Kingston hosts Pine Bush on Saturday
School will honor inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class at halftime of Tigers’ game with Pine Bush
In a rare Saturday afternoon game, Kingston High’s football team has a big Homecoming Game in store as the Tigers play Pine Bush and — at halftime — the school’s inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class is introduced.
It’s the final Section 9, Class AA Division I contest for the Tigers, who are 0-3 in the division and 5-0 overall.
Kingston fell short in a tough 31-19 loss to Washingtonville last Thursday. The Tigers got within 24-19 with five minutes left, but the Wizards came up with a big defensive stop, then scored to secure the win.
The Tigers scored on Chapman Parker’s 63-yard pass to Jackson Park, Makhi Matthews’ 55-yard punt return and JaVar Tinsley’s 22-yard run.
Pine Bush is 1-1 in the division and 4-1 overall. The Bushmen are coming off a big 13-10 overtime victory over Minisink Valley and have a crucial divisional clash with Monroe-Woodbury next Friday.
The Homecoming parade and coronation of the Homecoming Queen will take place Friday, beginning at 5 p.m. The parade starts at the George Washington Elementary School, proceed down Wall Street then on to North Front Street toward Dietz Stadium. The KHS Band will perform at Dietz at 6:15, followed by the naming of the Homecoming King and Queen
and the pep rally. There will be a Junior/Senior girls flag football game at 8.
Saturday’s events begin with the first Kingston Homecoming Alumni Reunions, “TigeReune ’17,” from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Forsyth Park. Alumni may walk in the inaugural parade from Forsyth to Dietz at 1.
Varsity football and cheerleader senior recognition will be at 1, followed by the introduction of alumni groups and major classes that are celebrating 5th, 15th, 25th and 35th reunions next year and the introduction of the undefeated 1957 and ‘77 football teams.
At halftime, the 16 individuals for the first Hall of Fame class will be announced.
The Hall honors individuals who have contributed to the Tiger legacy as athletes, administrators, coaches and supporters. For many, they continued to reflect Kingston’s athletic spirt into the collegiate and professional ranks.
The inaugural class includes:
• Hobie Armstrong, one of the best football players at Kingston. The 1959 graduate still holds the record for most career touchdowns and points scored. He continued his storied career in football and track and field at Harvard. There is a monument to him at Dietz Stadium.
• Pat Burke, who coached Tiger softball teams to 18 combined championships. The softball field was named in her honor in 1996.
• Willard Burke, who guided the football team to six titles, including three consecutive undefeated seasons from 1956-58. He also coached the baseball team to two championships in the ‘40s and also was athletic director in the ‘60s.
• Ertha Burris, the first 1,000-point scorer in Tiger girls basketball history. The 1977 graduate went on to set the singlegame scoring record at SUNY Ulster.
• Billy Costello, a baseball player at Kingston, the 1975 grad made his real mark in boxing. He won the WBC light welterweight championship in 1984 and fought a nationally-televised title defense in the Midtown Neighborhood Center. Costello died in 2011 and a statue was erected in uptown Kingston in his honor in 2012.
• Vince DeLuca, a 1946 graduate who played on Burke’s title team. He’s a loyal supporter for 70 years and still going. He was honorary football captain from 200916 and, to this day, still comes out and talks to the team during the preseason.
• Jerry Drake, an AllStar football player who went on to play in the NFL. The 1988 graduate played six years with the Arizona Cardinals.
• Mike Ferraro, a 1962 grad who starred in baseball, basketball and football. Drafted by the Yankees, he would go on to play, coach and manage in the major leagues. He was a third-base coach for the Yankees and would manage the Cleveland Indians in 1982.
• Tay Fisher, a 2004 grad who remains the alltime scorer and 3-point shooter in basketball. After a brilliant career at Siena, he would join the Harlem Globetrotter in ‘09. He continues to be “Firefly” as a Globetrotter and conducts youth basketball camps in the area.
• Doreen Benes Harney, a 1986 grad who became the second 1,000-point scorer in girls basketball history. She still holds three records for rebounding and the school record in the discus as well.
• Michael Hoffman, a left-handed quarterback who led the Tigers to the DUSO football title as a senior in 1968, but died in a car accident in that school year. The Mike Hoffman Memorial Football Award is a scholarship given to those who best display dedication and leadership.
• Thomas Maines, a 1938 graduate and foursport star (baseball, basketball, football, track) regarded as one of Kingston’s best athletes.
• Ronnie Scheffel, the 1950 grad ranks as one of the legends in Tiger basketball. He went on to star at North Carolina State.
• Kerry Purvis Schultz, a 1996 grad and threesport star who was Freeman Player of the Year in both basketball and softball. She was the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball (boys and girls) when she graduated.
• Keith Simmons, a 2003 grad who, with Fisher, spearheaded Kingston’s powerhouse basketball teams from 2001-03. A 1,000-point scorer with the Tigers, he went to star at Holy Cross and played professional basketball in Germany and Turkey.
• “Jumpin’” Joe Uhl, a 1961 graduate considered the best basketball player in Kingston history. He finished with 1,282 points in an era long before the 3-point shot existed. That scoring mark stood for more than 40 years.
The Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremony will take place Saturday at the Chateau, 240 Boulevard, state Route 32, beginning at 5:30 p.m.