Lilly Raiders 1967: Part two, the season when Joe Sweeney became the “go-to guy”

Denny Lazar, a member of the 1967 team, still has his Raiders jacket 56 years later

… we exploded in a great start to the season

While the preseason started inauspiciously, the regular season erupted with an explosion as the Raiders rolled out to two consecutive victories. The wins over St. Aloysius of Cresson and Holy Name of Ebensburg were not close. 

I have the starters listed below, to the best of my recollection, with John (Boob) Saparo the quarterback, Joe the tailback, and Dave McLucas and John Sweeney the halfbacks 

We were using the offense that Jack had for his first six years, one that Coach Emil Salony used in the 1940s and 50s. After rolling to two rather easy wins, we went to Portage to face St. Joseph’s, and that game was tougher, as Joe Sweeney recalls, leading to a change in strategy,

As the season progressed and we continued to having success running the ball and as the team continued to succeed (win) our confidence continued to grow, at one point maybe to the point of being overconfident.  But winning sure was fun.

That bring us to our first game against Portage.  As far as us being tied in that game was disappointing and I think it surprised us as a team that we didn’t win.  We had won our first 2 games rather easily and maybe it led to us being overconfident entering our meeting with Portage. 

 As a team I think we thought this game would be easy too.  I think the tie was good for us as a team.  It helped us to understand that we had to do more than just show up to win, that we had to be ready to give our best effort. I believe we played our best football of the season from there to the end of the season.  Which brings us to the second Portage game.

Joe Sweeney, recollections via email. 

The game was close, but we had opportunities that we did not take advantage off in the game. 

For instance, for the extra point, I had called a little out pattern. Donnie Beck, the end, stood in the end zone wide open, but the QB dropped the ball as he rolled out. 

However, that forced me to talk with Coach Erzal about changing the offense. We had a number of options, but we decided to put in the Single-Wing with an unbalanced line, something that the old-timers used many years previously. 

That single-wing was a precursor to the contemporary spread offense, with the tailback being right behind the center, the other running back beside him, and the two halfbacks in a blocking position. 

The Single-Wing, the spread before the spread

Since Joe Sweeney could run and pass, installing the Single-Wing proved to be a great decision.  It fit the skill levels and strengths of that team.

Joe recalls what he thought about the change, 

As the season progressed and we continued to having success running the ball and as the team continued to succeed (win) our confidence continued to grow, at one point maybe to the point of being overconfident.  But winning sure was fun.

That bring us to our first game against Portage.  As far as us being tied in that game was disappointing and I think it surprised us as a team that we didn’t win.  We had won our first 2 games rather easily and maybe it led to us being overconfident entering our meeting with Portage. 

 As a team I think we thought this game would be easy too.  I think the tie was good for us as a team.  It helped us to understand that we had to do more than just show up to win, we had to be ready to give our best effort. 

I believe we played our best football of the season from there to the end of the season.  Which brings us to the second Portage game.

Joe Sweeney, recollections via email 

The Single-Wing offense, Lilly Raider style

One of the great advantages of the Single Wing was that we had Joe in control, but we also had some outstanding linemen who had matured under Coach Erzal’s tutelage. 

What we were able to do was put Bobby Sloan and Bob Mardula side by side on the strong side, with Dave Stossel the other guard. Bob Mardula was in his first year but had improved significantly, and Bob Sloan had been a starter the previous season and was our most experience lineman. 

Our center was Tim Tickerhoof, who had to learn to make the snap to Joe, and did well. The other guard, Dave Sibis became the off-side lineman. 

Our ends were Chet Beres and Donnie Beck. Chet became the strong side end and was a strong blocker, while Donnie was a good receiver. 

What made the offense so tough was that Joe could start to the side as if to run and the would pull up and throw. We were able to sneak Dave McLucas and John Sweeney out of the backfield, too, and since they were just about 75 pounds and quick, they were hard to cover. 

Dave recalled playing in that offense, 

The offense was a single-wing type with multiple applications of running and passing. I remember mostly running with a lot of deception and misdirection. Pat McCoy  and Joe Sweeney were very tough runners (and tough guys).

Dave McLucas recollection via email, 2021

In the Single Wing, Joe could start off tackle and Dave or John would turn around and take the ball from him and pitch it to Pat McCoy who would sprint around the end. 

Second game proved overwhelmingly who was best

While the St. Joes Flames may have caught us off-guard the first time, that did not happen once we installed the Single-Wing and got our heads on straight. 

The result was overwhelming. I had no scores to give you, but maybe someone has them recorded somewhere. However, I do remember the score of the second St. Joe’s game was something like 38 or 39 to 6.

The Raiders were simply dominant. Joe ran all over them, our defense was dominant, and we made some fabulous special teams plays. 

Pat McCoy made me look kind of stupid — and scored the final TD

One of the plays that I will never forget was a punt return. Because of the tough play of the defense and great punting by Pat McCoy, we had trapped the Flames deep inside their territory. 

We had a chance to trap them for a safety, but they remained inside the five-yard line. So, on fourth down, they lined up to punt. Coach Erzal and I told them not to rough the kicker, but he still got off a short punt. 

I was yelling to everyone to get away from the ball and to Pat McCoy to just let it drop. 

That was not Pat. He eyed the ball at about the 30-yard line and then picked it off in the midst of four or five Portage defenders going full speed and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown. 

Final score: 39-6, I think. Six touchdowns to one, for certain. 

Special teams were strong all year

In addition to having a great offense and defense by the end of that season, we played well on special teams. Much of that was due to Pat’s kicking, but we had other big players. 

Against Holy Name defensive end Denny Lazar showed how that worked,

I remember blocking a punt against Holy Name and Joe Sweeney picked up the ball and ran it in for a touchdown. 

Denny Lazar recollections via email, 2020 

The intangibles

Part of success involves playing together as a team, and that is why football involves so much work. Joe Sweeney said that the 1967 had many of the intangibles that make that possible, 

The thing I remember most about the 67 season was how much fun we had as a team.  I’m sure us winning as we did had a lot to do with that, but whether we were screwing around before practice, getting ready for our game to start, and even when we were practicing, we were having fun.  We were not only teammates, but we had known each other for most of our lives and we were all friends. 

Joe Sweeney, recollections via email. 

The 1967 season started a three-year championship run in which the teams did not lose a game. The Raiders then won four championships in six years as they captured the title in 1972 with Gene Talko coaching the team. 

Four in six years: Another team did that in the 1970s.

Not exactly grade school, but still …

1967

Offense

C—Tim Tickerhoof

G—Dave Sibis, Dave Stossel

T—Bob Sloan, Bob Mardula

E—Chet Beres, Don Beck, Gary Nagy

QB—John (Boob) Saparo

TB — Joe Sweeney

HB— Pat McCoy, Dave McLucas, John Sweeney

Single Wing backfield

QB/TB -- Joe Sweeney

HB -- Pat McCoy

Blocking backs — Dave McLucas, John Sweeney

Defense

A few recollections are tentative

Tackles—Bob Sloan, Bob Mardula

NG—Tim Tickerhoof

Ends—Chet Beres, Denny Lazar, Don Beck

LBs—Pat McCoy, Joe Sweeney, Dave Stossel

DBs—Dave McLucas, Boob Saparo, John Sweeney,  Tony Stopka, Ronnie Sibis

Punter and placekicker: Pat McCoy