the Knights up by six. After Perez hit 1 of 2 from the foul line, Knights sophomore reserve Roman DeFelice struck from the left wing with 7 seconds on the clock. His 3-pointer put Knoch ahead 27-19 at the break. “We didn’t panic,” Coach Bauman said. “We came out tight, but we stayed with it. All year, our defense has been driving us. We found a rhythm to get a lead, and we went from there.” Braeden Andzelik doubled and drove in two runs for the Titans (11-3 Alex Kolano and Gavin Angotti tripled for the Rams (4-8 Laurel Highlands 4 – Evan Weakland doubled and drove in two runs Michael Dunhham went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and Jason Myers earned the win as Albert Gallatin (4-5 Sevi Vecchiolla doubled twice and had a pair of RBIs for the Mustangs OLSH 4 – Noah Stewart and Brayden McCracken drove in two runs apiece and Alexander Clawson singled and knocked in a run to lead Apollo-Ridge (3-6 Thomas Medwig hit two doubles and Dean Douglass singled doubled and drove in three runs for OLSH (7-5 Jeannette 3 – Bryce Wright doubled and drove in two runs while Logan Fedak and Cameron Ullom each plated two runs as Avella (10-1 Jayden Kennedy and Noah Rattigan knocked in a run apiece for the Jayhawks Charles Rush picked up a win for the Eagles Shady Side Academy 0 –Avonworth (11-1 Mason Metz went 2 for 2 with a home run and four RBIs Jack Dolan doubled twice and drove in a run and Alexander Rowe plated two runs for the Antelopes Metz went 3 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs and Carson Franc gave up two hits and fanned nine in a complete game shutout for the Antelopes Ty McCaskey and David Dillon each doubled for the Bulldogs Gateway 1 – Matt Musial drove in two runs Aiden Robinson doubled and Trey Alario got the win as Baldwin (5-4 California 5 – Ben Hays went 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs and Sam Wade drove in two runs for Bentworth (3-6 Eli Carpenter doubled and drove in two runs for California (4-4 Jack Bruckner and Eric Miehl had two hits and an RBI apiece to lead Bethel Park (8-3 Michael Alspaugh had two doubles and two RBIs for Peters Township (7-5 Carlynton 1 – Michael O’Leary threw a five-inning one-hitter and struck out eight for Brentwood (3-6 Eric Firle hit a double for Carlynton (2-8 Colton Rosing went 3 for 4 with a double and four RBIs and Gavin Broderick doubled and drove in two runs for the Spartans McGuffey 6 – Ben Vojacek and Jacob Dillinger each drove in two runs and Geno Thorpe went 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI while Hunter Pelehac got the win as Brownsville (3-5 Wyatt Hildreth drove in three for the Highlanders Beth-Center 5 – Brian Charles doubled and knocked in four runs William Stevenson drove in a pair of runs and Sam Elich doubled and had an RBI for Burgettstown (5-1 Eli Wright went 2 for 4 with three RBIs for Beth-Center (2-6 Jayden Roach got the win and Stevenson picked up a save for the Blue Devils Ligonier Valley 2 – Trey Coury drove in a pair of runs Isaac Lasinski went 2 for 4 with an RBI and winning pitcher Colton Whitlock gave up two runs and struck out four in a complete game as Burrell (6-3 Tyler Smith and Gavin Moore each had an RBI for the Rams Lebanon 3 – Massimo Falconi hit a double and Alexander Shank drove in three runs for Canon-McMillan (10-3 Greensburg Central Catholic 1 – Colin Andrews hit a solo home run and Jordan Davis delivered an RBI single as Carmichaels (6-3 5-2) took the lead in the fifth and went on to beat Greensburg Central Catholic (6-2 Tyler Samide drove in the only run for the Centurions Ryder Kreig drove in a run in the sixth while Jase Zdravecky got the win for the Mighty Mikes Keystone Oaks 5 – Kaden Woods drove in two runs Jake Corrin doubled and Masyn Grooms hit a two-run single in the fifth to lead Charleroi (5-4 Brandon Kaminski plated two runs for Keystone Oaks (5-5 Michael Switala and winning pitcher Colton Koza each drove in two runs to propel Chartiers Valley (6-7 Taylor Ebner went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs for the Tigers McKeesport 1 – Grayden Gillott went 4 for 4 with two doubles and five RBIs Noach Zawisian and Linkon Keller each drove in two and Jett Dunaway got the win as Connellsville (8-2 Thomas Minnick doubled for McKeesport (0-11 Sewickley Academy 4 – Brady Hull was 3 for 3 with a home run Noah Emswiler doubled twice and brought in four runs and winning pitcher Brett Feldman also knocked in a pair as Eden Christian (9-2 Nolan Donnelly doubled and plated a run for Sewickley Academy (1-8 Belle Vernon 1 – Cy Herchelroath tripled and knocked in five runs Jacob Peterson doubled and drove in a run and winning pitcher Joseph Crovak surrendered one unearned run on four hits and struck out 10 as Elizabeth Forward (8-2 Connor Bergman and Cole Matusik doubled for the Leopards Chartiers-Houston 5 – Noah Bachinski went 3 for 3 with two doubles Chase Fulmer doubled and Brant Alekson and Dailan McManus drove in two runs apiece to lead Frazier (5-5 Justus Buckingham and Paul Williamson hit a double apiece for Chartiers-Houston (5-4 Laurel 3 – Tommy Ward went 2 for 3 with a triple and two RBIs and Zach Kuntz hit two singles for Freedom (6-5 Kolton Carlson went 3 for 4 with an RBI for Laurel (4-6 Northgate 0 – Colton Temple went 3 for 3 with a pair of home runs a triple and five RBIs to power Fort Cherry (6-4) to a nonsection win over Northgate (2-7) Nate Wolfe doubled and knocked in two runs and Dylan Lueck got the win for the Rangers North Catholic 6 – Ryan Scully hit a double and home run Chad Moore had a double and two RBIs and Nate Constantakis drove in two runs to lead Hampton (3-7 Matthew Madonna and Landon Eifler had a double and two RBIs apiece for North Catholic (5-4 West Greene 3 – Jaymison Robinson went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and winning