The new football coach at Canon-McMillan High School has NFL playing experience and was drafted by the Steelers.

The school hired Ron Coder as the new coach this afternoon. Coder, an offensive lineman, played at Penn State and was a third-round draft pick of the Steelers in 1976. He played with Seattle from 1976-79 and St. Louis iin 1980. He missed the 1978 season with a back injury.

Canon-McMillan athletic director Guy Montecalvo has known Coder for decades. The two played together at Penn State.

Coder takes over a program that has won only five games in the past four years. Two years ago, Canon-McMillan was winless. But Coder knows what it takes to win a championship. So what if it was in womens football. Coder coached the Pittsburgh Passion womens team to the 2007 league championship.

Rowan gets honor

Maverick Rowan is one of the best freshman basketball players in the country - at least according to MaxPreps.com.

MaxPreps recently released its freshman All-American team and Rowan, a ninth-grader at Lincoln Park in Beaver County, was named honorable mention. Only 26 players around the country were named to the teams - first, second, third and honorable mention.

Rowan, a 6-foot-6 guard and an excellent shooter, averaged 22.6 points a game this season. He was the third-leading scorer in the WPIAL during the regular season.

Rowan is pictured with his sister, Madi, who was a senior guard at Central Valley and earned a Division I scholarship to New Hampshirte. 

Rowan is considered a Division I prospect for the future. It's a nice achievement for him to make the MaxPreps All-American team. Rowan, though, isn't your average high school freshman in age. He already is 16 and will turn 17 in July. As a senior, he will be eligible to play, but by only a few days. Under PIAA rules, a student-athlete is ineligible as a senior if he or she turns 19 before July 1.

Central and South Park rate

The Prep Baseball Report came out yesterday with its state rankings and two WPIAL teams are ranked No. 2 in their respective rankings. 

Central Catholic is No. 2 in Class AAAA while South Park is No. 2 in Class AAA.

Philadelphia and the NBA

An interesting piece by Kevin Askeland of MaxPreps.com on what cities produce the best current NBA talent. They are subjective rankings, but Philadelphia ranks fourth behind Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Chicago.

Askeland's top five current NBA players from Philadelphia are Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Kyle Lowry, Tyreke Evans and Markieff Morris.

Bryant (pictured) played at Lower Merion and led Lower Merion to a state championship as a senior. Lower Merion defeated Erie Cathedral Prep in the title game.

I remember watching that game and Erie Prep double-teamed Bryant. If he got the ball and dribbled, they would send another defender at him. 

He finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Back at it. Sorry for the long delay since the last Varsity Blog. More than a month, but I'm bouncing back from a health issue and ready talk a little high school sports again.

The Roundball Classic crumbled to pieces Saturday night, thanks to Easton Bazzoli.

Bazzoli, a 6-foot-5 senior guard at Seneca Valley, now has something in common with famous basketball players like Darryl Dawkins, Gus Johnson and Jerome Lane. In other words, Bazzoli shattered a backboard and video is below.

With about a minute left in the Class AAAA vs. AAA game in the Roundball at Geneva College, Bazzoli took a pass from New Castle's Antonio Rudolph, threw down a dunk - AND SHATTERED THE BACKBOARD!!!!

Check it out, thanks to Montour basketball (@MontourHoops on Twitter) and YouTube.

The backboard shattered, the rim came down and the fourth and final all-star game of the Roundball had to be stopped. Class AAAA won, 134-113, and maybe Bazzoli earn a badge of honor as someone whose dunk broke a backboard.

"I guess so," Bazzoli said with a laugh. "Everybody said it's pretty awesome. I thought it was pretty cool. It's not something a lot of people have done."

Bazzoli (pictured in a playoff game against Central Catholic) has a piece of glass from the backboard as a souvenir and said he is working with Geneva to try and get the rim. 

Bazzoli said he is hoping to get another video of the play from the mother of Kittanning player Sterling Henry. "We're trying to maybe see if we could get it on ESPN SportsCenter."

Bazzoli never thought the dunk would break the backboard.

"I knew that I had to stretch out a little bit extra to make the dunk and it was a little awkward," Bazzoli said. "I knew I would have to grab the rim so that I wouldn't slip. It just broke real quick."

Bazzoli was one of the top guards in the WPIAL this past season. He will play next season at Cedarville University, an NCAA Division II team that went 22-9 this past season.

"It's an up-and-coming program," Bazzoli said.

A weekend of AAU

I spent part of the wekeend watching some top-level basketball players from AAU/all-star teams around the country play in the HoopGroup Pittsburgh Jam Fest. For part of Saturday, there had to be 100 college coaches in the stands at North Hills. I've watched plenty of AAU basketball and and even coached it in the past, but here are some things I thought of this weekend:

** The coaching for many of these high-level teams around the country is a joke.

** I know AAU basketball has become a necessary evil these days in recruiting, but I feel for the college coaches who have to recruit through some of these AAU coaches. I'm sure it is just wonderful.

