Turf for Washington Field, Phoenixville

The proposal to put turf on Washington Field seems like a good idea.
The trend for any school district making renovations or building new fields is to go to turf. It is expensive to put in at first, but after that maintenance costs are minimal for a variety of boys and girls outdoor sports than can make use of the turf. Phoenixville Area High School athletic director Ray Jenkins pointed out that physical education classes can also make use of the turf field throughout the school day.
The overall price tag for the project has been placed at $700,000 with the Phoenixville Area School District willing to put up $500,000 towards making it possible. The remaining $200,000 would have to come from fundraising and/or public donations. Boys lacrosse coach Jim O’Brien i in charge of plans to make the turf field a reality.
Also with turf, there is less worry about weather conditions and fewer postponements and cancellations of events. Teams can play in rainy conditions and not have to worry about muddy field conditions and bumps and holes in some fields that some regular surfaces currently have.
Turf is considered a safe and fast surface. There are fewer injuries on turf than the many ankle sprains and so forth that student-athletes incur on regular grass fields.
Phoenixville has a general shortage of land for facilities. So having turf would benefit the school district in general in using Washington Field to its best and most efficient usage.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PHOENIXVILLE GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Phoenixville Area High School girls basketball program is on the upswing under head coach Erik Rutchauskas, who is in his second year at the helm, and assistant coaches Ashley Dvorak and Brian Tell.

The Phantoms have already bettered last year's record of four wins by several games. They stand at 3-8 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference following Tuesday night's 46-38 victory over visiting Upper Perkiomen. Overall, they have an 8-11 log with a youthful roster that includes just two regular seniors in Chelsea DiFebbo and Janay Winston.

Phoenixville hopes to return to some of its glory years in girls basketball with a stronger youth feeder program in order to acquaint girls with the experience necessary to succeed at the high school varsity level. There are many skills involved in playing basketball and girls must continue to hone those skills with consistent practice and work.

As veteran opposing coach Joe Masleh of St. Pius X said after a recent game, the Phantoms are on the right track and will do quite well in the future under Rutchauskas' leadership. It will just take time for the girls to develop and progress in his program against the many top teams in the area.

It is difficult trying to revive a program that has struggled for a long period of time.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PHOENIXVILLE WRESTLING 2007-08 BLOG

The Phoenixville Area High School wrestling team head coach is John Tornetta, a Phoenixville Area High School graduate and a former star in wrestling and track himself for the Phantoms before graduating in 1981. His assistant is Dave Saville.
The Phoenixville Area Middle School wrestling team is coached by Hank Coyne.
The Phantoms fell to Owen J. Roberts, one of the top teams in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, Wednesday night on the Phoenixville mats by a 62-12 score.
Phoenixville managed just two victories out of the 14 weight classes on the card. The Phantoms’ Ken Cenci (215 pounds) and Dan Giannone (140) each accepted forfeits to account for all of the Phoenixville points.
Phoenixville is now 1-3 in the PAC-10 and 9-9 overall for the season.
As both Tornetta and Owen J. Roberts head coach Steve DeRafelo pointed out, the Phantoms have a young squad that is lean on wrestling experience at the high school varsity level.
Phoenixville must continue to improve at the youth program and middle school levels, even before entering high school, just to compete with the many formidable wrestling programs in the area. Success at wrestling also requires a lot of offseason work on conditioning, weightlifting and overall skills improvement.
Each step on the ladder requires more hard work. At the high school level, wrestlers are required to compete for a grueling six minutes in each match that goes the full regulation time.
Phoenixville is also missing one of its top wrestlers, 160-pounder Joe Mandrusiak, who is sidelined with a knee injury. Mandrusiak is an important cog in the Phantoms’ lineup and competes during the offseason. He is committed to the sport and does the extra work involved.
Phoenixville is also a small school with limited numbers in terms of enrollment. This factor affects wrestling (and all sports) because there is a lack of depth, especially when teams are trying to fill 14 separate weight classes.
Plus, increased numbers would benefit the entire program. Wrestlers would push each other harder in the practice room and that would carry over to the dual meets, tournaments and postseason competition.
Two of Phoenixville’s most experienced and successful wrestlers, Stephen Lord at 125 pounds and Chris Onder at 112 pounds, both went down to defeat against Owen J. Roberts. So instead of recording as many as 12 points in the two weight classes, the Phantoms surrendered nine points on a pin and decision. That differential helped the Wildcats post the lopsided verdict.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

