Mike Mastovich
mmastovich@tribdem.com
JOHNSTOWN —
Six more inductees entered the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night during a ceremony that focused on family values, hometown pride and a will to succeed.
New additions included Jerry Davitch (football), Tammy Etienne (track and field), Artrell Hawkins Jr. (football), Mike Iuzzolino (basketball), Joe Popp (football) and Becky Siembak (basketball) during the hall’s 16th banquet, which was held at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center.
Davitch, a Johnstown High standout who went on to play Division I football and wrestle at Arizona before coaching at the Air Force Academy and Idaho, spoke of how his immigrant grandparents instilled a work ethic and values that later were molded under former Trojans coach Dave Hart and his staff.
“When I went to high school I played for the best of the best, Dave Hart and the guys that were there,” Davitch said. “My teammates, if I could repeat any of my athletic experiences one more time – and that includes being at Notre Dame and coaching against the team at Notre Dame, broadcasting a game, playing against Army and Navy, all of those good things – if I could do one more thing, one more time, that would be to play one more game with the guys right there.”
Davitch pointed to his former teammates on the 1958 undefeated Trojans WPIAL championship team, among them Cambria County Sports Hall of Famers George Azar and Ed Adamchick.
Etienne was one of the United States’ top track stars and among the best in the world during the early 1980s. She got her start in Cassandra and attended Portage Area High School before accepting a scholarship to the University of Texas. Even halfway across the country, Cambria County wasn’t far from Etienne’s mind.
“I could always be seen wearing my kelly green sweats from Portage when I was a freshman. I still have them 37 years later,” Etienne said, holding up a plastic bag containing the warm-ups.
“I never forgot where I came from. I never forgot the hard-working people of Portage and Cambria County. I hold that dear to my heart. This is a great place.”
Etienne was on track to vie for a spot in the 1984 Olympic Games until a career ending injury.
“In 1982, I was ranked first in the U.S. and 10th in the world,” Etienne said. “The dream of competing in the Olympics was becoming more of a reality until life threw me a curveball. The year before the Olympics I tore a tendon in my foot and never recovered.
“I felt I let down a lot of people. Coming from a small area, I had the support of family and friends and all the coaches who were behind me from the start. Not being able to accomplish that was pretty devastating because that’s all I knew,” she added. “But I rediscovered that it wasn’t so much getting to the goal as the person you become in the process of trying to get there. In that moment I realized that hardships and disappointments are important.”
Hawkins credited his parents, family, church and Bishop McCort High School for providing the foundation to a NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots. A record-breaking back at McCort, Hawkins played under scholarship at the University of Cincinnati before being taken the by Bengals in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft.
“I never thought in a million years I’d be standing up here,” Hawkins said. “But I believe it because they told me I could,” he added, pointing to his parents.
Hawkins thanked God and then had family, friends and coaches at two tables stand to be recognized.
“This is my backbone,” he said. “The past 17 years, these are the people who have carried me. You guys have been my rock. Thank you very much.”
The former NFL cornerback had special praise for former Crushers coach Frank Krevetski, who saw untapped potential in Hawkins, who had suffered through two injury-filled years as an underclassman.
“I don’t think I could have done it without this guy,” Hawkins said of his former coach.
Iuzzolino joked that he was hesitant to speak in front of a Cambria County/
Johnstown crowd because as a former Altoona High player from Blair County he remembered the once fierce rivalry between the two high schools.
“I feel like one of the reasons I’m here tonight is because of the 1991 St. Francis (team that advanced to the NCAA tournament),” Iuzzolino said. “I’m the person being inducted, but I feel like I represent that team and that university for what they accomplished. It was a great accomplishment for such a small school, for the little guy to finally get to dance with the big guys. It truly was a magical moment, and people remember that team.”
Iuzzolino led the Red Flash to a 24-8 record and was the Northeast Conference’s Player of the Year. The Dallas Mavericks drafted him in the second round and he played two NBA seasons before embarking on a pro career in Europe. He now coaches at St. Vincent College.
Popp, who is 81, had the crowd of 330 laughing with a few jokes and stories, and especially after his cell phone rang twice while he was at the podium.
On a serious note, Popp spoke of how growing up in Franklin Borough in a family that immigrated from Yugoslavia impacted his life. He left the area in 1948 after leading Franklin to an undefeated season in football.
Popp played under scholarship at Catawba in North Carolina and had a Division I coaching career with Wake Forest, North Carolina and Georgia Tech. Eventually, he was a special assistant coach of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for two seasons.
“Franklin was an area I’ll never forget,” Popp said. “We just loved one another. We really did. I think that’s why we had good football and basketball teams. The thing I learned was love, help one another and get an education.”
Siembak, a former Division II national women’s basketball player of the year and part of California University of Pennsylvania’s 2004 national championship team, delivered an emotional speech.
The Johnstown High graduate reflected on how her parents, siblings and coaches molded her.
Despite scoring 1,733 points and grabbing 1,325 rebounds at Johnstown, Siembak didn’t receive a scholarship offer until then-Slippery Rock coach Darcie Vincent recruited her.
“My heart broke after I was turned down by college after college all because I was 2 inches shy of 6 feet,” she said. “All I wanted was a chance.”
When Vincent later left for Cal, Siembak followed her and had to sit out a season as a redshirt due to the transfer.
“The belief that all things happen for a reason is so true in this case. If Slippery Rock would have released me, I wouldn’t have been a part of the national championship team,” said Siembak, who scored 2,019 points and had 1,203 rebounds in college and was on two Cal teams that went a combined 67-3.
