Pennsylvania
How Mizzou planted its flag in Pennsylvania recruiting
How Mizzou planted its flag in Pennsylvania recruiting
Sitting together during an official visit weekend in June, Jack Abercrombie and Tim Taggart started talking about the next wave of Pennsylvania talent.
Missouri, which anchored in its 2025 signing class with signal caller Matt Zollers, wasn’t done looking east, and Taggart had just the guy for the Tigers’ assistant offensive line coach.
Taggart recommended jumping in on Maxwell Hiller, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound sophomore offensive tackle. Taggart, the quarterbacks coach at Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle College High School and personal coach of Zollers, is close friends with Vinnie Williams, the offensive coordinator at Coatesville (Pa.) Coatesville Area Senior, where Hiller plays.
“You guys got to get after him now,” Taggart said then. “I remember giving three or four of their coaches all of Max’s information.”
Abercrombie offered Hiller by late October and got him on campus to Missouri for the program’s Junior Day on Jan. 18. Hiller isn’t an under-the-radar talent, ranking No. 55 nationally in the Class of 2027, but the Tigers weren’t regulars in his home state until now.
“It shows that they have good recruiting to come out all this way from Missouri all the way to PA to recruit,” Hiller said in October. “So it’s definitely great to see.”
Abercrombie rejoined the Missouri staff ahead of the 2023 season after previously serving as an offensive graduate assistant in 2020-2021. He spent the prior two seasons as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator, for only 2022, at the Virginia Military Institute.
A native of Horsham, Pennsylvania, Abercrombie played and coached collegiately in his home state, and over the past decade and a half, those connections to Pennsylvania have bled into his ability to recruit the area.
“Jack Abercrombie, he’s definitely going to be an up-and-coming coach in the near future,” Taggart said.
Abercrombie knows two staffers at La Salle College High School well in offensive line coach Mark Schmidt and defensive line coach David Sowers. Schmidt and Sowers have built success at multiple stops in Pennsylvania, leaving fingerprints across the state in coaching and recruiting.
“Jack’s a big part,” Taggart said. “Not a lot of people understand these under-the-radar coaches, younger coaches, guys that are maybe lower-end assistances. They’re the ones that have a lot of the big-time relationships and connections.
“They do a lot of the dirty work behind the scenes, where they’re studying, watching all the film of all these guys, and they’re trying to find the diamonds in the rough. They’re trying to use their connections and everything, and it’s paying off big time for programs like Mizzou.”
The eastern half of Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, is where Missouri found Zollers as well as a trio of La Salle College High School players — Grayson McKeogh, Joey O’Brien and Gavin Sidwar.
Missouri offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kirby Moore traveled to La Salle College High School on Tuesday to workout Sidwar, a Class of 2026 three-star quarterback, who received an offer from the Tigers after a conversation with Moore.
Moore told Sidwar he wanted to host him for a one-on-one visit this spring, making the quarterback the focal point for the Tigers in whatever weekend they decide to schedule a trip.
Missouri made it a point of emphasis to make offers more personal with players, getting on high school campuses to talk with recruits. The Tigers did that with Sidwar and McKeogh, another player Taggart put on Abercrombie’s radar this past summer.
“The thing that I think separates Missouri, apart from a lot of other programs that would be interested in kids from Pennsylvania, is the actual town,” Taggart said. “The school is located in the middle of the town, so that was one of the things for Matt. Matt saying this, ‘It feels like I’m back in Royersford, Pennsylvania.’”
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription.
Talk about this story in the story thread and discuss so much more in The Tiger Walk.
Make sure you’re caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 2 Day results for Feb. 27, 2026
The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
11-18-39-43-67, Mega Ball: 23
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 2 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
Day: 4-7, Wild: 5
Evening: 8-8, Wild: 0
Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
Day: 6-7-7, Wild: 5
Evening: 0-0-3, Wild: 0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
Day: 7-2-1-4, Wild: 5
Evening: 5-7-3-1, Wild: 0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
Day: 8-4-5-4-4, Wild: 5
Evening: 1-1-9-8-7, Wild: 0
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
04-14-16-20-38
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
02-04-08-13-30
Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
10-12-23-31-33-46
Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 27 drawing
03-04-13-28-42, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
- Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
- Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
- Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
- Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.
When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
- Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily
- Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
- Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
- Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
- Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Pennsylvania
Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania Helps Homeowners Protect Their Investment Across Generations » NCRC
For the past 17 years, the Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania (AHCOPA) has provided a range of programs designed to build wealth within low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. AHCOPA provides services to approximately 3,000 people each year via their pre-purchase, post-purchase and mortgage prevention counseling programs.
