Mar 8, 2020 8 min read

After a successful but somewhat disappointing regular season, the 1994-95 Ringgold High School boys basketball team had just a matter of weeks to make a number of years of hopes and dreams come true.

The weeks and days to achieve ultimate success – a process that began many rebounds and fast breaks before – were further diminished with a WPIAL semifinal playoff loss to nemesis McKeesport in the Class AAAA semifinals.

With a little more than two weeks remaining to win a championship – PIAA gold to be exact – the Rams rallied together, relied on their strengths, skills, will and desire to share an ultimate high school basketball moment.

“That (semifinals) loss, however tough it was for us to take, gave us a sense of urgency going into the state tournament,” said Jeff Tyree, a key member of the Rams’ starting five. “It was our last opportunity to play basketball together and to win a championship. We paid closer attention to the details. We all had to dig a little deeper to play better for each other and the team as a whole.”

“Honestly, I think we were just ready to play better going into the state playoffs” said Czar Walsh, another central figure in Ringgold’s lineup. “We weren’t tense or worried. We knew this was the last time (for the group). At that point, we had nothing to lose. I think we were loose, free of those expectations. Once we handled Dubois in the first round of the state tournament, we were just a different team.”

Jim Williams who served as a long-time assistant coach to Phil Pergola at Ringgold and other schools, puts it bluntly when speaking of the Rams’ state championship team.

“I thought we underachieved (in the regular season and WPIAL playoffs),” Williams asserted. “I felt we should have played better. Things didn’t click right. Then, all of a sudden, it was there. Everything fell into place.”

For Pergola, Ringgold’s head coach, the 1995 PIAA title is the crowning achievement of a 50-year coaching career that also featured a WPIAL title and PIAA silver medal with Ringgold in 1990. He has 640 career victories.

The 1994-95 Rams were the first team in WPIAL history to win the largest classification in the PIAA tournament and are one of only three schools to do so. Penn Hills (2004) and New Castle (2014) are the only others to pull off that trick.

Ringgold, which finished with a 25-6 record, is also one of four teams from Washington County – Fort Cherry (1961) and Washington (1984 and 1986) – to win a state basketball championship.

“It was special,” Pergola said. “Anytime you advance to the state finals, it really gives you a feeling that is hard to describe. You can’t really start a season out and say you’re going to Hershey to win a state championship. So many things can happen. It’s a grind. Really, the feeling can’t be described. It’s not just the game, it’s enjoying the trip.”

Dealing With Expectations

Preseason hype followed the Rams through each step of the regular season.

Area newspapers and pundits were clear and boastful that Ringgold was the team to beat in Class AAAA.

The Rams returned an exciting and talented lineup that in addition to Tyree and Walsh, included Michael Horan and Jamont Kinds. They added seven-footer Tyrone Leonard, a transfer from Valley, and had the late Tony Thomas as a top reserve.

Ringgold split with McKeesport in section play. Its other losses, in addition to the playoff defeat to the Tigers, came against Monessen, Connellsville, Upper St. Clair and Laurel Highlands. Four of the losses were by a combined total of eight points.

“The regular season was disappointing,” Kinds remembered. “The expectations were high. We battled injuries, close losses. We were confident. Not having Jeff Tyree for some games because of injury hurt us.”

“I was extremely frustrated,” said Horan, who stood three inches shy of seven feet, was the Rams’ top collegiate prospect. “I felt we should have beat McKeesport (in the semifinals). We took the game outside when we had a clear advantage inside. I let my feelings known.

“The regular season was tough,” Horan continued. “There was so much hype. One of the papers said it was Ringgold and everyone else. Tyrone coming in changed our style. It never seemed like we could get it all going. That being said, we lost to some good teams and some close games. We lost some games we shouldn’t have, and it was frustrating.”

Everyone involved said the inclusion of Leonard forced a change in style of play that never manifested itself into Ringgold’s best play.

