Sep 8, 2004 By Commentary Rob Burchianti 5 min read

It was a high school baseball game in the early 1990’s in Masontown and Albert Gallatin was trailing Uniontown. Rob Chory was the head coach of the Colonials then, and with his team behind by a run and a runner on base, he hadn’t given up hope in AG’s final at bat.

Then a player stepped up to the plate and hit a long fly ball to left field. The Red Raider outfielder drifted back and seemed to have a bead on the ball. He ran out of room, however, and the ball bounced off the top of the fence and went over for a dramatic game-winning home run.

The batter who pranced around the bases that day?

Well he’s known more for riding ATV’s and motorcycles these days.

Barry Hawk was that player’s name, and he went on, of all things, to make his mark by riding vehicles in the dirt really fast … fast enough to be the best at what he does.

Hawk won seven Grand National Cross Country Series ATV titles before switching to motorcycles five years ago. He reached the pinnacle of that division as well, dominating the field in winning the AMA GNCC bike championship last year.

Hawk ran into a big problem as he tried to defend his title this year, however.

While racing in the Patriot GNCC in mid-June, Hawk was involved in a frightening crash. He suffered a concussion along with several broken bones in his face that required surgery.

His hopes for another GNCC championship may be dashed, but Hawk has healed and will return to GNCC competition this weekend when he’s scheduled to race in the Spartan in Sparta, Kentucky.

Hawk has taken part in several races to tune up for his GNCC return, and won the AMA National Hare Scramble at Rausch Creek Motorsports Park in Pennsylvania recently.

If all goes well in Kentucky, the rest of the GNCC schedule will take Hawk to Summersville, W. Va., St. Clairsville, Ohio, and Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Here’s wishing Barry good health the rest of the way, and hoping he can get back in the groove and end the season on a positive note.

He always did know how to provide a thrilling finish, as is evident by that memorable Colonial baseball game over a decade ago.

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We always like to keep track of our local products in the college ranks, and since the new school year is already in session, here’s a recap of a few players from earlier in 2004.

Jajuan Davis, a former Laurel Highlands boys basketball standout, starred for Slippery Rock University and was named to the All-PSAC Western Division second team in voting by the conference’s head coaches.

Davis, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, was the Rock’s second-leading scorer at 11.4 points per game despite starting only 11 of the 22 games he played in. He ranked 22nd in the PSAC in scoring and was first in free throw shooting at a sparkling 91.9 percent (57 of 62).

Davis was seventh in the conference in 3-point shooting at 40 percent and shot 45 percent from the field overall. He was second on the team in assists with 46 and averaged 2.3 rebounds per game.

The Rock finished 8-19 overall and 5-7 in the PSAC-West.

Krystal Brooks completed her junior season with Division-I James Madison University in women’s basketball. The Brownsville graduate, who is a 6-foot-3 center, averaged 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, ranking sixth and fifth on the team in those categories. Her high game of the season was a 16-point effort and she led the Dukes in rebounding once.

Brooks was second on the team in blocked shots (20), third in field goal percentage (43.5), fourth in offensive rebounding, fifth in steals (15) and sixth in minutes played per game (18.3).

Brooks played in all 31 of JMU’s games, starting 16 times.

For her career, Brooks has now played in 78 games and started 41 times. She started three times in 18 games as a freshman, averaging 3.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 12.1 minutes per game. She started 22 times in 29 games as a sophomore, averaging 7.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 21.7 minutes per game.

James Madison was 13-18 overall and 7-11 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Another Brownsville graduate made an immediate impact with his college baseball team.

Chad Rice worked his way into the starting lineup as a freshman at the Virginia Military Institute.

Rice played in 42 games for the Keydets, starting 38 times at second base and third base. He batted .230 with 21 runs scored, 26 hits and 11 RBIs.

The Grindstone resident helped his team in a variety of ways. He committed only six errors for a .957 fielding percentage, stole six bases in 10 attempts, was third on the team with eight hit-by-pitches, was fifth in sacrifice bunts with four and had one sacrifice fly.

Rice was best when leading off an inning, hitting .486 in that situation.

VMI finished the season with a 23-32 record.

Assistant Sports Editor Rob Burchianti can be reached at rvburchianti@hotmail.com