When Kenneth Bigos joined AHCOPA as their Executive Director in 2013, he set out to expand the organization’s offerings beyond first-time homeownership counseling services. He identified estate planning as an urgent need for the region’s LMI communities as well.
A 2022 Consumer Reports survey found that 77% of Black and 82% of Hispanic Americans do not have a will in place, which is needed to ensure that their home investment continues to build generational wealth. Consequently, the state court steps in upon the owner’s passing to decide how assets will be distributed, with property not being able to be transferred to an heir until that lengthy process is complete. In Philadelphia alone, there are approximately 10,000 properties with titles that have not been legally settled.
In response to this, AHCOPA launched the Will Power program in 2022 by leveraging existing relationships with pro-bono lawyers in the creation of wills and trusts for community members. The program has created an opportunity to serve a larger portion of Philadelphia’s population.
While the first-time homebuyer program initially attracted people in their mid-30s, Will Power participants are generally in their late 60s, prompting AHCOPA to think about what housing support looks like across an individual’s lifetime.
“Elderly households are more vulnerable,” Bigos said. “To reach these homeowners, we had to develop relationships with trusted agencies, such as senior centers, churches and other institutions that we would not typically work with in our first-time homebuyer program.”
As a result of that work, AHCOPA marked a major milestone in October 2025: the signing of 1,000 wills. Thanks to the success of Will Power and the first-time homebuyer program, AHCOPA has solidified its reputation as the go-to financial advisor for working-class residents.
Looking ahead, they are planning to add a new program designed to support people beyond the initial purchase of their home, which will include coaching to help owners develop their financial literacy. This would encompass how to build savings to buy a first home and avoid foreclosure in the event of a crisis.
For Bigos, NCRC membership is key to ensuring the success of these programs, especially in terms of organizing at the federal, state and local levels advocating for continued funding.
“Engaging with decision makers is very important and being an NCRC member has helped facilitate those relationships,” Bigos said. “Their support has been very impactful.”
Jesse Rhodes is a Contributing Writer.
Photo courtesy of the AHCOPA team.
Pennsylvania
How gambling revenue helps Pennsylvania fire departments
It is hard to imagine that money spent and collected at casinos and in slot machines around the state can wind up being used at local volunteer fire departments throughout the commonwealth, but it’s true.
In Pennsylvania, a portion of the state’s gaming revenue is allocated to support fire departments and emergency management services to the tune of about $30 million each year.
Departments can apply for those funds through a series of state grants, and most departments say that the money from gaming is vital to help them pay for equipment, vehicles and even improvements to their buildings.
“This time we put in for a grant to finish our second floor of our facility here,” said Derry Township Fire Chief Mark Piantine.
Piantine says that gambling revenue has purchased many things for his department in the past like swift water rescue boats as well as a new equipment washing station. Now he hopes that money can give his company a place to sleep when they are working long shifts in bad weather.
“The last storm we had, the Snowmageddon here a couple of weeks ago, we had people staying overnight,” Piantine said. “They were laying across the seats of the trucks and on the floor sleeping because our second floor is not finished.”
Piantine says every little bit helps both their department and other departments, because when it comes right down to it, running a fire department is expensive.
“When you buy a regular pair of gloves, you may pay $25 for them. We buy a pair of gloves, they’re $75 to $100,” said Piantine. “You can buy a pair of boots for $50, ours cost $600.”
Just a few miles away, in the city of Latrobe, Chief John Brasile says that while the city does a lot for them financially, gaming revenue helps a lot. It even helps them make payments on their rescue unit.
“We have about a year’s worth of payments left on it,” Brasile said. “And we use our money for debt reductions on that truck.”
“And that’s essentially from gambling revenue?” Chris DeRose asked.
“Yes. It comes from the State Fire Commissioners’ Office,” Brasile said.
“When is that truck paid off?” DeRose asked.
“About this time next year,” Brasile replied. “And then we can use that money for other stuff then. We would like to get new rescue tools for that truck and they’re expensive.”
The fire departments KDKA has spoken with about using state grant money from gambling revenue say that gambling money is great, but it is not a cure-all. And in fact, on Thursday night, the Latrobe Fire Department was holding yet another fundraising event to help them once again raise money for new fire equipment.
-
World2 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO2 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology7 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology7 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics7 days agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT