Benedictine to Induct Seven into Athletic Hall of Fame

Benedictine Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Windows on the River

(in the Cleveland Flats)

Check-in and public reception: 4:30 p.m.

Dinner: 6 p.m.

Induction Ceremony: 7 p.m.

Tickets: $40 per person

For more information, contact the Benedictine Alumni Office

(216) 421-2080 ext. 342

Or by email: alumni@cbhs.net

Benedictine 2013 Hall of Fame capsule bios

Bob Urda ’48

As a senior pitcher, Urda helped the Bengals reach Columbus for the first time in school history in 1948. Urda pitched all the key games in that stretch, which included a three-hit victory over the defending state champions.  He also pitched the Bengals to their second consecutive Cleveland City Championship when he threw a four-hitter in a 7-1 win over Holy Name. Urda was also a top running back for the 1947 Bengals and was listed among the area’s leading scorers as a senior. Later, he played at baseball Western Michigan University and then was in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.

Charley Reynolds ’56

A three-sport star, Reynolds graduated as the leading scorer in the school’s basketball history. As a receiver, Reynolds helped the Bengals to the Cleveland football city title with a convincing and record-setting 47-6 win over St. Ignatius in the first Charity Game played on Thanksgiving morning in 1955. As a senior pitcher, Reynolds compiled a 4-0 record. He combined with another pitcher on a no-hitter. He also pitched a solo one-hitter, where he retired the first 17 batters he faced. That season, the Bengals compiled a 19-1 season record as Cleveland City champs but lost in the state finals. After an injury-shortened career at Purdue University, he returned to Benedictine as a teacher and coach at Benedictine in the 1960’s. Later in the 1990’s Reynolds came back as the school’s principal.

Sal Collura ’63

Collura was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the East Senate as a senior running back in 1962 as he helped the Bengals to another league title on their way to a 9-2 season record. In a key East Senate game against arch-rival Cathedral Latin, Collura caught an 11-yard pass with just 36 seconds left for the only points in the contest. Collura was the team’s leading rusher averaging six yards per carry. He was also selected by the Catholic Universe Bulletin to its All-Catholic team. Collura played in the annual Ohio North-South All-Star football game and still remains in the top 30 all-time scorers in Benedictine history with 114 points. As a senior outfielder, Collura helped the Bengals to a school record 26 wins in the 1963 baseball season that included the Cleveland City title. Collura also played in the annual Cuyahoga County East-West all-star baseball game.

Dave Petschauer ’67

Petschauer was a three-sport star who earned Plain Dealer All-Scholastic honors in baseball as a shortstop. He was one of the leading hitters in the Cleveland area with a batting average of exactly .500. In basketball, he was third in scoring as a junior in the always-tough East Senate. He had a career high 30 points in a win over Collinwood. He still ranks in the top 30 in school history for career points. As a wide-receiver for the Cleveland City champion Bengals football team, Petschauer was the leading pass catcher for the 9-1 Bengals, who defeated South High 32-6 in front of a crowd of 35,327 at old Cleveland Stadium. He was named to the All-East Senate team and to the Catholic Universe Bulletin’s All-Catholic team in football.

Rick Switalski ’73

Switalski was a two-year letterman in football and record-holder in the shot put with a throw of 58-1.  That record was one of the longest-held records in school track history. It wasn’t until two decades later that it was finally broken. As a senior, he won the Bellaire Relays shot put title and was sixth in the Class AAA shot put state finals. Switalski was a starting tackle on the Bengals last Cleveland City championship football team in 1971 and on the first independent season in 1972. Switalski later played on the offensive line at the University of Virginia and was twice named All-Academic All-Atlantic Coast Conference. Later he was signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Colts.  

