Struthers-Campbell rivalry could be near its end

Struthers, Campbell

are not scheduled after tonight’s game

By Greg Gulas

sports@vindy.com

CAMPBELL

Arch-rivalry games are always special. They’re games that seem to get circled on both teams’ calendars and a contest they both point to before a season even begins.

When they say that records don’t matter, the adage that you can throw out all the records has never rung truer than when the Campbell Red Devils meet the Struthers Wildcats, a rivalry that dates to 1925 when Campbell was known as Penhale High School and Struthers was already an established program.

The Red Devils (0-6) will host the Wildcats (4-2) tonight in the 90th renewal of the series at John Knapick Field. The series is 94 years old with the teams not playing in 1933, and again from 1994-97. It’s a game in which both teams seem to be streaking in opposite directions.

It could also be the final game in one of the Valley’s oldest rivalries.

“We are not scheduled to play next year or beyond, so this game would likely be the end of our famed rivalry until further notice,” said Struthers athletic director Nancy Knight. “This is more for varsity football and does not include any other sports.”

Campbell athletic director Ron Aulet expects a hard-fought finale, if indeed it is the last game of the series.

“It has been one of the longest, most competitive rivalries in the Valley,” he said. “It should be a great night of football.”

The Red Devils own a 45-42-2 advantage in 89 previous encounters, but are looking to end a seven-game tailspin that has seen the Wildcats reel off 12 of the last 14 encounters and 14 of the last 19.

Struthers is coming off a 22-21 come-from-behind victory at Poland last week in which the Wildcats won in the final 16 seconds when quarterback J.D. Hall found brother, Aiden, in the end zone to pull to within 21-20 and Tyrese Hawkins adding the exclamation point with a two-point conversion run.

Campbell fell to Girard 68-8, has been outscored 194-15 its past three games and has only scored in double digits once this season, that coming in Week 3 at East Palestine during a 48-37 loss.

“During my interview in the winter of 2011, it’s what we talked about. You’ve got to win one game and if you lose the other nine, then you work and get better,” said Wildcats head coach Curt Kuntz, who is 6-0 against Campbell.

Kuntz’s teams have outscored the Red Devils 215-47.

“The Campbell game was the one where everybody in town didn’t want any excuses and they wanted to bring the trophy back home,” Kuntz said. “That is kind of where we started the program and it has worked for us.”

Red Devils senior standout Raysean Hicks will be playing his fourth rivalry game, getting his first taste of the series as a freshman in 2015.

“It’s very special to play against your arch-rival. Practices that week seem to be more intense the week of the game and the emotion just builds until kickoff.” said Hicks, who recalls sacking Struthers quarterback A.J. Musolino as a sophomore during a 28-0 setback that season.

“This is my last time playing in the series and it is going to take all of us coming together, with each of us doing our job in order to win. We must be more competitive.”

The game has always been about two blue-collar teams that go about their business in a methodical manner.

“They are tough-nosed kids just like us,” said J.D. Hall, who will also be playing in his fourth game against the Red Devils. “As a Wildcat, we know that we have a certain physical aggression that we need to stand up to and Struthers and Campbell are two very physical teams. We just need to do what we do.

“It was good enough for Poland so as long as we keep playing our game, then we’ll be fine.”

Hall added that the Wildcats still need to improve in several areas.

“We’re not even close to our full potential yet,” he said. “Every game we’ve played we still make a few errors so once we clean those up, then we’ll know how good we are.”

Wildcats senior linebacker Joey Macciomei is playing in his third rivalry game.

“Rivalry week is just awesome. It’s my last time and will really be fun,” he said. “We won’t underestimate them, you never do that with any opponent. Being at home or on the road doesn’t affect us, we’re just having fun and playing football and it doesn’t matter where we are.

“Winning the turnover margin and not putting the ball on the ground will be key for us. We must stop their running and passing game. J.D. is a great quarterback who reads well and as long as he performs and our offense is scoring, then our defense will do our best to keep them from scoring.”

Red Devils tailback-linebacker James Shaffer started as a freshman last year, adding that friendships that week are put on hold until after the game.

“I’ve been playing against them since third grade and got my first taste of the rivalry last year,” Shaffer said. “We know them, they know us and we each want to win. During the week leading up to the game there’s a little more bounce in everyone’s step and both teams cannot wait for the game to get started.

“They have an excellent offense, so our defense needs to step up and stop them, but we need to put points on the board. Both teams will be ready come Friday evening.”

There have been many hard-fought battles in the series over the years.

