High School Sports
HS football
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Moore Catholic has named Anthony Barnes its new varsity football head coach, the Advance/SILive.com has learned. Barnes, who has an extensive resume which includes a previous heading coaching job at Nazareth Regional HS and co-founder of the Staten Island Hurricanes travel program with brother Sam Barnes, replaces Nick Giannatasio at Moore. […]
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Moore Catholic has named Anthony Barnes its new varsity football head coach, the Advance/SILive.com has learned.
Barnes, who has an extensive resume which includes a previous heading coaching job at Nazareth Regional HS and co-founder of the Staten Island Hurricanes travel program with brother Sam Barnes, replaces Nick Giannatasio at Moore.
The announcement was made by Moore athletic director Mike Ponsiglione.
Moore and Giannatasio, or course, mutually agreed to part ways on March 27.
Barnes becomes Moore’s sixth varsity head coach dating back to the program’s inception in 2001.
“It’s an honor to coach at Moore Catholic. I’ve got a good group of kids who all seem to be buying into what I’ve been trying to do over here,‘’ said Barnes, who got to meet the Mavericks’ returning players for the first time earlier this week. ”It’s a great opportunity that I love for me and my program, the Staten Island Hurricanes, as we finally have a place where all the kids can stay and play football together as they’ll have an opportunity to come and be a part of a great program (if they wish).
“I’m just blessed to be in this situation.‘’
“We’re exciting about Anthony taking over and the direction he’s planning for the program,‘’ said Ponsiglione, who is in his third season as Moore’s AD. ”Obviously, we’re hoping he continues to have the success that we had in the past with (Giannatasio).
“The players are here. Now it’s just a matter of them adopting into the system that he’s going to bring in.‘’
Impressive resume
The 53-year-old Barnes has an extensive resume dating back to his childhood days. He played youth football before joining Nazareth’s football team during his high school years in Brooklyn.
Barnes also played for Norfolk State in college.
Barnes and his brother, Sam, started the Hurricanes’ travel football program in 2002 and guided it to immense success through the years, including a number of championships. He said the program is as strong as ever today.
Barnes returned to Nazareth in an attempt to resurrect its football program in 2010 and not only stayed for six seasons, but he served as his alma mater’s athletic director for three years as well.
The Port Richmond resident joined Curtis High School’s varsity football team as wide receivers coach and got the opportunity to coach while his sons — Quincy Guy-Barnes and Logan Barnes — starred for the Warriors.
After nine seasons at Curtis, he joined Susan Wagner’s coaching staff and served as head coach Arthur Newcombe’s defensive coordinator last fall.
“The fact that he started a football program, from grassroots, and he had sustained success was something that caught my eye,‘’ said Ponsiglione. ”And that’s what I’m looking for here, I’m looking for us to have sustained success for the long-term. I don’t want us to be a year-to-year operation. I want us to build from the long haul and i think he has the ability to do that with the experience he has in running his own organization.‘’
“With the vision I have and the vision the school has, it’s a good marriage for us,‘’ continued Barnes. ”I was pleasantly surprised when they offered me the job because everyone wants to be a head coach — including at the high school level — and you want to make your mark on history.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge.‘’
Offensive or defensive guy?
When asked if he considered himself more of an offensive or defensive coach, Barnes had a good answer.
“They have the best of both worlds because I’m both — I’m an offensive guy, I’m a defensive guy,‘’ laughed the coach. ”I played on both sides of the ball in both my youth and high school and never came off the field.
“My strengths, I would say, is probably offense. When I was at Curtis with (varsity head coach Peter Gambardella), I’d brainstorm with him and we had the most explosive offense and they still do today in all of New York City. I’d say that’s my strong suit.
“But I can coach defense too,‘’ Barnes added. ”I understand what needs to be done, that defense wins championships, so I’m strong-minded on that side of the ball as well.
“Moore Catholic has a coach who can coach both offense and defense, although I’m not afraid to delegate and let other guys come in and be my coordinators. The general philosophy is to come in and win by any means necessary.‘’
Ponsiglione said one of the things he’s comfortable with concerning Barnes is the new mentor’s willingness to adapt to his talent.
“He’s not going to try to put a square peg in a round hole,‘’ the AD said. ”He’s going to take the talent he has and build his game plans around that and I believe that’s important to having that kind of flexibility as a coach.‘’
Well received
Barnes met his future players for the first time on Monday and said the meeting went as good as he hoped for.
“My goal is to let them know we’re a family and that it’s my desire to keep the team together. I wanted them to know they’ll be comfortable with me taking over the program,‘’ he said. ”I know the last coaching staff was an awesome group of guys who knew their Xs and Os — I can’t take that away from them.