Jim Lasher ’81

A quarterback and defensive back, Lasher was a key member of the Benedictine 1980 Division III state championship football team. His interception return of 47 yards to the 10-yard line led to the Bengals only touchdown in the 9-3 state championship victory over Hamilton Badin.  Lasher won the school’s prestigious Fr. Florian Award as a senior. In baseball, he led the Bengals to a 20-5 record as he finished with a 7-1 pitching record and was listed as one of the top hitters in the area with a batting average of .511. Lasher helped the Bengals defeat St. Ignatius in the best-of-three series to win the Cleveland Area Baseball Conference title. He was the winning pitcher in Coach Augie Bossu’s 490^th baseball win and added two hits in Bossu’s 500^th all-time baseball win. He was voted by the students as “Mr. Benedictine.”

Dan Carcelli ’91

Considered as the greatest wrestler in Benedictine history, Carcelli is the school’s two-time state wrestling champion. As a junior he finished with a 29-3 record on his way to the state 130-pound title. He closed out a perfect senior season with a 36-0 record by winning the state 135-pound title. He was the Most Valuable Wrestler in the three invitationals that he wrestled as a senior:  Richmond Heights, Berea and the Ohio Catholic. He earned a place on the Plain Dealer Cuyahoga County All-Scholastic wrestling team.  Later he wrestled at Cleveland State where he was an All-American at 142 pounds in 1995.  Carcelli also was a four-time winner of the Most Outstanding Wrestler award at CSU.

He holds CSU records for most career wins with 60 and a record 35 straight dual meet wins.

Prepared by Wally Mieskoski ’71 

Benedictine 2012 Football Awards

Senior quarterback/defensive back Daniel Piascik of South Euclid won the prestigious Fr. Florian Award for the 2012 Benedictine football season. Another senior, linebacker Matt McCarthy of Twinsburg won the Joe Rufus Spirit Award.  Both Piascik and McCarthy were among the team’s captains in 2012.

(Matt McCarthy, left, and Daniel Piascik, right, receive their awards at Convocation)

The Fr. Florian Award, presented since 1969, goes to the senior player who demonstrably achieves the fullness of his potential, exhibits leadership on and off the field, puts the good of the team ahead of his own glory, and furthermore, the achievements of the award winner largely went unrecognized. The award winner must have a good record academically and with regard to his self-discipline. He is a person that Fr. Florian would have loved to work with… a hard worker and a winner.

Fr. Florian Hudac ’34, O.S.B. was a three-sport athlete at Benedictine, passing up a major league baseball contract to join the Benedictine religious order after college graduation. He died in August 1969.

Benedictine football coach Ben Malbasa spoke about Piascik, “Daniel demonstrated selfless leadership when he changed positions from quarterback to cornerback during the season, and he excelled at his new position recording four interceptions to lead the team in that category. Not only did Daniel excel at corner, but he also showed strong support for his replacement at quarterback, helping him at practice and in games,” added Malbasa.

“In the two years that I have coached him, Daniel has shown great determination and commitment. He embodies the ideals of a Benedictine Student-Athlete,” added Malbasa.

In his career, Piascik completed 166 of 365 passes for 2,347 yards and 14 TD. Piascik also has the fifth-best single-game passing yardage in school history when he threw for 307 yards in a 31-30 win over Boardman in 2011.

This past season, as a cornerback, he had 17 solo tackles and 34 assists as well as leading the team with four interceptions. He also had two fumble recoveries and broke up five passes.

As the Bengals punter, Piascik averaged 32.6 yards per punt with a season-best of 61 yards against Akron Hoban.

Daniel was a rare four-year letterman. As a freshman midway through the 2009 season, he started several games at quarterback when injuries moved him up the depth chart. He led the Bengals to a 14-3 win over Walsh Jesuit that year, which kept the Warriors out of the playoffs.

Daniel is interested in the Honors Program at The Ohio State University, as well as Case Western Reserve University.

The Joe Rufus Spirit Award began in 1987 and goes to the senior player who helps his teammates to the best of his ability on the field and leads by his example off the field. It is named after long-time teacher, coach and athletic director Joe Rufus, who was at Benedictine High School from 1945 to 1987. Rufus died in 1996.

“Matt McCarthy's preparation for the season, his commitment to his teammates, and his consistent effort to help the team reflect the legacy of Coach Rufus,” said Malbasa.