** North Hills was the headquarters of the Jam Fest. The Hoop Group people that run the event are good people. At North Hills, the game officials were also part of a camp headed by some big-time officials. The officials at North Hills were college officials who were being evaluated. Officals actually paid to be part of this camp. It's amazing what these high-level officials have to put up with from some of these AAU coaches.

** I'm not saying this is good or bad. Just an observation. Division I coaches paid $350 to get a book of rosters for teams and phone numbers of players. And Friday night, there was a line of coaches out the door to buy the books.

** I found this enlightening. One Division I coach who I won't name walked out the door Sunday and I said, "See you coach. You leaving?" 

He said, "No, I need a break sometimes. I can only take so much of this."

Enough said.

First offer for Cottrill

Beaver Falls junior guard Elijah Cottrill came up with his first scholarship offer this past weekend. It came from Creighton.

Still looking for coaches

Gateway still hasn't hired a football coach. Sources have said Gateway has had trouble finding a qualified candidate who wants the job. Gateway might hire someone Wednesday night.

Canon-McMillan also has yet to hire a coach.

Yobbi a standout

The Post-Gazette will run WPIAL baseball statistical leaders later this week. It's hard to believe any player is having a better overall year than South Park's Nick Yobbi. He will be among the leaders in every category the P-G lists. He is batting .567 with 18 RBIs and 21 runs scored. He also is 4-0 as a pitcher with 33 strikeouts.

Do we need to get more baseball talk going on this blog. The playoffs are right around the corner?

Live blog from Tuesday night's PIAA second-round tripleheader at Hempfield High School. 5 p.m. - Vincentian vs. Bishop Carroll boys .... 6:30 Chartiers Valley vs. Gateway girls .... 8 p.m. Chartiers Valley vs. Johnstown boys. ... If you have a score or note from another game, tweet with #piaa or send to @mwhiteburgh

CHARTIERS VALLEY VS. JOHNSTOWN (boys)

FINAL SCORE: Chartiers Valley 65, Johnstown 38

9:58 p.m. - Do I really have to continue with updates? It's 59-26 CV. I think Spencer Casson has triple double.

9:44 p.m. - And former Hempfield coach Bill Swan sitting about 5 feet behind CValley bench. I think he's trying to give Tim McConnell pointers. Don't think McConnell wants to listen.

9:43 p.m. - Is this ugly enough? Chartiers Valley now leads 47-16. Spencer Casson with nine blocks.

Smethport beats Clairton, 37-35. What a run of sports success for that Clairton senior class.

HALFTIME: Chartiers Valley 34, Johnstown 14

Matty McConnell 13 points first half. Mike Boyulos 17. Coach Tim McConnell about to lose it near halftime over one of his players. I wouldn't want to be that player in the locker room at the half.

Spencer Casson has nine points and six blocks for CV.

Girls AAAA: End of 3rd quarter and Mt. Lebanon leads Penn-Trafford, 46-25. It will be Lebo-Char Valley again in quarterfinals.

9:12 p.m. - Johnstown little guards still can't figure out that you might not want to go challenge 6-6 Spencer Casson in lane. Now has 6 blocks.

9:11 p.m. - Matt McConnell just hit 3. Has 13 points already. CV rolling, 24-7, with 6:37 left in half.

9:08 p.m. - END OF FIRST QUARTER: Chartiers Valley 19, Johnstown 6

Can't see Johnstown coming back. Don't have ballhandling to handle CV pressure and don't look like can shoot much either. Spencer Casson 5 blocks for CV in first quarter.

General McLane beats Beaver, 69-54.

9:02 p.m. - Will Char Valley pull away? Colts now lead 14-4 with 3:08 left. 

9:00 p.m. - Johnstown 2 of 10 from field. And ugly shots also. Mike Boulos three-point play and CV leads, 11-4.

8:57 p.m. - CV's Spencer Casson "Human Eraser" so far. Three blocks so far. 5-4 CV 

8:54 p.m. - Funny Tim McConnell subs out Dom Castello 27 seconds into game. He missed a 3 and turned it over. 

8:52 p.m. - Finally game starts.

General McLane leads Beaver 50-31.

8:47 p.m. - Tip in about two minutes.

Final score in Class AAA boys: Montour 48, Girard 38. Rob Julian of Montour finishes with seven 3's and 24 points.

CHARTIERS VALLEY VS. GATEWAY GIRLS

FINAL: Chartiers Valley 53, Gateway 42

Kassidy O'Keefe with 17 and Alexa Golden 15 for CV. Gateway Katey Wilson had 15 and Jada Epps 12.