pitcher John Woodward also drove in three as Jefferson-Morgan (5-3 Valley 2 – Cooper Allison had two doubles and two RBIs and Kaden Dreher and Sean Morgan hit a double apiece to lead Knoch (8-6 Dante Taliani hit two singles for Valley (5-7 Aquinas Academy 1 – Rocco Vigna tripled and drove in four runs Chase Henry doubled and tacked on three RBIs and winning pitcher Garrett Jones went 4 for 4 with two RBIs as Leechburg (8-1 David Zaharko doubled and knocked in a run for Aquinas Academy (2-7 Jones gave up one run on six hits and struck out six in six innings for the Blue Devils Yough 4 – Carter Strayer and Sonny Marne drove in three runs apiece and Cole Chatfield doubled to lead Mt Justin Girman and winning pitcher Carlo DeSalvo each drove in a run as New Castle (3-9 Lukas Stead doubled twice and drove in a pair and Landon Blank had an RBI for the Dragons Joshua Pounds picked up the save for the Hurricanes Central Catholic 3 – Sean O’Donnell hit a double and Christian Simons drove in two runs for North Allegheny (7-2 5-0) in a Section 1-6A win over Central Catholic (5-6 Woodland Hills 1 – Winning pitcher Brayden Wardzinski went 5⅔ innings and gave up one unearned run on two hits and struck out 10 while also doubling and knocking in a run as Norwin (7-6 Benjamin Geissler also doubled and drove in a run while Nate Silberman had an RBI for the Knights West Allegheny 2 – Luke Grana tripled and knocked in three runs Jake Waddell doubled and drove in a pair and winning pitcher Drew Boivin tripled and had an RBI as Pine-Richland (10-1 Teagan Tomei went 2 for 3 with an RBI for the Indians Penn Hills 0 – Michael Tedrick threw a three-inning one hitter and struck out five for Plum (9-2 Gavin Tierney hit a single for Penn Hills (2-9 Ryan Lafferty went 2 for 2 with a home run and two RBIs Jake Domkowski had two triples and four RBIs and Dan Macioce hit a double and triple for the Mustangs Ellwood City 8 – Winning pitcher Todd Kagle had four RBIs Nolan Wagoner went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Henry Zupanc plated a run as Quaker Valley (7-3 Cameron Mills and Maykel Cuevas each drove in three runs for the Wolverines Clairton 0 – Bodi Rieger threw a four-inning no-hitter and struck out 10 to lead Serra Catholic (9-2 5-1) to a Section 3-A win over Clairton (0-7 Tyler Skaggs had a double and four RBIs for the Eagles Sam Patton and Trey Ross hit a double apiece and Joey Campoli drove in three runs to lead Shenango (8-2 Brock Budacki went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs for New Brighton (6-4 Steel Valley 4 – Keegan Fekety and Robert Lenzi had a double and two RBIs apiece and Ryan Spitznagel also drove in two runs to lead South Park (9-1 Daevon Gaynor hit a double and triple and Logan Thomas doubled for Steel Valley (4-6 South Fayette 5 – Nico D’Orazio went 2 for 2 with a triple and Cooper Stutzman drove in two runs for Upper St Chaz Kosko went 2 for 3 with a double and RBI for South Fayette (8-4 Seton LaSalle 5 – Ethan Kiger and Grant Pack drove in three runs apiece Jake Stephenson went 4 for 5 with an RBI and Austin Surber picked up a win as Waynesburg (10-0 doubled and drove in a pair for Seton LaSalle (5-5 Rochester 6 – Mason Witten laced a walk-off RBI double to lift Winchester Thurston (9-1 Witten finished with two RBIs while Sam Tarr drove in two runs and Sam McComb got the win for the Bears Cole Poplin knocked in two runs for Rochester (4-5 Connellsville 5 – Avery Herrington went 3 for 4 with a double home run and five RBIs and Mackenzie Bowen and Reese Temme hit a home run apiece for Baldwin (10-2 Cali Leichliter went 3 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs for Connellsville (5-2 Gabby Jaquay had two doubles and four RBIs for the Highlanders Washington 5 – Kylie Glaze went 3 for 3 with a double Sydney Gonglik went 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs and Nora Lindley had a double Mayaja Lee had a home run and three RBIs for Washington (4-2 Central Valley 5 – Brynn Hysong went 4 for 4 with a double Addy Ramer hit a home run and Keira Rodu doubled and drove in two runs to lead Blackhawk (5-2 Emma Weaver hit three doubles and Natalie Iannessa drove in three runs for Central Valley (3-5 Waynesburg 2 – Pinch runner Jordyn Davis scored the winning run for Brownsville (5-3 2-1) on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh in a Section 4-2A win Avery Davis went 3 for 3 with two doubles for Waynesburg (5-4 Winning pitcher Ava Clark struck out 18 and allowed two runs on six hits for the Falcons Seton LaSalle 1 – Meadow Ferri struck out 19 and allowed one run on three hits for Chartiers-Houston (10-0 Kamiya Morris hit a triple for Seton LaSalle (3-4 Ferri hit a two-run homer and Aubree Randolph and Ella Richey had a triple and two RBIs apiece for the Buccaneers Oakland Catholic 0 – Berlyn Holibaugh went 3 for 3 with a triple and four RBIs Addison Musisko hit a three-run triple and Julia Resnick hit two doubles to lead Elizabeth Forward (6-2 Madison Pullen hit a single for Oakland Catholic (1-6 South Fayette 12 – Cami Chambers had a triple and three RBIs and Kendall Trexler and Taya Fitzgerald hit a double apiece to lead Moon (4-4 Evie Vuono went 3 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs and Emma Smith tripled and drove in four runs for South Fayette (7-3 Carlynton 1 – Claire Bulls had a double and two RBIs and Leann Walzer drove in three runs for OLSH (5-3 3-0) in a Section 3-2A win over Carlynton (2-7 Kiski Area 2 – Bella Rubbe hit two home runs home run and five RBIs to lead Penn-Trafford (9-1 Aubrey West hit a single for Kiski Area (2-7 Riley Moors and Jadyn Pellis drove in two runs apiece for the Warriors Monessen 3 – Kelly Morrissey went 2 for 2 with a double and four RBIs Giana Foster tripled and Bailee Dayton drove in three runs to lead Serra Catholic (3-4 Grace