Are the Ferndale Yellow Jackets the 2016 version of the Hickory High School Hoosiers?



... Congratulations for great win over Williamsburg 

While I want to congratulate all of the high school football teams that have won their first playoff games in districts 5 and 6, one deserves special recognition.

That is the Ferndale Yellow Jackets, the 12th-seeded single A team that upset Williamsburg, 21-12, on the loser's turf on Friday night.

Why was Ferndale's win so special? First, this was the first playoff win for the Yellow Jackets since 1995, 21 years ago. That is special.

In addition, the Jackets have struggled in recent years primarily due to low turnout -- low roster numbers in a small, single-A school. In one season, Ferndale started a game with just 15 players dressed, and according to some reports that I read, only 12 of them were healthy at the end of the game.

Yet, the Yellow Jackets, their coaches, their supporters in the school, their community -- did not quit. Many critics said that they should drop the football program and join with either Johnstown or Westmont.

Ferndale did not follow that advice.

Here is how tough things were. The Yellow Jackets last had a winning season in 2004 when they compiled a 6-3 mark under Coach Ron Goisovich, according to information on the MaxPreps website.

From 2005 until 2015, they compiled a record of 10-94. From 2010 until 2015, their record was 2-56, with four winless seasons.

Most teams, players, and coaches would have quit. Not the Yellow Jackets.

Under second-year Coach Don Robertson, the Jackets compiled a 4-6 mark this year, which was enough to earn them the 12th -- and last -- seed in District 6 single-A

That is what made Friday night's win so special to so many in Ferndale.

Hoosiers II?

One game certainly does not carve out a path to the state title. Remember the basketball movie Hoosiers with Gene Hackman from the 1980s? Set in the 1950s, tiny Hickory High School overcame all odds to win the state basketball title.

I am not about to cast Coach Robertson in Gene Hackman's legendary role with Hickory. I am about to say that I think that their next game against Northern Cambria should worry my old friend and current NC Coach Frank Paronish.

Never underestimate a team that is on a mission. A win next week would be special for the Jackets and their fans.

Could they beat another A school, two-time defending state champs Bishop Guilfoyle, to take the 6-A crown? If they can do that, move over Gene Hackman.

In any event, congratulations to the Yellow Jackets on a huge win! Good luck to them and their fans in the remaining district game(s).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., the quarterback who gave of himself to so many people: Some Lilly Raiders who will not be with us on Saturday

Image
Chet Beres was a special human being … The 1968 championship QB is calling audibles from heaven On a few nights in late October 2010, I slept overnight at the Conemaugh Hospital palliative care unit. My brother, Father Jim, was clinging to life at the end of a long battle with cancer, and this unit was designed to make life easier for those in the final stages of disease — and for the families who wanted to spend their last days with their loved ones. It was at that time that while wandering through the hall, I noticed a plaque on the wall that warmed my heart, albeit in a sad way.  The palliative care unit was dedicated to Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., an advocate for those in hospice care. My mind flashed back to the Lilly Raider quarterback on the 1968 championship team, a young man who was bright, exuberant, and so popular with his teammates.  Chet went on to college at Pitt and to medical school after graduating from Penn Cambria. We knew that he was bright, but we also knew that he had c
Read more

Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

Image
… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably, he
Read more

Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

Image
R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-point loss was the to
Read more