8:27 p.m. - By the way, in case didn't mention. CValley playing without leading scorer, Mariah Wells. Left foot is in a boot.

8:24 p.m. - Char Valley scores off own missed free throws. It's now 46-38 with less than two minutes left.

I think maybe Girard might want to be aware of where Montour's Rob Julian is. He hit three more 3-pointer in the third, now has seven overall, and Montour leads Girard, 33-24, after three.

In AAAA girls, Mt. Lebanon 13, Penn-Trafford 1 after first.

8:20 p.m. - Timeout with 2:36 left in fourth and Char Valley leads, 44-38.

8:14 p.m. - Gateway scores and cuts lead to 40-37 with 3:54 left. A media timeout???? I forgot they had them in PIAA playoffs.

Smethport leads Clairton, 10-7, at end of first quarter.

General McLane leading Beaver, 34-18, at halftime as Jaymon Mason has 21. This from Tom Reisenweber.

8:09 p.m. - 5:02 left in game and Char Valley leads, 39-35

8:04 p.m. - Gateway has sliced deficit to 37-31. 3-pointer by Katey Wilson and then two free throws. 7:14 left in game.

Mohawk and North East girls tied, 39-39, after three.

END THIRD QUARTER: Chartiers Valley 37, Gateway 26 

Montour leads Girard, 24-13, at half. Robbie Julian destroyed Girard in second quarter with 14 points, 4 3's.

Maverick Rowan scored 20 to lead Lincoln Park boys against Ridgway. Elijah Minnie held to four.

This Char Valley game was supposed to start at 8. It might not start until 8:30 or 8:40. Antoher example of how WPIAL and PIAA shouldn't post game times 1 1/2 hours apart, especially in tripleheader. Should put at least 1:45 between.

7:52 p.m. - Gateway has cut deficit to 30-21 with 3:31 left in third.

After first quarter, General McLane leads Beaver, 15-12.

From Kyle Piper: Rob Julian three 3-pointers to start second quarter and Montour takes 15-6 lead on Girard. Wil Scuilli be knocking down some next?

 

7:48 p.m. - Char Valley laeds, 30-15, with 5:30 left in third.

Mohawk leads North East, 29-20, at half

End of first quarter: Montour and Girard are tied, 6-6

In Class AA girls: Burrell 45, Sharpsville 18

Final in Class A boys: Lincoln Park 51, Ridgway 34

HALFTIME: Chartiers Valley 25, Gateway 13

7:30 p.m. - Char Valley leads, 23-10, with one minute left in half.

7:23 p.m. - Gateway really struggling offensively. Chartiers Valley has taken 22-7 lead.

In Class A boys, Lincoln Park struggling to score. Leads Ridgway, 33-27, after third quarter.

In Class AA girls, Bishop Canevin advances with 54-36 victory against General McLane.

END OF FIRST QUARTER: Chartiers Valley 13, Gateway 5

7:15 p.m. - No surprise that a WPIAL Quad-A team is struggling to score in playoffs. Been happening all year. It took Char Valley four minutes, 5 seconds to score. But the Colts have turned it up some in this game. Now lead, 16-7.

Jeannette star Ciara Gregory in the house. WPIAL leading scorer. Good to see her. She's big fan of all WPIAL sports.

VINCENTIAN VS. BISHOP CARROLL

FINAL SCORE: Bishop Carroll 92, Vincentian 85

A key to the game in second half was Bishop Carroll had 13 turnovers, but when the Huskies didn't turn it over, they cracked Vincentian's traps and got easy shot after easy shot, whether on drives or passes to the inside. 

Bishop Carroll 6-5 junior Marcus Lee had 33 points and 14 rebounds. He was 13 of 14 from the field. All from within 6 feet. Scott Rarick 27 points. 

For Vincentian Ryan Wolf had 27 points, Jim Kenna 20, Matt Rathz 14 and Tony DiNardo 11. Wolf was 11 of 27 from the field. Vincentian finished with 13 3-pointers.

Great season. Great run. Great job by George Yokitis - and Royals should be pretty good again next year with some key returnees.

Has to be one of the highest-scoring PIAA games in a while. 

6:30 p.m. - But we're not done yet. Jim Kenna hits 3. Brings Vincentian, 86-80, with 53 seconds left. Never know with these guys.

6:28 p.m. - Been great year by Vincentian. Boy, they play hard. Don't fun much offensively as far as sets, but just play.  Looks like they will suffer only second loss.

6:26 p.m. - 6-5 Marcus Lee now has 31 points. 13 of 14 from field. Every shot within 6 feet.

6:23 p.m. - Ryan Wolfe with spin and basket and BC leads, 79-72, with a little less than two minutes left. Bishop Carroll much better job against Vincentian's full-court press this half. Most of BC's points this half layups or in-close shots after handling the pressure.

