http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
Spent part of my Saturday night at Volpe's Sports Bar in Emmaus where there was a reunion of the 1993 Central Catholic football state champs.
I will be writing more about this reunion in a column in the print edition of The Morning Call on Monday, but I want to say how nice it was to see so many of those guys again like Rashonn Drayton, Jose Delgado, Jeremy Wells, Willy Edwards, Kenny Eisenhard, the Gallagher boys, and of course, head coach Jim Morgans and offensive coordinator Tom Filipovits. Of couse, I still see a lot of Harold Fairclough, who is coaching at Whitehall and was recently inducted into Central's Wall of Fame.
Even then CCHS principal Jim Hodrick showed up and was having a good time.
That was a special team and a special era of Lehigh Valley football.
That chemisty and camaraderie for those Vikings has not been diminished, even 20 years later.
What struck me is how much that state title and that season means to them now. It probably means more 20 years later than it did 20 days later. When you're a kid, you don't have the perspective to realize what you've accomplished. You're just a kid trying to find your way in life.
Now, 20 years removed and with guys in their mid-to-late 30s, time has allowed them the chance to fully comprehend what they did in that 14-0 run.
The reunion was arranged by Fran Volpe, the owner of Volpe's. He's pictured below right. He's got a nice establishment there and has created a festive atmosphere. He was the host with the most, that's for sure.
Volple, of course, was the star of the biggest win of that team's season, the 13-8 win over heavily-favored Berwick at Lackawanna Stadium in the state 3A semis.
Volpe, coming off an injury-plagued season, caught Berwick by surprise by rushing for 106 yards on 10 carries and scored the game-winning TD with a 40-yard run in the third quarter.
He was beaming with pride on Saturday night. All of the guys were.
That CCHS team was the first state title team in football that I covered. Former colleague John Jay Fox had previously covered Becahi's two state-title teams.
Central's 40-0 PIAA-clincher over Blackhawk in snowy Altoona was one of the most dominant performances I've ever seen. But the Berwick win will go down as one of the most memorable games I've covered in 30-plus years at The Morning Call.
Many of those guys looked in good enough shape to still be on the field today.
I know if they got back in those uniforms, I wouldn't bet against them.
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