JOHNSTOWN — The City Series between Bishop McCort and Johnstown High has been a tale of two lopsided streaks with roots dating back 76 years.
The Crushers have had a stranglehold on the series since play resumed in 1989 following a 16-year break, one of the frequent periods of dormancy in a series first played in 1933.
McCort is 9-1-1 against
Johnstown since ’89. Coach Ken Salem’s Crushers have won five in a row over the Trojans by a combined 137-56 count since 2004.
Johnstown’s most recent win was 14-9 in 2003, when current Arizona Cardinal LaRod Stephens-Howling was in the lineup.
Johnstown coach Kevin Marabito’s 4-2 team will be an underdog against the undefeated Crushers during Friday’s game at Trojan Stadium.
Given recent history, it might be difficult to believe that this series more than once was temporarily halted because of Johnstown’s dominance. The Trojans won the first six games without allowing a point.
Johnstown outscored the team then known as Johnstown Catholic by a cumulative 158-0 in those contests.
The Trojans won the first
14 games of the series in games played over a span of 56 years by a whopping 447-37 count.
The series went into hibernation after Johnstown’s 26-0 victory in 1973 and wasn’t revived until Bishop McCort’s historic 28-14 win over the Trojans in 1989 under coach Frank Krevetski.
The teams next met in 1991, a game that ended in a 14-14 tie.
McCort won 27-8 in 1992.
Once again the series stopped until 2001, when both squads played a LHAC schedule.
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Duel threat: Portage’s Mike Sinosky is closing in on the program’s all-time rushing record that has stood for 33 years.
The Mustangs’ Tommy Burgan has put up similarly impressive numbers in coach Gary Gouse’s backfield.
First, Sinosky. The senior enters this week with 3,803 rushing yards and 55 touchdowns on 445 career carries.
Sinosky is 214 yards from tying Mike Chobany’s all-time Mustangs’ mark of 4,017 yards. Chobany’s final season was in 1976 and he graduated from Portage the following spring.
His total ranked 171st in the state prior to this year.
Burgan has 2,703 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns on 291 career attempts.
Combined, Sinosky and Burgan have collected 6,506 rushing yards and 92 touchdowns on 736 carries in the Mustangs’ wing-T.
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Pack of picks: Forest Hills has four different players with two interceptions apiece through six weeks.
The undefeated Rangers have nine interceptions overall, or 1.5 a game.
Forest Hills’ Chris Moss, Chris Lazration, D.J. Burkey and John Levi Ohler each have two picks. Adam Wingard has the Rangers’ other interception.
Shade has 12 interceptions, with four from Tyler Smith, two from Ryan Medva and six other players with one.
United’s Zack Waddell has four interceptions.
Penn Cambria’s Jeff Graboski, Ligonier’s Anthony Tutino, Bishop Carroll’s Ryan Woo and Conemaugh Township’s Dan Zambanini each have three interceptions.
Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.
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