Montana's son headed to Washington

SEATTLE (AP) — Just like his dad, Nick Montana will wear a golden helmet in college. Unlike his famous father, he’ll be doing it on the shores of Lake Washington and not under the watchful eye of Touchdown Jesus.
Nick Montana, the son of former Notre Dame and NFL great Joe Montana, has given a verbal commitment to play his college ball at Washington. He will be a senior at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif. this fall. He told his coach Bill Redell on Tuesday night of his decision to become a Husky after visiting the school last weekend.
“I’ve put probably seven, eight, nine guys in Division I programs and he’s one of the top guys I’ve ever had,” Redell said by phone Wednesday. “He’ll do nothing but get better.”
Montana is considered one of the top prep quarterbacks for the class of 2010, rated by Scout.com as the No. 13 quarterback prospect in the country. Last season as a junior, he led Oaks Christian to a 14-0 record, threw for more than 2,500 yards and 33 touchdowns.
With one high school season left, Montana is already accepting the task of helping rebuild the once proud program at Washington.
“I just felt they had the best opportunity for me,” Montana said in a radio interview Wednesday with KJR-AM in Seattle.
Landing Montana is a huge boost for the Huskies, as new coach Steve Sarkisian tries to rebuild from last year’s 0-12 season.
Last week, high school junior Jake Heaps, from Skyline High School in the Seattle suburb of Sammamish and considered the top high school quarterback in the country, spurned an offer from the Huskies and verbally committed to BYU.
Montana had offers from most major colleges in the country, including Ohio State, LSU, Alabama, Georgia and his dad’s alma mater, Notre Dame.
In the radio interview, he said Washington wasn’t high on his list but that changed after visiting the school with his parents and meeting with Sarkisian.
“When I got up there I just had a great feeling and a feeling I couldn’t turn down,” Montana said. “I knew I had to be there.”
The school cannot comment on Montana’s decision until he signs a national letter of intent in February. But Sarkisian wrote on his Twitter page late Tuesday, “The Dawgs are barking loud tonight!!!”
Washington fans will soon get a chance to see Montana up close. His Oaks Christian team plays at Heaps’ Skyline squad on Sept. 18.
“The parents made it clear it was his decision. I don’t think Joe or anybody put any pressure on him to go to Notre Dame or not go to Notre Dame,” Redell said. “They left that decision up to him.”

Wilkins picks Michigan

Ken Wilkins, a senior-to-be at Trinity High School, made an oral commitment to play football at the University of Michigan Tuesday at a noon press conference held at the football field behind the high school.

Wilkins selected Michigan over 24 other offers. His final five choices were Michigan, Pitt, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.

At 6-4, 235, Wilkins could play outside linebacker but also has the frame to grow into a defensive end, which is where he spent his junior season at Trinity. Wilkins was a first-team all-state selection as a junior and finished the year with more than 80 tackles and 10-plus sacks.

He is the seventh Division I recruit Trinity has produced the past five years and the 43rd Hillers player to decide to play football at the college level during that span.

With Wilkins set to join the Big Ten in 2010, he'll be the fourth Trinity player in the conference. Andy Miller and Andrew Sweat are at Ohio State. Mike Yancich is at Penn State.

When's the last time one local high school had four players in the Big Ten?

Trinity loses, South Fayette wins

The Trinity softball team had its hopes of winning a PIAA Class AAA title end with Monday's 6-2 loss to Greencastle-Antrim at Legion Park in Hollidaysburg.

Greencastle-Antrim scored four runs in the third inning and added two in the fourth. The Hillers made four errors and a few other uncharacteristic mistakes. Ashley Morran homered again for Trinity, her ninth of the season on a line drive to center field.

The South Fayette baseball team, meanwhile, advanced to the PIAA Class AA championship with a surprising 4-0 victory over perennial power Mount Union. The Lions are in the state title game for the first time and beat a Mount Union team which has won three PIAA championships to get there.

