Early agate
ON THIS DATE
Oct. 31
1952 – Frank Bonus throws a 40-yard touchdown pass to Bill Braner midway through the fourth quarter, then intercepts a late Redstone Township pass as Washington High School remains undefeated with a 7-0 victory over the Black Hawks in Republic.
1958 – Cecil pulls out a 14-13 victory over Snowden in the final two minutes as Ed Patnesky throws a 12-yard touchdown pass to Steve Macik and Bruce Gossett kicks the winning extra point.
1970 – A bobbled snap from center to the punter with less than a minute remaining leads to a safety and gives West Greene a 2-0 victory over visiting Mapletown.
1973 – The Pittsburgh Pirates trade backup catcher Milt May to the Houston Astros for left-handed pitcher Jerry Reuss.
1974 – John Colombo takes a pass from Rich Roccon and beats the Springdale goalkeeper with a shot in the second period for the match’s lone goal as Trinity defeats the two-time defending champion Dynamos, 1-0, in the WPIAL soccer championship game at Pitt Stadium.
1975 – Avella scores 30 second-half points and defeats Mapletown 37-6 to win the Tri-County South Conference football championship. Jim Floyd scores on runs of 60 and 65 yards and throws a 25-yard scoring pass to Gary Kusik.
1980 – Pete Gianfrancesco scores on a one-yard plunge in the third quarter and Burgettstown defeats Washington 6-0 to clinch a WPIAL playoff berth.
1985 – Immaculate Conception and Mon Valley Catholic each qualify for the PIAA Class AA volleyball tournament during WPIAL round-robin play with Farrell and California at Ambridge High School.
1986 – Chris Bahner, a German exchange student, kicks a 38-yard field goal with 25 seconds left to give Canon-McMillan a 21-20 victory over Trinity, spoiling the Hillers’ bid for an undefeated regular season.
1987 – Freshman John Ivory kicks a 40-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining to give Washington & Jefferson, ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division III, a 38-36 victory over host Carnegie Mellon. The Presidents overcome a 22-7 halftime deficit. W&J running back A.J. Pagano has a big game with 357 all-purpose yards. It’s W&J’s first win at Tech Field since 1971.
1990 – The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jim Leyland is named National League Manager of the Year.
1997 – Scott Belcastro runs for three touchdowns and passes for another as Washington wins at fifth-ranked Bentworth 41-21 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA football playoffs.
1997 – Jefferson-Morgan’s Adam Swinchock scores eight touchdowns in the Rockets’ 64-42 Week 10 victory over Avella. Swinchock scores on runs of three, 46, three, 26, five and 75 yards, catches a five-yard TD pass and returns a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown. Swinchock also scores on a pair of two-point conversion runs and finishes the game with 52 points.
1997 – Fort Cherry’s Mike Vernillo rushes for 275 yards and touchdowns of 78, 72, 24 and 31 yards as the Rangers defeat Monessen 40-12 in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Vernillo boosts his season total to 2,116 yards.
2004 – The Pittsburgh Steelers score 21 points during a four-minute span of the first quarter and beat New England, 34-20, snapping the Patriots’ NFL-record 21-game winning streak.
2006 – Bentworth defeats traditional power Elderton 27-25, 25-21, 14-25, 18-25, 15-12 to advance to the WPIAL Class A volleyball semifinals for the first time in school history.
Nov. 1
1951 – Coach Ben Parker’s Jefferson High football team completes an undefeated regular season (8-0) with a 34-12 victory over visiting Waynesburg. Bill Komlo scores two of Jefferson’s three first-quarter touchdowns on runs of four and 19 yards.
1963 – Lloyd Booker scores on runs of 3, 22 and 3 yards as Washington finishes the regular season undefeated by topping Baldwin 26-13.
1964 – Jim Brown rushes for 149 yards and becomes the first player to rush for more than 10,000 yards in a career as the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-17.
1968 – Joe Caldwell rushes for 151 yards and three touchdowns as Mapletown tops German Township 26-0 and finishes the regular season undefeated. The Maples miss the WPIAL Class B championship game when Chatiers-Houston defeats Carmichaels.
1968 – Jerry Patterson scores on runs of 4, 3 and 10 yards as Chartiers-Houston clinches a spot in the WPIAL Class B championship game by defeating Carmichaels 37-0 in the regular-season finale.
1968 – Malcolm Lomax scores on runs of 61 and 52 yards and catches a 64-yard scoring pass as Donora tops Albert Gallatin 27-6 to finish the regular season undefeated for the second consecutive season.
1975 – Duane Christian and Dave Valley combine for three touchdowns as Peters Township improves its record to 9-0 with a 21-13 victory over Fort Cherry that clinches the Black Hills Conference title for the Indians.
1983 – Greg Day, Todd Hammond and Kory Sensky score goals as Trinity defeats Mt. Lebanon 3-1 in the WPIAL soccer semifinals at Canon-McMillan.
1985 – Dom Snyder rushes for 131 yards and one touchdown as Bentworth defeats previously unbeaten Jefferson-Morgan 21-8 in the regular-season finale. Jefferson-Morgan, the Tri-County South Conference champion, was the last of the WPIAL’s 37 Class A teams to lose a game.
1985 – McGuffey overcomes a nine-point deficit with 21 third-quarter points to beat Burgettstown 29-16 and capture a share of the Century Conference title. Kirk Stillmark scores on a pair of three-yard runs and returns an interception 65 yards for the Highlanders’ final touchdown.
1986 – Rich Riotto throws three touchdown passes and Washington & Jefferson wins the Presidents’ Athletic Conference football title with a 41-8 victory over Carnegie Mellon.
1996 – Josh Koscheck rushes for 165 yards on 27 carries and his fourth-quarter quarterback sack – one of eight by Waynesburg’s defense – forces a fumble that leads to a Pat Pester touchdown run as the Raiders defeat Elizabeth Forward 21-7 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
2003 – Larry Fitzgerald sets an NCAA record with a touchdown catch in his 14th straight game in Pittsburgh’s 24-13 victory over Boston College.
2005 – Two goals by Mark Majoras and some solid defensive play lead Peters Township to a 4-1 victory over Baldwin in the WPIAL Class AAA boys soccer semifinals at Elzabeth Forward.
2006 – Evgeni Malkin scores in the first period of Pittsburgh’s 4-3 overtime win at Los Angeles to become the first NHL player in 89 years with goals in his first six games.