A two-year letterman, McCarthy had 12 solos and 62 assists in 2012. Matt is interested in John Carroll University, St. Vincent College, and Thiel College.

Also recognized at a special school convocation honoring the Fall sports teams were the following winners of North Coast League and AP All-District Honors:

North Coast League First Team:                            AP First Team All-District:

                Peter Cvijanovic and Jerome Baker                         Peter Cvijanovic and Jerome Baker

North Coast League Second Team:                        AP Second Team All-District:

                Marshall Howell                                                      Marshall Howell and Antonio Robinson

North Coast League Honorable Mention:             AP Honorable Mention All-District

                Jovon Dawson                                                        Jovon Dawson, Dan Piascik, and  

                                                                                              Jaylen Funches

By Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian and Statistician

- Cleveland Benedictine High School-

This Week in Benedictine History

October 27, 1990

Benedictine Shuts Out Cleveland Central Catholic 23-0

For the third straight year, Benedictine ended its season with a shutout victory over the Ironmen.

The 23-0 win gave the Bengals a 5-5 record. The victory, however, was tougher than it appeared in the final score.

Benedictine coach Augie Bossu was happy that his team did not have a letdown after a hard-fought 19-7 loss in the previous week against top-ranked St. Ignatius.

“It was a good team effort,” said Bossu, of his team’s win against Central Catholic.

As he had done so many times before, Pat McDonald got the Bengals off on the right track with a touchdown catch from junior quarterback Ron Schultz that covered 25 yards. The extra point kick missed so the Bengals led, 6-0, with 6:24 left in the first.

In the third, when McDonald fumbled the snap on a 38-yard field goal attempt, he had the presence of mind to roll out to his left and found Jeff Kadlub open in the end zone. That touchdown gave the Bengals a 12-0 lead. The two-point conversion pass failed.

McDonald had quite a game for the Bengals.

He had one touchdown catch, and threw one touchdown pass.  In addition, as a defensive back, McDonald intercepted one pass and swatted away several passes away from the Central receivers.

After Central failed to move the ball on its next possession, the Ironmen went into punt formation. The snap went over the head of the punter into the end zone where the Bengals Ben DeJohn tackled the punter for a safety.

That increased the lead to 14-0.

Following the free kick, the Bengals moved to the CCC 23. The big play of the drive came when Schultz hit Mike Clark for an 18-yard gain.

The drive ended with Denis Belusic kicked a 24-yard field goal that boosted the lead to 17-0 with 11:47 left in the game.

Benedictine’s final touchdown came on a sequence of turnovers.

The Bengals Andy Kostos, who was the game’s leading ground gainer with 70 yards in 12 carries, picked up 46 yards in a drive that took the ball to the CCC one, where a fumble was recovered by Central Catholic.

On the next play, Central fumbled the ball back to the Bengals with Bill Davis recovering once again at the one.

From there, the Bengals fullback Mel Johnson popped over for the game’s final points.

NOTES: The 5-5 season record may not have been impressive but the competition facing the Bengals this season was top-notch.

Three of the losses came on late field goals by a total of five points. Those losses were to Mansfield Senior (22-19), Steubenville (13-12) and Akron Hoban (9-8). The other losses were by two touchdowns each to Sandusky and St. Ignatius.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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Bengals Drive Long-Distance; Fall to Hoban in North Coast League game

Recap

October 19, 2012

Akron Hoban 48, Benedictine 21

                

                AKRON – Benedictine all-purpose back Marshall Howell continued his drive from long-distance. The senior scored two of Benedictine’s three touchdowns in this North Coast League loss to Akron Hoban. Both scores came from the other side of mid-field.

                His first score came late in the first quarter on a 65-yard run that completed a five-play, 80-yard drive.  On the two-point conversion, senior Dan Piascik threw the scoring pass to junior wide receiver Matt Merimee to close the gap to 14-8.

                Then, to start the second half, Howell fielded the low kick on his own nine-yard line, broke through the Hoban containment and cruised down the left sideline in front of the Bengals bench for the touchdown. Howell evaded several Hoban tacklers near the Knights 40 yard line to finish off his 91-yard return.

