Wyoming Valley West High School - Spartan Yearbook (Plymouth, PA)

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nf' BEW RE UF MAD DOGS QW mtg' In the wake oflast year's 3-7-l record, you couldn't blame the Spartan fans who traveled to Pittston for the season opener for being skeptical. However, Coach Yaniger and his Spartans had new ideas for a new season, and ultimately gave the followers a graphic idea of what hard work and determination can still accomplish in this world. It took a lot of sweat and a lot of heart, but they made it happen. Valley West surprised the league with a 9-2 record and one of the most awesome defenses seen here in a long, long time. And lest we forget-the two losses were early season squeakers by a total of 8 points. It was the seniors that turned this program upside down, their attitude and spirit carried us through the season, stated Coach Yaniger. The team was confronted with a host of early problems. Coach Yaniger had to install a new offense Dave Holly, starting quarterback '78, suffered an arm injury which restricted him to the kicking team Cleading punter in the leaguej. Dave Burgess, a certain all-star, was injured on the first day of practice. Jerry Kellar, Mike Fulton, and Joe Dunay also suffered through an injury-ridden season. Valley West opened the regular season with a stunning 10-0 victory over a touted Pittston Area squad. This was only the first of seven shutouts. The defense was really psyched, they held the Pats to minus 29 yards rushing. With one victory under their belt the Spartans hosted Bishop Hoban. The offense showed some improvement. They gained 300 yards rushing, and Mark Jane fired three TD passes to lead the Spartans to an easy 47-6 victory. WVW ran into a roadblock called Wyoming Area. The offense was unable to get on track, and the Warriors squeaked by Valley West 7-6. Behind by seven in the second half, the Spartans scored a TD, however the extra point was blocked and WVW suffered their first defeat of the season.

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The Spartans next hosted defending Area champions G.A.R. The defense played tough throughout the game, but once again the offense was unable to mobilize. For the second game in a row the offense could not complete a pass. Eventually GAR capitalized on a bad snap in a punting situation and scored the first and only touchdown in the game C6-OJ. The Spartans bounced back from the last two games and they immobilized Coughlin in the rain, I8- 0. For the third straight game the offense could not generate a pass completion. Fortunately, they rushed for 300 yards. The Burgundy and Gold traveled to Dallas to play one of their best games of the season. Sophomore Jay Rauscher was installed at the QB slot and threw 3 TD passes. Dallas was overwhelmed by a awesome Spartan defenseg the Spartans won a 34-0 shut-out. Lake Lehman traveled to the Spartan Stadium. Both the defense and rejuvenated offense combined to defeat the Knights 21-0. Brian Masgay had an outstanding game. He scored on an 85-yard trap play for the offense, the longest run in the WVW Stadium in a long time. In defense, Brian picked off a record three interceptions. Hanover Area, arriving with only l3 or 14 players, was an easy 33-0 victory for West. Mark Koval was justifiably voted MVP with 3 touchdowns and an interception. The Mad Dog defense remained invincible as they held the Hawkeyes in check for their fourth straight shutout. The Spartans chalked up their fifth consecutive shutout as they blanked Nanticoke 22-0. Mark Koval once again stole the show with two TD's and two interceptions. WVW next traveled to Meyers with revenge in mind. In recent years Meyers had used the Spartans like they owned them. Enthusiasm and emotion ran highg an upset was in the making. It was over almost before it started. The Spartans were quick to put points on the board and Meyers never really knew what hit them. Junior Ben Barsh ran for 100 yards, and the defense, led by Brian Andres, forced 4 interceptions as the Spartans pulled off a 34-12 rousting. Meyers' touchdowns were the results of mistakes made by the offense. These were the first points scored on Valley West in five games. The final game ofthe season saw WVW and Bishop O'Reilly continue their crosstown rivalry. The Spartans, defense again proved impenetrable and the Queensmen went down 47-0. Coach Yaniger played the entire bench. It was an incredible season for WVW football. Altogether they broke 23 individual records, which is a record in itself. The defense was the best ever to come out of this area. The attitude and aggressiveness shown by the players was phenominal. The Mad- Dogs have added a new dimension to the game. No one will ever forget the WVW football team 'of 1978! Coach Yaniger feels that Spartans will win them all next year! 154