Hometown Heritage: 2021 Sports Hall of Fame Banquet

Hometown Heritage Sports and The Greene County Department of Recreation will be hosting a banquet at the Waynesburg University Dining Hall on January 8 to honor their 2021 male and female athletes of the month. The banquet is sponsored by KSW Oilfield Services. In addition, the inaugural class of the new Greene County Sports Hall of Fame will be inducted that evening. The class was chosen by a committee of local sports historians and aficionados.  

The class includes 15 County sports legends and two championship teams. The inductees include:

Waynesburg High School alum, Bill George became an All-American linebacker at Wake Forest and went on to play for the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s and 1960s. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1974 and is credited with “inventing” the middle linebacker position.  In 1999, the Sporting News ranked him number 49 on the list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. He was also a two-time PIAA wrestling champion in high school.

Jefferson-Morgan’s Cary Kolat was a scholastic phenom and finished his high school career undefeated while winning four PIAA Championships. He went on to become a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA Champion at Penn State and Lock Haven University. He was a member of the United States Men’s Freestyle Wrestling Team from 1997–2001. During that time, he won silver and bronze medals at the 1997 and 1998 FILA Wrestling World Championships. He also competed for the United States in at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he placed 9th. Kolat is currently the head wrestling coach at the U.S. Naval Academy

Waynesburg’s Coleman Scott was a four-time WPIAL and three-time PIAA wrestling champion for the Raiders in the early 2000s. He went on the be a four-time All-American and 2008 NCAA Champion at Oklahoma State. He was the NCAA Runner-up in 2007. Coleman won the 60kg Bronze Medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He also represented the United States at the 2015 World Cup. He became the head wrestling coach at the University of North Carolina in 2015.   

Rudy Marisa turned Waynesburg College basketball from an afterthought into a national powerhouse. In his 34 seasons as the Jackets’ coach, he won 565 games and seven NAIA District 18 championships in a nine-year span. In 2003 when he retired from coaching, his career record was 17th best nationally among all active coaches and 53rd all-time. He was also named the District 18 Coach of the Year six times. In 1996 and 1998, he was named the President’s Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Additional accolades included Pittsburgh Press Coach of the Year (1984 and 1986), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Coach of the Year (1986), Pittsburgh Italian Coach of the Year (1989), and the NIASHF Pittsburgh Coach of the Year (1988). 

Mapletown alum Derek Bochna finished his career in 1989 as the WPIAL’s all-time leader in rushing (4,793 yards), scoring (446 points) and touchdowns (77). He was named First Team All-State in both his junior and senior year. In addition, he played in the prestigious Big 33 Game against Maryland. Bochna went on to become a four-year defensive starter at Penn State. He was a Freshman All-American, Second Team All-Big Ten, and a member of Penn State’s All-Decade Team. When he left the University, he was fourth on their all-time interception list and 19th on their all-time tackle list. Bochna was also a four-year starter on the Nittany Lions baseball team. After his final season in 1995, he was at or near the top in all of the Nittany Lions’ career offensive categories, including first in home runs and runs scored.

Cumberland Township High School alum Joe Taffoni played football at WVU and the University of Tennessee-Martin in the mid-60s.  He was named to the All-Mountaineer Team of the 1960s. At Tennessee-Martin, he was named First Team All-Southern Conference and Second Team All-American. In 1967, he was a fourth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns. In 1970, he earned a starting spot after playing behind veteran Monte Clark. After five years with the Browns, he was traded to the New York Giants, where he made the All-NFC Team in 1972. In addition, Taffoni had turned down professional baseball contracts after high school to play college football.  

Rachel Rohanna won both WPIAL and PIAA girls’ golf titles in 2005 and 2007. She became only the third freshman to win the WPIAL. She was also only the sixth girl to win multiple WPIAL titles. Her junior year, she won her second state title by six strokes. At the WPIAL and PIAA tournaments in 2006, she placed second and fourth, respectively. In 2008, she played on the boys’ team and held down the number one slot. (She played from the same tees as the boys) She received a scholarship to Ohio State University and went on to be an All-Big Ten selection in both 2010 and 2012. While at Ohio State, she was the first woman to win the prestigious Frank Fuhrur Award given to the best collegiate golfer in western Pennsylvania. Between her freshman and sophomore year as a Buckeye, she shot a record 65 in the first round of the Women’s Amateur Golf Championship. Rohanna has been a professional golfer for eight years (six seasons on the LPGA Symetra Tour and two on the LPGA tour). 

