In 1972, Warren Reserve won Valley's first crown

That Raiders team also achieved academic distinction.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- "Those who stay will be champions."
That was the motto that coach Joe Novak displayed on a banner overlooking the Warren Reserve High football team's locker room for the 1972 season.
The Raiders responded to Novak's challenge to win the state's first Class AAA computer championship with a 37-6 romp over Cincinnati Princeton for a 12-0 record, and many of the players and coaches went on to other successes in life.
For one, Pat Guliano, an assistant coach on that 1972 team who now is superintendent of Niles Schools, said Novak's challenging motto helped to define the objectives of the team, and set the stage for success on and off the field.
"[The coaches] were just a bunch of young guys, and the thing was we did all the things we had to do to be a success," Guliano said. "The academics were important.
"All of us were teachers and felt that we had to do a good job in the classroom to dispel the myth that a coach was not a good teacher, and we had to disprove that; and everyone of us was committed to the classroom as well as the fields. That was an issue at the time."
Opportunities
Guliano also said opportunities were opening for these players.
"At that time for a lot of these kids, there were a lot of opportunities, and they took advantage," Guliano said. "The kids had to be opportunistic and take advantage of that. It was a matter of them being prepared and taking advantage."
Guliano said that not only did the team feature the Browner brothers, Ross and Jim, and also Aaron Brown -- who all made it to the NFL -- but also other players who excelled academically and became professionals.
For example, Guliano mentioned Neal Hall, Calvin Washington, Billy Williams, Chris Mason, Dave Zimomra, brothers Don and Ponce Henderson and Mike Spiva -- all making something of themselves.
Became professionals
The first three are doctors.
Dr. Hall, a back-up tailback in 1972 and the featured tailback in 1973, went to Cornell and became an ophthalmologist.
Dr. Williams, a placekicker, graduated from Cornell and became a dentist.
Dr. Washington, a co-captain and a two-way tackle, also went to Cornell and became a veterinarian.
Washington was named to the Warren G. Harding Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame last year.
Williams kicked two field goals of 32 and 22 yards in the 1972 state final as a junior.
Mason, an offensive tackle "who made all the line calls," said Guliano, and Zimomra, a linebacker and guard, both became engineers. Mason attended General Motors Institute while Mason graduated from Harvard.
The Henderson brothers "were very academically-oriented in high school and college," said Guliano. Don graduated from Cornell, Ponce from Cincinnati.
Spiva led win
And halfback Mike Spiva, who scored three TDs in the 1972 title game on runs of 23, 13 and 7 yards and led the Raiders attack with 72 yards in 11 carries, went to Morehead State. He finished the season with 774 yards in 149 carries and 96 points.
Linebacker Marty Murray was another standout and led the defense with four outstanding plays in the title game, including three fumble recoveries, two of them setting up Spiva's TDs. Murray also blocked an extra-point attempt.
"The coaches also went on to success as administrators and in other fields," Guliano said. Others on the coaching staff were Bud Myers, Dave Campbell, Harry Morrison, Harold Beers, Joe Lukz, Gib Jepson, Richard Lascola, Nick Earl and trainer Loren Less.
Guliano said Lascola operates his own nationwide high school scouting service for colleges based in Fallbrook, Calif., and contracts with colleges to recruit players.
kovach@vindy.com