1999 WPIAL champs to be feted
WAYNESBURG – Prior to Waynesburg-Central’s kickoff tonight against Interstate Conference opponent East Allegheny, a shining moment in Raider’s football history will be relived when the 1999 WPIAL Raiders championship team will honored in a brief ceremony. The event will begin at 5 p.m. and will include the airing of game footage from that title run a decade ago.
“We’ll have some light refreshments,” said Bradley Monas. “Right now, we have 25 to 30 former athletes from that team who we think we’ll be returning, so it’ll be exciting. It’ll provide a chance for people in the community to meet and greet the athletes and for those who were on the team to tell their stories about that title run.”
Among those returning will be former coach Russ Moore, who left the Raiders following that season, according to Monas.
“I’m excited to see a lot of the guys again,” said John Lipscomb, the Margaret Bell Middle School principal. “A lot of the guys live in the region but a few don’t. Some are in the military and out of state and can’t attend, but for those who can, we hope to provide a nice event for them.”
Lipscomb said the idea was initially brought up by Monas and approved quickly and with full support by the school’s athletic director, James Caruso.
“Mr. Monas approached Mr. Caruso about the idea and he quickly approved,” said Lipscomb. “I had never been part of something like this where we were honoring a championship team so it was interesting to get started.”
Lipscomb said that some of the former players took the ball and immediately began contacting their former teammates to attend the event.
“Some of them are extremely excited to see everyone,” said Lipscomb. “They were really thankful that we could have an event like this and honor a really good football team. It’s going to be a great event to relive some of those wonderful memories.”
Joe Kuhns, who is the current coach of the Raiders, noted how important it is for the school to honor the legacy of that team.
“It’s really important as a school to honor one of the best chapters of history for the program,” said Kuhns. “It provides a chance for us to recognize what they did and what we are capable of doing.”
Kuhns also said he hopes some of the players from that championship team will talk to his current players before their game against the Wildcats.
“I hope some of those older guys will talk to my men and explain to them what can happen,” said Kuhns. “It’s those types of conversations that can get people believing that what happened once can certainly happen again.”