Clingenpeel and Joey Hurst tripled for Monessen (0-5 Brentwood 0 – Carrera Conley threw a three-inning no-hitter and struck out seven for South Allegheny (8-1 4-0) in a Section 2-2A win over Brentwood (1-5 Ava Brown hit two doubles and Cameran Colecchi drove in four runs for the Gladiators East Allegheny 0 – Abby Curran had a double Elaina Tichon tripled and drove in three runs and Brooke Grimm doubled to lead Steel Valley (3-6 1-4) to a Section 3-3A win over East Allegheny (0-6 Bishop Canevin 1 – Irelyn Fisher hit two three-run homers and Maggie Joseph had a single 5-0) to a Section 1-A win over Bishop Canevin (2-6 Belle Vernon 5 – Emmaleigh Noah hit a home run Di’Saya Craggette and Juliet White hit a double apiece and Lauren White drove in four runs to lead Uniontown (6-4 Mia Zubovic went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for Belle Vernon (5-6 Beth-Center 6 – Payton Gilbert went 4 for 4 with two doubles and three RBIs Emmaline Beazell went 2 for 3 with a double and four RBIs and Madelyn Roberts tripled and drove in two runs for West Greene (9-1 Kendall Welsh had a triple and four RBIs for Beth-Center (1-7 Burrell 4 – Jaidyn Vay went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs and Anna Lindner and Shiann Kaefer drove in three runs apiece to lead Yough (3-5 Pyper Ferres hit a home run and Sophia Gregg doubled for Burrell (4-8 Hampton 8 – Lizzie Dorley had four goals and two assists to lead Seton LaSalle to a Section 1-2A victory Greensburg Salem 4 – Kennedy Tracey scored six goals Georgia Poach added three and Myah Agmon had two for Trinity in a Section 1-2A win over Greensburg Salem Section 1-3A – The top two seeds stormed into the section doubles finals with dominant performances.No 1 Zidaan Hassan and Logan Memije of Gateway lost a total of one game in three matches defeating Prem Nadesan and Arnesh Parua of Franklin Regional a Franklin Regional duo that lost a total of six games in three matches They defeated Latrobe’s Blaise Burkovac and Eli McKeever in the semifinals The top four finishers in each section move on to the WPIAL tournament April 22-23 Section 4-3A – The top-seeded team of Ari Plutko and Shawn Khurana from Upper St Clair dropped a total of seven games in three matches en route to the section finals Lebanon’s Evan McGill and Noah Klaber in the semifinals and will face another pair of Blue Devils in Wednesday’s finals Lebanon defeated Kritin Sharma and Tyler Urbanic of Peters Township in the semifinals Section 1-2A – The top three seeds advanced to Wednesday’s semifinals of the section doubles tournament Top seed Landon Harclerode and Tyler Quinn of Valley defeated Southmoreland’s Lucas Hardik and Ben Schaeffer in the quarterfinals They’ll meet fifth-seeded Silas Morris and Tommy Shrum of Greensburg Salem 4 Ravi Stanger and Soham Maiti of Winchester Thurston.Aydan and Austyn Gross of Mt defeated Jake Ervin and Baxter Diehm of Valley and will take on No 2 Gabe Nettleton and Michael Dubetsky of Indiana in the semifinals Section 2-2A – Tenth-seeded Praves Wagley and Cole Hammack made a surprise run to the semifinals knocking off second-seeded Tony Simda and Brandon Nugyen of Ringgold They’ll meet third-seeded Jonah Camardese and Trey Varga of Montour in the semifinals top-seeded Jonah Jasek and Steven Duing of South Park will take on No 4 Vincent Chen and Collin Zhang of Seton LaSalle Section 3-2A – The top three seeds received first-round byes and advanced to the semifinals 2 Alex Weber and Alex Foubert of North Catholic will take on No Fifth-seeded Jake Sinclair and Paddy McCabe of North Catholic knocked off No 4 JJ Edwards and Jaxon Mayer of Hampton and will meet top-seeded Will Meagher and Matthew Henry of Quaker Valley in the semifinals Section 4-2A – Third-seeded Cody Clayton and Hunter Hazelwood of Central Valley defeated No 2 Zack Masters and Sean Perez of Beaver in a three-set semifinal battle They’ll meet top-seeded Ben Crefeld and Jack Hanlon of Blackhawk who defeated surprise semifinalists Donovan Matsook and Charles Vuckovich of Central Valley Utah Hockey Club forward Logan Cooley scored a career-best 65 points (25 goals has been selected for the United States Men’s National Team for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Championship tournament USA Hockey announced the first 18 members of the roster on Thursday via a release Cooley appeared in 75 games for Utah and scored a career-best 65 points (25 goals A participant of Sidney Crosby’s Little Penguins Learn to Play Program as a child and former member the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite youth program Cooley is the highest-drafted Pittsburgh-area player in NHL history 3 overall by the now defunct Arizona Coyotes in 2022 When the Coyotes ceased operations in 2024 etc.) were transferred to the newly formed Utah Hockey Club Cooley has previously skated for the United States on the international stage most recently in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship tournament Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci was named to the United States’ staff in an identical capacity earlier this week. The tournament will be staged primarily in Stockholm between May 9 and 25. Herning, Denmark, will also host games. West Mifflin’s Armand Hill avoids Knoch’s Kody Schubert on Friday at West Mifflin High School. West Mifflin’s Armand Hill stenches the ball to the pylon past Knoch’s Codi Mullen on Friday at West Mifflin High School. West Mifflin’s Sincere Degree sacks Knoch’s Codi Mullen on Friday at West Mifflin High School. West Mifflin’s Sincere Degree intercepts a pass intended for Knoch’s Keaton Oprosky on Friday at West Mifflin High School. West Mifflin’s Armand Hill gets past Knoch’s Codi Mullen on Friday. West Mifflin’s Tyrone Leonard pulls in a touchdown pass past Knoch’s Kody Schubert on Friday. West Mifflin’s Sincere Degree celebrates with Tyrone Leonard after Leonard’s touchdown catch against Knoch on Friday. Knoch’s Codi Mullen cuts back against West Mifflin on Friday. West Mifflin’s Armand Hill runs through the Knoch defense for a 67-yard touchdown on Friday. Knoch’s Codi Mullen scores past West Mifflin’s Jarelle Mason on Friday. Hill’s frequent long dashes tormented Knoch’s defense Friday night during a 48-21 Greater Allegheny Conference victory at Titans Stadium Hill finished with 334 yards and four touchdowns to give West Mifflin a pulse for grabbing one of the wild-card spots for the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs 2-2) have won consecutive games after suffering through a four-game losing streak West Mifflin’s offense has produced more than 40 points in both wins “I’m always looking for an open hole,” Hill said “(We’ve) improved our blocking assignments.” Titans coach Rod Steele said he feels his team has flashed signs of this type of performance all season “I wouldn’t even say the last couple weeks we were running with McKeesport,” Steele said “(Armand) ran for 244 on 38 carries against McKeesport We were killing ourselves in those other games and we have some guys who people come to the games to watch.” which likely will end up on the outside looking in for the playoffs 2-2) close the season next week with a matchup with first-place McKeesport Knoch quarterback Codi Mullen had a gutsy effort for the Knights Mullen battled through a combination of injuries He still ran for 136 yards and also passed for 91 and a touchdown “We didn’t match their physicality in the second half We didn’t match their physicality.” The Titans didn’t take control of the game until midway through the second quarter when Ethan Rouleau slipped behind a fallen West Mifflin defensive back hauled in a pass from Mullen and completed a 55-yard catch-and-run for a score with 8 minutes West Mifflin didn’t give Knoch much time to enjoy being ahead On the Titans’ next play from scrimmage Hill scored on a 67-yard run to put West Mifflin ahead for good West Mifflin forced Knoch to punt on its next possession The Titans then stretched their lead to two scores on a 52-yard pass from Zahir Ismaeli to Tyrone Leonard “I was trying to take the momentum back out,” Steele said “We had some plays drawn up on our card that were big plays that we thought we could hit.” who left the game late in the second quarter with an injury On Knoch’s first possession after halftime Mullen scored on a 71-yard run to cut the deficit to 27-21 Ismaeli scored on a 2-yard run on West Mifflin’s ensuing possession Darnell Carswell snuffed out hopes of a comeback by intercepting Mullen The Titans cashed in Carswell’s interception with a 10-yard touchdown run by Hill which was missing starting guard Saeon Coleman played with the required urgency to stay in the hunt for the postseason “I think our kids understand where we’re at,” Steele said “We had to come out here and take care of business.” West Mifflin senior Caleigh Ignat is congratulated by coach Erik Hilligsberg while rounding third base. Record: West Mifflin is tied for first place in Section 2-4A with a 4-0 record (6-3 overall) with four consecutive wins #Earned: Following victories over Belle Vernon and Uniontown the previous week to get the ball rolling on its Section 2-4A schedule West Mifflin collected two convincing wins this week heading into a key section contest at home Friday against Laurel Highlands the Titans scored two runs quickly against visiting Ringgold but then struggled to add on until a monster fourth inning The Titans blew the game open with 10 unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning with nine of those runs coming after two outs They ended the game early after 4 ½ innings as they blanked the Rams West Mifflin played its eighth home contest in nine games on the new turf field at its spring sports complex behind the high school a big inning for the Titans did in their opponent as they added to a 1-0 advantage by scoring seven runs in the third inning West Mifflin scored four more runs in the fifth inning and ended up picking up the section win over the Eagles Standout performers: In the circle in both West Mifflin victories this week were junior Rylie Dobank and freshman Annabelle Graham Dobnak started and got the win by pitching four no-hit innings with two walks and six strikeouts Graham finished the game in the fifth inning allowing the Rams their only hit and striking out one giving up no earned runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts in four innings of work Dobnak pitched the final three innings for the save with no earned runs but it was her first varsity home run and she drove in four runs in the two games Junior Kayleigh Tatters was a perfect 4 for 4 with four walks She scored five runs and drove in five runs Sophomore Adilee Salopek was a combined 4 for 6 with a double Also contributing to the 23 hits over two games were freshman Breezy Dobank (Rylie’s younger sister) with three hits sophomore Mia Bey and freshman Bella Simak with two hits each sophomore Taylor Krivanek with four runs scored and sophomore Abby Jakubovic with three RBIs The Wednesday game also marked the return to the lineup for the first time this season of senior catcher Caleigh Ignat The Point Park commit returned after a broken foot to go 1 for 2 with a run scored Last year: A year after finishing as co-section champions with Knoch in Section 1-4A in 2023 four games behind section champion Indiana and two behind runner-up Knoch The young Titans never lost more than two games in a row but their longest winning streak was only three straight as they ended the regular season at 10-8 West Mifflin won its first round 4A playoff game the season ended in the district quarterfinals with a loss