                Howell’s runback is 10^th longest in school history.

                It was Howell’s second long-distance scoring play of the game and nearly matched his long-distance score from the previous week. Against Walsh Jesuit, he ran 97 yards from scrimmage to set the school record, breaking the old mark by two yards.

                After Hoban scored with 7:01 left in the third, Bengals senior Jovon Dawson picked up the Knights bouncing kick-off at his own 20 and took only 16 seconds to reach the end zone. His 80-yard kick return for the touchdown was the second of the game for the Bengals.

                Benedictine football historians are scurrying to find out if the two kick returns for touchdowns in one game is a school record. Even if the accomplishment is not a record-setting achievement, it certainly has been a long time since it happened last.

                Benedictine still leads the series with Hoban by a margin of 11-5 but saw its eight-game win streak end over the Knights. It was the first Hoban win over the Bengals since 1991. Included in the streak by the Bengals were two state playoff wins in 2002 (Benedictine 23-20) and 2004 (Benedictine 42-28).

                Benedictine now prepares for its season finale at Padua Franciscan on Friday night October 26.

               

                NOTES: Benedictine leads the all-time series with Padua 8-1 and has won the last seven games dating back to 1980. The first game was played in 1963 with the Bengals winning 56-0 in Padua’s first year of football. It was the Bruins first varsity loss in school history.

                That game set the standard in this series. The 56 points are the most scored by either team in a single game and it was the only shutout in the series history.

                The only Padua win came on a Sunday afternoon in the mud at Byers Field in 1972 by the score of 13-7.

               

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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This Week in Benedictine History

October 18, 2003

Benedictine 30, Villa Angela-St. Joseph 10

With an eight-game winning streak, Benedictine entered its next game at Euclid’s Sparky DiBiasio Stadium with Villa Angela-St. Joseph with some apprehension that was well-deserved. VASJ was poised for the upset.

Despite trailing 10-0 midway through the second quarter, the Bengals put together a “complete” victory as they scored 30 straight points to secure a 30-10 victory.

Bengals coach Art Bortnick made some adjustments and then the Bengals took control of the second half. Something had to be done. In the first half, VASJ ran 42 plays from scrimmage while the Bengals ran only 20.

The first step toward a comeback came on the legs of Raymond Williams, who scored on a 63-yard run with 6:03 left in the first half.  Sam Koyl added the extra point that brought the Bengals closer at 10-7.

That score came just 17 seconds after VASJ scored on a 13-yard pass from Mike Cvelbar to David Lighty. Sean Evers, who had a 31-yard field goal earlier, kicked the extra point that gave the Vikings a 10-0 lead.

Twice Benedictine moved deep into Viking territory but were turned away without scoring. At the end of the first half, the Bengals moved to the VASJ five, but a field goal attempt was blocked.

Then at the start of the third, Benedictine got down to the Viking one, but on three successive plays, were held for no gain, and losses of three yards and one yard as they turned over the ball on downs.

The score remained 10-7 through much of the third quarter.

On the second possession, the Bengals took over on their own 37 following a Viking punt.

Five plays later, the Bengals reached the end zone on a 44-yard pass from Joe Laffey to Lorenzo Hunter with 4:14 left in the third that gave the Bengals their first lead of the game. Koyl hit the extra point to make it 14-10.

The Benedictine defense held VASJ to a three-and-out and the Vikings were forced to punt from their own three.

Jon Huddleston took the kick on his own 44 and raced through the Vikings coverage team and scored on a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The Koyl kick made it 21-10 in favor of the Bengals.

On the kickoff, the Vikings took over on their 23. An incomplete pass, and 14-yard sack put the ball on their nine. With the quarterback attempting a pass in the end zone, Bengals defensive end Chris Lorber made the tackle for a safety.

Now the Bengals led 23-10 with 1:15 left in the third.

Benedictine got one final score in the fourth with 4:13 left in the game as Maurice White ran six yards for the touchdown. Koyl’s kick made it 30-10 and a Bengals victory.

