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10—THE VALLEY INDEPENDENT, Wednesday, March 7,1979Burrell bumps Ringgold in two overtimes, 64-62Ringgold's fticfc Webb drives in for basket and three-point play which sent game into overtime with a little over a minute remaining. lt;Warren Park photos)By BRIAN HERMAN, Sports Editor It started out as a perfect . tuneup for Ringgold High’s basketball team for a rematch with top-seeded Beaver Falls for the WP1AL Class AAA championship.There were the Rams jumping out to a 29-14 first quarter lead in last night's semifinal game with Burrell at the Civic Arena.There was Rick Webb doing the scoring and Skip Koskoski dominating the boards.There were the Rams scoring 10 straight points in one two-minute stretch to open a 17 point lead (27-10) with a little over a minute remaining in the opening quarter.There was no way it appeared, the Rams wouldn't be returning to the Arena Friday for a title shot and a chance to avenge an earlier two point loss at home to Beaver Falls.It didn't end that way, however.A noisy crowd of 5,828 watched Burrell battle back to outlast the Rams, 64-62. in two overtimes.“We iusl ran out of gas.” said a disappointed Ringgold Coach Fran LaMendola. “We came out running and were hot. And then we just went cold and were hesitant about a lot of things. Burrell, meanwhile. kept popping away and kept hitting.”The Rams took an 11 point lead (36-27) into the dressing room at halftime and saw the margin trimmed to five (46-41) at the end of the third quarter before the Bucs went ahead for the first time at 49-48 on the first of three baskets by Brian Sharick with 4:29 remaining.Ringgold gets week off before state debutRinggold High's basket* bailers will have a week off before playing again Wednesday in ’the PI A A (state) Class AAA playoffs.The Rams will be travelling toeither Indiana or Clarion.If Beaver Falls defeats Burrell in Friday's WPIAL championship game, the Rams will go to Clarion for an 8:30 p.m. contest against the District 9 champion.A Burrell win would send the Sec. 3 champs to Indiana where they would oppose the third place team from District Bat 7p.m.Ringgold athletic director Paul Zolak will sell tickets Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Donora Campus and from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. at theMonongahela Campus.The loss dropped the Rams to 27-3 with all the defeats cdming by two points. Burrell u{*ped its record to 26-2.Burrell shot 56 percent (28 of 50) compared to 42 percent (25 of 58) for the Hams. Ringgold made only five field goals in the second half.Damon Bryant's 17 points carried Beaver Falls to a $2-53 win in the first game over Wilkinsburg.The Tigers, however, may have lost the services of starting forward Ivan Howard with a shoulder injury.Wait Bowyer lopped Wilkinsburg with a game-high 18 points.In playoff games for the state event. Valley clobbered Chariiers Valley 88-78 and Fox Chapel downed Latrobe66-51.Bill Varner scored 26 points to lead Valley while Chris Peta had 32 for the Colts.Dave Udanis scored 26 point and grabbed 14 rebounds in Fox Chapel's victory.So rematch!BURRELL—44Here and thereFG FPtsSharick -- -........135-631Haiev.............30-06Myers —.........90018Flaherty . •.......\022ClarK ... .......23-47Mltt^recJer......0000lUvfc...... ...o000Tofais........2e8.1264RINGGOLD—62FGFPtsLyon.....?Cl5Koskoski •. ... i£-i12wteb • •.117i29Sloan .50110Brown• ■ 30 06Chatiak. .......0000Totals ..... . .2512 U62Sccre by periods:Ringgold . . 29 9 e 7 ? 7—6?Burr?IJ.....14 13 )a 12 1 9—64Officials: Susiapd Loca«)is.AN: S,62s.BEAVER FALLS—67 FG FBryant........Collins.....Howard.......M«l«........Wallace. - .Grant............. 5Totals........26WILKINSBURG—S3 FG Pni.d0-03 31-2 2 2 10 15Aboiflgton Porter — Bowyer... Ward. — Ryan■ A . A• e.1J2.5od2.200125-Pts1?56-1391242PIS10816215S3Charleroimakes move in basketballBy BRIAN HERMAN, Sports EditorCharleroi Area High’s basketballers won’t be playing in Class AAA's Sec. 3 next season.Neither will Brownsville Area.The mid-Mon Valley's lone Class AAA loop will be losing two of its nine members since Charleroi and Brownsville have both submitted letters to the WPIAL requesting moves to Class AA.‘it wasn't an easy decision but it was made for the players' sake,” claimed Charleroi Coach Phil Pergola who opposed a similar move a year ago.“Teaching at Mon Valley Catholic I saw what getting into the playoffs can do for a school's enthusiasm, he said. “We could be competitive in Class AAA but being realistic I'm not sure we'd ever be the team to beat or have a shot at winning the section. We could in Class AA.In his second year at Charleroi after seven seasons at Mon Valley Catholic, Pergola posted a 17-10 record including 9-7 in Sec. 3 for fourth place behind Ringgold, Uniontown and Belle Vernon Area.“We knocked off Uniontown the past season but we were also beaten by a fifth place team (Laurel Highlands), he said.