Pisuala was two-way tackle at Southmoreland
When you hear the name 无毛视频淗ondo无毛视频� most folks think of former Boston Celtics star John Havlicek or the character played by John Wayne in the movie. The local sports scene also had a 无毛视频淗ondo无毛视频� in former Southmoreland football and baseball star Al Pisula.
无毛视频淵ou know who tagged me with that nickname?无毛视频� Pisula recalled. 无毛视频淒o you remember Jim Kriek, who was a sportswriter in Connellsville? When I played baseball back then he came up with that nickname.无毛视频�
Pisula was a star two-way tackle for the Scotties in the 1970无毛视频檚 on teams that went 3-6 in 1973, 5-4-1 in 1974 and 3-6 in 1975.
无毛视频淢y junior year we started out 4-0 and ended up 5-4-1,无毛视频� Pisula said. 无毛视频淭hat was our best year when I was in high school. We were in a tough conference and played Franklin Regional, Plum and Moon in the old Keystone Conference. When we played Moon, they had Rich Milot, and he must of ran for 400 yards against us.
无毛视频淭he big rival was Mt. Pleasant, we beat them my junior year, but we only beat them once when I was in high school.无毛视频�
Pisula endured a coaching change during his time at Southmoreland.
无毛视频淐huck Bonnello was the coach when I was a sophomore,无毛视频� Pisula stated. 无毛视频淛ohn Bacha was there for the last two years. I had a good relationship with Bacha, he lives in Arizona, and he calls me every now and then.无毛视频�
One of Pisula无毛视频檚 high school teammates was Russ Grimm, who went on to be an outstanding offensive lineman at Pitt and with the Washington Redskins, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
无毛视频淚 remember when Russ was a sophomore he was like 220 pounds and was actually a running back his sophomore year,无毛视频� Pisula remembered. 无毛视频淗is junior year they switched him to quarterback.无毛视频�
Pisula also excelled for the Scotties on the baseball diamond.
无毛视频淚 actually had a tryout with the Pirates,无毛视频� Pisula explained. 无毛视频淐ecil Cole, the scout, tried me out in Connellsville and I was supposed to have one at Three Rivers Stadium, but that无毛视频檚 when I signed my letter of intent for football, so it was one or the other then. I loved baseball though, I really enjoyed it. I was a pitcher and I also played first base. We had some good teams at Southmoreland, we never made the playoffs, but we always had winning records.无毛视频�
When Pisula graduated from Southmoreland in 1976, he garnered some hardware. The 6-3 235-pounder climaxed a three-year career by earning All-Keystone Conference honors for the second year in a row. He also earned All-WPIAL honors, and was named to the All-State team by both United Press International and the Associated Press.
Pisula accepted a football scholarship to West Virginia University.
无毛视频淚 visited Michigan State, Indiana, Syracuse, Michigan and Cincinnati,无毛视频� Pisula said. 无毛视频淲est Virginia was so close and I really enjoyed my visit.无毛视频�
Pisula had a four-year career as a defensive tackle with the Mountaineers that mirrored his high school career, WVU was competitive, but just couldn无毛视频檛 get over the hump. Coach Frank Cignetti无毛视频檚 teams posted records of 5-6 in 1976, 5-6 in 1977, 2-9 in 1978 and 5-6 in 1979.
无毛视频淐ignetti had great assistants when I was there,无毛视频� Pisula recalled. 无毛视频淣ick Saban was there for two years when I was there. Gary Stevens, who went to Miami, was my defensive line coach my first two years, Rick Trickett, he had some great assistants. I think Cignetti set the stage for Don Nehlen. Cignetti recruited well and we didn无毛视频檛 have the facilities back then. I was the last class that played at old Mountaineer Field.
无毛视频淚 played with some good players like Oliver Luck, Fulton Walker and Darryl Talley. There were some good talent down there. A couple of those years, a game here and there, it could have been different. We had a tough schedule. Maryland was good, and Pitt and Penn State were loaded back then. We just didn无毛视频檛 have a lot of depth back then.无毛视频�
In four seasons with the Mountaineers, Pisula recorded 116 career tackles with one interception and five recovered fumbles
He also squared off against his old teammate, Russ Grimm, who was on the offensive line at Pitt.
无毛视频淚 was pleased with my career,无毛视频� Pisula offered. 无毛视频淚 love West Virginia. I无毛视频檝e been going to the games since 1982. We无毛视频檝e had season tickets and my nephew Donny Barclay played there and had a nice career.无毛视频�
After graduation, Pisula started working for his dad无毛视频檚 company, Green Acres Contracting, and is now an executive vice president with the company.
Now 57, Pisula resides in Scottdale with his wife of 23 years, Leslie. They have three children: David, Tommy and Sarah. Tommy, who will graduate in 2017, is a First Team All-Section football and basketball player at Southmoreland.
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Monday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.