RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Reichart's resignation comes as a surprise

Sharon High football made the headlines in recent weeks with the departure of head coach "Bo" Reichart following a two-year tenure.
Meanwhile Marlin Jackson, a former grid standout for the Tigers, said he is returning for his senior year of football at the University of Michigan.
Reichart's resignation was quite unexpected. He cited "personal reasons" for his decision to call it quits at Sharon.
Reichart had been on the Tiger staff for five seasons as an assistant prior to taking over the reins from former Sharon head man, Jim Wildman, the winningest coach in Mercer County football history (he shares that honor with Greenville's Bob Stone) with 208 triumphs.
In his first season at Sharon, Reichart posted a respectable season, 7-4, wining the Mercer County AA crown while finishing runner-up in the D-10 title chase. Last year, however, the bottom fell out of the Tigers' attack and they stumbled to a 2-7 standard.
A native of Brookfield, Reichart loves the game and, in this corner, we look for him to return to football before too much time lapses.
Jackson coming back
Jackson, who attained All-State honors under Wildman at Sharon High, played two seasons for the Wolverines at cornerback and gained All-Big Ten and All-America honors as a sophomore. This past season, he would like to forget. He was involved in an altercation with a student and was suspended for the season's opener. Then he missed four more games due to injury.
Right now, he wants to return for his senior year and get his diploma and no one could be happier than Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.
Banquet leftovers
The Mercer County Hall of Fame held its 57th awards banquet last weekend at The Raddison in West Middlesex. Eleven were inducted in ceremonies before close to 500.
USpecial guests of the Hall were Kitty Burns and her family. Kitty is the wife of the late Tom Burns, a former president of the Mercer County Hall of Fame.
UInductee George Dancu, former Sharon High basketball and football standout, was selected to play in the Pittsburgh All-Star Game (football) back in the early 1950s. He said in that game (at Mt. Lebanon) there were 17 Al-Americans participating.
UInductee Bob Barlett, Hickory High standout athlete, was relating a story about he and his twin-brother, Bill, during their high school years. "For years," related Bob, "my mother made my brother and I peanut butter and banana sandwiches for our lunch at school. So one day we discovered this lunch bag, opened it, and devoured it. It was a ham and swiss and delicious. Anyhow we got caught and sent to the office (Keith Stoner was the principal). Mr. Stoner said, "Okay, boys. Did you eat the sandwich?"
Said Bob, "My brother looked directly at me and pointing his finger said, "He did." "Well," Bob related, "Mr. Stoner took the matter in hand and I couldn't sit down the rest of the day."
ULynn Jones, another inductee who hails from the Linesville area, said he is friends with John Hirschbeck, the famed baseball (Major Leagues) umpire who lives in the Youngstown area. "In fact," said Lynn, I just talked with him the other day. He's a great guy."
UDebbie Jones, who was inducted last year, was in attendance at Friday's ice-breaker but had to fly out and missed Saturday's banquet.
UTwo outstanding, young athletes, R.J. Bowers and Justin Napotnik, also were introduced.
Bowers, a graduate of West Middlesex High School, was an All-American at Grove City College where he became the NCAA's All-Time leading rusher. He spent five seasons with the Houston Astros organization before joining forces with the NFL's Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Napotnik, who played his football at Sharpsville High School, played his college ball at Thiel where he was honored last month with an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. He was one of only 15 in the country to be so honored. He maintained a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and was honored at the College Football Hall of Fame Foundation Scholar Athlete Banquet in New York City.