With fall around the corner, I thought I might revisit the halcyon days of high school football in the County. The 1960s were filled with local gridiron success at all levels.
The Waynesburg Raiders opened the decade with a second straight Class A Southwest Conference title after finishing 8-1 overall. However, a non-conference 13-7 loss to Masontown kept them out of the playoffs. Cary Rush and Dick Baker were both named to the All-WPIAL Team. That year, Waynesburg and Jefferson-Morgan ended their football series that had begun in 1934. Jefferson wanted the game to be the first of the season, but Waynesburg insisted it be last. Waynesburg would not have been able to play until the second weekend in November because their conference schedule was longer. They felt such a late date would interfere with winter sports practices. The series would not resume for 15 years.
The decade also started well for the Maple Leafs when they finished as Co-Champions of the Class B Southwest Conference after going 7-2. They also won the County Class B Championship for the second straight year. John Zaby was the top scorer in the county and Francis Nickler received Honorable Mention on the All-State Team. Nickler went on to play at WVU.
The Democrat Messenger listed the WPIAL boy’s enrollment figures for football classifications in 1961. They were as follows: Waynesburg 491, Carmichaels 373, Jefferson 330, Mapletown 295, West Greene 249 and Mt. Morris 58. Although they were the second smallest school in the WPIAL, the Mt. Morris Blackhawks finished 2-6-2 in their final year. Interestingly, the victories were against a powerful Pt. Marion team and Valley High School, who had been on an 18-game win streak. After that season, Bob Kennedy and Wayne Kiger received Honorable Mention on the Class B All-WPIAL Team.
That season, the Raiders won the Southwestern Conference for the third straight season with a 7-2 (7-0) record. At Mapletown, John Kelly was named to the All-WPIAL Class B First Team. Chuck Wallace, Bob Taylor, Don Lewis and John Zaby all received Honorable Mention. The squad had finished 6-1-2 with the only loss coming against Avella, the Class B Champions. Lewis led the county in scoring with 113 points. Elsewhere in the county. Jefferson’s Ed Janco was named Class B First Team All-WPIAL. Bill Minerd, John Sellers and John Knapik received Honorable Mention. West Greene guards Richard Johnston and Dave Riffle were also named to the First Team, while Jack Patterson received Honorable Mention.
In 1962 Carmichaels won their third WPIAL Football Championship. The squad finished the regular season 9-0, then met Rostraver in the title game. The WPIAL Championship game on November 16 against Rostraver ended in a 0-0 tie. Six thousand fans endured the pouring rain and watched as both teams struggled to move the ball in “a sea of mud”. Halfback Glenn “The Rabbit” Ellsworth set a new county scoring record with 139 points. Future college and NFL star, Joe Taffoni was named to the Big 33 Team as well as First Team All-WPIAL. He was joined on the Class A WPIAL team by Ellsworth and center Ed Vuknic. Joe Lencewicz and Mike Fedorko received Honorable Mention.
Waynesburg merged with Mt. Morris that season and jumped back to Class A as a result. Guard Bill Buchanon was named Class A First Team All-WPIAL. Joe Rohanna (G), Mike George (T), and Jim Meighen (FB) received Honorable Mention
The following year, Carmichaels finished 5-2-1 and was once again led by Ellsworth, who was named to the All-WPIAL Team and Honorable-Mention Class A All-State. He was joined on the All-State team by James Boggio and James Stewart. Ellsworth led the Tr-County area in scoring with 114 points, while Boggio was second with 71 points. Guard Larry Simmons was named to the All-WPIAL Team. After the season, Coach Fred Stuvek asked the school board to allow the team to compete at the Class B level because of declining enrollment. The board refused to make the move.
That season, former West Greene star Jerry Yost became WVU’s first All-American quarterback in his junior season for the Mountaineers. He would go on to play for the New York Jets.
In 1963, the Richhill Grays (Richhill and Gray Townships) joined the East End Wildcats, West End Steelers and Bonar Bears in the Waynesburg Little League. That season was also the first at the new West Greene field. The Pioneers lost the opening game to Carmichaels by a score of 41-26. Over 1,000 people attended the game that night.
In 1964, a local columnist called on officials to play day games because of “rowdyism”. John Yasenka, Frank Timlin and Keith Haney received All-WPIAL Honorable Mention for Jefferson Morgan. West Greene had a successful year going 6-2, losing only to Peters Township and East Washington. The 1964 season concluded with future Mike coach and athletic director John Krajnak intercepting four errant passes in a victory over arch-rival Waynesburg.
The highlights of 1965 included a 7-2 record for Carmichaels with the future President of the UMW, Rich Trumpka, at quarterback. West Greene’s Kevin Guthrie won the county scoring title with 90 points despite playing only eight games. After a career at Cal State, Pioneer alum Marvin Watson played for the Pennsylvania Mustangs and the Pittsburgh Ironmen in the North American Football League during that season.
The following year, Fred Stuvek took over the Mike’s pivot from Trumpka and went on to play at the Naval Academy. Four years later, he was named the MVP of the Army/ Navy game. One of the few bright spots in the decade for Jefferson was a 7-2 record that year.
That was also the year Waynesburg went 8-0-1 and won the 1966 Southwestern Conference Class B Title. The other teams in the Conference were Avella, Bentworth, Beth-Center, Burgettstown, McGuffey, California, West Greene, Chartiers-Houston and Peters Township. The conference concept was very odd at that time. Teams did not play a “conference schedule”, so Avella was chosen for the WPIAL title game because they had more Gardner Points.
Although the Raiders had easily run through the rest of their schedule, a non-conference 0-0 tie against Albert Gallatin kept both teams out of the playoffs. Running back Dave Adams won the county scoring title that season with 54 points. Team Captain Paul Wright ended up playing at the University of Michigan, and Dan Morgan played at the University of Delaware. Lineman Bill Brunofsky went on to win a state wrestling title that year. The Raiders 1967 and 1968 teams both had winning records at 5-3-1 and 6-3, respectively
In 1968, Interstate 79 opened to Washington County making it easier to schedule teams from the north. Mapletown went undefeated that year, yet did not make the playoffs. They had dominated their schedule. However, the Maples were not invited to the playoffs because they lacked enough Gardner points. Their running back Jay Caldwell won the County scoring title with 71 points and 11 touchdowns.
In the final year of the decade, Carmichaels’ Vic Lapkowicz and Steve Toth were each named to the All-WPIAL Class B Team. Lapkowicz received a scholarship to Rutgers. Other successful Mikes at the end of the decade include Tom McCombs and Phil Staun, who went on to play for Lafayette, and Bob Mahle, who was named the County’s 1969 Player of the Year.
I just wanted to point out that it was Joe Caldwell that won the all county scoring title for Mapletown not Jay Caldwell.