Stories told, memories recalled at Gateway team reunion

For Greg Nemec, the memories from 43 years ago are fresh.

As a member of the 1972 Gateway varsity football team, he recalls with excitement the many moments and individuals that went into completing an 11-0 season, recording seven shutouts and capturing the school's second WPIAL championship and first PIAA title.

A number of players from that team — about 25 in all — gathered this past weekend for a reunion.

Memories were shared — and some memories were refreshed and corrected — as to all that went into making that season one for the record books.

Team members, as well as head coach Pete Antimarino, reminisced at Pugliano's, owned by team member Gary Pugliano, in Plum.

The group also set out for a pair of golf outings Friday and Saturday at Murrysville Golf Club.

“This was the culmination of a lot of hard work and determination to get together,” Nemec said.

Some of the team members haven't seen each other since high school graduation in 1973, some six months after the conclusion of the 1972 season.

Nemec said he hadn't seen Mike Torch since the end of that academic year.

“We played golf (Friday), and it was just like it was yesterday,” Nemec said.

Film of the 1972 season played on a big screen for all to view.

“I haven't seen these films in 40 years,” Nemec said. “I look at the guys now in this room, and I remember everybody's number, what position they played and how they contributed.”

Kiski Area's 1971 football team, one of Gateway's rivals at the time, was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in June, and Nemec said that kind of spurred things on to get together.

“That sent a flurry of activity and emails back and forth between guys we knew,” Nemec said.

“We scrimmaged Kiski every year. We handily beat them in a scrimmage (in 1971).

In an underdog role, Gateway faced Kiski in the 1972 playoffs, and the Gators scored a 22-13 win over the Cavaliers at Three Rivers Stadium en route to the WPIAL title.

“We were never the biggest team, but we were fast and quick,” Gateway co-captain Mark O'Toole said. “We believed in one another. Not many people gave us a chance to beat Kiski.”

For O'Toole and others returning for the reunion, it was a cherished time.

“We played golf (Friday), and I feel bad for all the people playing behind us because we weren't hurrying for anybody,” he said.

“We were talking a lot about all the memories and savoring this time back together. Over the past year, through the emails back and forth, there was a great feeling towards this evening.”

The team members are approaching 60 and are at retirement from their careers or are close.

“These guys have gone on to do some great things,” Nemec said. “Some went on to have great football careers in college. Mark O'Toole has a ring from the 1976 Pitt national championship team. Ken Karish played at Kentucky. Theo Crandall is one of the top CFOs in the country. There are so many success stories.”

The team was inducted into the Gateway Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

“Some of these guys weren't able to make the banquet,” team member Tony Petrocelli said.

“It was more about nostalgia and getting together before any of us got any older. We wanted to get together, tell stories and have some laughs. This is great. There are a lot of great people in this room.”

Petrocelli said that he will send a nomination for this team to the WPIAL Hall of Fame committee for possible induction in 2016.

“We had no superstars, just a lot of good players who played well together,” Karish said. “This brings back a lot of memories. The memories are frozen forever.”

Alan Baltrus, a co-captain with O'Toole and Karish, said this reunion should've been done sooner.

“We went to battle every day,” Baltrus said. “We were there for each other and supported each other. Ricky West broke his leg in the preseason. He was a senior, a starter, and he missed the entire season. He stuck with the team and was there at every game. He went on to play at Carnegie Mellon. That was an example of the dedication the team members had.”

Pete Antimarino and his coaching staff were charged during the 1972 season of assembling all of the talent and putting them in the right positions to be successful.

“They were tremendous,” he said. There were a lot of great athletes. It was about mental toughness. We had good kids and good football players.”

Nemec summed up the reunion and that season.

“When you go through a season and are undefeated, you develop this swagger through life,” he said. “No one can ever take that season away from us.”

In addition to O'Toole, Karish, Baltrus, Torch, Nemec, Petrocelli, Pugliano, Crandall and West, the members of the 1972 Gateway football team were Robert Devine, William Gebhardt, Thomas Toman, Gary Mignogna, Stephen Butler, Joseph Cuccia, Jeffrey Campbell, Gerald Buban, Thomas Kopaczynski, Raymond Kempisty, Kris De Jeet, Robert Kuster and Raymond Waible.

Also members of the team were Thomas Forsyth, Kevin McFadden, Michael Madonna, Robert Jurich, Donald Schuetz, Dale Bittner, Michael Butler, Edwin Mohan, Joseph Samek, James Flannery, Richard Jay Keenan, Darrell Edwards, Jeff Collins, Dave Duralia, Bradley Plowman, Michael Di Piazza and Douglas Pollock.

Michael Love is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-388-5825 or at mlove@tribweb.com.