Commonwealth Parkville School - Comet Yearbook (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

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must either deflect the pass, or better yet, INTERCEPTION! If he fails inhis responsibility, TOUCHDOWN! Ahero or a bum, his fate is inseparably bound to the trajectory of a pigskin. The pressure is equally great on a running play, for if the ball carrier gets into the secondary, the safety may be the one and only man be- tween the runner and the endzone. He must be the surest tackler on the team, and often a diving.--attempt will be the differencebetween suc- cess and failure. Throughout f eseason, these ath- letes remembe! ed their responsibili- ties and exectited them well. More importantly, they never gave up, no matter how overwhelming the odds, no matter how bleak the picture. Why was that October night at Antilles field so memorable? So important? Because, it was the beginning of some- thing new for Comrnonwealthg it was the opening game of Commonwealth's very first football season, the game that had been about six years in the making: the game that the entire stu- dent body, faculty, administration, yes, and even alumni, had been waiting for many long years. It was a night to be remembered by all present, one to be followed by many more such nights, some more suc- cessful than others, some more pain- ful, but all characterized by sweat and determination. In a peculiar way, the season was avictory for Common- wealth even before the first game was completed. Perhaps, this is why that first cool October night at Antilles was so important and so meaningful.

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If JJ Hruzch Who can say enough about Coach? A concerned handler of athletes, a meticulous strategian, a dedicated worker . . . Mark Furculo was all of these, and more. A member of the faculty for the first time this year, he assumed the job of coaching our first football squad, and, through the course of the season, earned a place in the hearts of every member of the team. Mr. Furculo devoted innumerable hot, toiling hours to develope twenty young men into an organized football team. He con- tributed a leadership the likes of which has not been seen in Commonwealth athletics for a long time. He worked with a group of boys who were relatively inexperienced in football techniques, teaching them not only the basic rudiments of the game, but how to behave as a team, to devote all of their physical and mental 'effort to playing and winning. He brought a vast football know-how to the team, and utilized a keen intelligence for solving any problems that arose, from filling the place of an injured player to designing intricate plays to cope with an opposing team's defense. Football will be a part of our school for a long time, but as long as the game is played here, Coach Purculo will always be remembered as the man who handled out first team. His vitality, perseverance and quality of leader- ship will never be forgotten by students at Commonwealth. ...I 1 is A- 'nu -1 4 1 9