PUNXSUTAWNEY -- The Punxsy varsity wrestling team fired out of the gate in its season opener at home against Clarion on Thursday by winning four of the five contested matches — all by pins — and cruising to a 42-6 victory.

The Pittsburgh Steelers parted ways with offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner Thursday, four days after an embarrassing home playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns.

PUNXSUTAWNEY -- The Punxsy boys basketball team earned its first win of the young season on Wednesday night, defeating the Brockway Rovers 65-41.

BROCKWAY — The Punxsy girls basketball team played as if it was fired out of a cannon on Wednesday night at Brockway, outscoring the Lady Rovers 27-2 in the first quarter and 40-5 in the first half.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Farabee had a goal and three assists, Michael Raffl, James van Riemsdyk and Nolan Patrick also scored to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday in the first game of the NHL season.

PUNXSUTAWNEY -- The Punxsy girls basketball team won a thrilling game against Tyrone on Monday night at home, 44-41, with Sarah Weaver hitting the go-ahead 3-point shot with 7 seconds left on the clock.

PUNXSUTAWNEY — The Punxsutawney boys basketball team knew entering its first two games the schedule wasn't kind, as its first opponent, Brookville, and its second, DuBois, are two of the tougher teams in the area this season.

PUNXSUTAWNEY -- Monday was sort of a second first day of practice for athletes in the Punxsutawney Area School District.

With many of the starters resting, the PIttsburgh Steelers came close but couldn't topple the Cleveland Browns, who secured their first playoff berth since 2002 with a 24-22 win Sunday.

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin has a theory on what makes Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt go.

Winter sports teams will begin practicing once again on Monday in Pennsylvania.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to let quarterback Ben Roethlisberger rest up for the playoffs.

PITTSBURGH — This time, JuJu Smith-Schuster saved his dancing for the locker room.

The Pittsburgh Steelers went down big early, but a second half rally thanks to an explosive offense led the Steelers to a 28-24 victory over the visiting Indianapolis Colts. The win clinched the division for the Steelers.

At a meeting held on Tuesday afternoon, the PIAA approved updated provisions for the return to competition following a Dec. 11 state-mandated pause on extracurricular activities that runs through Jan. 4. 

CINCINNATI — The Pittsburgh Steelers did not jump out to the start that they were hoping for on Monday night in Cincinnati, as their host, the Bengals, outpaced them 17-0 in the first half. 

Hall of Fame linebacker Kevin Greene, considered one of the fiercest pass rushers in NFL history, has died. He was 58.

Ben Roethlisberger says all the hand-wringers just need to calm down. The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be fine.

PUNXSUTAWNEY — A volunteer wrestling coach at Punxsutawney Area High School has tested positive for COVID-19 and is under quarantine, the school said Tuesday on its website.

Though the Pittsburgh Steelers held an early lead of 7-0, the Buffalo Bills scored 23 unanswered points on the way to a 26-15 victory on Sunday Night Football. 

Pictured here are Punxsutawney Area High School seniors Kameron Falgout (7) and Brandon Ishman (74) leading the football team onto the field at a home game this season. 

Punxsy senior Katelyn Griebel, for the second consecutive year, has earned both district and state recognitions as a member the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches’ Association’s 2020 District 9 AA All-Star Team and by being named a PVCA AA All-State selection.

Another student at Punxsutawney Area High School took a step into the future on Tuesday morning, as Owen Smith signed to play baseball at the collegiate level at Ohio Wesleyan University. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first loss of the season Monday, falling 23-17 to the Washington Football Team at Heinz Field.

The Steelers have had a turbulent few weeks due to games being rescheduled. They will need to put all that behind them today though, as they host the Washington Football Team.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for November on Friday. 

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree was confirmed to have torn his ACL during Wednesday's game against the Baltimore Ravens. Dupree exited the game in the fourth quarter.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 11-0 Wednesday with a 19-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

The unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers (10-0) are scheduled to host some semblance of the Baltimore Ravens (6-4) in a game already pushed back three times, first from Thanksgiving to last Sunday, then from last Sunday to Tuesday night, then from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The Baltimore Ravens' struggle to contain an extended outbreak of the coronavirus forced their rescheduled game Tuesday night against the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers to be moved back to Wednesday.

The Baltimore Ravens' bout with a COVID-19 outbreak has forced the NFL to postpone the team's trip to Pittsburgh for a second time.

With Thanksgiving soon upon us, The Spirit thought it would be a good chance to ask some of our local athletes, who are gearing up for their winter seasons, what makes them feel thankful this year.

JACKSONVILLE — Following an opening drive field goal from the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers went on to score 27 unanswered to improve to 10-0 on the season.  

On Friday, immediately following school, the winter sports athletes at Punxsutawney Area High school, including those in girls basketball, indoor track and field, cheerleading and wrestling, began their seasons with their first official practices.

The Punxsy 7th-grade girls basketball team put a cap on its 7-2 season on Wednesday with a 35-15 win at Brockway. Pictured here is Camryn Hall, who led Punxsy with 18 points. For a full recap, see Thursday's edition of The Spirit.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took care of business on Sunday, dropping the visiting Cincinnati Bengals 36-10 to remain unbeaten. 

The Punxsutawney 8th-grade and 7th-grade girls basketball teams posted victories Friday at home over DuBois Central Catholic.See Saturday's edition of The Spirit for details.