to rival Elizabeth Forward West Mifflin shared the Section 1-4A championship with Knoch for the program’s sixth section crown The Titans won three section titles in a four-year span in the mid-1990s with section championships in 1994 The program won back-to-back section titles again 16 years later when the Titans finished first in 2013 and 2014 West Mifflin shared the 2013 section title with Elizabeth Forward the Titans won the section outright finishing two games ahead of the EF Warriors A look back at the 2024 Trib HSSN Softball Teams of the Week Week 4 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers former Serra Catholic boys basketball coach Justin Walther will not only return to the sidelines this season Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com Die-Hards: Pitt 2026 QB Commit Details Latest Visit with Kade Bell Die-Hards: Important Update on Active Pitt Portal Developments Die-Hards: Damon Ferguson Reacts to Ohio State Offer and Impact on Pitt Die-Hards: An Elite Challenger Emerges in Pitt’s Recruitment of Top RB Report: Kenny Johnson Declined Nearly $1 Million Portal Deals Former Pitt OL Adham Abouraya Transfers to Eastern Michigan Pitt Transfer TE Lands with Big 10 Program Which Undrafted Pitt Players Received Rookie Camp Invites? Pitt Lands Florida 3-Star WR Demetrice McCray Pitt Continues to Recruit 3-Star Commit Dylan Wester Pitt 2026 Targets: Three Defensive Tackle Prospects Pitt an Early Contender for 2027 Three-Star Offensive Lineman Pitt Offers WPIAL Product, No. 1 Kicker in 2026 Class Pitt Men’s Basketball Signs New 7-Footer Former Pitt Big Man Federiko Federiko Commits to Third School Kentucky Coach Explains How Jaland Lowe Will be Used at UK Former Pitt F Guillermo Diaz Graham Officially Signs with New Team Jorge Diaz Graham Commits to New School; To Play Against Twin Recruiting Shutdown in Place This Week in NCAA Women’s Basketball Source: Pitt Top Contender for NBA Prospect Roman Siulepa Pitt Adds Talented Henry Cody Lau from Australia Pitt Target Beginning Official Visit with Duke Pitt Offers Pair of NBA Star’s Twin Sons Strong MTE Added to Duquesne’s Non-Conference MBB Schedule Duquesne Lands Another Transfer Portal Forward Former Duquesne Big Man Transfers to New School Weiss: Only One Way To Grade Duquesne’s MBB Season D2 School Building Team Out of WPIAL Basketball Stars Central Catholic Grad, Pitt Transfer Target Commits to SEC School Western PA Basketball Star Commits to College Team A Top 2026 WPIAL Prospect, Pitt Priority Commits to Big 10 Program Peters Township Lucas Shanafelt Decides on Stanford Biggest Takeaways from Pitt Spring Game | PGHSN PULSE What to Watch for During Pitt Spring Game | PGHSN PULSE Youngsters Pushing Competition in Pitt QB Room | PGHSN PULSE Limited Pitt RBs in Spring Causing Concern? | PGHSN PULSE How Deep is the Pitt Wide Receiver Room? | PGHSN PULSE — The West Mifflin Titans (1-0) used a second-half comeback to down the Elizabeth Forward Warriors (0-1) by the score of 17-16 in the opening week of action across the WPIAL This was a rematch of the drama-infested Class-3A quarterfinals matchup from a season ago when the Warriors walked out on top of that game and advanced to the semifinals The Titans got their revenge to kick off the 2024 season After both teams lost a handful of impact starters to graduation each side returned a few stars to lead their respective teams in 2024 anchors both the offensive and defensive lines The Titans returned phenom running back Armand Hill who burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2023 The Titans also have an anchor on their defensive line in Akron recruit Jaiden Brown-Demery Each team opened the game with a three-and-out before the Titans drove down the field before cashing in on a chip-shot field goal The Warriors immediately drove down the field to answer but missed a 42-yard field goal The field goal attempt was started due to a 44-yard rush from Charlie Nigut On the Warriors’ lone drive of the second quarter they used 14 plays to drive 59 yards for the go-ahead touchdown The score came on a 7-yard wildcat keeper by Nigut The Warriors drained most of the clock with their long scoring drive and it gave the Titans no time to answer before halftime The Titans forced a quick punt to start the third quarter but Rich Fix fumbled the punt giving the Warriors the ball at the Titans’ 29-yard line Just as it looked like the Warriors were going to build onto their lead they held strong at their goal line and forced a fumble the Warriors’ defense made Titans’ quarterback Zahir Ismaeli fumble as he looked to escape multiple sack attempts The Warriors used that turnover to have Luke Holdren kick a field goal that extended the lead to a full touchdown Just as it looked like the game was slipping away from the Titans Fix redeemed himself and returned the kickoff to the Warriors side of the field which led to a game-tying 25-yard touchdown scramble by Ismaeli Israeli did it again as he broke free for a 64-yard rush that set up what appeared to be a go-ahead field goal That was until a bad snap ruined the field goal attempt for the Titans The Titans’ defense rallied and allowed their offense to get the ball back with just under two minutes left in the game This led to a go-ahead 44-yard touchdown run by the sophomore Hill the Warriors drove down the field to score as the game time expired in the fourth quarter a bad snap led to no kick attempt which resulted in the end of the game the Titans will travel to take on Avonworth while the Warriors will travel to take on non-conference foe Highlands Enter your email and get all of our posts delivered straight to your inbox Call 1-800-GAMBLER (PA/IL) or 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN only) or 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA only) or 1-800-522-4700 (CO