Pisuala was two-way tackle at Southmoreland
When you hear the name 鈥淗ondo鈥� most folks think of former Boston Celtics star John Havlicek or the character played by John Wayne in the movie. The local sports scene also had a 鈥淗ondo鈥� in former Southmoreland football and baseball star Al Pisula.
鈥淵ou know who tagged me with that nickname?鈥� Pisula recalled. 鈥淒o you remember Jim Kriek, who was a sportswriter in Connellsville? When I played baseball back then he came up with that nickname.鈥�
Pisula was a star two-way tackle for the Scotties in the 1970鈥檚 on teams that went 3-6 in 1973, 5-4-1 in 1974 and 3-6 in 1975.
鈥淢y junior year we started out 4-0 and ended up 5-4-1,鈥� Pisula said. 鈥淭hat was our best year when I was in high school. We were in a tough conference and played Franklin Regional, Plum and Moon in the old Keystone Conference. When we played Moon, they had Rich Milot, and he must of ran for 400 yards against us.
鈥淭he big rival was Mt. Pleasant, we beat them my junior year, but we only beat them once when I was in high school.鈥�
Pisula endured a coaching change during his time at Southmoreland.
鈥淐huck Bonnello was the coach when I was a sophomore,鈥� Pisula stated. 鈥淛ohn Bacha was there for the last two years. I had a good relationship with Bacha, he lives in Arizona, and he calls me every now and then.鈥�
One of Pisula鈥檚 high school teammates was Russ Grimm, who went on to be an outstanding offensive lineman at Pitt and with the Washington Redskins, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
鈥淚 remember when Russ was a sophomore he was like 220 pounds and was actually a running back his sophomore year,鈥� Pisula remembered. 鈥淗is junior year they switched him to quarterback.鈥�
Pisula also excelled for the Scotties on the baseball diamond.
鈥淚 actually had a tryout with the Pirates,鈥� Pisula explained. 鈥淐ecil Cole, the scout, tried me out in Connellsville and I was supposed to have one at Three Rivers Stadium, but that鈥檚 when I signed my letter of intent for football, so it was one or the other then. I loved baseball though, I really enjoyed it. I was a pitcher and I also played first base. We had some good teams at Southmoreland, we never made the playoffs, but we always had winning records.鈥�
When Pisula graduated from Southmoreland in 1976, he garnered some hardware. The 6-3 235-pounder climaxed a three-year career by earning All-Keystone Conference honors for the second year in a row. He also earned All-WPIAL honors, and was named to the All-State team by both United Press International and the Associated Press.
Pisula accepted a football scholarship to West Virginia University.
鈥淚 visited Michigan State, Indiana, Syracuse, Michigan and Cincinnati,鈥� Pisula said. 鈥淲est Virginia was so close and I really enjoyed my visit.鈥�
Pisula had a four-year career as a defensive tackle with the Mountaineers that mirrored his high school career, WVU was competitive, but just couldn鈥檛 get over the hump. Coach Frank Cignetti鈥檚 teams posted records of 5-6 in 1976, 5-6 in 1977, 2-9 in 1978 and 5-6 in 1979.
鈥淐ignetti had great assistants when I was there,鈥� Pisula recalled. 鈥淣ick Saban was there for two years when I was there. Gary Stevens, who went to Miami, was my defensive line coach my first two years, Rick Trickett, he had some great assistants. I think Cignetti set the stage for Don Nehlen. Cignetti recruited well and we didn鈥檛 have the facilities back then. I was the last class that played at old Mountaineer Field.
鈥淚 played with some good players like Oliver Luck, Fulton Walker and Darryl Talley. There were some good talent down there. A couple of those years, a game here and there, it could have been different. We had a tough schedule. Maryland was good, and Pitt and Penn State were loaded back then. We just didn鈥檛 have a lot of depth back then.鈥�
In four seasons with the Mountaineers, Pisula recorded 116 career tackles with one interception and five recovered fumbles
He also squared off against his old teammate, Russ Grimm, who was on the offensive line at Pitt.
鈥淚 was pleased with my career,鈥� Pisula offered. 鈥淚 love West Virginia. I鈥檝e been going to the games since 1982. We鈥檝e had season tickets and my nephew Donny Barclay played there and had a nice career.鈥�
After graduation, Pisula started working for his dad鈥檚 company, Green Acres Contracting, and is now an executive vice president with the company.
Now 57, Pisula resides in Scottdale with his wife of 23 years, Leslie. They have three children: David, Tommy and Sarah. Tommy, who will graduate in 2017, is a First Team All-Section football and basketball player at Southmoreland.
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.