Both coaches heaped praise on his opponent.

VASJ coach Tom Schoen noted that the Bengals had scores by the offense, defense and special teams. He told Mark Koestner of the News-Herald, “What does that tell you? It tells you that they’re a complete football team.”

It was Bortnick’s turn.

“You have to give them (VASJ) credit,” he told the News-Herald. “That was a well-executed offense, and they played intense. They made plays. There were numerous times I thought we had them tackled, and then (Cvelbar) or a receiver made a play.”

Part of the halftime adjustments made by Bortnick resulted in superior defensive play in the second half. The Bengals held the Vikings offense to minus -25 yards after the break. 

Raymond Williams had his usual game rushing for 189 yards on 28 carries. That was a big share of the 273 yards running the ball in the game for the Bengals.

VASJ had more luck throwing the ball as they completed 13 of 30 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown.

Benedictine outgained the Vikings, 364-179.

The victory increased the all-time series lead by the Bengals to 10-7-1.

Now undefeated in nine games, the Bengals would like to complete their first undefeated regular season since 1997. But it would take a victory over tough St. Edward at Bedford Stadium in the next week.

Benedictine was 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in the Plain Dealer while St. Edward was No. 5 in the same poll.

The Eagles were looking for the upset that would give them a chance to host a home game in the state Division I playoffs.

Their hopes became reality as the Eagles topped Benedictine 18-13 to knock the Bengals from the ranks of the unbeaten.

NOTES:

The loss to St. Edward was the only one of the season for the Bengals.

                In the playoffs, Benedictine defeated Ravenna Southeast 35-7; University School 44-0; Lake Catholic 33-20; and Steubenville 49-7 to reach the title game.

                For the Division III state title, the Bengals defense once again came to the forefront shutting out high-scoring Kenton. The Bengals won its fifth state playoff crown with this 12-0 victory.

                The win in the title game gave the Bengals a 14-1 season record, the most wins by a Bengals team.

               

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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Marshall Howell breaks 42-year-old school rushing record

Recap

October 13, 2012

Walsh Jesuit 37, Benedictine 7

                Senior all-purpose back Marshall Howell broke a 42-year old school rushing record when he scored on a 97-yard run in the third quarter of the Bengals loss to Walsh Jesuit on Saturday October 13 at Bedford Stadium.

                Trailing 7-0 in the third quarter, the Bengals took possession on the four-yard line after a Walsh punt.  A one-yard loss on first down put the ball on the three. It was from there that Howell took the ball on second down and ran through the right side of the line, broke past Walsh’s first wave of defense and ran untouched into the end zone for the game-tying touchdown. Nick Judy kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:43 left in the third quarter.

                Howell’s long run broke the old record of 95 yards set by Jim Johnson in 1970 in a 15-6 win over East Tech in a key East Senate game at John Adams Field.

                Benedictine coach Ben Malbasa said of Howell’s run, “Marshall's run came on a play called Stack Left Over 628.  Coach Joe Schaefer noticed they (Walsh Jesuit) were short a man on the weakside and we added the play at the half.  Jerome Baker threw a great block on the edge and Marshall read his block perfectly.”  

                Later in the third, Walsh added another touchdown to take the lead 14-7. In the final quarter, Walsh pulled away for a 37-7 North Coast League Blue Division win.

                Howell led the Bengals ball carriers with 133 yards in 15 carries. Jerome Baker added 77 yards in 12 carries.

               

Notes: Jim Johnson (Class of ’71) finished his record-setting game against East Tech with 152 yards in 13 carries.                Johnson also scored the game’s first touchdown on a four-yard run in the second quarter. With Pete Szabo’s extra point kick, the Bengals led at halftime 7-0.

                For his performance in the East Tech game, Johnson earned Plain Dealer Dream Team honors.

                Later that season, Johnson led the Bengals once again as he rushed for 144 yards in 26 carries in Benedictine’s 38-12 victory over St. Ignatius in the Cleveland City Championship Game at the old Stadium.  He won the game’s Most Valuable Player Award.

