Dynamos have come a long way
The amazing Springdale Dynamos are headed for Heinz Field and a shot at the school's fourth WPIAL football title.
Springdale will play Sto-Rox for WPIAL Class A honors at 10:37 a.m. Saturday. A win for the Dynamos would tie Burrell with the most WPIAL football titles in Alle-Kiski Valley history.
After how far the program has come in the past several years, the fact that Springdale is playing for the WPIAL championship and is just two victories shy of playing for the state title is almost mindboggling.
The Dynamos are No. 5 in at least two statewide Class A polls this week. Springdale will enter the game Saturday morning as an underdog for the fourth consecutive playoff game.
If Springdale beats Sto-Rox, the Dynamos will play the winner of Friday's game between Clarion-Limestone and Ebensburg Bishop Carroll at Clarion University.
The Dynamos bandwagon gets bigger and bigger. For the semifinal game last Friday, Springdale sold its allotment of 1,000 tickets before Friday. School officials had to scurry over to the WPIAL office and pick up 600 more tickets, which sold immediately.
Springdale and Sto-Rox have met twice in the past. The Vikings won last year's first-round playoff game, 35-10, and a 1987 regular-season contest by a 19-0 margin.
While the Allegheny Valley School District faithful prepare to make the trip south on Route 28 early Saturday, let's review Springdale's other three titles:
Springdale also had two undefeated teams that didn't make title games.
In 1945, Springdale finished 8-0-1, with the tie to Leechburg. But Leechburg had to forfeit that game after the season, long after Dormont beat Derry Township for the Class AA crown.
In 1959, Springdale went 10-0, only to lack sufficient Gardner Points to compete for the title. Braddock beat Waynesburg for the WPIAL championship.
Slippery Rock rolls
One former local football star who has been in the coaching ranks for many years has his team advancing in the PIAA playoffs.
Slippery Rock High School, coached by Freeport graduate Clyde Conti, won its opening-round state playoff game last Friday night against previously undefeated Brockway, 13-0.
The Rockets, District 10 champions, will play Tyrone in the Class AA quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Altoona's Mansion Park Stadium. The winner will play the winner of Saturday's WPIAL final between Jeannette and Aliquippa.
Quality zebras
Some of the best football officials in the WPIAL hail from the Valley area, and last weekend's semifinal round proved the point again.
Three of the eight semifinals crews were headed by local arbiters. Joe Milito of Buffalo Township was the referee in the Class AAA game between Pine-Richland and Blackhawk, Larry Kupec of Allegheny Township had the Class A game between Sto-Rox and Clairton while Kittanning's Bob Mervis had to work overtime. Three overtimes to be exact, as Springdale took on Rochester.
In fact, five of the six officials in the Pine-Richland game were local men. Mike Jarosinski of Springdale, Nick Morea of Plum, Valley graduate Mark Emmerling and Lower Burrell's Mark Nitowski joined Milito.
Chris Eckenrode of Natrona Heights worked the Clairton game while West Deer Township's Joe Catanese was part of the crew in the Springdale marathon.
George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.
