Nearly 27 years later, John Butler still vividly remembers the sequence.
And it still sticks slightly in his proverbial craw.
Butler’s New York All-Stars, ahead 8-0 late in the third quarter of the 24th annual Don Raabe Big 30 Charities Football Classic, with Pennsylvania facing 3rd-and-13 from its own 32, had seemingly stuffed the ensuing play for no gain. Instead of a potential punt and having an opportunity to make it a two-score game, however, his team was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for lining up in an illegal defensive formation.
New York had been warned “about six times,” according to the game story in the following day’s Times Herald, that it wasn’t properly adhering to the mandated 5-2 defense, that its cornerbacks were lining up too close to the line of scrimmage.
It was told that if it happened again, a flag would be thrown.
On the very next play, a flag was thrown.
Pennsylvania, with renewed life, ripped off a 43-yard run one snap later and scored two plays after that. And from there, it took control in an eventual 20-14 victory at Bradford’s Interstate Parkway Field.
“The game changed on that penalty, because they really hadn’t done much before that,” Butler insisted of that clash with Joe Schlimm’s Pennsy squad. “It would have been 4th-and-long and our kids are going nuts and they throw a flag. (But) I had no beef about the penalty; there’s no question we were lined up illegally.”
FOR NEW York, it was one of a handful of “what-ifs” from that August 2, 1997 clash.
Down 14-8 midway through the final quarter, New York had 4th-and-a-foot near midfield, but was called for consecutive false starts before turning the ball over on downs. And then there were the injuries.
Standout Bolivar-Richburg lineman Jack Gorham was ruled out before the first practice. Worse, on the final padded practice before game day, star Randolph running back Chad Slade, who was expected to lead a group that included Olean’s Andrew Langdon and Wellsville’s Nick Viglietta, suffered a significant ankle sprain.
Slade dressed, but at “50% at best,” was hardly the factor he might have been.
“It just killed me that Chad couldn’t play,” noted Butler, who’d spent six years as the Cuba-Rushford coach before being asked by Paul Pfaff’s Big 30 committee to head New York — and who’d resumed his role of calling the offense. “He was a beast in practice; I mean, just a beast. He was a lot of fun to be around, such a lay-it-all-on-the-line kind of guy. That hurt our offense. We had two other great running backs, but Chad was a stud. Like a lot of these Randolph kids, he was a cut above.”
YES, FOR the team in blue, both before and after the initial whistle, more than enough went wrong. NY was flagged 10 times for 90 yards to Penny’s three for 25. Both teams threw a pair of interceptions. And by falling short, New York pushed Pennsylvania’s unbeaten streak to four-straight (3-0-1).
But even those moments pale in comparison to everything that went right …
And to the many memories that Butler still holds dear to this day.
The former C-R coach adored his two quarterbacks, Hinsdale’s Chad Luzier and Allegany-Limestone’s Jake Mattern, and was especially impressed with the former’s leadership skills.
“It was almost like it was his team,” he said of Luzier. “I mean, he really brought those guys together. I was amazed at how quickly these guys, from all these different teams, rallied around those who became the leaders.
“Jake was a quiet, hard-working, ‘do your job’ kind of guy. Chad was the unquestioned team leader. He was a great athlete, too. Everybody liked him, everybody rallied around him.”
Butler also appreciated getting to coach two of his own guys, C-R’s Adam Powley and Dave Bump, one more time. “They were just great players, just really classy guys,” he said of his two Rebels. “Adam played well (at guard) and Dave had the interception that led to our first touchdown,” an 11-yard Viglietta run that made it 8-0 after New York had opened the scoring in the third quarter with a safety.
And he’s proud of the fact that his charges set a Charities Classic record that still stands: Pennsylvania’s 37 offensive plays are the fewest surrendered by an opposing team.
“The defense obviously had a big hand in that,” said Butler, who noted that any dissension with his assistants over the lack of alignment discipline was short-lived. “But we had the ball a lot. We didn’t cash in at times, but we controlled a lot of the clock.”
INDEED, much more good than galling came from that night nearly three decades ago.
Butler enjoyed the parade down Main Street and the ensuing pep rally, where Slade, despite his status, as a prediction of sorts, pointed to the Pennsylvania side and crushed a soda can against his head. He took the entire team to Togi’s for a pre-game dinner. And by the end, he’d developed a great relationship with the committee (“That whole group of guys was just fun to be around,” he said.)
He even incorporated his own coaching wrinkle, one he’s unsure has ever been tried, either before or since (and one he believes worked for the better): He alternated quarterbacks every other play rather than every other series, as is customary.
“I’d been to so many games where you get to the end and you need to pass and it’s your running quarterback’s series,” he said.
“I told (the committee) and I told our coaches, I don’t want to get into a situation at the end of the game where I don’t have the quarterback I want in there. That’s not to say one quarterback was better than the other. I wanted both to have a shot depending on what we needed.
“Maybe people don’t think it’s a great idea, but I said up front: that’s what I want to do.”
BY LEADING New York, Butler carved a permanent place in the area’s premier all-star high school football game. He participated in a contest that had always meant a lot to him — he’d never missed a Big 30 Game before coaching in it. He was, after resigning earlier that year as C-R’s coach, able to be the head guy one last time.
And he cultivated a situation where, 27 years later, he could reminisce about that experience to his sportswriter son, the author of this article, who attended every practice and the game as a 12-year-old ball boy for New York and could run out and collect a kicking tee with the best of them.
And yes, those things far outweigh an unsportsmanlike penalty for illegal defense.
“I remember one of the committee guys came up to me afterward and asked, ‘are you still going to be coaching again?’ recalled Butler, whose staff included C-R assistants Chris Cappelletti and Rob Blendinger, plus Franklinville’s Chad Wittenrich. “He said, ‘I’ve seen a lot of football and you really should be coaching.’ I always remembered that.
“We couldn’t close it out that night, and we had our chances. But it was a great time and a great experience.”
