Jan 30, 2022 7 min read

Sometimes the ball bounces a team’s way and that leads to special wins and unprecedented accomplishments.

Such was the case with the 1972 Mapletown boys basketball team.

Much broke the Maples’ way, beginning with the WPIAL’s decision to add a third classification (Class C) in boys basketball.

That placed Mapletown in a four-team section that included fellow Greene Countians – Carmichaels and West Greene – and Fairchance Georges of Fayette County.

Win that section and win a WPIAL team title.

That’s exactly what the Maples did. It had not happened before at Mapletown, and it has not happened since.

What is more, Mapletown advanced to the PIAA playoffs. The Maples won a state postseason game. It had not happened before, and it has not happened since.

With only six section games to play, their list of regular-season opponents were Class A or Class B teams.

Mapletown entered the PIAA playoffs with a losing record 10-11. That matters little to anyone at this point. The memory and legacy of capturing a WPIAL championship lingers and the good feelings remain.

“There’s still a lot of talk about, especially between those of us who were on the team,” said George Messich, the Maples’ current football coach. “When you walk into our gym and you see that banner, it is something you’re proud of. Knowing you played on that team and were part of something special, it means a lot.”

Dennis Tanner, Mapletown’s point guard and leading scorer, said the season of 1972 stands out for many reasons, and because the WPIAL championship was the first and still the only one in school history, the team stands out.

“It’s reason to make you feel proud,” said Tanner, who went on to play college football at Indiana University of Pa. “It hasn’t been done again at Mapletown or in Greene County. It’s about time a team from Greene County wins another. I say that as a challenge to those teams.”

Mapletown’s chances to win section and WPIAL championships increased exponentially in April of 1971 when the WPIAL decided to initiate a third classification – Class C – for the first time. Previously, WPIAL basketball consisted of Classes A and B.

The new classification would only include Carmichaels, Fairchance-Georges, Mapletown and West Greene. The winner of Section 22-C would also be considered WPIAL champions and the first and second place teams would advance to the PIAA tournament.

Mapletown went 5-1, losing only to Fairchance-Georges, and sweeping both Carmichaels and West Greene.

The Maples clinched a tie for the section and WPIAL crown by beating the Mikes, 50-34, and won the titles outright with a 48-46 revenge win over the York Runners. Fairchance-Georges won the first game in January, 56-53.

That game typified Mapletown’s season with a balanced attack. Denny McIntire scored a game-high 13, Tanner scored 11 while Messich and John Kushner added 10 each.

“Our team was a bit of a carryover from two really good Mapletown teams in 1969 and 1970,” said McIntire, the team’s shooting guard. “We were mainly an inside team with Kushner, Messich and Gary Polosky. We were pretty strong inside and Tanner was just so good at driving to the basket. I could shoot but I wasn’t that good passing or dribbling.

“We were a balanced team and we won by playing really well together. We did that in that second Fairchance game.”

Phil Butcho, who was high scorer in one of the victories over West Greene, was also a contributor for Mapletown.

Mapletown had to adjust to a new coach, as Francis Bigley – a shop teacher at the school – succeeded Buddy Quertinmont.

The Maples also knew the bulk of their schedule would be against teams in a higher classification.

Mapletown opened with a 67-59 victory over Jefferson-Morgan in December 1971. In that game. Jim Popernack scored a game-high 17 points.

Two of the tougher loses during the season came against Waynesburg and Immaculate Conception.

Waynesburg pulled off a come-from-behind 75-68 win over Mapletown. On the strength of a 30-point performance by Tanner – Mapletown held an 11-point, first-quarter lead over the Raiders and led by eight points at half time. But the Raiders cut the lead to four after three quarters and outscored the Maples by 11 in the final quarter.

Waynesburg defeated Mapletown twice that season, beating the Maples 62-60 earlier in the season, a game that frustrated Tanner so much he punched a wall after the defeat and hurt his hand, an injury that kept him out of the lineup for a time.

After defeating IC earlier in the season, the Maples dropped a 64-51 decision to the Comets in early February. Tom Drakely, IC’s sharp-shooting guard, scored 13 to avenge the earlier loss.

“They were a scrappy team,” Drakely said. “We matched up against each other pretty well. They won the first game and it was a tough one to take, a couple calls didn’t go our way. We got the job done the second time.”

Kushner said the regular season competition and large crowds at most games helped toughen the Maples and, while the record might not have shown it, Mapletown was primed for the post-season.

“We were a small school and we played a lot of teams much bigger than us,” Kushner added. “I remember that most of our games, you couldn’t get one more person in the gym.

“We had a wonderful bunch of guys who basically had a lot of fun and put in a lot of work. It was bundles of fun.”

Post-season statementHalf of Section 22-C advanced to the PIAA playoffs. The Maples were joined by Carmichaels.

While the two had to wait for the WPIAL playoffs to play out in Classes A and B, Mapletown and the Mikes worked toward post-season play.

The Maples and Carmichaels both won their first-round state playoff games. Mapletown knocked of Sparta, which was 19-5 entering the game, to advance to the round of 16.

The Maples played Karns City, traveling back to New Wilmington and Westminster College’s campus, where they defeated Sparta.

The Maples got a game-high 18 from Tanner while Kushner added 11 and McIntire 10. Mapletown closed to within six points of the Gremlins in the fourth quarter but Messich fouled out. Karns City pulled away and ended the Maples season with a 63-55 loss. The Gremlins’ Bill Hipple tortured Mapletown, scoring a game-high 28 points.

The incredible run and historic season were over.

“To get that far is something to always remember,” Kushner said. “It was a great time.”

“It’s just amazing it’s been 50 years,” Tanner said. “We did well at the right time.”

“We were a talented team,” McIntire said. “What we accomplished can’t be taken away from us.”

The WPIAL section and playoff systems are so different today that it’s tough to imagine how it was organized 50 years ago. It is strange to win section and WPIAL simultaneously.

Mapletown is the WPIAL Class C champions forever. The Maples celebrate it and won’t apologize for it.

“When we were dropped down in classification, we felt we’d have a good shot,” Messich said. “We thought it would be a good section for us. We played some good teams.

“We were in the right place at the right time. The way the team played and the responsibility we had to one another made us a good team.

“We won a PIAA game and that doesn’t happen often and we don’t know when it will happen again. We all have a lot of great memories.”