A-K Valley Through the Years: One century ago, Owens Field made debut

By: George Guido
Thursday, September 26, 2019 | 7:10 PM

Each Friday throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look back at the games, players and events that are part of local scholastic history.

100 years ago

• Owens Field in Apollo hosted its first game as Apollo defeated first-year Leechburg, 47-0. The land for the field was former farmland donated by the Owens family.

75 years ago

• Defending WPIAL champion Aspinwall blanked Freeport, 18-0. Sunny Thompson scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Asps, and Jack Donohue tallied from 4 yards out.

60 years ago

• Leechburg’s Bob Bonello scored four touchdowns and passed for another as the Blue Devils pounded Ford City, 39-12. Fred Walbert scored both Glassers touchdowns.

• Har-Brack won its first game of the season by pulling out a 43-40 thriller over defending City League champ Westinghouse. McKinley Combs scored three touchdowns for Har-Brack.

50 years ago

• Oakmont advanced its record to 3-1 with a 28-6 victory over Trafford. Rich Cecil scored two touchdowns, and Bill Skinner and Scott Carothers one each for the Oaks.

• Freeport remained undefeated with a 21-6 victory over West Allegheny. Jeff Finley scored two touchdowns and Gary Risch added one to go with his 170 rushing yards.

40 years ago

• Highlands assistant coach Sam Albert said if the Golden Rams won three in a row, the players could shave his head. Albert kept his promise after Highlands defeated Seneca Valley, 21-0.

• Leechburg’s Dan Hauser put on a show for the home fans, scoring five touchdowns on five carries and returning an interception 88 yards to set up another in a 42-0 victory over Ford City.

25 years ago

• In a battle of unbeatens that featured Springdale’s unexpected 4-0 start, Riverview shut out the Dynamos, 22-0, before a standing-room-only crowd at Veterans Memorial Field.

• Burrell held Pine-Richland to minus-2 yards of offense in a 27-0 victory. Defensive linemen Ryan McCall, Toby Dobies, and David Merrifield led the unbeaten Bucs.

10 years ago

• Geoff Landry tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Zac Capan and ran for another as Deer Lakes pounded West Shamokin, 40-0, at Jack E. Boyer Field.

• Burrell created a four-way tie for first place in the Allegheny Conference with a 17-14 win at Shady Side Academy. Cam Nelson threw two touchdown passes and Brian Shaw’s 23-yard field goal proved to be the difference. Shaw, as a New Kensington police officer, was killed in the line of duty Nov. 17, 2017.

Five years ago

• In a miraculous finish, Highlands drove 46 yards in 28.3 seconds to defeat Apollo-Ridge, 28-27, before 5,000 fans at Golden Rams Stadium. A 5-yard pass from Brayden Thimons to Jordan Lineburg and Sam Elliott’s kick proved to be the game-winner.

• Plum scored on each of its seven first-half possessions to rout Kiski Area, 65-0. Kevin Brown ran for five Mustangs touchdowns.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Highlands, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale