MANSFIELD — Ohio high school basketball fans need no introduction to the history of Mansfield St. Peter’s.
It seems only fitting coach Joe Jakubick brought an undefeated, 9th-ranked team into a weekend that celebrated the two most storied squads in the Spartans’ distinguished legacy. St. Peter’s improved to 12-0 by dumping Cleveland Lincoln West 81-40.
The 1968 and 1978 squads were honored during their 50th and 40th respective reunions at halftime of that game Saturday night at the Franciscan Activity Center.
I’ve long relished the memories of St. Peter’s basketball, far before I ever moved to Mansfield.
My first encounter with the Spartans came at the 1978 Final Four. I grew up in central Ohio but my family is from eastern Ohio and my cousins coursed through Gnadenhutten Indian Valley South High School. My cousin David Rummel, now a Mansfield resident, graduated with Bobby Huggins in 1972.
Ohio prep basketball fans know Bobby, now the coach at West Virginia, is merely a chip off the old block. The block itself was a chunk of granite in the form of his father, a fiery giant named Charlie Huggins. Charlie was a coaching legend at Strasburg, Conotton Valley, Indian Valley South and finally Berlin Hiland.
Yet he reached his peak with his sons at Indian Valley South, first Bobby, then Harry, and finally Larry Huggins (who played at Ohio State). They made the small-school state tournament their playground, much like Mansfield St. Peter’s did in the 1970s.
But even old Charlie and his youngest son Larry couldn’t deal with the 1978 Spartans.
I knew nothing about them. I was just 11 years old, excited by my first trip to St. John Arena, hanging on to Dad’s pant leg and crawling on my hands and knees to the very top of the balcony at that venerable old facility. We looked down, way down, on the flag for the national anthem. I was terrified, and could barely see the figures below, but I’ll never forget any of it.
The Spartans had a terrific big guy named Leo Brown. Standing 6-foot-8 and bound for the Big Ten at Michigan, Indian Valley South had seen nothing like him. I was curious to watch how the Rebels would match up inside.
As the game unfolded, it was obvious Brown was far from a one-man show. Kevin Brooks was a tremendous athlete, played with a smooth pace, and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. The Spartans were bigger and quicker, but not rattled when Indian Valley South slowed the tempo.
The Rebels played terrific, disciplined defense, and still could not stop the blue and white train from rolling to its destiny. It was a superb game, and St. Peter’s richly deserved its 49-45 victory. Even as I left St. John Arena after that semifinal, I heard the whispers. That game with Indian Valley South was the title tilt — and it was. That was powerhouse vs. powerhouse, and the Mansfield outfit was the juggernaut that year.
The ensuing matchup with Tipp City Bethel was a mere formality. Coach Pat Maurer’s squad crushed Bethel 73-50 for the state championship that had become so elusive since Bob Frye marched the Spartans all the way in 1968.
When I arrived in Mansfield just as the 1990-91 sports season began, I unpacked those memories of the Spartans and dove into their history. I knew nothing of Frye, and the foundation he built.
St. Peter’s went 11-11 in its first year of varsity basketball in 1958-59, quite an achievement in retrospect. The next team went 20-2, and a rising star was born in Ohio prep basketball circles.
The 1961-62 squad boasted Ben Cooper and Milt Pitts as the star attractions to record a 26-1 year, and the following campaign produced a 23-1 mark. The obstacle of playing bigger schools in a two-division state tournament short-circuited the Spartans quest to reach the Final Four.
Yet the highlights continued with Frye at the helm. Pitts, perhaps the greatest player in school history, graduated in 1963 and would later claim a spot on the News Journal’s All-Century team, which included Shelby’s Larry Siegfried, Savannah’s Larry Huston, Mansfield Senior’s Ken McCally, Lexington’s Jamie Feick, St. Peter’s Leo Brown, and Madison’s Joe Jakubick, the same guy who sat on the Spartans’ bench as their coach on Saturday night.
The 1964-65 squad went 21-4, but Frye’s crowning achievement came in the 1967-68 season. St. Peter’s went 26-3, with all three losses by two points apiece. There were no defeats in the tournament. With Doug Alt and White Varga setting the tone, Ted Mecurio, Steve Wake, Ron Scherer, Jim Dalton, Tom Moloney, Jim Moloney, Tom Wentz, Ken Wentz, Charlie Henrich and Stan Baker, the Spartans cruised to Columbus.
Once there they survived a furious semifinal with Latham Western Pike (73-70) before destroying Petersburg Springfield Local 73-50 in the championship game. Alt, Varga and Scherer were on the all-state tournament team.
It was St. Peter’s first time in Columbus — it would not be its last.
Two years later Frye returned with a 26-1 club, but lost a heartbreaking, 61-60 decision to eventual state champion Cincinnati Lincoln Heights.
Ron Barbo took over for Frye before the 1971-72 season and the following year the Spartans were back in Columbus. Barbo’s bunch, which featured Jeff Ross, Pat Mulherin and Greg Givens, finished 23-5 after a 63-53 Final Four loss to Marion Pleasant.
In 1974-75, first-team All-Ohioan Steve Lemming led St. Peter’s to Columbus again. But the trail ended with a 67-42 loss to Maria Stein Marion Local to cap a 24-3 mark.
Barbo moved on to Lexington after the 1975-76 campaign, and Pat Maurer took over. The 1976-77 squad again beat a path to Columbus. With Brown and Brooks pointing the way, St. Peter’s stopped Richmond Dale Southeastern 68-58 in the semifinals but dropped a 63-50 decision to Fort Loramie in the title tilt.
No worries, the 1977-78 season included the ultimate trophy. Brown and Brooks were both All-Ohioans who led the Spartans to a 27-1 record. The only loss was to No. 3 Ridgedale at the Marion Coliseum. But in the end no one, including the Huggins family and their dynasty at Indian Valley South, could stop this team from hoisting the hardware in Columbus.
That outfit was boosted by Brown and Brooks, but also featured Kris Kowalski, Tim Mulherin, Steve Lang, Tom Heringhaus, Jim Nadolsky, Pete Day, Mark O’Brien, John Leibfritz, and Tim Keller. Nadolsky, Brooks, Brown and Kowalski were on the all-state tournament team, with Kowalski selected the MVP.
The 1978-79 squad went 24-4 and blitzed Zanesville Rosecrans 60-45 in the state semifinals. But undefeated St. Henry had just enough to top St. Peter’s 64-57 in the championship game.
That ended an incredible 12-year run. From the 1967-68 season through the 1978-79 campaign, St. Peter’s won at least 20 games eight times (and 19 in 1968-69), made seven trips to the Final Four, four appearances in the state championship game (including three in a row) and won it all twice. The program went 252-64 (.798 winning percentage) in that stretch.
That was the focus of Saturday night’s celebration.
Naturally there have been other outstanding Spartans’ teams, players and coaches since then. Will Meadows led the 1989-90 team back to the Final Four. The Spartans have come close a number of times since then, too.
I’ve had the privilege of covering many of those squads and individuals over the past 28 years. The last two seasons in particular have been a joy to watch as St. Peter’s went all the way to the regional championship game each time.
This year’s squad looks primed to make yet another storied run, and perhaps climb over the hump to get to Columbus. It certainly had fine examples set by a couple of terrific teams who were feted on Saturday night.
