Discussing football with some of WPIALs best
Last year I had the pleasure of having lunch with some of the greatest football coaches in WPIAL history.
The luncheon was the brainchild of good friend Bill Priatko and we had a second gathering just recently at Grand View Golf Club in North Braddock, and it was even better the second time around.
Once again I was in the presence of football royalty. When I sat down for lunch, six coaches present and past, were seated at the table. Between them they had garnered a total of 31 WPIAL football titles and one Catholic League championship.
The coaches who attended include current head coaches Jim Render of Upper St. Clair (5 WPIAL Titles), Tom Nola Gateway (6 WPIAL Titles), George Novak of Woodland Hills (6 WPIAL Titles), and retired grid mentors Chuck Klausing who coached Braddock from 1954 through 1959, where his teams won an unprecedented six consecutive WPIAL championships. His six teams at Braddock went 54-0-1 during that time span and broke the national undefeated record set by Massillon Washington High School.
Also in attendance was Pete Antimarino, who coached Gateway High School for 32 years. He posted a record of 236-80-12 and a .725 winning percentage, with five WPIAL Titles. Former Jeanette High School and Greensburg Central Catholic coach Joe Mucci was present. He compiled a record of 184-48-5 in 31 years. Mucci won three WPIAL football championships at Jeanette and one Catholic League crown at Greensburg CC.
High School football season is almost here and teams are gearing up for the upcoming season. The coaches who are still prowling the sideline weighed in on some current high school football issues.
The discussion about Pennsylvania expanding the number of PIAA football classifications continues.
The PIAA Board of Directors decided that more discussion is needed and now three proposals remain for consideration.
The PIAA could stick to its current system of four classifications divided equally based on enrollments.
The PIAA could switch to a six-class system, with the classifications divided equally based on enrollments.
The PIAA could switch to a six-class system that includes a “Super 700” class. Any school with an enrollment of more than 700 boys in grades 9-11 would be put into Class 6A, and then the other five classes would be divided equally based on enrollments.
“To tell you the truth I don’t really know how I feel about it,” Render offered. “I say that because we are one of the smaller Quad A schools as it is. So I don’t know that we have leverage, we’ll play who we have to play. The only thing is when I was more active with the Coaches Association they told us that five divisions would not work mathematically. So it was either stay at four or go to six.”
“I’ll be honest when this whole thing started back in the 1980’s I wasn’t for going to the state playoffs,” Novak said. “The WPIAL is a marathon getting through that. I just thought with basketball starting and everything we shouldn’t do it.”
Also being discussed is a reduction of football season from 19 to 18 weeks (including practices, scrimmages, regular season and postseason), with options on how to handle the reduction.
Start dates would remain the same, but the season would end one week sooner. In 2014, for example, the championship weekend would have been Dec. 5-6 instead of Dec. 12-13.
“I actually like that,” Nola stated. “We went five years in a row when I was at Clairton. One of those years we played the final game on December 19. That’s a long season.”
“We played one year until the 19th too,” Novak said. “It was six days before Christmas as I recall. That was the year the state championship was snowed out in Altoona, so we had to go back the next week.”
“I think in the WPIAL we ought to play 10 games,” Render opined. “I personally don’t understand why the athletic directors don’t fight to have five home games every year. I don’t like a four week WPIAL tournament, I think it could be done in three. I’d rather everybody play 10 games.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Novak said.
The issue of private and parochial schools in the PIAA remains the elephant in the room. It’s worth noting that in the last two years, six of the eight PIAA football championships were won by non-public schools.
Some folks are advocating creating a fifth classification or a non-public school division. That way, powerhouses such as Archbishop Wood and St. Joseph’s Prep can battle one another in the playoffs. The coaches had some thoughts on this very thorny issue.
“Sure, I mean as a small public school sure,” Render said. “I’d be in favor of that.”
“They have an advantage as far as recruiting and helping people pay their tuition,” Novak stated.
A lot WPIAL history was discussed including a great story about the 1959 clash between undefeated powerhouses Braddock and Scott high schools. The championship game was the prize.
At the end of the fourth quarter, with Braddock trailing 12-9, Ray “Butch” Henderson caught two passes for 35 yards. Quarterback John Jacobs made two more completions for gains, putting Braddock in Scott High territory with just over thirty seconds to play. Down by three, a tying field goal would jeopardize Braddock’s chances at the postseason. There was no overtime. Klausing called another passing play. Jacobs saw Henderson streaking for the back of the end zone. He let one fly. Henderson hauled in the 26-yard pass for a touchdown.
Before the game Braddock dressed across the street. An over flow crowd of over 10,000 was in attendance. The Braddock team walked across the street to the stadium, but they had locked the gates to stop more people from coming in.
“We had to climb the fence to get in,” Klausing laughed. “My team climbed the fence to get into the stadium. It was the best non pregame speech I ever gave. I didn’t say anything I just let them walk around the field and take in the scene. It was one of the best things I ever did before a game. The atmosphere was enough to fire them up.”
That should whet your appetite for high school football. The 2015 high school football season kicks off on Friday September 4.
George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” column appears in Monday editions of the Herald-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.