Barry's Memories

The Pain of Victory

I’ve been running since I was in 7th grade. I can still remember the first practice I had for cross country. My sister had been running (she’s three years older than me) and encouraged me to go out for the team.
During the first practice (which was incredibly easy, now that I have been running for this long), I struggled and was tired, but thought that it wasn’t all so bad.
Flash forward to the next morning. I had a top bunk so I had to climb down a ladder at the foot of my bed to get out of it (that bed was so cool, by the way). Well, I didn’t climb down – I fell down. My legs were so sore I had to fight back tears. I was convinced running wasn’t for me, especially because walking around the whole day was killer.
Ten years later, I am still at it and it has changed me in ways that I can’t describe (but that other runners understand, just ask them). My high school cross country team was incredible and I’m sure I’ve mentioned that it made me who I am today.
I still remember my best moment in cross country, in my runner career as a whole so far. It was counties my freshman year. The race was at Kutztown. I had run the course before the race so I had a good understanding of where I needed to go.
I had set a goal at the beginning of the season to run a sub-30 (minutes; it’s actually a very slow pace, but I’m not a fast runner) race. This was my last chance. I had gotten close, but not close enough that I thought I would make it.
Hitting that goal wasn’t even in my mind when I started the race. I was just trying to do the best I could. Then, as I neared the finish line, my teammates started screaming at me, cheering me on. I didn’t know what was going on, but I tried my best to finish strong. At the end of the race, a teammate tackled me and hugged me so hard it hurt. She told me that I blew away my goal, beating it by a full 30 seconds (that’s a big deal). In fact, she had done the same, getting sub-21 by 30 seconds. I remember jumping with her and crying and being so proud of both of us and all of my teammates.
So now I turn it over to you. What are your greatest sports moments? Did you win a championship game? Did you do something you had never thought you could achieve? How about being named the MVP? I’d love to hear about that one memory that you will never forget, so please share!

Posted by
Laurie Perini

HENRY “HANK” BERNAT, OWEN J. ROBERTS FOOTBALL COACH

Henry Bernat and his wife remain Phoenixville borough residents. Henry is a Phoenixville Area High School graduate.
One of his sons, Gene Bernat, is an official and Indians manager with the Phoenixville Babe Ruth League (PBRL), a baseball staple for more than 50 years in the borough with an immaculate home playing site, deSanno Field, located at Wheatland and Mason streets in the borough. Henry Bernat’s other son, John Bernat, lives in the Spring-Ford area. Henry Bernat’s grandchildren also stood out in athletics at the scholastic level.
Henry Bernat played college football as a quarterback at the University of Tampa in Florida. He also kept the official scorebook for Owen J. Roberts in boys basketball for many years.

* * *

The Owen J. Roberts Wildcats enjoyed a huge run of success in football in both the old Ches-Mont League and now the Pioneer Athletic Conference after the Wildcats joined the new loop in 1988, two years after the inception of the circuit.
Owen J. Roberts won a combined 11 football championships in the history of the school, eight in the Ches-Mont League and three in the PAC-10. During one stretch in the mid-1980s, the Wildcats won 28 consecutive league games.
The Wildcats won crowns in the Ches-Mont League in 1970, 1972 (co-championship), 1975, 1980, 1983 (11-0-1 record), 1984 (12-0), 1986 (12-0) and 1987.
In the PAC-10, the Wildcats won championships in 1989, 1991 and 1993. The 1991 crown was a co-championship.
Bernat led the Wildcats during their glory years and had two longtime assistants in Joe Edwards (defense) and Al Alutius (linemen, special teams). Edwards became the Wildcats’ head coach after Bernat retired from teaching biology and coaching.
For the past 11 seasons, Owen J. Roberts has been coached by Tom Barr, a former star running back at Owen J. Roberts who was a walk-on at Penn State University, where he was a member of the 1982 national championship team the Nittany Lions had under legendary head coach Joe Paterno. Barr played mostly on special teams at Penn State.
The longtime Owen J. Roberts athletic director, Dave Strock, was a placekicker for the Wildcats who went on to a Division I collegiate career at Virginia Tech University. Dave Strock later had a tryout with the Washington Redskins and did kick professionally in Shreveport, La.
His brother, Don Strock, starred at quarterback at Virginia Tech and then had a long career in the National Football League with the Miami Dolphins, mainly as a backup quarterback during coach Don Shula’s long tenure and Super Bowl championship years. Don Strock later served as an assistant coach with the Dolphins and coached recently at Division I Florida International University in Miami.
Lineman Jerry Ostroski had a long career as an offensive lineman with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills after playing Division I college ball at the University of Tulsa. Ostroski was a two-way lineman with the Wildcats during the 1980s.
Another former Owen J. Roberts star, versatile offensive and defensive back and special teams player Dan Crossman who was named Ches-Mont League Most Valuable Player (MVP) his senior year, signed to play Division I football at the University of Kansas and then transferred to the University of Pittsburgh as a defensive back. Crossman went on to play with the London Monarchs in the World Football League (WFL) and was selected as the outstanding player in the first championship game before an injury curtailed his playing career. He also turned to coaching after his playing days were over.
Other Division I players produced by Bernat and his staff were lineman Cliff Buckwalter (Penn State), running back Denny Laws (Illinois State), running back Mike Beasley (Maryland, transfer to West Virginia) and linebacker Rudy Glocker (Penn State).
This year’s Owen J. Roberts star player, linebacker/tight end Brad Megay, just committed to play Ivy League football and study at prestigious Princeton University in New Jersey. Megay was beset by injuries this past fall for the Wildcats, where he is also a basketball player.