6:20 p.m. - 77-70 with three minutes left.

6:18 p.m. - It's starting to get away from Vincentian. 77-68 Bishop Carroll 6-5 Marcus Lee now with 29.

6:10 p.m. - Bishop Carroll has opened up 71-64 lead.

END OF THIRD QUARTER: Bishop Carroll 65, Vincentian 61. BC went on a small run at end of third and just scored first basket of fourth to take a six-point lead.

6:04 p.m. - 3 by Tony DiNardo ties it, 61-61, with 37 seconds left in third quarter.

6:02 p.m. - Bishop Carroll has gone zone.

6:00 p.m. - Vincentian ahead, 55-53, with three minutes in third.

5:54 p.m. - Bishop Carroll pressures full-court constantly also.

5:51 p.m. - Vincentian's "Fisch" couple nice plays to start the third quarter. Starting to look like his father, Ron, in his glory years at North Catholic. Vincentian goes up 50-44.

5:46 p.m. - Will this game end up in the 90s?? It could.

14 turnovers in first half for Bishop Carroll.

HALFTIME STATS: Vincentian got off 38 shots and made 17. 6 of 18 from 3-point range. Tony DiNardo hit two big 3-pointers in final two minutes. Then Ryan Rolf scored to make it 46-42. BC got a basket to make it 46-44 at half.

Ryan Wolf 14 pts. first half. Jim Kenna nine. Tony DiNardo eight.

Marcus Lee has 17 for Bishop Carroll. Nothing but putbacks and layups. He's 6-5 forward who can do damage inside. 10 points for Scott Rarick. 

Vincentian turning over Bishop Carroll a ton with presses. Bishop Carroll 18 of 33 from field and 8-8 from line and 2-3 from 3.

5:37 p.m. - What is this an NBA game? HALFTIME: Vincentian 46, Bishop Carroll 44

5:32 p.m. - Pressure never stops from Vincentian and it comes in different forms. diamond press. Man-to-man press with face guarding. Then trapping in half court when press is broken. But Bishop Carroll likes the pace apparently. BC leads 42-39 one minute left in half.

5:28 p.m. - 3-pointer by Brandon Martinazzi and BC has opened up 36-28 lead.

5:26 p.m. - Tony DiNardo, one of Vincentian's top players, quiet so far. Two points. Four shots.

5:24 p.m. - Bishop Carroll up with 5:30 left in half.  29-28

5:23 p.m. - Marcus Lee hurting Vincentian on inside. An athletic forward. Has 13 points so far.

5:18 p.m. - End of first quarter: Vincentian 23, Bishop Carroll 22. Ryan Wolf 10 points for Vincentian. Two 3-pointers. Looks like we're headed for game in 80s.

5:13 p.m. - 19-16 Bishop Carroll. 

5:07 p.m. - This is up and down. Already 9-7 Vincentian with five minutes left in first quarter. I put my head down to type, I miss a shot.

4:55 p.m. - Interesting game. Vincentian's only loss this year was to Bishop Carroll. This should be an up-and-down game. Bishop Carroll won earlier this season, 83-81.

How about this for small world? Was just informed that Vincentian coach George Yokitis played football at Blacklick Valley. One of his coaches was the grandfather of Brandon Martinazzi, who is a starting guard for Bishop Carroll.

Varsity Blog program note: I will have live blog from tonight's PIAA basketball playoff tripleheader at Hempfield: Vincentian vs. Bishop Carroll boys at 5 ..... Chartiers Valley vs. Gateway girls at 6:30 ..... Chartiers Valley vs. Johnstown boys at 8:00. If you have a score update or report, tweet with #piaa or send to @mwhiteburgh

Here are my picks for tonight's and tomorrow night's second-round games involving WPIAL teams:

BOYS

Class AAAA - New Castle over North Allegheny; Erie Cathedral Prep over Hampton.

Class AAA - Chartiers Valley over Johnstown; Montour over Girard; General McLane over Beaver.

Class AA - Beaver Falls vs. Mercyhurst Prep; Greensburg Central Catholic over Lakeview.

Class A - Vincentian over Bishop Carroll; Lincoln Park over Ridgway; Clairton over Smethport.

GIRLS

Class AAAA - Mt. Lebanon over Penn-Trafford; Gateway over Chartiers Valley.

Class AAA - Blackhawk over Forest Hills; South Park over Hopewell; Franklin over Elizabeth Forward.

Class AA - Bishop Canevin over General McLane; Sharpsville over Burrell; Seton-LaSalle over Greensburg Central Catholic; North East over Mohawk.

Class A - Vincentian over Berlin Brothersvalley; Bishop Guilfoyle over Serra.