“Moving to Class AA doesn't guarantee success/’ he continued. “It takes just as much work, maybe more. You only have five boys on the floor at one time.“If we Ye putin Sec. 11, it won’t be easy. Greensburg Central has all their starters back and Southmoreland returns four starters. Frazier. Beth-Center and Albert Gallatin usually have good teams and Mon Valley Catholic is always tough.“We bad to consider our kids. We had a good junior high team but they lost to teams from Ringgold and Belle Vernon Area. And Uniontown is a prime candidate to win the section for the next three-four years.”According to Pergola, Charleroi athletic director Stan Milcbovich’s recommendation the last several years to make a move carried plenty of weight.“Stan gets around as an official and he sees what’s happening at the other schools,” he said. “He has nothing to gain by staying or not. He had a lot to do with the decision.”Outside of Monessen (559students), Charleroi (647) and Brownsville (717) were the smallest schools in Sec. 3 which also includes Ringgold, Uniontown, Belle Vernon Area, Laurel Highlands, Connellsville and Yough.“From a coach's standpoint it would have been better to stay because winning on the triple-A level carries more weight than in double-A,” added Pergola. “But 1 had to put my ego aside. We were going to make a move in 1980 anyway so why punish the kids like the WPIAL did the football team for another year.”Totals........2 aScore by periods:Wilkinsburg.......9 16 17 11—53Beaver Falls......20 9 22 9—62Officials: Hill end Ferber.Basketball title to Hoss’LoungeHoss’ Lounge won the Monongahela Community Center basketball championship recently by defeating Belie Vernon, three games to none, in the playoffs.4hFISHERSBIG WHEELCharleroi Chamber Plaza1979 FISHING LICENSESNOW AVAILABLEIn Our Sporting Goods DepartmentSharick gave Burrell a 53*50 lead with 2:54 to go and it stayed that way until Webb turned a steal into a three-point play with 1:11 remaining.Holding the ball and calling a pair of timeouts the second with 11 seconds to go. Burrell had to settle for overtime when Sharick missed on a drive with three seconds onthe clock.Webb and Burrell’s Shawn Clark traded baskets in the opening two minutes of the first overtime for the only scoring as the Bucs froze the ball for the final minute until missing with seven seconds to go and the Rams' Mike Sloan failed on a desperation shot with five seconds logo.Burrell scored the first six points of the second overtime on baskets by Joe Myers and Sharick sandwiched around Clark's two free throws with 1:3! to go.The Rams cut the lead to 62* 60 with 31 seconds left when Webb made the first of two free throws with 31 seconds remaining but Tom Haley grabbed the rebound and Sharick sank two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to up the lead to four and ice the victory before Koskoski scored with seven seconds (eft.There was no question that Sharick, a 5-10 junior, was the hero for the Bucs.He scored a career-high 31 points including 1$ in the second half and five tn the second overtime. Sharick went eight for 12 in the final 22 minutes and finished with 13 of 20. most from the outside.That’s where the Rams lost the game, according to LaMendola.“We didn't get many points from the outside in the second half.” he claimed, “Our outside shooters weren’t hitting.”The Rams' Brian Lyon (2of 12) and Mike Sloan (5 of 12) combined for only four points after intermission and Lyon finished with a season-low five points.“There’s no way you can win scoring 15 points in a half,” added LaMendola.While the Rams’ baekcourl was having its problems, that wasn't the case with Webb until the second half.He finished with 29 points and is rebounds but made only three of nine shots from the floor after the first half. In the opening 16 minutes he made eight straight shots after missing his first attempt and collected 17 points.“We held Webb down in the second half by cutting him offBattling for rebound is Ringgold's Brian Lyon (32) with Burrell's Joe Myers (25).The Rams* Darnell Littleton grabs rebound in front of Bucs’Shawn Clark.Stacke r dream shatteredBv MIKE BODURAFor a few seconds, it didn't even hurt.Then the realization of the physical pain was joined by the mental anguish which accompanies a freak injury that gets the best of a dream, not to mention a year's hard workPain’s two dimensions made last Wednesday an agonizing day for Jamie Stache, Charleroi Area High's super swimmer“It was an ordinary gym class.” Stache recalled. “I fell and everybody came over to help me up. They asked if I was okay and I said I felt all right.