Only) or TN REDLINE: 800-889-9789 This website is unavailable in your location It appears you are attempting to access this website from a country outside of the United States therefore access cannot be granted at this time A budget deficit could be around $2.9 million for the school district The West Mifflin Area School Board received a budget update to assess the district’s current finances during Wednesday’s board meeting. the district director of finance and operations outlined some budget numbers to board members Wehrer projected that revenues could be $65.5 million with expenditures currently estimated at $68.4 million for the upcoming budget Wehrer said as the budget process continues The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office has filed an additional charge against Mon View LLC After fire hydrants inside the complex failed inspections and a small child reportedly fell through the floor of an apartment unit the DA charged the company on Monday with a felony count of causing or risking catastrophe Days after citing a West Mifflin apartment complex as a public nuisance Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr and said he would hold its owners accountable for the poor conditions there Earlier this week, the district attorney filed charges against Mon View Apts, LLC Zappala said Friday he intends to ask a judge to appoint a receiver who would be responsible for paying bills and making fixes to the property; that person or entity would use the hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal housing funds now going to the LLC The property is receiving about $230,000 in monthly subsidies from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development “That money has not been used for the benefit of the people that live there,” Zappala said Friday The district attorney said he acted in response to concerns from municipal and police officials in West Mifflin who had reached out to him about problems at the site A criminal complaint made public earlier this week detailed problems with broken windows as well as hundreds of police calls in recent months it’s almost as if they were trying to run the property into the ground,” Zappala said Mon View, along with a number of other local affordable properties, was sold last year to a New Jersey-based company, NB Affordable At the time of the sale, the new owner pledged investments in the properties, saying it had plans to invest more than $10 million into the homes, “ensuring every apartment meets NB’s pioneering standards.” Still, a number of local affordable housing advocates expressed concern and skepticism about the new owner last year WESA has reported previously on health and safety concerns from tenants at several other local NB Affordable properties The company has not responded to inquiries seeking comment and reporters made its way through the complex Zappala and the reporters were approached by a number of residents who shared their stories “There’s too much crime going on around here,” said one woman My kids are scared of the rodents that run around Gil Berry a real estate developer who does not live at the property but said he has spoken with a number of tenants said residents do not want to lose their homes “They don't want to be displaced,” he said “And I'm going to try to fight to make sure that they stay even if we got to remove some of these bad properties and take them offline and talk about building new housing for the residents here.” The district attorney said Friday that HUD has been unresponsive to local officials A HUD spokesperson told WESA earlier this week the agency “is working with the owner and local authorities to ensure these residents have access to the quality Zappala was also critical of the Allegheny County Health Department for failing to promptly remedy a sewage problem The health department has 17 open cases at the site that involve rodent and cockroach infestations; electrical issues; no hot water; owner terminated gas service; missing or damaged toilet; mold; garbage and debris around property; plumbing issues; broken gutters; and openings in ceilings It has also dealt with dozens of other cases at the complex both last year and earlier this year No court date has yet been scheduled for the charges against the LLC Thursday’s meeting was held to find out what community members want to see in the project. West Mifflin’s Jaiden Brown-Demery works out during practice on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in West Mifflin. West Mifflin’s Armand Hill works out during practice on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in West Mifflin. West Mifflin head coach Rod Steele works with his teamduring practice on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in West Mifflin. and they’re bringing two of the WPIAL’s top players with them After advancing to the 3A playoff quarterfinals last year the Titans will compete with the likes of perennial 4A powers McKeesport and Mars in the Greater Allegheny Conference They will step up to the challenge with a young and talented roster led by sophomore running back Armand Hill and senior tackle Jaiden Brown-Demery “It’s no secret that Jaiden and Armand are our top guys,” said West Mifflin coach Rod Steele “They are special talents who play at a high level.” rushing for more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns as a freshman His 495 yards on the ground against Hopewell ranks as the second most in WPIAL history “Armand does the instinctive things that gifted ones do that you just can’t teach,” Steele said He has the ability to lower the pads and be physical but then he can make guys miss in the open field He also has soft hands as a receiver.” Maryland and Michigan are among nearly a dozen colleges following suit I’ve never seen as good of a runner