                That year Benedictine finished with a 9-1 record with its only loss coming to state champion Massillon.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

# # #

This Week in Benedictine History

October 11, 1985

Lights Out: Benedictine defeats Akron Hoban 32-7

When the Plain Dealer rankings came out on October 10, there was a new Number One team: Benedictine.

The 28-6 Bengals win at Mansfield on October 5 also kept Benedictine in fifth place in the state-wide Associated Press poll.

On the same evening as the Bengals were defeating Mansfield, 28-6, St. Edward (the Plain Dealer’s Number One team at the time) was being upset by St. Joseph 6-0. That opened the door for the Bengals to walk through as the top-ranked team in the area.

Another road trip beckoned, as the Bengals faced Akron Hoban.

Benedictine defeated Akron Hoban 32-7 and it was “Lights Out” that had nothing to do with the score of the game.

It was the Bengals seventh straight win of the season and they won convincingly despite an unusually heavy amount of penalties. Benedictine was flagged 17 times for a total of 195 yards. Meanwhile Hoban was penalized 12 times for 105 yards.

Coach Augie Bossu was not pleased with the penalty situations.

“I don’t feel good because we didn’t execute the way we can and the way we should,” he told the Plain Dealer.

Quarterback Larry Wanke was lighting up the field with his passing. It was necessary since the lights at Dowed Field were slow to turn on since a car hit a light pole a few blocks away from the school.

There was even some doubt that the game could be played.

Only two of the six light standards operated at the start of the game. Shortly after the opening kickoff, two more light standards came on. It wasn’t until 3:23 of the first quarter that all the light standards were completely operational.

That did not hinder the Bengals passing attack as two of the three touchdowns scored in the first were through the air.

The first touchdown came on a Ron Grosel four-yard run with Mike Garred’s extra point kick.

Hoban tied the game on a 41-yard scoring run by Keith Reynolds and conversion kick.

Then Larry Wanke fired two touchdown passes both to Bob Clark before the first quarter was over covering 60 and 15 yards. Those scores gave the Bengals a 19-7 first quarter lead.

In the third, Ken Redd helped the Bengals increase the lead when he caught a two-yard Wanke pass to make the score 25-7.

Adding one more score in the final quarter, Benedictine’s Ron Grosel scored from the two and Garred’s kick made it 32-7.

The last touchdown was set up when linebacker Tony DeJohn recovered a fumble on the Hoban 18.

Earlier in the game, DeJohn had a 65-yard pass interception called back because of a holding penalty.

Wanke had another good night passing the ball as he finished the game with 298 yards on 21 completions in 44 attempts. He was slowed down in the second half after hitting 14 of 23 for 199 yards in the first half but the Bengals were in control of the game.

After three straight weeks on the road, the Bengals finally played another home game. This time Niles McKinley visited the natural grass field at Cleveland Heights Field.

By the time the Red Dragons came to the Cleveland area, Benedictine had moved from fifth place in the Class AAA Associated Press poll to the Number Two ranked team in the state.

                NOTES: Larry Wanke earned some notoriety in his college career. He started at the University of Pittsburgh and after the Panthers moved to a different style of offensive system that led to a quarterback controversy, Wanke left.  His greatest moment at Pitt occurred in a 32-27 loss to Texas in the 1987 Bluebonnet Bowl. Shortly after halftime, when the starter was injured, Wanke stepped in and threw three touchdown passes. After an unhappy experience at Pitt, Wanke transferred to John Carroll, where he set 16 school records. He was selected in the 12^th round by the Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the 1991 NFL draft. Wanke was the 334th player- and last player -chosen. By doing so, he earned the title of “Mr. Irrelevant” and was feted by organizers of “Irrelevant Week” held annually in Newport Beach, California for the last player selected in the NFL draft.  Wanke did make it a good part of the way through training camp with the Giants, but was eventually cut.

                Hall of Famers – Larry Wanke ’86 and wide receiver Bob Clark ’87 are members of the Benedictine Athletic Hall of Fame.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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