Trinity hires Kotchman

Former Trinity High School girls basketball standout Jackie Kotchman was hired as the school's varsity girls basketball coach at last week's school board meeting. In an unusual move, Kotchman received a three-year contract worth $4,500 per.

One reason for the deal is Kotchman's background. In addition to her playing days at Trinity, where she and Elaine Sobansky led the Hillers to section championships before graduating in 1980, and Ohio University, Kotchman has held a variety of coaching jobs – from volunteering at the youth level to junior varsity – at Trinity over the past 11 years.

Kotchman replaces Jim Webb, who led Trinity to an 8-14 record on an interim basis during the 2008-09 season. Webb, who coached Trinity from 2001-2006, replaced Becky Siembak. She resigned two weeks before last season started.

Girl wins team track title

This reminds me of when Erie McDowell (District 10) had a dominant performer in Sheena Gordon.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The best small high school track team in Texas is once again a freckle-faced girl named Bonnie Richardson.
Richardson, the valedictorian of her 59-student class in the tiny farming town of Rochelle, — and the lone girl competing in track and field at the school, won the Class A team state title Saturday for the second consecutive year.
She won the gold in the long jump and high jump, took silver in the discus and bronze in the 200 meters. She also finished fourth in the 100 meters.
There are no other girls on the Rochelle High School track team. Richardson is the only girl in state history to win a team title on her own.

Trinity semifinal set

Trinity softball (14-8), in the PIAA semifinals for the first time, plays District 3 champion Greencastle-Antrim in Monday's Class AAA semi at Legion Park in Hollidaysburg (near Altoona) at 6 p.m.

Trinity softball advances to semifinals

SLIPPERY ROCK – Ashley Morran’s two-run single with two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Trinity past Corry, 7-6, Thursday in the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals at Slippery Rock University.
Morran, a junior centerfielder, went 4-for-4 with a solo home run, stolen base and another key single in the fifth inning as the Hillers (14-8) rallied twice in the late innings to advance to the state semifinals for the first time in their history.
Corry (18-5), the District 10 champion for the 10th time in 11 years, had won 18 straight and took a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning before Trinity rallied with a four spot in the bottom of the fifth.
The Beavers took the lead once again in the seventh with the help of an error and a passed ball.
Trinity plays the winner of the quarterfinal between District 3 champion Greencastle-Antrim and District 9 champion Punxsutawney on Monday with a site and time to be determined.
Read more in Friday's edition of the Observer-Reporter.

Note to PIAA

As a couple hundred people patiently waited for the completion of Monday's PIAA first-round baseball playoff game between Clarion and Villa Marie high schools at Slippery Rock University's Jack Scritchfield Park, one thing became abundantly clear.

It's an absolutely idiotic idea to schedule baseball tripleheaders on a weekday.

Such was the case Monday at Slippery Rock. The day started with a Class AA game between North Catholic and Franklin and was followed by the Clarion-Villa game, which lasted an excruciating 12 innings.

Meanwhile, fans, players and coaches from Trinity and Grove City sat and waited, and waited, and waited and, yes, waited.

The Hillers and Eagles, scheduled to start their PIAA Class AAA first round game at 6 p.m., didn't see the first pitch until 8:40 p.m. That's a delay of 160 minutes.

Talk about ridiculous.

The game wasn't completed until 10:45 p.m., give or take a minute. That's bad enough. Factor in the 90-100 minute drive back to Washington for the Hillers and they didn't get back until well after midnight.

That should not happen for a high school sporting event during the week.

The PIAA needs to schedule these weekday tripleheaders before the 1 p.m. start of Monday's game or eliminate them completely. I'm for the latter.

Wilkins to make decision next week

All-state defensive end Kenny Wilkins, who will be a senior at Trinity High School, plans to announce his college decision at a press conference next Tuesday at noon.

Wilkins has 25 scholarship offers and, according to Trinity athletic director/football coach Ed Dalton, he selected five finalists - Virginia, Maryland, Pitt, Michigan and West Virginia. Recruiting websites continue to report that Michigan is Wilkins' top choice.