Wednesday, February 17, 2021 | 4:23 PM
Jeannette’s Brad Birch (12) rushes the ball during their game against Clairton on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020.
What seemed like an innocent follow on Twitter led to a college scholarship offer for Jeannette freshman quarterback Brad Birch.
It is another example of, as coaches often tell their players, “you never know who is watching.”
Birch announced a Division I offer from Oregon on Wednesday, the first for the strong-armed, 6-foot-2, 190-pound standout. Many believe it will be the first of many.
The Pac-12 offer surprised Birch, who just won the Pylon seven-on-seven 15-under tournament with Team 412 Elite out of Pittsburgh. His deep touchdown throw to Central Catholic freshman Jackson Pons, who played at Norwin this year, drew attention on social media.
Submitted
Finally, the day of promise arrived for Anthony Giansante.
Signing Day allowed Giansante, the burly senior lineman from Norwin, to finally make his dream of playing Division I football a reality. After his first run through the recruiting process fell through for reasons out of his control, the second was a take.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman signed Feb. 3 to play at Western Carolina, a Division I FCS program from the Southern Conference.
“I’m just feeling grateful,” Giansante said. “Grateful to have the opportunity to play football where I am wanted, where I can learn a lot and where I feel like I will fit in.”
Navy offers Penn-Trafford s Cade Yacamelli | Trib HSSN triblive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from triblive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tribune-Review
Donald Pappy Boulton in September 2005. He was a defensive coordinator at Springdale for his best friend, Chuck Wagner, for nearly 20 seasons.
Courtesy of Burket-Truby Funeral Home.
Donald Pappy Boulton, a football and vollyeball coaching legend in the Alle-Kiski Valley, died from complications due to covid-19 on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021.
Tribune-Review
Don Pappy Boulton holds a Springdale Dynamo mini-helmet in the sports memorabilia room in his Springdale home in October 2005. Upon retiring from coaching in 2016, Boulton said his greatest coaching thrill as walking off Heinz Field with the WPIAL Class A football title in 2003.
TribLIVE s Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.