Despite adversity, Rustin still kicking

In this strange football season, there is just one Chester County team left that has a chance to win a PIAA championship.

Oh, what a long strange trip it has been for the West Chester Rustin Golden Knights. That especially holds true for head coach Mike St. Clair.

Last spring and summer, St. Clair and his daughters had to spend most of their time isolated from Mike’s wife Betsy, who works as a nurse in a COVID-19 unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Just before the season started, St. Clair’s 97-year-old dad, Bob, passed away. The elder St. Clair and the head coach were extremely tight, and Bob was the Golden Knights’ biggest fan. The players were also very close to him and the news of his death shook up the entire roster as real life imposed some real tragedy into the world of high school sports.

Then, starting running backs Drew Gallen and Alex Praztner were lost for the season due to injuries, throwing the Golden Knights’ backfield into survival mode. Then an agonizing first-week loss to Unionville put the Golden Knights’ league championship and district playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.

But, luckily the Knights rallied around the impassioned pleas from St. Clair and his staff that the season was indeed not lost. The Rustin team responded with four straight wins, putting them into Friday night’s District 1 championship against a familiar foe in Upper Dublin. The two teams have met the last two seasons in the district playoffs, splitting the two meetings.

MNG FILE Mike St. Clair and West Chester Rustin face Upper Dublin tonight.