LOOKING BACK | BY GEORGE ALBANO
10 years ago
Five days after celebrating his 30th birthday, Norwalk race car driver Ron Silk celebrated one of the biggest wins of his NASCAR career when he captured the Richie Evans Memorial 100-lap event in Florida. Silk, starting fourth in the 14car field, took the lead on lap 83 and held off a stiff challenge the final 17 laps to grab the checkered flag.
Norwalk High School’s return to the FCIAC boys basketball tournament ended in disappointment as the Bears, the No. 7 seed, fell to No. 2 Trinity Catholic 71-52 in the opening round. Sophomore
Roy Kane scored 22 points to lead NHS, which takes a 13-8 record into the state tournament. Trinity improved to 20-1.
25 years ago
Norwalk High distinguished itself as the shot put capital of Connecticut after the Bears swept both the boys and girls championships in that event at the State Open indoor track meet at Yale. First it was Brian Hartley winning the boys title while a short time later Nicole Hansboro captured top honors in the girls meet. The double victories came 10 days after the two NHS athletes finished runner-up at the Class L state meet.
It was also a successful week for both the Norwalk High girls and boys basketball teams. The Lady Bears, seeded ninth in Class LL, opened statetournament play with a 61-47 win over No. 24 Stamford at home as Ayanna Brown recorded 20 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Freshman Cathy Dash added 14 points while Shantel Pugh came off the bench to score 10 ... Norwalk then traveled to Wallingford and beat No. 8 Lyman Hall 54-36 in the second round. Brown again led the way with 14 points, 22 rebounds, seven blocks and three steals while Heather Hanson had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Dash scored 10 points. Trailing 25-22 early in the second half, Norwalk went on a 17-0 run to take control. The Bears, now 17-5, face topseed and two-time defending FCIAC champion Fairfield in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs, 23-1, have beaten Norwalk twice this season, including in last week’s FCIAC semis.
Meanwhile, the NHS boys basketball team, seeded third in the FCIAC tournament, held off No. 6 Trinity Catholic 52-47 at home in the conference quarterfinals. Tyjuan Hubbard scored 16 points and Winston Grey had 15 as the Bears improved to 17-4 and advance to next week’s semis against No. 2 seed and defending FCIAC champion Harding, which beat Norwalk 74-66 in the regular season.
For the first time in the history of the NorwalkBrien McMahon hockey rivalry the two teams met for a third time in the same season as the Bears beat the Senators 4-1 in the first round of the FCIAC Tier II playoffs to sweep all three games. Mark Kohler scored two goals while Paul Rodstrom and Pat Cummings netted one apiece as Norwalk built a 4-0 lead after two periods. Sophomore goalie Mike Norris stopped 28 of 29 shots, allowing just a third-period goal by Dave Zatorsky with 7:07 left to play ... NHS lost to Ridgefield in the Tier II semifinals.
50 years ago
To the delight of local fans, the 1973 FCIAC championship game in boys basketball was an all-Norwalk affair as Brien McMahon and Norwalk High met in the conference finals with the Senators posting an 82-67 victory to capture their first league title. A crowd of 2200, the largest in the 12-year history of the FCIAC title game, packed the Wilton Fieldhouse to witness the third meeting this season between the two city rivals and watch as the Senators made it sweep. Like the first two meetings, McMahon took control early, never trailing and leading 38-27 at halftime and by 17 points entering the final quarter. Jerome Maultsby led the newly crowned champs with 20 points and 14 rebounds while 6-foot-6 Jim Prokupek, voted the finals MVP, had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Willie Brooks and Darnell Elder added 14 points apiece. Tony Trimboli of NHS topped all scorers with 23 points while Joel Walker had 14. It was McMahon’s 21st straight win after a season-opening loss to Wilbur Cross. Norwalk, which had won 11 of its last 12 games, falls to 14-8.
The Bears, the defending FCIAC champs and West Division runner-up this season, defeated East Division champ Andrew Warde 70-55 in the first game of the semifinal doubleheader at the Fieldhouse. NHS jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back, although Warde pulled to 47-45 after three quarters before the Bears outscored the Eagles 23-10 in the final period. Trimboli scored 30 points and Spaulding had 15 points and 14 rebounds ... In the second game, McMahon routed East runner-up Trumbull 75-49, at one point leading by as many as 38 as coach
King played his second team and even some JV players most the second half. Elder led the Senators with 17 points.
Central Catholic was also celebrating after clinching a state tournament berth with a 53-47 win over New Milford in its final regular-season game. led the 10-10 Cavaliers with 19 points.