at the varsity level as a freshman,” said Steele who coached a star-studded Steel Valley squad to the 2016 2A state title before taking the West Mifflin job 180-pound Hill to once again be a handful for opposing defenses “We use Armand in a lot of different places,” he said We have multiple ways of utilizing him within our offensive scheme.” While Hill should rack up the yards and touchdowns the Titans will look to Brown-Demery to rule the trenches 315-pounder recently announced his college commitment selecting Akron from a long list of Division I offers his athleticism for a big man,” Steele said “He’s also a physical football player He has a lot of traits that coaches love players to have.” Brown-Demery has dropped about 15 pounds since last season “He’s really transformed his body,” Steele said Brown-Demery will anchor the West Mifflin line with guard Saeon Coleman and tackle Ethan Thomas Top newcomers include center Carmello Yarbough (6-5 “Carmello is a basketball player with very good feet,” Steele said Senior Rich Fix and sophomores Tyrone Leonard and Sincere Degree should be the Titans’ top receiving threats Steele plans to turn over the keys to the offense to freshman quarterback Zahir Ismaeli “Zahir is a dual-threat player at quarterback who gives us an element we haven’t had in a long time,” he said “He’s very smart and he’s a national Junior Olympic track guy.” Brown-Demery and Hill also will spearhead the defense at tackle and cornerback Brown-Demery was voted the Western Hills Conference’s defensive MVP and defensive lineman of the year “He’s really quick on his feet for a guy that big,” Steele said Hill led the Western Hills with seven interceptions while earning all-conference honors on both sides of the ball Joining Hill in the secondary will be safeties London Robinson and Jerralle Mason and cornerback Jose Perez Other top defensive players should be end Dylan Schofield and linebackers Darnell Carswell and Michael Burrows West Mifflin opened 0-3 before winning six of its final seven games in the first round of the 3A playoffs before falling to Elizabeth-Forward “There were times when we had five freshmen on the field,” Steele said “Our young kids got some experience at how fast and physical it can be playing at the high school level.” The Titans will compete for a 4A playoff berth with new conference foes McKeesport “We played McKeesport in nonconference games the past few years,” Steele said “But we’re not really familiar with the teams in the north I know that Mars finished in the final four and lost to (eventual state champion) Aliquippa They look like a program on the rise.” Steele said he’s more focused on his own team than any opponent the Titans will meet down the road “We feel we have a lot of young guys with talent,” he said “We’re working on what it takes to become a good football team.” 5-1 in the Class 3A Western Hills Conference • Known as “Mondo,” Armand Hill became the Titans’ primary runner last season after senior Delron White went down with an injury in Week 6 In his first three games as starting tailback Rod Steele coached Steel Valley for nine seasons leading the Ironmen to two WPIAL titles (2016 helping the Wildcats to the 1995 Big Ten title and a matchup against USC in the 1996 Rose Bowl • The West Mifflin Area School District encompasses the boroughs of West Mifflin and Whitaker the district also serves some students from the neighboring city of Duquesne The 5-0 Jaguars will turn their focus to conference play after the 35-7 victory. Thomas Jefferson’s football team has split its season into two halves, the five games in the nonconference slate and the five matchups in Big Six Conference play starting next week. Friday night ended the opening section of the season as the Jaguars (5-0) traveled to West Mifflin and returned with a 35-7 win. “We divided the season up into halves, and this was the first half,” TJ coach Bill Cherpak said. “We played five pretty tough non-section games, so we wanted to come out of this strong. Honestly, did I think we’d come out of it 5-0? Probably not. But we wanted to come out of it healthy and playing well, and I think we’re doing that for the most part. “I felt pretty good (about Friday’s performance). I think we played well offensively and defensively, and especially on special teams, the kickoff team did fantastic. That was a real worry for us because they have such great returners and skill players. Besides one play, they really didn’t do much on us.” That play opened the second drive of the night for the Titans (2-2) as quarterback Zahir Ismaeli threw a strike to Sincere Degree that ended up being a 73-yard catch and run to the end zone. Unfortunately for West Mifflin, there wasn’t much offense after that as the Jaguars scored 28 unanswered points to conclude the game. Star running back Armand Hill finished with 50 rushing yards on 12 attempts and Ismaeli went 7 for 17 with 137 yards and the score. “I thought the kids fought, but (TJ) took advantage of some situations with our personnel,” West Mifflin coach Rod Steele said. “Give credit to (Cherpak) and his team because they’re a good football team and they executed and made plays. Our kids were in position to make plays, but the ball just didn’t go our way.” Steele cited three TJ touchdowns where plays could’ve been made, but just slipped away. “Three times, take 21 points, where (Armand) Hill is there on the throw, then (Jose) Perez was there on the one down here, and the one in the back corner could’ve been stopped. That’s 21 points where we had a chance but just couldn’t get off the field. Give credit to Cherpak and his team. (Luke) Kosko is a good quarterback and they’ve got some good receivers who can go get it.” Kosko finished 11 for 15 with 175 yards and three scores through the air, two of which went to his favorite