Greensburg Salem’s Max Topper will receive a newly named award from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Topper is one of 11 WPIAL football players who will receive the Jerome Bettis Leadership Award, part of the the Steelers’ youth mentorship program.
The honor recognizes players with outstanding leadership qualities within their team and community.
Topper, a wide receiver and defensive back, will receive $1,000 for the Golden Lions’ football program. He will be recognized during the Ravens-Steelers game Jan. 4 at Acrisure Stadium.
Topper, who didn’t pick up football until middle school, led the Golden Lions this season with 34 receptions for 492 yards and five touchdowns. He was second on the team with 69 tackles.
Player of the month
Hempfield hockey is locked in the PIHL Class 2A division race with Penn-Trafford, largely because of the play from senior forward J.J. Williams.
Williams last week was recognized for his stellar play for the Spartans (8-2-0-0) as he was named the league’s 2A player of the month for November.
Willliams had four goals and five assists in five games for nine points, including a power-play goal. For the season, he has nine goals and nine assists.
The other players of the month were Seneca Valley junior forward Braden Morin (3A), Quaker Valley sophomore forward Matthias Lezama (A) and Knoch senior Synjun McHattie (Division 2).
Family tree
The Jones family has roots in Greensburg but has planted a tree in Ohio Township. That is where Avonworth High School is located and where the children of two former Greensburg Salem standout athletes are thriving.
Jaden Jones, a sophomore football player at Avonworth, became the fourth member of his family to win a PIAA championship when he helped the Antelopes defeat Northwestern Lehigh, 31-7, for the school’s first state football title.
His parents, Vertus Jones and Rachel (Stewart) Jones, were PIAA champions with the Golden Lions in the 1990s — Vertus in wrestling, Rachel in team cross country.
Their daughter, Jayla Jones, won a PIAA title with the Avonworth softball team in 2022. She now plays at Allegheny College.
Recruiting
• Hempfield senior football player Jack Kopas, who set multiple receiving records this season in the program, got another Division II offer, from Mansfield. His others are from Slippery Rock, Gannon and Lock Haven.
• Josh Lenart, a senior football player at Norwin, has four PSAC offers: Edinboro, Seton Hill, Gannon and Clarion. Lenart played receiver, linebacker and long snapper for the Knights.
• Brody Hutter, who transferred from Mt. Pleasant to River Valley and had a big senior season as a running back and linebacker, picked up a Division II offer from Cal (Pa.).
• Edinboro, another PSAC program, offered Norwin senior tight end and linebacker Michael DeFazio (6-foot-3, 210 pounds). It is his first Division II offer.
• Wide receiver and defensive back Gabe Kubasky, who transferred from Southmoreland to Fairmont Senior (W. Va.), is drawing college interest. He pulled in his first Division I offer, from Wagner, and another from Division II Charleston.
• Jeannette baseball player Amari Thomas has an opportunity to play at Carlow.
• Latrobe senior Miley Williams will continue her softball career at Saint Vincent. The left-hander is an outfielder.
• Latrobe senior Erin Ulewicz will play field hockey at Saint Francis.