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Fordthis: first, Lyubov Gurina 6-63/4, all with remarkable Balance Track Club was theCity evokes memories with winBy JOE GARVEYI.-T Sports EditorFORD CITY - The Ford City Sabers brought back those thrilling days of yesteryear Friday.With the ghosts of Rupert, Campbell, Fruehan, Commodore, Hobaugh, Minarcin, Kromka, Mihalik, Russell, Liberto, Senopole, et al looking on. Curt Mead tossed in IK points to lead the Sabers to a 48-32 victory over the Avonworth Antelopes in the opening round of tne WFIAL Class AA playoffs at Ford City High School.The win sends Ford City, the No. 2 team from Section 15AA which improved to 14-9, into the second round against Mohawk Tuesday at a site and time to be determined Mohawk beat Apollo-Ridge 88-56 Friday.Ford City «has one of the most storied legacies in the WFIAL. Its 32 section titles are the most in WPIAL history and it had appeared in 77 playoff games, winnin 44 But before Friday, For City’s last post-season appearance was in the state Class AA championship game in 1979, which it lost to York Catholic.“To get this far, after so many adversities ... They i the players deserve all the credit in the world,” third-year Saber coach Tom Dinga said. “It’s the kids’ night. They had to play the game.They deserve the accolades.”Especially Mead The 6-4 senior forward averaged 64 points a game during the regular season. But on Friday he hit seven of 10 shots from the field, four for four from the line and dished out three assists.Dinga said Mead's been a time bomb waiting to explode“The last two games ... he really started to take charge,” Dinga said. “He’s playing his best ball of the year.”Mead did most of his damage in the second period. Avonworth led 10-9 after the first quarter, but with Mead scoring 12 points Ford City took a 27-17 lead to the locker room.“He killed us in the second quarter,” said Antelope coach Bob Schulz, whose team ended its season at 7-17. “That kid turned the game around.”The Sabers employed an attack that Hube Rupert, who coached Ford City to its first state-cham ame berth in 1948, would ave loved. The Sabers were very deliberate against the Antelopes’ man-to-man, sending men through the lane and passing up 15- and 16-footers for shots inside. Only three of Ford City’s field goals came from outside the paint.‘‘Ford City was very disciplined in their man-to-man offense,” Schulz said. “They played within their game plan and executed pretty well.”Dinga felt like a 5-year-old on Christmas morning when he saw the Antelopes, normally a 2-3 zone team, come out in man-to-man He didn’t feel they could match up with the Sabers. “I thought if we could get man-to-man it was our game,” he said.Defensively, the Sabers sat in a 1-3-1 zone and sandwiched two men around Antelope center Joe Scott. Scott, who averaged 22 points a game during the regular season, had just 12 Friday.“Our game plan going in, from all the reports, was to sag on Scott and keep two men around him at all times and make them beat us from the outside,” Dinga said.And Avonworth obliged by putting up bricks all night. The Antelopes hit just 41.1 percent from the field compared to Ford City’s 50.2 percent Thus, the Sabers never even had to think about going man-to-man.“We didn’t shoot well,” Schulz conceded. ‘‘We haven't done that (shot well) for 23 games this year. We went to a 1-4 in the second half and that opened things up, but we couldn’t hit the easy shot.”Ford City, perhaps being too careful, got a little ragged in the second half and the Antelopes cut the lead to eight with 5:17 left in the game. But John Hileman, who tossed in 10 points, scored a layup and Brian Crytzer tallied twice inside to make the score 44-30 with 2:06 left and put the game out of reach.Although this was Dinga’s first playoff game as a coach, he’s no stranger to post-season pressure. He was a star on Ford City’s 1971 section champions.After the win in the first playoff game ever played in the gym the Ford City faithful affectionately call “The House of Thrills,” Dinga recalled the section clincher 13 years ago. It came down to the next-to-the-last game against Highlands at Ford City. The Saoers won 55-46.Dinga said that game helped him get his team ready for Friday’s contest.“We (the coaches) knew what they (the players) were going through,” he said. “We knew what they felt inside We told them there was no reason to be uptight. We just wanted to thank God for the opportunity.“It was fun. We just wanted to go out and have fun.”The ghosts were pleased.Notes: Ford City playedwithout sixth-man Paul Lhote, who was on a baseball recruiting trip to the Naval Academy ... Avonworth held a 23-14 rebounding advantage ... Ford City committed one fewer turnover, 14-13 ... Both coaches felt the crowd, which was estimated at between 500 and 600 by Ford City Athletic Director Merle Barger, was a factor.AVONWORTH (32)Joe Scott 4 4 5 12, Dave Taylor 2 0 2 4, Leo Bonner 4 0 0 8, Mark Evans 0 0 0 0, Dennis Morris 2 0 0 4, Steve Graf 000 0, John Stearns 2 0 0 4, Ron Simpson 0 0 0 0. Totals 14 4 7 32.FORD CITY (48)Bret Baillie 2 115, Brian Kovalov sky 2 12 5, Curt Mead 7 4 4 18, Brian Crytzer 4 0 2 8, John Hileman 5 0 0 10, Tom StewartOO 00, Fred WalbertOO 0 0, Shawn Johnson 1 0 0 2, Dan Bearer 0 0 0 0. Totals 21 6 9 48.Avonworth 10 7 9 6 — 32 Ford City 9 18 8 13 — 48bowling resultsFord City IndustrialAs of Feb 14, league standings are:(1) Jednota Br 200 (14 4); (2) St. Mary's Ukes (14 4); (3) Rig's Place (12 6); (4) Bish Motors (10 8); (5) Faykosh Funeral Home (9 9); (6) Max's Barber Shop (7 11); (7) Wolfe Agency (8 13); (8) Ford City Beer Dist. (5 13); (9) Ford City Eagles (5 16).Jednota had the high team game, 894, along with the high team series, 2596.Individuals with high series were: A. Marcinek, 557, and C. Lefchik, 551Individuals with high games were: J. Myschisin, 214; C Gilbert, 213; J. Lux, 211
Newspaper Details
Kittanning Leader Times
Kittanning, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Feb 25, 1984
Page 6
Full Page
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USA 13 Jan 2022
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