The president of the Penn Hills school board said Neil Gordon's football coaching position was opened because Gordon hasn't won enough WPIAL championships and because the board is listening to some parents who want a new coach.

The Penn Hills board decided Monday night to open Gordon's position, and Gordon was informed of the decision Tuesday by Penn Hills superintendent Patricia Gennari. Gordon, who had a 156-74-2 record in 21 seasons, said he hasn't been told of the reasons his job was opened.

But school board president Erin Vecchio said: "There is no personal agenda here with anyone on the board. We're being told by parents and kids that they want to look in a new direction. I'm basing my opinions on what they're telling me. We represent the community."

Vecchio also claimed some district residents are unhappy because Gordon hasn't won enough championships and that he was looking to become Penn-Trafford's coach.

When told Penn-Trafford's coaching position isn't open, Vecchio said, "Well that's what we've been told."

Gordon's teams won the WPIAL and PIAA championships in 1995 and another was in the WPIAL AAAA title game in 2006.

His record in the past seven seasons is 61-19, and he has won five conference championships and made the playoffs 10 years in a row.

When asked if that wasn't enough, Vecchio said: "I don't know. People are telling me it's not. I'd like to see a championship, too. But I don't think that's the whole reason we're here."

Vecchio said all nine board members agreed Gordon's position should be opened. She also said some parents complained Gordon doesn't push his kids enough to college coaches. But many of Gordon's players have gone on to play college football, a number of them at the Division I level, and a few in the NFL.

Both Vecchio and Donald Kuhn Jr., another board member, said Gordon can reapply for his job.

"My opinion was just to open the position, get some interviews and see if anyone would be interested in the job, including Neil Gordon if he so desired," Kuhn said.

Gordon said: "The thing about this is people are going to read articles and say, 'I wonder what he did.' I didn't do anything to deserve this."

The school board decision was not made in a vote at a public meeting.

When Gennari was asked if she recommended Gordon be kept, she said: "Now we're into kind of the back-room stuff. I don't know if I'm comfortable with that. I tend not to deal with personnel issues publicly."

When asked if athletic director John Peterman made a recommendation for Gordon to be kept, Gennari said, "That would come through me because I deal with the board."

She also said Gordon must formally reapply for the job, even though he already had sent a letter to the board stating that he wanted to keep it.

Gennari said applicants will be accepted for Gordon's job until Feb. 1. Those employed inside the district who are interested must apply by next Thursday.

Three of the top four leading scorers in WPIAL boys' basketball are Division I football recruits.

Laurel Highlands' Kaleb Ramsey (24.2 ppg) is headed to Boston College, Aliquippa's Jonathan Baldwin (24.2) to Pitt and Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor (23.2) to Ohio State, Michigan, LSU, Oregon or Penn State. Pryor, though, has said he plans to play football and basketball in college.

West Allegheny's Derrik Zeroski (24.5) leads the WPIAL in scoring. He also played football and is a baseball player.

The Highlands-Indiana boys' basketball game tonight is for first place in WPIAL Class AAA Section 1. The game was scheduled to be played at Indiana High, but it was moved to IUP to accommodate an expected large crowd.

In his previous six years as Canon-McMillan's coach, Rick Bell has gotten the Big Macs close to a playoff berth. This could be the year they finally make the postseason.

Upper St. Clair and Moon are tied for first place in WPIAL Class AAAA Section 4 with 6-2 records, and Canon-McMillan is a half-game behind at 5-2. Canon-McMillan has defeated Moon, and the Big Macs also own a victory against McKeesport, the No. 1-ranked team in Class AAAA.

Barring a major collapse, Canon-McMillan will make the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

• Montour quarterback-defensive back E.J. Banks is only a junior, but has close to 20 Division I scholarship offers already. Louisville, Rutgers, North Carolina and North Carolina State are among the schools that have offered scholarships and most are recruiting him as a defensive back.

• West Mifflin senior wide receiver T.J. Williams made a verbal commitment to Kent State. Williams caught 31 passes for 588 yards and had 1,254 all-purpose yards for the Titans this past season.

• Jeannette junior running back Jordan Hall recently was offered a scholarship by Penn State.