While the players and coaches were quick not to blame Leonard, Ringgold’s style changed when he left the team after the regular season.

“We were more fast paced,” Kinds said. “Tyrone coming in slowed the offense down. It had to. I think it threw us off some.”

“I agree, it changed the way we played,” Walsh said. “We couldn’t run the floor like we had before, and we couldn’t press defensively. We did certain things certain ways. When Tyrone came over, we had to change the plan.”

“Things just didn’t blend the way we wanted them to,” Horan said.

Pergola said Ringgold didn’t end up being as high a scoring team as expected. He admits, the team did not play to its potential in the regular season.

“We all thought we’d have a strong team, a good team,” Pergola said of entering the season. “When we got (Tyrone) expectations just grew. We just didn’t get it all together. It was frustrating. We lost some low-scoring games and we beat McKeesport by nine the first time and lost the second game. It was frustrating.”

Leonard’s departure set the stage for the final push in the post-season.

The Final Chance

The Rams advanced through the WPIAL playoffs and had a chance to take the season series against McKeesport as the teams met in the semifinals.

While the Rams’ preseason basketball fortunes were being hyped, the Tigers won WPIAL and PIAA football titles, led by Brandon Short. Without most of its starters, McKeesport won its first five basketball games. When the football players were ready to play basketball, some of the eight Tigers who got the season off to a strong start knew their playing time would be reduced or eliminated.

The WPIAL semifinal game was more than having a chance to advance to the finals for both teams. It was for superiority.

Buoyed by a dramatic quarterfinals win over New Castle, the Rams made a charge at McKeesport. They failed seven times in the fourth quarter to gain the lead. Eighteen turnovers and the empty sets left Ringgold feeling unfulfilled in a 66-65 loss in front of a standing room only crowd at Duquesne’s A.J. Palumbo Center.

“Personally, it was heartbreaking,” Walsh said.

“It was frustrating,” said Horan, who went on to play at Fairfield. “We felt we were the better team. Maybe it brought us together. The pressure was off, and I think we just decided to play for one another. The four of us had been together for so long and when you added Troy Pauley and Shawn Jurik and Ryan Pergola, we were a tight group.”

Ringgold’s rally began with two PIAA wins. Then, an emotional and dramatic win over Eric Cathedral Prep in the state quarterfinals turned the rally into a crusade.

Thought to be defeated, the Rams used a last-second shot by Walsh to tie the game and send it into overtime. Two overtimes later, Ringgold came out on top, 77-67.

“That was our defining moment,” Williams said. “After that, we put on a different coat. You weren’t stopping us.”

“That was the game that made us feel like we could do it,” Tyree said. “Czar made a big shot. We felt we had overcome a lot of obstacles. We felt we were a team of destiny. It was our time.”

Ringgold used a career-high 16 points from Thomas, 18 from Tyree and a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds from Horan to defeat Butler, 63-55, in the semifinals and advance to the state title game.

The Rams also made 10 of 11 free throws in the final 1:09.

Ringgold then made history and won the PIAA Championship by beating Williamsport, 71-66, in Hershey.

A season that could have ended in regret ended in one that turned out to be unforgettable.

“It was the pinnacle of high school athletics for us,” said Horan. “I played in the NCAA tournament. The state championship game means more to me. I knew we weren’t losing that game. It wasn’t just Ringgold that won. Donora won. Monongahela won. Finleyville won. It was all of it that made it fun.”

“It was something special,” Walsh said. “I loved being around those guys. I didn’t want to play college ball. I couldn’t picture myself with another team. It was awesome.”

Said Kinds: “Walking out into that (Hersheypark) Arena, with all the people in the stands making noise and all the cameras, it was the first time I ever experienced anything like that. It meant everything to us because we had been together since we were little kids. We wanted to achieve winning that championship. We were really a family. It’s a bond that will never be broken. There is so much meaning and significance to it for us.”