Will former Notre Dame star hear another ovation ?
When he was first contacted about being honored at a Notre Dame Crusaders home football game, George Young said: “Really? Who remembers me? Nobody does.”
Young is wrong.
George Yencho, as he was known back in the late 1960s while playing for Marty Hlay’s Crusaders, left an indelible mark on the program.
One game stood above the rest. It was at nearby Easton where the outmanned Crusaders battled the state-ranked and unbeaten Red Rovers at Cottingham Stadium. Easton won the game, but Young won some hearts.
“We hung in there the best we could,” he said. “I had a big kickoff return, zig-zagging across the field. I was in the whole game both ways and just ran out of gas and got tackled out of bounds. People tell me they gave me a big ovation and even some of the Easton fans stood up and applauded. I can’t remember it because I was so exhausted. I guess they appreciated my effort against a team that had three or four Division I players.”
Hlay remembered it.
“He had two interceptions in that game, scored a touchdown and came within a whisker of running two kickoffs back for touchdowns,” Hlay said. “The second one was in the last quarter and he went back and forth across the field until he collapsed inside the 10 yard line because he was exhausted. When he came out of that game, he got a standing ovation from the Easton fans and at the time, no one could remember an opposing player receive a standing ovation from Easton fans.”
His entire senior season deserved a round of applause. He set school records with an 86-yard kickoff return, an 89-yard punt return and also had four interceptions in a game and 20 picks in his career.
He was one of the best players on a Notre Dame team that went 8-2 with its losses coming against two unbeaten teams. The last defeat was a 6-0 heartbreaker against Phillipsburg Catholic when Notre Dame had the ball near the goal line in the final minute.
Young was the team’s quarterback although he did much more running than throwing in Hlay’s option attack.
“He really was a fantastic kid, one of the best I ever coached,” Hlay said. “He was on the Northampton County allstar team, the all-state team and was our scholar-athlete.”
He wasn’t done when he graduated in 1969. He earned a full scholarship to Syracuse where he played defensive back for legendary coach Ben Schwarzwalder.
He was the first Division I football player produced by Notre Dame with Penn State recruit Bobby Williams following a decade later.
Hlay, who was also the school’s longtime track coach, also remembered Young as a standout sprinter.
“As a senior in 1969 George ran the fastest 100-yard dash time in the Valley with a kid from Easton tying him and was fourth in the PCIAA state meet and with all the kids from the Philadelphia Catholic League participating. He faced a lot of good competition,” Hlay said. “He also set records in the 100, 200 and 440 yards and he also was on an 880 relay team that set a record.”
Hlay and Young remained close throughout the years for a special reason.
“My father had died when I was nine or 10 years old and Marty became an important father figure to me,” Young said. “We just connected. He was a great coach, a great person. W ran a lot of trick plays. Marty was an innovative coach ahead of his time and I had a great time playing for him.”
Young said that Hlay’s appearance at an eighth-grade football game made all the difference.
“I was playing at Sacred Heart in the Miller Heights section of Bethlehem Township, he said. “My two good friends and I were determined to stick together. John Velekei, Louis Blatnick and me made a pact. Wherever one of us went, all three would go. Marty really got a coup there, getting all three of us to come.”
Young will be one of Notre Dame’s honorary captains for Friday’s game against Palmerton. Former teammates and coaches will join him on the field during a halftime ceremony in his honor.
While admitting he’s a low-key guy who doesn’t want a lot of fanfare, Young, who now lives in Mesquite, Nevada, is looking forward to seeing many family and friends.
“I remember Notre Dame as a tight-knit place because we only had 150 kids in each class and I enjoyed my time there,” he said. “It was very different going to Syracuse.”
How did his name change from Yencho to Young?
“When I had kids in the 1980s, my wife and I were getting mail with our name being spelled all kinds of different ways,” he said. “So we made our name easier and we came up with the easiest ‘Y’ name we could think of which was Young. So, I’ve been a Young since the early 1980s.”
Notre Dame coach Phil Stambaugh is thrilled to have a Crusaders standout from the past coming back.
“I love having alumni come back and become a part of what we’re doing,” he said. “It makes a good connection with our kids and lets our kids know past generations care about them and it matters what they do right now in carrying on the legacy of Notre Dame football. Frank Scattene, our alumni coordinator, does a lot of the legwork and I’m looking forward to meeting George Friday night.”