Jack Wiley graduated from Richhill Township High School in 1938 and played football for Waynesburg College. He was on the team that played in the first televised football game when the Yellow Jackets took on Fordham. After college, he fought in World War II and rose to the rank of captain. He returned home and started a career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The undersized tackle became a favorite of owner Art Rooney during his five years with the team. He was one of the first players to have his likeness on a playing card. After retiring, he returned to coach the Jackets from 1951-54. His record was 22-9-1, including an upset of Bowling Green and three narrow losses to WVU.  He then moved on to a career as the offensive line coach for the Steelers. The Waynesburg University football field is named in his honor. 

Steve Korcheck of Cumberland Township High School received a scholarship to George Washington University to play both football and baseball. He became a two-sport Division I All-American in 1954. He was drafted 35th overall by the San Francisco 49ers but chose to sign with the American League’s Washington Senators. He appeared as a catcher for the Senators over four seasons from 1954-59. His career was interrupted by a two-year stint in the army.  In 1960, he returned to George Washington to obtain his Masters’ and Doctoral degrees while coaching the baseball team. In the 1970s, he taught and coached baseball at Manatee Community College in Sarasota, Florida. In 1980, he became president of that institution until his retirement in 1997.

Greg Hopkins of West Greene and Waynesburg Central High Schools went on to a standout career as a wide receiver at Slippery Rock University. While there, he was a three-time Division II All-American and finished his career with 215 receptions for 3,382 yards. He held nine different school records when he graduated. After college, he went on to the Arena Football League, and played wide receiver and linebacker for the Albany/Indiana Firebirds (1996-2001) and the Los Angeles Avengers (2002-2006). He was named to the All-Arena Team in 2002 and 2003. He made Second Team All-League in 1998 and 2000. In 2002, he was named the League’s Iron Man of the Year. He was also named as one of the Greatest 20 Players in AFL History (#14). The Avengers retired his number (82) in 2007. In 2013, he was inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame. In addition, his senior year at WCHS, he was a PIAA runner-up in wrestling and set the school javelin record with a throw of 195’ 9”. 

Larry Krutko led Cumberland Township High School to the 1952 WPIAL football championship before continuing his career at West Virginia University. He was one of the greatest fullbacks in Mountaineer history. He led the team in rushing in both 1956 and 1957 while also starting at linebacker. He scored the Mountaineers only touchdown in a 7-6 upset victory over Texas. The Mountaineers won two Southern Conference titles those years, and Krutko played in both the Blue-Gray Game and the Senior Bowl. He was also named to the WVU Team of the Decade. He was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 1957 Draft and started at fullback before an ankle injury ended his career in 1960. 

Waynesburg Central’s, Josh Koscheck finished as runner-up at the 1997 PIAA Wrestling Championships. He attended Edinboro University where he became the Fighting Scots second NCAA Division I Champion in 2001 after going 42-0 in the 174-pound weight class.  He was also the school’s first four-time All-American (4th, 2nd, 1st, and 3rd) and only the 11th four-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champion. He was honored as the PSAC Wrestler of the Year three times and once as the Eastern Wrestling League’s Most Valuable Wrestler.  After college, his career took a different turn when he appeared on the first season of the mixed martial arts television series The Ultimate Fighter. After reaching the semi-finals on the show, he went on to a successful MMA career for the UFC and Bellator before retiring in 2018. 

Carmichaels’ Tom McCombs was a standout three-sport athlete at Cumberland Township High School in the early 1960s. He went on to Lafayette University to star in both football and baseball. On the gridiron, he was named to the 1968 AP All-State College Team and the All-East Second Team as a safety. After missing his senior year due to a severe injury, he spent part of 1971 in the Cleveland Indians organization of the Gulf Coast Rookie League. He also played for their AA Jacksonville affiliate in the Dixie Association League that season. His career was cut short by the two devastating injuries suffered in college. His junior year, he was struck on the wrist by a pitch, which shattered his arm and required extensive rehabilitation. The following season, he was involved in a collision on the field, which resulted in a broken leg that later developed severe complications. The injuries proved too much to overcome in his bid to make the majors. McCombs returned to coach the Mike’s baseball team from 1974-1998.

