Schenley ended Red Raiders’ run in 1966
Commentary by Jim Kriek As the saying goes, all good things come to an end, and so it was with the Uniontown High basketball team.
Continuing with this week, away back there in 1966, Uniontown was riding a 24-game winning streak heading into the western Pennsylvania finals, one step away from another trip to Hershey to try for another state ‘A’ championship.
Alas, Schenley High of Pittsburgh threw up a 71-67 roadblock in front of the Red Raiders, but it took the Pittsburgh City champions two overtimes to get the edge. Willie Bryant’s lay-up with 37 seconds left in regulation forced a 62-62 tie, and they were tied at 66 after the first overtime, Schenley getting the tie when Prince scored his only goal of the entire game.
Ray Parson’s free throw gave the Raiders a 67-66 lead in the second OT, but Ken Durrett got a goal for Schenley, and three free ones wrapped it up to move the Spartans to the state finals against Chester, which topped previously unbeaten Reading.
UHS really lost the game at the foul line, going just 9-for-20 in a game where there were 10 ties and 17 lead changes. Parson led UHS with 23 points and 17 rebounds. Bryant scored 15, Will Minor had 11, and Ed Parson added 10. Durrett had 25 points and 12 rebounds for SHS.
Schenley would go on to win the state title 74-64 over Chester.
– n –
While the high schools were in their finals, there was a collegiate tournament also going on locally. One in which you might well say that Shylock got his pound of flesh.
Joe Shylock made a free throw with three seconds left to play in overtime, giving Penn State-Fayette its first win, 61-60, over PS-New Kensington, in intercampus tournament play at Uniontown High. Jeff Sterling had 19, Shylock 11, and Rich Miller (Connellsville) 10 to lead Fayette (1-4).
– n –
The Fayette County Coaches Association was ready to present a basketball doubleheader where the preliminary should be the biggest attraction – two teams comprised of local coaches. The Football Coaches lineup would include Redstone’s Bob Perry, Redstone, as coach, and Stan McLaughlin, Walt Craig, Leon Kaltenbach, Ron Fudala, Jack Henck, Joe Barkley and Gene Franks Jr. The Basketball Coaches lineup included Dick Majernik. player-coach, Jim Savage, Lash Nesser, Harold Taylor, Tom Sankovich, Ray Trincia and Frank Wydo.
The Section 10 Stars, to be coached by Adam Donnelly from German Twp., included North Union’s Brent Watson and Ted Martin, Brownsville’s Nelson Bishop and Dave Ervin, Bob Shaw and Don Lowe of German, Fairchance-Georges’ Emil Borowski and Bob Takoch, Bob Kino and Steve Crouse of Albert Gallatin and South Union’s Jim Pettit and Don Ainsley.
The Fayette Stars, coached by Geibel’s Ken Misiak, included Father Kolb’s Frank Boskovich and Sam Fugozzotto, Ernie Johnson, Paul Toth, Dave Bednar of Frazier, Dunbar Twp.’s Bob McCargo and Dan Martin, Ed Parson and Norman Grover of Uniontown, Geibel’s Andy Habina and Tom Wilczynski, and Mel Robinson and Dan Miller of St. John’s.
– n –
In other sports news that week:
-Tom Barnhart (German Twp.) won the 115-pound championship in AMA-AAU Junior Olympic wrestling at Waynesburg College.
-Pitt opened its “Hart Era” in football, with new head coach Dave Hart, of Connellsville, holding his first spring drills.
-Bob Flockvich, who was more at home with a baseball bat in his hands, “homered” with a basket with seven seconds to play as St. Rita’s-Holy Trinity of Connellsville nipped Scottdale EUB, 65-64, to win the Scottdale Church-YMCA Basketball League championship. It was his only goal of the game!! Sibby LoNigro and Tom Dolde, then an apprentice Wily Old Codger, had 18 for the champions, and Stan Helinsky 14. Denny Stoner led EUB with 22.
-Coach Art Ruff started golf workouts at Connellsville with four lettermen, Rick Lynn (3rd season), Alan Ambrose, Jim Hixson and sophomore Jack Lynn.
-Oh, yes, the “Games” – County Stars 54-49 over Section 10, led by Boskovich (18) and Grover (12). The game report added “in the wild and rugged preliminary, the Football Coaches outsmarted the Basketball Coaches to win by a comfortable margin, led by Buck Craig.” No final score, scoring leaders, etc. The BB coaches must not have had a “pep talk” from Lash.
-And how’s this for a “double treat!” Andy Kandrack, playing a round of golf at Green Valley Public Course near Pittsburgh, allowed that he had never seen a hole-in-one. He then holed out his 147-yard, 7-iron shot on No. 3. It must have been a boost for him, for two holes later his 8-iron shot hit the cup 130-yards away. His reaction?
“Shocked,” he allowed.