“But moving forward, I think the school would like to have more of a structure in place, more of a program that will represent what the school is about. We’re not rebuilding, I’m trying to continue the success the coaching staff had over here and with 18 seniors coming back, I just have to implement and install the things I want to do. As long as they buy in, we’re going to be steamrolling.‘’
“I thought everything at the meeting was positive. He answered everyone’s questions and spoke to players and parents, even individually, if they wanted at the end of the meeting,‘’ Ponsiglione said. ”Everything went well and we’re ready to move forward as we look toward the 2025 season and beyond.‘’
High School Sports
High School Scoreboard, results from Tuesday, May 13
Castle Rock Pitching — Jerry Neighbors 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 6 BB; Owen Erickson 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 K, 2 BB; Highlights — Jacob Lafever 1-3, R, 2B, SB; Jack Kerker 1-2, R, RBI; Noxx Worrell 1-3, R; Stuart Teter 1-3; Tristan Honey 1-1, R, RBI, SB. SOFTBALL […]
Castle Rock
Pitching — Jerry Neighbors 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 6 BB; Owen Erickson 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 K, 2 BB; Highlights — Jacob Lafever 1-3, R, 2B, SB; Jack Kerker 1-2, R, RBI; Noxx Worrell 1-3, R; Stuart Teter 1-3; Tristan Honey 1-1, R, RBI, SB.
SOFTBALL
3A GREATER ST. HELENS LEAGUE
Third-place tiebreaker
Heritage 9, Mountain View 3
HERITAGE 9, MOUNTAIN VIEW 3
Heritage 103 301 1—9 13 1
Mt. View 002 010 0—3 6 4
Heritage
Pitching — Jaila Ellis 7 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 0 BB, win. Highlights — Skyler Jones 2-4, run, 2B, RBI, BB; Jaila Ellis 1-4, 2 runs, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; Kylie Thomas 3-3, 2 runs, RBI, BB; Lillie Stroup 2-3, run, 2B, RBI, BB; Gracie Peterson 2-4, run, 2 RBI; Emma Messing 2-4, 2 RBI; Veronica Ayala 1-4.
Mountain View
Pitching — Peyton Lalande 7 IP, , 4 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, loss. Highlights — Izzi West 2-4, 2 runs, 2B; Peytonb Lalande 3-3, run, 2 RBI; Amaya Paschal 1-3.
2A DISTRICT PLAY-IN GAMES
Tuesday’s Games
Black Hills 14, R.A. Long 0
W.F. West 21, Hockinson 0
W.F. WEST 21, HOCKINSON 0
Hockinson 000 00 —-0 2 6
WF West 700 (14)x —21 7 0
Hockinson
Highlights — Samantha McDonald 1-2; Cassidy Barrows 1-2.
BLACK HILLS 14, R.A. LONG 2
Black Hills 126 05 —14 8 2
RA Long 000 20 —2 2 7
R.A. Long
Highlights — Stevie Jones 1-2, run, 3B, RBI; Kace Prindle 1-2.
BOYS SOCCER
4A BI-DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
at Sumner HS
Union 5, Puyallup 4, OT
Tahoma 6, Olympia 0
Loser-out
Sumner 2, Auburn Riverside 1
Camas 3, Mount Rainier 0
Kentridge 2, Emerald Ridge 0
Curtis 1, Stadium 0
Thursday’s matches
Championship
Union vs. Tahoma, 7:30 p.m. at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Winner-to-state matches
At Art Crate Field, Spanaway
Camas vs. Sumner, 5:30 p.m.
Kentridge vs. Curtis, 7:30 p.m.
3A BI-DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Central Kitsap 1, Bellarmine Prep 0
Heritage 1, Silas 0
Loser-out
Kent Meridian 2, Federal Way 1
Auburn Mountainview 5, Decatur 1
Gig Harbor 5, Enumclaw 1
Mountain View 3, White River 1
Thursday’s matches
Championship
Heritage vs. Central Kitsap, 5:30 p.m. at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Winner-to-state matches at Auburn HS
Kent Meridian vs. Auburn Mountain View, 5:30 p.m.
Gig Harbor vs. Mountain View, 7:30 p.m.
2A DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
W.F. West 2, Tumwater 1
Columbia River 3, R.A. Long 1
Loser-out matches
Hockinson 6, Hudson’s Bay 1
Ridgefield 4, Aberdeen 3, OT-PKs
Thursday’s matches
Championship
W.F. West at Columbia River, 6 p.m.
Winner-to-state games
R.A. Long at Hockinson, 6 p.m.
Ridgefield at Tumwater, 5:30 p.m.
