A visit with WPIAL champion coach Rich Zukauckas

Background Info: Rich Zukauckas is a 1958 graduate of Ellsworth High School, which is now part of the Bentworth School District. He was a three-year letterman in football, at tackle and end, and two-year letter winner in basketball. He was a three-year starter at guard for California State College and graduated in 3 1/2 years. After graduating, he became a math teacher at Muncy High School, which is near Williamsport. He taught and served as assistant football coach for 4 years. He also earned his masters degree at Bucknell University in 1965. Zukauckas moved back to Western Pennsylvania in 1966 and accepted a teaching and assistant coaching position at the newly formed South Allegheny School District. In 1969, he became head coach at South Allegheny and served ten years in two stints until he became an administrator. He had a 54-35-1 record in ten years, including a 35-15 mark over the last five years. The Gladiators won the only WPIAL title in school history, in any sport, in 1977 when they beat Laurel in the Class 2A title game.

Rich Zukauckas' thoughts on the 1976 season
"The 1976 season was South Allegheny's last year in Class 3A. We won the Big Ten Conference that year, which was a big deal. That conference featured some of the greatest coaches in WPIAL history: Monessen's Joe Gladys, Thomas Jefferson's Bap Mancini, and Charleroi's Rab Currie. We shut out six opponents during the regular season, then played Gateway in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. We hung with them until halftime, but lost. We finished with a 9-2 season."

Zukauckas' thoughts on moving down to Class 2A
"The WPIAL realigned after the 1976 season and we had a chance to move down to Class 2A. Most of the teams we were playing in Class 3A were much bigger than us. In fact, Gateway had more than two times the enrollment we had. Moving down to Class 2A allowed us to face schools our own size. It really made a difference."

Zukauckas' thoughts on the 1977 WPIAL championship season
"We were placed in the Suburban Conference with a bunch of teams we were not familiar with. We were not sure what to expect, but had all of our skilled people returning, so I thought we had a chance to have a good team. We opened the season with three non-conference victories the won our first two conference games. Then came a Saturday afternoon game against Wilkinsburg and we lost 13-12. That loss was a concern, because only the conference champions qualified for the WPIAL tournament. Fortunately, we rebounded to win the next three games and win our conference title. That qualified us for the WPIAL playoffs. In the playoffs, we opened with a win over Riverview, then defeated unbeaten Burgettstown, 6-0, on the turf at Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals. The championship game was supposed to be played at Pitt Stadium, but moved to Ambridge. The weather was terrible, especially in the second half. We came out from of the locker room after halftime to find the field covered in snow. It was an unreal scenario, but we were able to pull out a 12-6 win and win our first, and only WPIAL title."

What did the title do for South Allegheny and its four communities?
"The community support for us that year was fantastic. Glassport Stadium holds just over 4,000 and we had standing room only games that season. The people from all four communities [Liberty, Lincoln, Glassport, and Port Vue] were so supportive. We even had a few firemen from Glassport drive a fire truck to Ambridge for the championship game. After the game, we had a big dinner at Tony Dale Restaurant. It was a great experience for everyone."