Flushing High School - Gargoyle Yearbook (Flushing, NY)

Page 30 text:

The Basketball Team Co-Captains Bos MoLFErTA RANDY EDELMAN Coach MR. JENSEN Left to Right: Standing: R. Cook, D. Albrecht, W. Groene, R. Serrett, K. Mar- carthy, A. Lonks, J. Prudenti, Coach Jensen. Kneeling: R. Remhild, P. Baron R. Molfetta, A. Edelman, L. Spellins, T. Skinner At the beginning of the year is was generally felt that the 1955-56 season would be a good one. There was the talented sophomore, Andy Edelman, and the aggressive playmaker, Bob Molfetta, to be the nucleus around which the team could be built. The tryouts were held and after careful scrutinization, a thirteen man squad was picked containing four seniors. The team started to train and practice games were played with other schools. Flushing was first tested in a practice game with Jamaica, last year's P.S.A.l... champs. This was the first game played in the new gym. We lost the game 63-48, but it proved that the team could function smoothly as a unit and the talented junior, Rudy Serrett, established himself as the regular center. After final warmups with Jamaica and Franklin K. Lane, Flushing opened the season with Cleveland in our own gym. Rudy Serrett, Ken McCarthy, Tony Skinner and the two backcourt men, Bob Molfetta and Andy Edelman were the starting five. This game was one of many thrills. With only a minute or so left, Flushing went out in front by two points on a layup by Edelman only to lose to Cleveland 4-6-43 in overtime seconds. 26

Page 29 text:

We dropped the fourth game of the season to Monroe by a very slim margin, the score this time being 26-19. After this game, however, our winning streak began in earnest and was to continue uninterrupted to the end of the season. Our football team trounced Far Rockaway, 13-6. Palladino and Mambuca continued their great football record by scoring one touchdown apiece in this game. One week later on November 12, the team triumphed over Evander Childs to the score of 19-12. This game saw brilliant playing by Joe Payton, who scored two of our three touchdowns, the third one having been made by Mambuca. After a 12-12 deadlock at the end of the first half, Payton came up with a magnificent dash around the left end for a touchdown that broke the tie of the first half and helped to win the game for us. Excellent offensive playing was displayed by Lukk, Palladino, and Albrecht, as well as fine defensive playing by Bill Croene, in this game. This game continued our winning streak and put us on the doorstep to the title of 'iQueens Champs. Our scheduled game with Stuyvesant was postponed twice and it finally became necessary to cancel it altogether. Thanksgiving Day certainly gave us plenty of reason to be grateful, for it was on that day that the final game of the season was played and it proved to be a fitting end and climax for the football season. Our team smashed Adams to the score of 14--0. Frank Mambuca gave a truly brilliant exhibition of a field play by intercepting a pass on his own forty yard line and, cleverly evading many of Adams' tacklers, ran all the way down the field to score a touchdown. Another touchdown was scored by Palladino in this game while Adams was held scoreless. Thus ended a truly great season for the Red Devils and for Flushing. Among the many heartening results of the fine football played this season was the fact that a number of our players were honored in various ways for their good work. Palladino was honored at a dinner sponsored by the Boys' League honoring the P.S.A.L. Player of the Week because of his brilliant performance in the Adams game. Frank Mambuca was the highest scorer in Queens for the season. In connection with this, we are most happy to announce that both he and Don Albrecht were awarded scholarships to Dayton College in Ohio because of their outstanding athletic records. Don Albrecht also made the 'gAll City Teamw sponsored by the N. Y. Journal American. Thus, our football season was a jubilant, victorious one, to be envied by any school. We wish equal success to next year's team and the best of luck to those that made this year's glorious victories possible. Nov. 15 Jamaica lost 163-481 Home Nov. 23 Jamaica lost 161-531 Away Nov. 29 F. K. Lane lost 166-4-91 Away Regular Season Dec 2 Cleveland lost 146-431 Home Overtime Dec. Bayside- won 161-481 Away Dec. L. l. City lost 153-511 Away Overtime Dec. Newton won 155-501 Away Jan. 5 Bryant won 169-421 Home Jan. Forest Hills won 146-421 Home Jan. Edison won 165-421 Away Feb. Cleveland won 149-4-61 Away Feb. Bayside won 142-401 Home Feb 1.. l. City lost 142-411 Home Feb. Newton won 150-391 Home Feb. Bryant lost 145-381 Away Feb Forest Hills lost 184--581 Away Feb Edison won 160-591 Home

Page 31 text:

In Bayside, with the return of Don Albrecht, the only senior on the first team, into the lineup, Flushing won its first league game by the score of 61-48. Pete Baron, Larry Spellins and Bill Croene proved to be able substitutes for the five starters. After another overtime defeat to Long lsland City, Flushing triumphed over Newtown and Bryant High Schools, 55-50 and 69-42, respectively. By the latter part of the first half, Edelman had distinguished himself on ball handling and control, Molfetta had shown a remarkable ability to play a very fast and aggressive game, Rudy Serrett led the team with T0 points, McCarthy had shown some outstanding rebounding, and late starter Don Albrecht had proven himself to be the solid, dependable ball player that he was last year. After we had beaten Bryant, largely due, incidentally, to Rudy Serrettis compiling 19 points, there were whispers of P.S.A.L. playoff games at the Garden in March. Flushing had by this time jelled into a fine offensive and defensive team. The whispers grew to shouts when Flushing defeated Forest Hills, then the leading contender in our division. 46-42. Serrett led the way with 19 points. Flushing ended the first half of the season with a 65-42 win over Edison in which Tony Skinner scored 12 points. We entered the second half of the season with very high hopes. ln the first game, the 'flied Devils defeated Cleveland 49-46 and then four days later played a thriller with Bayside at our home court. We trailed throughout most of the game, and the final winning score in our favor, 42-40, was hard-earned by us. Flushing next played Long Island City, unbeaten in regular competition against us. The game closely paralleled the previous Bayside game in that we trailed for most of the game and in the late stages tried to surge ahead. However L.l.'C. won by a one point margin, 42-41. We crushed Newtown for the second time and played Bryant in a night game. Bryant won, and we knew that our last chance would be against Forest Hills. Our team, lacking Rudy Serrett, was defeated. ln the closing game of the season against an improved Edison squad, all the seniors played their last game which we won 60-59. John Prudenti, a senior, gave a fine performance that netted 15 points. Thus Flushing ended the 1955- 1956 season tied for fourth place in the league with a 9-5 record. Also this season, Flushing played in the new school gym for the first time, the talented junior, Bob Molfetta, made an amazing 18 out of 19 foul shots in the first halfg a Junior Varsity team was again formed. It was indeed a most exciting season and we can surely hope for the very best in the years to come. INDIVIDUAL SCORING RECORDS Rudy Serrott 160 Bob Molfetta 152 Andy Edleman 149 Don Albrecht 125 Ken McCarthy 44 ,lohn Prudenti 34 Tony Skinner 25 Bill Groene 14 Pete Barron 8 Bob Cook 3