1978 CHAMPIONS Independent schedule benefited exiled Brookfield

By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BROOKFIELD -- From Public Enemy No. 1 to just plain No. 1.
That was Brookfield's alienation to coronation saga in 1978.
Kicked out of the Trumbull AA League in the mid-1970s, the Warriors were in limbo, but, paradoxically, it helped their climb to the pinnacle.
That's because points for victories against league opponents wouldn't have been sufficient for Brookfield to reach the playoffs. So, the independent schedule helped significantly.
On a cold Friday afternoon in Dayton in late November, the Brookfield community was sky-high when the Warriors won the state Class AA crown by defeating Hamilton Badin, 28-0.
Rich Furillo, a wide receiver, defensive end and punter, was part of pivotal plays early, quarterback Ken Bencetic recalled.
"I threw a pass and Furillo was wide open. He ran and got close and [tailback Darwin Ulmer] scored. After that, it seemed like the game was all ours," Bencetic said. "Badin had trouble stopping us and they couldn't go anywhere on offense."
Huge turnover
In the second quarter, Furillo's interception of a screen pass was huge.
Former assistant Tim Filipovich said coach John Delserone's attention to detail paid off on the theft.
"In studying film, we noticed that the quarterback turned his back completely to the line of scrimmage before throwing the screen. Other times, when he was back to pass, he'd face downfield," Filipovich said. "We alerted our defensive ends who saw it to go in the area of the screen. Picking up those tendencies paid off."
Although fullback/linebacker Marcus Marek fumbled at the goal line after Furillo's interception, the moment was a turning point.
"It seemed like he made all the tackles after that," Bencetic said of Marek. "Furillo and Ken Brest put the heat on Badin's quarterback, Marek and linebacker Jimmy Dixon bottled up everything inside and monsterbacks Jay Leipheimer and Mark Verocco did the same on the outside," Bencetic said.
After a scoreless second quarter, Brookfield led, 6-0.
College talent
It was maybe a once-in-a-lifetime assemblage of talent for the community on the Pennsylvania line, with several going to Division I programs.
Marek made All-America at Ohio State, then played in the USFL; Dixon went to West Virginia; Ulmer attended Arizona; wingback John Lott went to Michigan where he was defensive captain' and Bencetic played at Kent State.
Marek is still the all-time leading tackler at OSU.
Not forgotten was Delserone.
"He was ahead of his time, no question about that," Bencetic said of the coach who died of ALS in December 1987, at age 43. "There were scouting reports before reports were the norm."
Other assistants were Russ Hake, Joe DeOnofrio and Dan Deramo.
When the staff would meet on Sundays to break down film for its upcoming defensive game plan, Delserone combined schemes from YSU, Michigan and Clemson.
"If there was a question, he'd call coaches from those schools right there," Filipovich said. "It taught me a lot about coaching. He had our kids prepared to the nth degree."
Welcome Stadium
In Dayton, he remembers the pre-game energy of the fans at Welcome Stadium.
"Our locker room was under the bleachers and I think the whole community was there. They were chanting and stomping their feet so much that you could feel the shaking. That got our juices flowing pretty good. It still sends shivers up my spine."
Other players included center Mark Sydlowski, Vincent Chambers and Jim Siglow. Chambers and Siglow were 160-pound pulling guards in the wing-T offense.
The 5-11, 190-pound Sydlowski was class valedictorian and first-team all-state.
Today, Marek operates a lobster company in Massachusetts, Siglow is a medical doctor and Sydlowski runs his father's construction company in Brookfield.
That's not exactly how you'd identify a few starters from your school's only state championship football team.
All Brookfield fans know is that, after 25 years, the memories still linger.
bassetti@vindy.com