“Then I looked at my arm and it was bent up. I realized the pain was there.”A broken wrist is bad enough, but the timing of Staehe’s injury couldn't be worse“It’s too bad it couldn't have happened next week,” Stache said. “My first words when I saw my wrisL were, There goes States.' That's the first thing I said to my gym teacher.”The P1AA (State) swimming championships begin Thursday. This Thursday. Depending on which way it's looked al, thev are scheduled either loo earlv or too late for Siache thanks to his untimely gym class fall.Stache had qualified for theA1' * Is e *^V;i *This is tho doses! Charleroi Area High swimmer ‘State! championships ihis week. Becauseof theJamie Siache will gel to the pool for a long lime, injury. Stache. a junior, must wail until nextAn untimely gym class fall resulted in a broket) 'ear t0 (ry am* coP 3 State crown,wrist for Stache, who was to swim in the PIAA .....season and wasbeen a different story,” saidBurrell Coach Tony Sellari. fct#* mn.AtThis is the first time I ever !ESis “ h„e WPIA^saw Webb and he's a lot bet ter champmnsh'ps two weeksthan I thought. He’s more hl l ll,a',C6d „t0physical and aggressive than the State finals two years agoValley’s Bill Varner.”Sellari was also impressed with Koskoski who grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds including 10 in the first half. The Rams held a 34-29 advantage under the boards.“That No. 52 (Koskoski) is a gooa one ana i'm surprised there aren’t more college scouts after him,” he said.While Webb and Koskoski were battling with Burrell’s Myers, who scored 19 points, it was Sharick who walked off with most of the honors.“It was by far my best shooting night, smiled Sharick.The Burrell guard wasn’t surprised to see the Bucsvault my elbow gave way,” he describes. “I fell over and when I twisted to try andbreak my fall, I landed on my catch up with it.”Mrwnu ntiuuy cutting miii on f^on/tiw^n^Ss^hr^ Starting to come aroundin the middle or ,t roay have “ ^finfshing fo^th ^ The the elbow rebelled lastboth the lflO and 200-yard Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.Stache said he was doing handsprings off the vault when the accident occurred. “When I sprung over theas a freshman in two backstroke events.Surgery in May on Stache’s left elbow forced him to switch from the backstroke lo the freestyle this season.However, it didn’t make hisperformances any less impressive. His times at the WPIAL meet (48.6 in the 100and 1:48.2 in the 200) were thebest of his career.“After the surgery, my elbow didn’t really like the way I did the backstroke,”Stache said “The elbow bothered me most of thishas once agarn a cement lifejust really Stale championships Now fate ’• tossed him preserver.“Next year. That’s what I'm looking forward to,” said Stache, only a junior. I'mfoing to work extra hard to uild up the rest of my body. Then when the cast comes off. I’m going to let my left armwrist.Stache’s left wrist was broken in three places. He is in a full arm cast. After three weeks the cast will be cut below the elbow. It will be removed in approximately six weeks, which isn’t nearly quick enough for Siache.“Once in a while I think about it and it still upsets me,” Stache said. “But I think I’m over the main part of it. It still dawns on me once in a while,”Stache hasn’t been com-game against Valley,“The breaks were with us,” pletely healthy since his fresh-he said. “We weren’t putting man year. Last season, when, . enough pressure on them he was bothered by the elbow• R?m$ early. But we knew they he hurt more than a year ago,like they did in their previous couldn’t keen ud that pace.” Stache failed to qualify for theStache will get another chance but he still must live with the nagging thought of, “What if he hadn't broken his wrist?”“1 think I could have done a lot better than I have in the past, Siache said. “Well, at least this will give my elbow some rest.”However, only a State championship next year could soothe all of Jamie Slaehe’s pain.Bentworth plays for title to nip hiBentworth will try to bring 7he WPIAL Class A basketball championship back lo Sec. 16 when it plays Cornell for the title tonight at Charliers Valley High. Tipoff is9 p.m.The Sec. 16 champion Bearcats i2l-l) will be trying to duplicate the feat of last year’s section champ Geibel. which won the WPIAL title on the way to the State championship.Standing in the way of back-to-back Sec. 16 dominance is Sec. 18 champ Cornell (24-2).Bentworth won its semifinal game over Union. 78-46. while Cornell advanced by whipping St. Mary, 82-65.Both teams have already qualified for the PIAA (State) playoffs.the most innovativedriving lightsP IEIINi AND CEILING SALEOWE WEEK ONLY-MARCH 7 lo 14GEORGIA - PACIFIC PANELING4?xS'x5/32Driving lamps62Dftving Lights Pair, ■n^'vjviv*»](■ j'.f’.\ ”•! f“*: ,-?■ lt;*. v.-C.\. ij /p,c i i r;n! • n ) r»i f. r C-. 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Newspaper Details
Monessen Valley Independent
Monessen, Pennsylvania, US
Wed, Mar 07, 1979
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PA, USA 02 May 2020
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