Struthers was the established program at the outset, but a 15-0-1 run by Campbell beginning in the 1930s enabled the Red Devils to take control of the series.

Struthers got back on the winning track in 1948 with a 34-13 win before an overflow crowd of 8,500 fans at SHS. Bernie Skvarka took the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to set the tone of the game, building a 21-0 halftime lead and coasting to a 21-point victory.

The Wildcats capped a 7-1-1 season with the victory, making it two in a row with a 14-0 whitewashing of the Red Devils the following year on scores by both Pat Naples and Bill Symbolic.

Campbell won the tough Steel Valley Conference title in 1950, which included a 19-0 victory over Struthers with Bob Lysowski scoring both touchdowns and despite the fact the Wildcats held a 13-2 first-down advantage and held a 242-149 total offense margin.

In a series that has featured winning streaks by both squads, the Red Devils then reeled off six straight victories from 1955-60, only to have the Wildcats roll to 16 victories in the next 23 games, which included the only scoreless tie of the rivalry in 1962.

Struthers was an offensive juggernaut in 1967 and 1968 — it marked the first time that the Wildcats had posted consecutive undefeated seasons — under head coach Bob Commings, going 19-0-1 and posting a perfect 10-0 mark in 1967, which included a season-ending 12-6 victory over the Red Devils and the first of two consecutive SVC crowns.

“I remember that Memorial scored first in the opening half when Mack Gilchrist found the end zone,” said Wildcats standout Dave Barone, who played from 1966-68 and went 3-0 against the Red Devils. I took the ensuing kickoff and got hit, the hardest that I was ever hit during my scholastic career. The hit was so hard, to this day I still cannot remember who hit me.”

Quarterback Gary Zetts, who also played defensive end, echoed Barone’s remarks about the hitting during the three games in which he played.

“Our fathers and uncles always talked about the Memorial game. It was big, but every game to us was big back then,” said Zetts, who later served as head coach at his alma mater and as an assistant for the Red Devils. “Trying to tackle a running back like Mack Gilchrist was an eye-opening experience.

“I remember blocking a punt in the fourth quarter of the 1967 game and it turned out that it set up the game-winning touchdown. Those are great memories.”

Along with Zetts, Campbell’s Ed Rozum has witnessed the rivalry as both a player and head coach.

He played in two games, both wins — 16-14 in 1969 and 3-0 in 1970 — and during four stints as head coach, went 8-10 in 18 contests.

Rozum recalls how the two teams seemed to prepare a little bit extra for the game.

“It was a rivalry game and one that both teams were glad to be a part of,” he said. “As a player I went up against Aaron Suber and it was a real battle. It was two blue-collar, six-pack type of teams going at it. I grew up with the rivalry and was glad to have been a part of it as a player and coach.”

During his coaching days (1978-81, 1985-92, 1999 and 2014-17), he helped the Red Devils to a state runner-up finish in 1989 and in 1990, the semifinal round.

“All games were special as both a player and coach, but in 1991 we won 37-28 and I remember that we jumped out to a lead, but they came back to pull to within 31-28. Our running back, Karlin Adams, helped get us over the top as he by rushed for 309 yards on 27 carries.

“In 1999, they were highly-touted and we beat them during the regular season, 17-7 to finish a perfect 10-0. In the play-offs though, Walter Reyes rushed for 223 yards, which included a big 62-yard touchdown run to beat us 27-20.”

Wayne Zetts (1970-72) was a defensive back for the Red Devils who won two of three contests, recalling that the rivalry helped forge many friendships away from gridiron.

“It was a great rivalry back then because we all grew up playing summer baseball and hung out together,” he said. “But when we laced up our spikes and put on our pads for the game, friendship was put aside, at least for a few hours on Friday evening.”

The Steel Helmet rotating trophy, which the two teams will play for tonight, was instituted during the 1970 campaign, a 3-0 win by the Red Devils on the strength of a 27-yard field goal by Nick Makridis and on a day when Struthers dedicated its new band shell in the South end zone.

Since that time, the Wildcats own a 28-17 mark in 45 trophy games.

“Just managing our emotion will be the key because we still have a lot in front of us,” Kuntz said. “We have to take care of ourselves. We have to do what we do on offense and defense, manage not only our emotion but that little extra emotion that they might bring to the table. They have athleticism, do some different looks on defense and give you a hard time.

“[Raysean] Hicks we have seen the last four years and luckily this is the last time we will see him. He’s as talented physically and plays as hard as anyone that we will face all season. He’s physical, loves football, runs the ball well and when you run away from him, he makes just as many plays as when you run at him. He will be a real challenge for us.”