Sports Vault: Pivnick and Pintar cleared way to greatness at W&J
By John Sacco
For the Observer-Reporter
Pivnick and Pintar cleared way to greatness at W&J
Tom Durbin, the former offensive line coach at Washington & Jefferson, once told Todd Pivnick and Kevin Pintar they were going to make him famous.
The two – a left guard and tackle tandem in the early 1990s – certainly cleared the path for the Presidents to become an elite NCAA Division III program.
They helped make the Presidents famous in 1992 by knocking opponents dizzy on the way to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl – the NCAA Division III national championship game.
The All-Americans were as tough and their performance, work and commitment to excellence is legendary.
“They were inquisitive and really wanted to learn and wanted to get better every day,” Durbin recalled. “They played the game the right way and they played to have fun. They were always upbeat knowing things didn’t always go our way. Even when they didn’t, we found a way to see a positive and it’s partly because of those two.”
Pivnick has returned to W&J this season as the team’s volunteer offensive line coach. He is revered within the Presidents’ program and holds a special place in W&J football history.
Pivnick came to W&J as part of one of the most talented recruiting classes in Presidents’ history. W&J won four Presidents’ Athletic Conference championships with Pivnick and Pintar as offensive tackle and guard and the Presidents compiled a 37-6 record. The 1992 team advanced to the Stagg Bowl after playoff victories over Lycoming (36-0), Emory & Henry (51-15) and Rowan (18-13). Following the 1992 season, W&J was awarded the ECAC Lambert Trophy.
The 1992 Presidents established school records for rushing yards (3,519) and rushing yards per game (270.7), which stand today. The top two single-season rushing totals in W&J history occurred with Pivnick leading the way. All-American Chris Babirad rushed for 2,471 yards in 1992 and 1,713 yards the previous season.
Pivnick earned All-PAC laurels three times, including first-team selections in 1991 and 1992. Following his senior year, he was selected to the Champion USA First Team All-America squad.
Pintar was a two-time First Team All-PAC selection. The offensive lineman was honored on the 1992 Champion All-America Team. He also was a member of four PAC championships.
Pintar was an honorable mention All-PAC choice in 1990 after helping W&J to a 10-1 record and 10-7 victory at Ferrum in the NCAA playoffs. The offensive line paved the way for W&J Athletic Hall of Famers Larry Pitts and Babirad and their backfield mates to rush for 2,066 yards and 28 touchdowns in nine regular-season games (229.6 rushing yards per game).
Pintar helped W&J win eight times in 1991, nearly matching the previous year’s rushing output with 2,122 yards and 28 touchdowns.
“Kevin was one of the first people I met at W&J,” Pivnick said. “I lived with him and we hit it off. We had a bond right off the bat that just grew throughout. Our sophomore year of 1990 all of it came together and we just clicked. It just grew from there. We were so symbiotic. We were close on and off the field.
“There was never any jealousy. We both took whatever we got in stride and didn’t look for reward. We just looked to be the best we could be. It was a tandem.”
Pintar joined Pivnick in the W&J Hall of Fame this year. Pivnick was excited for and proud of his teammate.
“I’m totally honored,” Pintar said of his Hall of Fame induction. “The four years I played at W&J, the quality of my teammates on both offense and defense was tremendous.
“When you consider how many other great players played there before and after me, it is a complete honor. When I got the call from Coach (Mike) Sirianni, I pulled off to the side of the road and had to gain my composure.”
Dogs of war
While Pivnick preaches a “Dogs of War” mentality to the current Presidents’ offensive line, he and Pintar were the original members of W&J’s “Dogs of War.”
They were joined upfront by well-decorated center Anthony Denuzzio, tackle Jason Moore and guard John Mueller and top reserve Cory Zahradnik.
Few teams in the country could run the football like W&J.
“Their game was physicality on top of their technique,” Durbin said. “They got into people. They didn’t play like a lot of linemen today. Those guys were going to hurt you.”
Said former W&J coach John Luckhardt: “They were very dynamic, maybe the best in modern W&J history. I mean we ran the ball. We were probably the No. 1 running team in the country. We had an exceptional offensive line and those two guys together made a lot of things happen. We don’t think anybody really stopped our running attack per se. That’s including the best teams in the country.
“It was a special group and those two guys headlined the whole group.”
For all his greatness and impact, it wasn’t until the 1992 playoffs and the NCAA semifinals that Babirad sealed his legacy. The running back set an NCAA record for a four-game postseason, gaining 882 rushing yards. His playoff rushing yards counted for 35.7 percent of his season total.
His 218 rushing yards against undefeated Rowan in the NCAA semifinals, including a jaw-dropping, 80-yard jaunt for a game-winning TD with seven minutes left, is legendary.
It began upfront as Babirad ran to his right and then made a patented cut back to the left, which was wide open largely because Pintar and Pivnick continued through with their blocks. Babirad raced to the end zone, outrunning a defense that labelled him a “slow, average back.”
“Our whole line was good but Todd and Kevin definitely were the two anchors,” Babirad said. “The offensive line was great to work with. Everything they did was good. I mean their technique was great. We were able to feed off each other. They knew there was a chance I could reverse field. They needed to always stay on their blocks and they’d just lock on somebody and hammer them. It’s not hard running behind that.”
Coach’s delight
Bill Dukett was the offensive strategist for W&J during the Pivnick-Pintar era. With a back like Babirad, it wasn’t exactly hard to figure what Dukett’s strategy was going to be. Stopping it was another story.
“We were heavy on one side and those two guys moved as well as any of them,” Dukett said. “What that allowed us to do, because of their technique and their skill, was to block the front side power play. But they were also quick enough to run the counter play off that and we made a living in the counter game, especially with the tailback we had.
“I thought their technique was really the key to them being All-American players. They were technicians on top of just being like tough guys. They were sound football players.”
Pintar credits Pivnick for making him a better player and person.
“I don’t think I’d be there if it wasn’t for Piv,” Pintar said. “The four years we played together we just became a single unit. I mean, I knew what he was doing. He knew what I was doing. He is such a great talent.”
Pivnick, who was inducted to W&J’s HOF in 2016, said it never felt right being inducted without Pintar.
“I was ecstatic for Kevin,” Pintar said. “I never felt comfortable being in the Hall of Fame without Kevin being there. I said at his induction dinner ‘there is no Pivnick without Pintar.’ It killed me that we just couldn’t go in together as a unit because that’s the way we were. We did some great things together. It’s just a tremendous thing. I can breathe. I feel good and can enjoy my own honor.”
Return to glory
After W&J clinched its 28th NCAA Division III playoff berth and a record 28th Presidents’ Athletic Conference title this year, Pivnick was grateful to be part of another championship.
“Since Coach Pivnick came in, he really harps on us about wanting to run the football,” said Elijah Staub, the lone senior starter on the offensive line.
Staub added, “The sign of a really good offensive line is that your team can run the football. If you do it, you’re controlling the clock and you’re controlling the game.
“We go to work every day up front and it’s very focused on attention to detail and playing tough. We have some young guys … and I think they have done well. Guys just keep coming in and doing their jobs and doing it well. That’s a credit to Coach Pivnick and the culture he has built. We all see why he is one of the greatest players in W&J football history. He works so hard on the field and in the film room to help make us better.”
John Sacco writes a column about local sports history for the Observer-Reporter.