COLUMBIA RIVER 3, R.A. LONG 1
Columbia River
Goals (assists) — Beckham Young (JP Guzman), Tyler Brown (Johnny Avalos), Brown (Mason Renner). Goalkeeper saves: Eli Smith, 3
High School Sports
HIGHLIGHTS
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Western Hockey League Championship series returned to Spokane for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday, as the Chiefs hosted the Medicine Hat Tigers for Game 3 with the series tied at one apiece. Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer said his team would be ready to play in front of the […]
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Western Hockey League Championship series returned to Spokane for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday, as the Chiefs hosted the Medicine Hat Tigers for Game 3 with the series tied at one apiece.
Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer said his team would be ready to play in front of the home crowd for the first time this series, but Spokane looked anything but prepared.
The Tigers came out aggressive, even without WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna, who took warmups but left the ice early and was scratched from the lineup.
With about eight minutes left in the first, Medicine Hat killed off a Chiefs power play and immediately capitalized, beating Dawson Cowan with a laser from the dot.
Riding that momentum, the Tigers tacked on another goal with less than two minutes remaining in the period as Hunter St. Martin found the back of the net.
After one, the Chiefs were outshot 15-5 in a frame where they struggled to establish anything in the offensive zone.
The second period brought more of the same. Just 93 seconds in, Kadon McCann buried a wraparound to make it 3-0. Spokane didn’t register a shot on goal until 11:45 remained in the period, as Medicine Hat’s defense clamped down and their offense kept pushing.
Liam Ruck extended the lead to 4-0 before the intermission. By the end of the second, the Chiefs had managed just eight shots to the Tigers’ 17, with the total reaching 32-13 in favor of the visitors.
Cowan was replaced by backup Carter Esler to start the third, but the change did little to stem the tide. Esler surrendered the second shot he faced, giving the Tigers a 5-0 advantage just 30 seconds into the period.
Medicine Hat defender Bryce Pickford added another midway through the third — his sixth goal in as many games — sealing a 6-0 shutout. It was Spokane’s first scoreless outing since Oct. 28, 2024, and first at home since Nov. 29, 2023.
“To be pretty honest, we weren’t very good as a group,” Lauer said. “It’s one of those things. I thought Medicine Hat had probably their best game so far in the series. I thought they came and had a lot of jump and were skating. You know, for us, we were on our heels.”
Spokane showed a bit more urgency in the final frame, firing 15 shots, but still couldn’t solve Tigers goalie Ethan McCallum. The Chiefs finished with 28 shots to Medicine Hat’s 45.
“We haven’t given up that many shots or had that less of shot all year, I don’t think,” Lauer said. “It’s 11 shots after two periods. We weren’t playing as a group. It was all individual hockey. A lot of stuff that was uncharacteristic of us as a group tonight. For some reason, I don’t know why. We’ll dissect it here tonight and tomorrow morning to figure things out and make sure we’re ready tomorrow.”
The WHL doesn’t keep track of time of possession in the offensive zone, but if it did, it wouldn’t have looked good for the Chiefs, who struggled mightily to get anything going on offense with several turnovers in the o-zone and sloppy play most of the night.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t know what, as a coach, you don’t know what to put your finger on, what it was, or what it is, but you gotta have a short memory,” Lauer said.
“I think we know that we weren’t very good as a group, especially coming back to home ice. You thought you have an opportunity to take advantage of the team, but you know, it’s one of those things. That’s why you’ve got to play the game. It doesn’t happen automatically and we’ve got to learn from tonight.”
There’s little time for the Chiefs to dwell on the loss, with Game 4 set for Wednesday at Spokane Arena. The Tigers will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, while Spokane aims to even the series.
“We get to come back tomorrow, so that’s the beauty of playoff hockey, and that’s what we’re looking at it,” Chiefs captain Berkly Catton said. “Learning from tonight, but also flushing it and coming out ready to play tomorrow.”
“Brad and Berks kind of said it, I think a big thing for us is just have a short memory,” a Chiefs left winger added. “That’s all we can really do. Learn from our mistakes tonight and just be eager to have a better start tomorrow.”
Puck drop for Game 4 of the WHL Final is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Spokane Arena.
As for McKenna’s status, Medicine Hat head coach Willie Desjardins wasn’t optimistic following the game.
“I’m not gonna talk about what the injury was. He was out,” Desjardins said. “I thought he might be able to go but just wasn’t tonight and the nice thing for us is he’s been such a big part of our team all year, it was really nice to rally behind and get one for him because he’s gotten quite a few for us. The boys are playing for him.”
You learned about it on SWX.
You learned about it on SWX.
| April 27, 2025
(via @noseyone4/X)