Ben Parker was the legendary football coach of the Jefferson Jeffs in the middle of the 20th century. The Rockets football field is named in his honor. His career record was an incredible 122-14-11, an .897 winning percentage. He had played on the outstanding Waynesburg College teams of the early 30’s under the legendary coach Frank Wolfe. Parker installed his mentor’s single wing philosophy even though the T-formation was dominant by the 1940s. After a 7-1-1 season in 1940, the Jeffs did not lose a game until the 1945 finale. However, the teams were usually left out of the WPIAL playoffs because they could not obtain enough Gardner Points due to the fact few “Class B” schools would schedule them. The 1951 team finally earned enough points for the playoffs and tied Wilmerding 20-20 to become WPIAL Co-Champions. Parker went on to serve in the Pennsylvania legislature upon his retirement from coaching.  

Jerry Yost quarterbacked the West Greene pioneers to undefeated seasons in 1957 and 1958. He was also a member of the Pioneers WPIAL record setting 880 Relay Team in ’58. He went on to West Virginia University and won the starting job his sophomore year. He became WVU’s first All-American quarterback in 1962. That year, he led the Mountaineers to wins over Pitt, Virginia Tech and powerhouse Syracuse. He led the Southern Conference in passing and total offense – 1,034 passing yards and 330 rushing yards. In 1964, he was signed to a free agent contract with the New York Jets.  

Two teams were also inducted in the first class. The 1966 Waynesburg College football team won the NAIA National Championship after they defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater in the title game. Coach Carl DePasque’s Jackets had finished the regular season undefeated after beating Slippery Rock, Susquehanna, Ohio Northern, California State, Frostburg, Geneva, West Virginia Wesleyan, Findlay, and Westminster. 

There were rumors of a bid to the Tangerine Bowl; however, the N.A.I.A. invited the Jackets to the national play-offs. The semi-finals were in Albuquerque, New Mexico against New Mexico Highlands. The team was a 28-point underdog. Highlands was led by Carl Garrett, who would become the 1969 AFL Rookie of the Year for the Boston Patriots.  New Mexico led 20-0 late in the second quarter. In the second half, Waynesburg fought back to lead 23-20 before a late touchdown gave Highlands the apparent win. However, the Jackets had one more comeback in them. With 27 seconds left, Rich Dahar threw a 5-yard halfback pass to tight end Bob Miltenberger for the 30-27 victory 

The championship game was held the following week in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Wisconsin-Whitewater had destroyed Central Iowa in the other semi-final 41-16. Few thought Waynesburg had any chance of victory. The star of the game was once again Dahar, who rushed for 233 yards on 41 carries. Ultimately, the Jacket defense held Whitewater to minus 39 yards rushing. The 42-21 victory allowed the team to claim the Amos Alonzo Stagg Trophy. Three future NFL players were on the roster- Don Hermann, Joe Righetti, and Dave Smith. Upon their return to Pittsburgh Airport, the team was greeted by 1,500 fans. That night, hundreds of people gathered in front of the courthouse in a driving rainstorm. Those assembled, “snake-danced” through town in celebration.  The Jackets had broken 25 individual and team records that season.  

The second team being inducted is the 1998 Carmichaels WPIAL and PIAA Championship softball team. 

Coach Rob Cole’s team finished the season 26-0 with 20 shutouts. They were led by pitcher Nikki Gasti, who went 24-0 with 293 strikeouts in 146 innings. She had 18 shutouts and five no-hitters. Her ERA was an astounding 0.14 after she gave up only three runs all seasons.  Gasti was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Player of the Year. That year’s senior class finished their careers with a 79-7 record. That year, the Mikes scored 257 runs on the season and surrendered only seven. Early in the season, they defeated traditional AAA power Connellsville 5-0 as Gasti tossed a perfect game.  

The WPIAL championship game was a 2-0 win over traditional power Sto-Rox. The PIAA playoffs began with a no-hit 5-0 win over District 5 champion Tyrone. Gasti remained dominate in the next round with an 8-0 shutout of the District 9 champion Brookville. They faced Sto-Rox again in the state semi-final. The result was another 2-0 win.

 In the state championship game, the Mikes trailed South Williamsport 2-1 after four innings, thanks to five uncharacteristic errors. It was only the second time all season the team trailed at any point in a game. However, the next four Carmichaels’ runs went unanswered. The rally started when centerfielder Megan Bandish tripled home the tying run with one out. She scored the go-ahead run after Dee Watson reached on an infield single. The Mikes went on to captured the 5-2 victory and the first girls’ PIAA title by any Greene County team.