“The older I’ve gotten, it’s a sense of accomplishment that you just say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we did that,’ ” said Gene Lolli, a member of all three title squads — the 1973 and 1974 football teams, and the 1974 baseball team.
“You become more proud of the accomplishment. It wasn’t just one thing. Coaching, the talent, working hard, Lady Luck on our side a little bit. For a 58-year-old to look back on it now, it’s pretty neat.”
Fenwick will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the championship trifecta Friday night, honoring all three teams and their cheerleaders before the Falcons’ football game against Purcell Marian at Krusling Field.
Mike Harkrader will be there. He was a standout halfback on the championship football squads. His father, the late Jerry Harkrader, was the head coach.
“The stories get better as you get older,” said Harkrader, who lives in Middletown and is a vice president for Dickerson Distributing. “You don’t remember the bad things. You just remember the good stuff.
“There’s a lot to be proud of. Not just the guys that played, but all the people that made it possible. You think about the boosters and all the volunteers. It was a whole community effort. They did all the hard work. We just played a game.”
Jeff Hamilton is a sales representative at Dickerson Distributing and lives in Middletown as well. He didn’t play football, but earned the last six tournament victories on the mound for Fred Nori’s baseball team in 1974.
“What’s interesting is that 99 percent of those people were from Middletown,” Hamilton said. “Some of us went to school together from the first grade all the way through Fenwick.
“I’m glad the school is doing this. In my opinion, and I’m nobody, I think Fenwick should acknowledge these things more often over the years. How many high schools in Ohio don’t have anything?
“Fenwick has accomplished a lot. It makes you think of Butch Rossi, Fred Nori, Jerry Harkrader and Bob Schwab, the four horsemen from the old days that were there 24/7 for however many years.”
Lolli is a Middletown resident and the principal at Fairborn High School. He was a two-way starter at wide receiver and safety for the football champions during his junior and senior years.
In 1972, the Ohio High School Athletic Association implemented a computer point system and divisional playoffs to determine state champions.
Fenwick made it to the state semifinals that year and got blanked 18-0 by Lorain Clearview. The Falcons were determined to do better in ’73.
FHS would compile an 11-1 record that season, losing only to Talawanda. Hardened by playing bigger schools all year in the Mid-Miami League, the Falcons beat Ashtabula St. John 16-0 in the semifinals and Montpelier 27-7 in the championship game.
“When we played somebody our own size, we really felt we had the advantage,” said Harkrader, the lone sophomore starter in 1973. “Our feeling was, we played against guys that came on two buses. We definitely can beat these guys coming on one bus like we do.”
The final was held Nov. 23, 1973, at Ohio Wesleyan Stadium in Delaware. Greg Klapheke ran for two touchdowns, Mike Smith caught a 24-yard TD pass from Tom Bruggeman and Harkrader added a 52-yard scoring run. Matt Clemens kicked three extra points.
Frank Nemcic recovered a fumble and blocked a punt for the Falcons. Brian Mahany had an interception. Bruggeman was 6 of 11 for 124 yards through the air.
“Anytime you win a championship the first time, it’s probably a surprise,” Lolli said. “I think losing the semifinals the year before was a lesson learned.”
The following spring, Fenwick hoisted another championship trophy, this time on the baseball diamond.
Nori’s crew went 29-3, beating Van Wert Lincolnview 3-1 in the semifinals behind Hamilton’s five-hitter.
Two days later, on June 3, 1974, Hamilton threw three innings in relief of Klapheke to get the win as the Falcons topped Bloom-Carroll 6-3 for the championship at Ohio State’s Trautman Field.
Fenwick overcame a four-error fifth inning.
“Fred had told me if Greg got in trouble, I was going to go. My arm felt fine,” said Hamilton, a right-hander. “We played every day in the spring. With the adrenaline from playing every day and playing shortstop when I didn’t pitch, I think my arm was pretty strong.”
Third baseman Jim Galeese had two hits and two RBIs against Bloom-Carroll. Center fielder Marty Bidwell collected two hits and an RBI. Right fielder David South had two hits. Klapheke drove in a run.
Bidwell misjudged the fly ball that proved to be the final out. He made a leaping catch and was soon celebrating with Lolli, the left fielder.
“They were jumping around in the outfield, and (catcher) Frank Nemcic came out and I jumped in his arms,” Hamilton said. “It was wild. It was pretty cool.”
The scene was set for another championship in the fall of 1974. Fenwick’s football team was loaded and went 11-0-1 — it’s still the only undefeated team in school history.
The early-season tie, though, came on a trip to Edgewood. It was 0-0.
“It was pouring down rain,” Lolli recalled. “If I’m not mistaken, we had 200 yards rushing and held them to minus. I remember I ran a little hook pattern late in the game. I caught it on the 2, brought it in and turned to go in, and my feet came out from under me. I remember Coach Harkrader running that over and over and over Monday and yelling at me about not keeping my feet.
“We got out of the team meeting after the game about 1 in the morning. The coaches just reamed us. They told us we would never win another game. We thought, ‘We’ll show you.’ ”
Fenwick pulled out a number of close wins along the way. In the playoffs, the Falcons were unstoppable. They spanked Newark Catholic 34-6 in the semifinals.
On Nov. 22, 1974, Fenwick earned another crown by blanking Fremont St. Joseph 21-0 at Upper Arlington Stadium. Harkrader ran for all three touchdowns and 173 yards, Clemens booted three extra points, and Clemens, Joe Reek and Kevin DeBrosse each recovered a fumble.
“We’ve never been beat up like this,” Fremont coach Rick Wonderly said after the game. They whipped us in the trenches, and pretty soon it got to be a case of mental harassment.”
The Falcons’ drive for a second baseball title stalled in the spring of 1975.
Nori left to coach at Middletown (Rossi took over), Hamilton only played half the season after suffering a knee injury during basketball, and Fenwick couldn’t come close to repeating its magic from the previous spring.
“It was depressing to end that way as a senior,” Hamilton said.
The football team had another successful campaign in 1975 when Harkrader was a senior, but lost to Newark Catholic 11-0 in the state semifinals.
Galeese, Mike Gausling, Gary Callsen and South joined Lolli on all three championship teams. Bruggeman and South, the two starting quarterbacks, both succumbed to cancer this year.
Nori is still coaching. He’s an assistant on Tracy Smith’s baseball staff at Arizona State University.
Jerry Harkrader won 151 games in 23 seasons at Fenwick. He accepted the head job at Monroe, but never got to coach there. He died of a brain tumor in 1981 at the age of 47.
“Fred is probably the finest baseball teacher I’ve ever seen, a perfectionist,” Lolli said. “Jerry was a great man, a great football coach, a no-nonsense person. I would’ve run through a brick wall for him. He was one you didn’t want to disappoint.”
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