target, Brayden White. White had six receptions for 110 yards and the two touchdowns while Kane Eggerton caught Kosko’s other touchdown. On the ground, Tyler Eber had another monstrous performance with 34 carries for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The contest couldn’t have started better for the Jaguars as they forced a punt from West Mifflin after allowing one first down. From there, Kosko got started through the air with a 47-yard connection with White on TJ’s first offensive play of the game. The passing game kept at it, but it was the ground game that put the first points on the board. On fourth-and-5, Eber scampered into the end zone from 13 yards out. Sam Wessel’s extra point made it 7-0 for the Jaguars with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter. The Titans came right back with a score of their own. On the first play of their ensuing drive, Ismaeli connected with Degree for a short completion before the sophomore wideout ran all the way to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown. An extra point from Jason Martin quickly tied the contest just 19 seconds later. The Jaguars retook a lead early in the second quarter as Kosko and White began to heat up. The Jaguars faced third and long from the West Mifflin 24 after a delay of game, and Kosko dropped back to try and get the line to gain by floating a pass to White. It looked like West Mifflin had a chance at an interception in the end zone, but White managed to go up and snatch the pass to give TJ another lead. From there, the Titans turned to the run game, but the Jaguars mostly bottled it up as Hill finished with 17 rushing yards at the halftime break. Thomas Jefferson quickly got the ball back and went on a long drive of its own before halftime. Eber was fed for the next few minutes of the contest, racking up constant gains before Kosko hit White for an 11-yard touchdown to bring the halftime score to 21-7. Thomas Jefferson got the ball to open the second half and Eber had runs of seven and four yards before his third carry went 48 yards to the house to quickly make it 28-7 in favor of TJ. Eggerton’s 32-yard receiving touchdown capped the scoring at 35-7 with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Both squads have tough opponents next week as they begin conference play. The Jaguars will host rival Belle Vernon, while the Titans will welcome Mars to open their Greater Allegheny Conference campaign. “I think we’re in good shape heading into the conference, but we have to keep executing,” Cherpak said. “We’re a little banged up, but I think we’re playing well heading into it.” “We just need to learn from our mistakes and get ready for next week,” Steele said. “It doesn’t get any easier with Mars. Mars is a very good football team and we have to be ready to play. We’ll get back to the fundamentals and go back over some basics at every position.” West Mifflin’s Armand Hill carries past Avonworth’s Andrew Kuban during the fourth quarter on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Ohio Twp. But when he went down with a leg injury in the second half of a 38-14 loss to conference rival Avonworth in Week 5, West Mifflin coach Rod Steele turned to Armand “Mondo” Hill, a freshman, to help lead the offense. Hill, who already was a starter at defensive back, broke out in a big way. Starting with a conference game against Seton LaSalle and continuing against Quaker Valley and Hopewell, he tallied had more than 1,000 rushing yards in his first three full games. The Hopewell win alone, he ran for 495 yards and five touchdowns. The total ranks as the second most in WPIAL history. Hill finished the season with more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. On defense, he led the Western Hills Conference with seven interceptions and was named a first-team all-conference pick on both sides of the ball. Hill is no longer a secret among teams in the WPIAL, but Steele said he is ready to show he can take that next step to keep the train rolling down the tracks for the Titans. “He’s continued to develop his body and getting stronger,” Steele said. “He’s put in the work. He’s put 15 pounds on from a year ago. “He just has the intangibles that you just can’t teach. He is very instinctive with great vision and great balance. He mixes power with quickness. We’re looking for him to come in and contribute like he did in the last half of last year and just be the player everyone knows he is. He just wants to continue to work hard and be ready for the season.” Hill scored nine touchdowns and collected 620 rushing yards in the final three games of the season as the Titans finished 7-5. That total included 219 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries in West Mifflin’s WPIAL Class 3A first-round win over Mt. Pleasant. “He’s been focused on being the best he can be since he was a young kid,” Steele said. “Most of the kids he has played in high school he played in youth ball. They are all familiar with him and what he can do.” Hill’s accomplishments didn’t go unnoticed for too long. A week after his game against Hopewell, he spoke with Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith and received an offer from the Nittany Lions. It was the first of 11 offers he owns to this point. That includes Pitt, West Virginia, Maryland and, most recently, from defending national champion Michigan. The offer from the Wolverines came in mid-May. “He’s a pretty humble kid who doesn’t get too high on the accolades for what he has accomplished,” Steele said. “He enjoys playing the game and enjoys being out on the field with his friends.” Division I offers: Penn State, Pitt, UNLV, West Virginia, Michigan, Bowling Green, Akron, Maryland, Toledo 2023 stats: 114 carries, 1,528 yards, 15 touchdowns; 7 interceptions (led Western Hills Conference)