100 years: Carmichaels football celebrates its centennial season
Members of the Cumberland Township Redbirds鈥� first team in 1923 were (front row, from left) Harold Allison, Carl Shields, Ray Neil, Clyde Cunningham, (middle row, from left) Charles Condit, Harold Snodgrass, Elmer Marquis, Lawrence Williams, (back row, from left) Bobby Ruth, Bill Condit, Raymond Randolph, Columbus B. Henry and head coach Harry McHenry. (Submitted photo)
Larry Krutko, who was a two-way starter as a sophomore on Cumberland Township蘑菇视频 1952 WPIAL championship team, is shown during his playing days at West Virginia. (Submitted photo)
The 1952 Cumberland Township football team went 11-0 and won the school蘑菇视频 second of three WPIAL championships. (Submitted photo)
The 2022 football season marks the centennial season for Carmichaels High School football. There will be a celebration marking the event during the Sept. 2 home football game against Fort Cherry.
Before the start of the game, the Mikes will have a mid-field ceremony. Honorary co-captain for the game, Milos 鈥淪erb鈥� Krewasky who graduated from Carmichaels in 1956 and played on two undefeated football teams, will present to the 2022 Mikes football team the 100th Season football, representing all the prior football teams at the school.
鈥淚鈥檓 pleased that they are recognizing me in the ceremony,鈥� Krewasky said. 鈥淚 tried to get them to get Larry Krutko, but he hasn鈥檛 been feeling good. I鈥檓 84 and he would be probably 87. But I鈥檓 pleased that they asked me to hand off the 100 year football.鈥�
Carmichaels football historian Gary Osborn gave me an overview of the history of Carmichaels football.
In 1923, Cumberland Township High School was located in the building behind Yoskovitch Funeral Home. It was later known as the Central school. They practiced in the lot behind the rec center where Zalar蘑菇视频 dance studio is. The football field was located where the present VFW is located. They played there until 1928 when the new high school field was completed.
G. Wilbur Kiester was the principal at Cumberland Township High School from 1920 to 1934. He oversaw the development of the football program and the transition to the new high school in 1929. In 1925 he personally hired Darwin Venen to teach as well as develop the football program.
The first year the school began playing football was in 1923. They played as independents in 1923 and 1924. There are no records except for incomplete newspaper accounts. The first full schedule of football from which won-lost records are taken was in the fall of 1925.
Here are the school records minus 1923 and 1924:
n Cumberland Township 鈥� 198-110-31 in 339 games (64.2 winning percentage).
n Carmichaels Area 鈥� 313-253-7 in 573 games (55.3 winning percentage).
n School totals 鈥� 511-363-38 in 912 games (58.5 winning percentage).
鈥淔ootball and baseball have always been very important to the community,鈥� Krewasky stated. 鈥淚t was a family tradition. With all the old timers passing on and their kids moving away it蘑菇视频 a different breed. There蘑菇视频 a lot of people here that I don鈥檛 know, and I鈥檝e been around here most of my life.鈥�
鈥淚 think there蘑菇视频 great pride in the program and great community support,鈥� former Mikes player and coach John Menhart said. 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 always been a tight-knit group. You had coaches that played and then coached. Personally, I coached fathers and then coached sons. I coached a lot of kids whose fathers I played with at Carmichaels. It was old school. I think of the old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. It was kind of that type of atmosphere.
鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to lose that now. A lot of the old names are going and there蘑菇视频 an infusion of young people who weren鈥檛 part of that back then.鈥�
The Mikes were unbeaten in 1952 and 1953.
鈥淚 was a freshman and sophomore on those two teams,鈥� Krewasky recalled. 鈥淭here were some tough guys on those teams. Everybody pitched in. Joe Cielensky was the quarterback, Tom Colbert was a fullback, Krutko was a halfback and Jimmy Haught was a halfback. Back when I played we had anywhere from 45 to 60 guys out for football.
鈥淚 played quarterback and defensive back, once in awhile I played linebacker. I didn鈥檛 play my first year. My second year I got to play because they would run the score up 20 or 30 to nothing and they would put us in.鈥�
Krutko has great memories of his days playing for Cumberland, now Carmichaels.