RANDY REBER, ST. PIUS X BOYS BASKETBALL DYNASTY

The Winged Lions captured three straight District 1 Class AA championships twice under Reber. They have won six district titles and seven in nine years.
St. Pius X started its run in 1997-98 with a 22-6 record. In 1998-99, the Winged Lions finished 23-7 overall and advanced to the PIAA Class eastern finals. The following season, in 1999-2000, Pius X ended with a 26-3 log and also advanced to the PIAA Class AA eastern finals.
The Winged Lions missed the district title in the winter of 2000-01, but they started another streak in 2001-02 with a 12-13 record that year. They came back with a 16-9 mark in 2002-03 for a repeat district title and made it a three-peat in 2003-04 with a 20-8 record.
After missing the district title in 2004-05, St. Pius X returned to the throne in 2005-06 with a 20-7 overall record.
During the seven district title years, Reber compiled an overall record of 139-53 for a .724 winning percentage.
St. Pius X has had two 1,000-point career scorers during its outstanding run. Phoenixville resident Mike Ames became the school’s career scoring leader with 1,955 points. He went on to have a successful collegiate career as a shooting guard at Division I University of Delaware and played overseas for several years. Ames has returned to the coaching staff at St. Pius X under Reber with the boys.
Mike Todd was another St. Pius X cager to reach the 1,000-point plateau during the banner years of 1998-2000. Todd went on to play football at West Chester University.
The point guard during the Winged Lions’ glory years was Jason Tarewicz, a Kimberton resident who went on star in baseball at Division I St. Joseph’s University as a second baseman. Tarewicz has entered the banking business for his professional employment.
Randy Reber and his wife have four children, two boys and two girls. Ryan, the oldest of the four at 24, played basketball under Randy and has returned to help out with the coaching staff with his father at times. Ryan graduated from Rider University with a B.S. in biology, and is now in his third year of medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) in Philadelphia.
Daughter Regan (21) was a varsity cheerleader at St. Pius, and is now a member of the West Chester University cheerleading squad. She is majoring in Communications with a minor in journalism.
Daughter Rayne (19) starred at St. Pius X as a 1,000-point scorer and is currently starting as a guard at Widener University in Delaware County.
Youngest son Ross (15) started for Randy Reber’s Winged Lions as a freshman and is one of the team leaders again this year for the St. Pius X cagers as a sophomore guard with a 3-point shooting touch from the outside.
Randy Reber played basketball and baseball at Pottsgrove High School in the old Ches-Mont League in the late 1960s. The Reber family still resides in the Pottstown area.
Randy Reber’s brother, Bob Reber, served as a Republican state representative for many years.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PAT NUGENT, SPRING-FORD WRESTLING

Pat Nugent coached Spring-Ford Area High School=92s wrestling team for 13 s=
easons. During that tenure, the Rams captured nine Pioneer Athletic Confere=
nce (PAC-10) championships. Currently, Nugent serves as principal of the se=
nior high school in Royersford. Nugent is in his sixth year as Spring-Ford =
principal and was assistant principal for three years prior to that time.
Spring-Ford won titles during the 1987-88 season and then again in 1989-90,=
1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98.
Under his guidance, the Rams posted a remarkable PAC-10 record of 104-8-1, =
and he had numous qualify for the PIAA State Championships and some of them=
earned medals at states as well.
The Rams mounted two long winning streaks in wrestling of 37 meet victories=
and then 34 meet victories, which stood up until being broken by Upper Per=
kiomen a number of years ago. The Rams recorded a log of 88-6-1 in an 11-ye=
ar span.
=93There is the thrill of winning and you want the kids to be successful,=
=94 Nugent said. =93I was very fortunate. I had a lot of good kids, a lot o=
f tough kids. I was lucky. We worked really, really hard and that is what I=
am most proud of. We all teach the same moves and some of the kids have na=
tural ability. There is something else in winning, the intangibles. It is h=
ard work, being disciplained and doing extra things.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

Sports Season Resumes

Following the Christmas and New Year’s Day, the 2007-08 Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC-10) winter sports season resumes on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008.
Phoenixville travels to play Spring-Ford in boys basketball action in Royersford at 7:30 p.m. while the Phantoms and Rams tangle in girls action in Phoenixville at 7:30 p.m.
The Spring-Ford boys and girls are both 4-0 and leading Division I (big schools) in the PAC-10 circuit. Phoenixville’s boys are 2-3 and the Phantom girls are 1-4 in league play. Pottstown’s boys are tops in Division II at 4-0 and the Trojan girls are in first place at 4-1.
The Owen J. Roberts boys are in second place in boys action at 3-1 while the St. Pius X boys are 3-1 in Division II boys play.
In girls action, Perkiomen Valley is in second place at 4-1 in Division I and St. Pius X stands second in Division II at 3-1.
The Owen J. Roberts wrestlers are 2-0 at the holiday break in the PAC-10, and the Owen J. Roberts boys and girls swimmers both have 2-0 league records as well heading into the new calendar year.

Posted by
Barry Sankey