LOOKING BACK | BY GEORGE ALBANO
10 years ago Ed Peters of Norwalk made headlines this week after running a marathon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., as he personally completed a marathon in all 50 states. The 51-year-old Vietnam veteran was once a two-pack-a-day cigarette smoker before quitting and taking up running. This was his 60th marathon overall.
A trio of collegiate women basketball players from Norwalk also had a noteworthy week. Elisa Brown, a former standout player at King School in Stamford, hit the game-winning basket with three seconds left to give William Paterson University a 67-66 victory over Colby College … Former Norwalk High player
Shannon Singleton-Bates scored 28 points to lead Francis Marion University past Erskine College 108-71 as the Patriots improved to 5-0 … Brien McMahon graduate Lisa Etienne was named the American East Conference player of the week after scoring 17 points in the Hawks’6950 win against Providence College.
Paul Jacoby, an assistant softball coach at McMahon the past eight seasons, was named the Senators’ new head coach. He replaces Ed Faulkner, who stepped down after 27 years with the program, the last 23 as head coach.
25 years ago
The fourth time proved to be the charm for the Norwalk Hurricanes, who beat the five-time defending champion Tokeneke Warriors 13-0 to win the InterCity Touch Football League title. The Hurricanes had lost to Tokeneke in the last three championship games, but turned the tables this year with a pair of second-half touchdowns. George Diamantis returned the second of his three interceptions for the game’s first TD on the fifth play of the third quarter.
Then on the second play of the fourth period, QB Tom Taliercio
completed a 13-yard pass to Kevin Remson, who flipped the ball to Bill Muzzio, who rambled the remaining 10 yards to the end zone to complete the 23-yard pass-and-run scoring play. Taliercio hit Anthony Rocco with the conversion pass to complete the scoring. Tokeneke was trying to match the Rowayton Bears’ record six straight league crowns from 1963-68.
The Brien McMahon girls field hockey team, which won the program’s first FCIAC championship this fall, placed four players on the All-FCIAC team. Forward Tara Sprague, the Senators’ leading scorer, was selected for the second consecutive year while joining her were backs Alison Hotchkiss and Hope Morrison, and midfielder Tammy Colemen. Two more BMHS players, forward Karen Galbo and midfielder Suzanne Chase, were named All-East Division, while Norwalk High forward Bonnie Faust and midfielder Beth Boccuzzi were All-West picks.
Former All-City basketball players Greg Taylor and Andre Grant led the Norwalk Community Technical College men’s basketball team to a 138-78 rout of Mount Wachusett Community College. Taylor, who starred at Norwalk High, scored a gamehigh 33 points, while Grant, a Central Catholic standout, added 31 as the Panthers improved to 2-1. 50 years ago Norwalk’s Calvin Murphy, the second-leading college scorer in the country as a sophomore last season, began his junior year right where he left off as Niagara University opened the 1968-69 season with back-to-back victories. The former Norwalk High star picked up four quick fouls in the opener against Gannon College and went to the bench with 6:30 left in the half. But he returned to score 16 points in the final seven minutes and finished with 26 points to spark Niagara to a 100-94 victory.
Murphy got into foul trouble again in his second game and headed to the bench after picking up his fourth foul eight minutes into the second half. But he still finished with 38 points as the Purple Eagles beat Buffalo State 118-97 … It was a big week for Murphy in more ways than one as he graced the cover of The Sporting News for its college basketball preview issue.
Three Brien McMahon football players and two from Norwalk High were named to the 1968 All-FCIAC first-team. Running back Ken Romano, the team’s top scorer, linebacker Jim Wheeler, and defensive back Pete Pastore represented the Senators, who went 7-1 and were tri-West Division champs. Meanwhile, selected from NHS were end K.C. Braun, who caught a conference-record 11 touchdown passes, and defensive tackle Jim Wrentz. Six more players from McMahon were named to the second team with center Frank Moffett, tackle Don Damato and guard Frank Salvato on offense, and back Hal Mayo, end Andy Gadoci and tackle Mike Cerulo on defense. Norwalk High quarterback Bob Jones, who threw an FCIAC-record 15 touchdown passes, was also named second team.
The unbeaten Crystal Comets hockey team of Norwalk made it four straight wins in their first season by beating the Hartford Huskies 8-1 at the Crystal Rink. Don Voorhees and Dan Doolittle each scored two goals for the Comets, who have outscored opponents 27-4 in their first four games … The Home Oilers also won their fourth in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Virgil, Ontario, Cubs before another capacity crowd of 1,550 at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport. Jerry Lemoureux scored the first two goals while Don Atamanchuk netted the winning and insurance goals in the final period as the Oilers improved to 4-0-1.