Krutko was a two-way player at running back and linebacker/defensive tackle. He starred as a sophomore on the 1952 Cumberland squad that posted an 11-0 mark and captured the WPIAL Class B championship.
鈥淲e had a bunch of good guys on that team,鈥� Krutko remembered. 鈥淛erry Urda and Jim Haught later went on to play with me at West Virginia. Tom Colbert played at Waynesburg and John Jazwa went on to play at Morris Harvey. We had some very good players.鈥�
Krutko set a single-season regular season Greene County scoring record with 99 points. His total for the year was 127 points when the playoffs were included. He garnered All-County and All-WPIAL honors.
With the majority of the lettermen back from the preceding year, the 1953 Mikes put together another undefeated team. That year they finished 9-0. The biggest problem Cumberland faced that year was that no one wanted to schedule them. The Gardner Point system had been altered so that a team had to play a minimum of five schools in its class and 100 Gardner points were given for a win. Additionally, 10 points were given for each win and five points for each game the victim would win or tie. The total points would then be divided by five for a final result. In 1953, the Mikes were seven Gardner points out of the playoffs
鈥淲e were undefeated, but we didn鈥檛 get into the playoffs because we didn鈥檛 have enough Gardner points.鈥� Krutko lamented. 鈥淲e were very disappointed that we didn鈥檛 get a chance to defend our championship.鈥�
The rivalry with Jefferson-Morgan was always intense.
鈥淲e had a great rivalry with Jefferson-Morgan,鈥� Krewasky said. 鈥淚t was always brutal with them. Ben Parker was the coach over there and he was something.鈥�
Al Cree coached the 1952 and 1953 teams and coached the Mikes from 1945 to 1953, compiling a record of 58-19-6.
鈥淐oach Cree was something else,鈥� Krewasky explained. 鈥淗e coached all three sports: basketball, baseball and football. He was a winner in all three sports. I played basketball and baseball and I ran a little track as a senior.鈥�
The Carmichaels coaching lineage is interesting. From 1925 to 2002 Carmichaels had six football coaches: Venen, Cree, Fred Stuvek, Vic Lapkowicz, Tom McCombs and Menhart.
鈥淯ntil the end of my career I think there were only five head coaches in football,鈥� Menhart said. 鈥淏ut now that蘑菇视频 changed, we had Mike Bosnic after I left and then after my second stint from 2009 to 2012 we鈥檝e had two more coaches since I left. So there has been a turnover.鈥�
Menhart reflected on his time as a player and a coach at Carmichaels.
鈥淭he 2001-2002 team was special,鈥� Menhart. 鈥淢y son played and that was a good group of kids. I think of my group in the 70s, all great guys.鈥�
Carmichaels has had three WPIAL championship teams: 1935 Cumberland Township Class B Co-Champions, 1952 Cumberland Township Class B Champions and 1962 Cumberland Township Class A Co-Champions.
Pregame, Krewasky will complete the 100th anniversary football hand-off to the 2022 Mikes football team.
鈥淜rewasky was chosen to do that because he is Carmichaels,鈥� Menhart stated. 鈥淗e is part of this program, he蘑菇视频 been at every game for the last 50 years. He has a little bar in the community. He is Carmichaels. You see him everywhere. He has a true love for the community and he has a true love for Carmichaels football.鈥�
The festivities include a tailgate to be held for the public and all former football players, cheerleaders, and band members inside the stadium from 5 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. for the Sept. 2 game with Fort Cherry.
In addition, the school has assembled, for the public to view, a museum of Mikes football memorabilia and it invites everyone to see this collection anytime from 5 p.m. until the end of halftime, in the show room at the top of the field house.
There will be special giveaways, and other activities by the band, cheerleaders, and Quarterback Club. The school is inviting all former alumni, community residents, and supporters to attend this 100th year football season, and this special night, in Carmichaels.
John Krajnak has been athletic director at Carmichaels for 41 years and is looking forward to the centennial celebration of Carmichaels football.
鈥淥ur community has always been supportive of our football program,鈥� Krajnak said. 鈥淭he committee has worked real hard at putting this together led by Gary Osborn and Cassie Menhart and it looks like it蘑菇视频 going to be real nice evening and real enjoyable for everybody.鈥�
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.