VALLEY SPORTS HISTORY

2013

• A year ago, the injury-ridden Monessen soccer team showed occasional flashes of potential but injuries kept them from being successful. This year it’s a different story for the Greyhounds. They extended their history making start with a 2-1 victory over their Section 4-A foe California. After a scoreless first half, Monessen got on the scoreboard at seven minutes into the second half when Josh Kucmeroski scored off a pass from Adam Pesi. Luke Doptis added what would be the winning goal at the 11-minute mark before California scored on a direct kick.

• Cal U will open their home football season at home against Kutztown at Adamson Stadium. The Vulcans are coming off a 22-19 win at Hillsdale while Kutztown dropped a 39-38 loss to Clarion. Last week, California was paced by sophomore quarterback Cody Schroeder, who threw for 270 yards including three second-half touchdowns. The two teams are meeting for only the second time since 1997.

2004

• Belle Vernon Area coach Jesse Cramer enjoyed watching the game films of the Peters Township game that he wanted to share them. He repeated played video of his team recovering a Peters fumble. He wasn’t so much interested in the play itself but in the reaction of his team to the play. “Look at the kids jumping around, going crazy. I haven’t seen so much emotion since we won the conference and that emotion is 90% of the battle.”

• The Elizabeth Forward football team kicked their season off with back-to-back victories for the first time in six years. That quick start has left many observers surprised including Warriors coach Pete Rostosky, who said, “It has been crazy. I’ve had so many people calling me left and right. Out players believe in what we’re doing and I have a great staff. Put that all together and you’re bound to win a few games. We’re better than the score indicates because we’ve made a lot of mistakes ourselves. This guys don’t mope of gripe. When they put their helmets on, they mean business.”

1994

• Sports columnist Jeff Oliver predicted that Ringgold would triumph over Belle Vernon. He wrote that the two teams were coming off different games the previous week with Ringgold having triumphed over Thomas Jefferson, 26-16, while Belle Vernon Area received a beating from perennial powerhouse McKeesport, 48-21, noting that Thomas Jefferson and McKeesport are two very different kind of teams. Oliver believed that Ringgold had an advantage in that they play in a tougher section plus the Rams have a better pool of talent.