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FloraFrom page 17?lora family playing football. I vouldn’t settle for anything less han that.”And that, as anyone familiar vith this family of athletes mows, is simply the Flora way.Sam was a hard-nosed player or New Castle High during the 940s. Although only 5-foot-5, he ulled his way to all-WPIAL hon-irable mention honors before gong on to a semi-professional ca-eer.Sam A., now 42 years old and he trainer for New Castle High, tarred for the Red Hurricanerom 1967-69. Denny Sr. followed uit from 1969-71 and Ricky fur-her padded the family stats rom 1974-76. Denny Sr. is cur-ently an assistant coach at New !astle High, while Ricky is a inth grade coach at Shenango.Sam A. is the school’s eighth 11-time leading rusher with 1,718 ards. Denny Sr. is 12th in career ushing with 1,235 yards. Ricky, ie quickest of the brothers, as rell as the smallest at 5-7, also tarred in track.Add to that group John Flora,Sam’s nephew, another current New Castle assistant coach who was a standout flank-er/cornerback from 1976-78, and the name Flora is quite visible in New Castle High record books.They were all upstaged, however, by Denny Jr., who became New Castle’s all-time leading rusher by bobbing and weaving his way for 3,216 yards on 585 carries during the past three years. Unlike the others, Denny Jr. was the first Flora never to play on a winning team in high school. The three ’Canes teams on which he starred won just eight games.Sam says he saw Denny Jr. coming for quite some time.“When Denny was 5 years old,I told his dad he was going to be a good one someday,” Sam said. “I remember saying, ‘look at the way he moves, Den.’ He had that instinct, you could see it already.Denny Jr. was so good, in fact, that he stayed on Sam’s East Side Rams team for just one game.“He was 13 years old, in eighth grade, and he scored four touchdowns in the first midget game he played,” Sam said. “We called Lindy (then-New Castle head coach Lindy Lauro) andsent him right up to the juniorhigh.”There are more Floras where Denny Jr. came from.Denny Jr.’s brother, Joey, is an outstanding ninth-grade tailback at New Castle. Sam A.’s son, Sam IV, was the star quarterback for the ninth grade team as well, although he may break from the mold a bit and make basketball his forte.Ricky’s boys, Drue and David, are up-and-coming stars in the Shenango Pee Wee system.Even the girls, Rachel and Dana, are cheerleaders.It is a close family, these Floras. Each Sunday, they gather at the East Side home of Sam and Lucille Flora on Thorpe St., where Lucille prepares six pounds of pasta and more than 50 meatballs for a group of 16-18 children and grandchildren.In recent weeks, they have clustered as a group around their patriarch, Sam, who is battling an illness.“It’s a good family, good kids raising more good kids,” Sam said. “I’ve really enjoyed watch- * ing them grow. It’s been a whale *of a ride.” !
Newspaper Details
New Castle News Weekend
New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Nov 26, 1994
Page 20
Full Page
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USA 02 Dec 2021
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