Feicht out, James in as Ringgold coach

CARROLL TOWNSHIP - Ringgold High's girls basketball team will be going to Canon-McMillan tonight with a new coach.

Joel Feicht, in his first season with the Lady Rams, resigned Wednesday along with his father, Bruce Feicht.

Following Ringgold's 68-57 home loss to Albert Gallatin, the younger Feicht was critical of the program and some of the parents and said he would be gone at the end of the season.

Taking over the Lady Rams will be the other assistant, Eric James, who coached the junior varsity.

"We're moving Eric up and (athletic director) Jason Ross will assist him," said Ringgold superintendent Larry Golembiewski. "Joel's resignation caught me off guard. It's unfortunate he wanted to leave this close to the end of the season."

"I have mixed feelings," said James, a 1975 Ringgold High graduate who also was in his rookie season with the Lady Rams. "The most important thing to me is the girls. I won't make a lot of changes in one day. After tonight, I'll probably start going into things I'm comfortable with."

Although he's in his first year in the scholastic coaching ranks, James was a cage standout for the Rams.

James was a two-year starter for the Rams after being the lone sophomore to play on the 1973 WPIAL Class AAA and PIAA Class AAA Western Regional runnerup team which went 29-2 and featured Ulice Payne, Scott Nedrow, Mike Brantley, Joe Montana and Melvin Boyd.

James went on to play at Pitt-Bradford where he left as the all-time leading scorer with 931 points in two seasons and also played one year at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Tex., under Belle Vernon's Vic Trilli.

The Lady Rams have lost four of their last five games after posting a 54-51 win at Uniontown in an early showdown for first place in Class AAAA's Sec. 2.

Ringgold is presently tied for second place with Uniontown at 5-3, a game-and-a-half behind Laurel Highlands (6-1). Albert Gallatin (4-3) and Trinity (3-3) are also in the playoff picture.

Ringgold's other remaining section games are home contests with Trinity and Uniontown sandwiched around a game at Connellsville.

The Lady Rams' Brittany Warren, a junior, needs 13 points to join the school's 1,000-point club.

Warren scored 23 points in Ringgold's earlier 47-35 win over Canon-McMillan.