Franklin Regional playoff run rekindles memories of ‘perfect storm’ 1997 team

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Rob Greenleaf called it a “perfect storm,” his 1997 Franklin Regional boys basketball team that made the state finals in Hershey.

“These guys truly liked each other,” the former Panthers coach and Franklin Regional alum said. “They did everything together.

“I remember after we had a (youth) basketball camp, I took them all to the Blue Spruce for wings. It wasn’t about Xs and Os. It was about genuinely wanting to be around one another.”

The Panthers made a playoff run that had been unmatched in the program until this year’s team broke through to reach the state finals in Hershey. The Panthers will play Imhotep Charter (28-3) for the PIAA 5A title at 8 p.m. on Friday night at Giant Center.

Twenty-seven years ago, Franklin Regional took on Plymouth-Whitemarsh — also on March 22 in the late game in Hershey — but fell, 50-45, in the Class 4A final.

Standout point guard Mark Ponko still wonders what could have been. He harbors regrets.

“We choked,” Ponko said. “I am like the Buffalo Bills. I lost four (championship) games. I lost two WPIAL finals and a state final. We lost one in football, too.

“It’s really disappointing to lose those games.”

Franklin Regional, ranked nationally by USA Today, finished 29-4. The win total is a school record.

With the ‘97 group, it wasn’t about the state final itself, but rather the journey it took to get there, the names that made their mark, and the thousands that followed in pre-social media times.

“It’s amazing that we were able to bring all of that joy to Murrysville,” former star Aaron Lovelace said.

Like, the double-overtime semifinal win over Butler, a game the Panthers trailed by double figures.

“I remember how amazing the western final was,” Greenleaf said. “We went to double-overtime against Butler at (Duquesne’s A.J.) Palumbo Center. It was a single game. It was sold out.

“We had people from Murrysville, Export, Delmont — everybody was there. It was pretty darn cool.”

Like this year’s team, Franklin Regional lost in the WPIAL championship before refueling for another title run.

The Panthers beat Bradford, 58-34, in the first round of the state bracket. Then came a local matchup with Hempfield that saw the Panthers clip the Spartans, 57-54, at packed Robert Morris.

“It was a great feeling,” Ponko said. “We started playing together from a young age. I think Aaron and I were playing together since fourth grade. We won a lot of games.

“Our team was skilled and we were really gritty. We were tough and physical.”

They edged past Schenley on the same court four days later, 60-56, to set up the semifinal clash with Butler, a team they had beaten around Christmas time.

“I remember coach Greenie asking us at the beginning of the season, ‘What are your goals?’” Lovelace said. “Me, Mike and Mark all said, ‘states.’ He’s like, well, we want to win section and WPIALs. … We said, ‘states.’”

Lovelace, who gave up football, his first love, at a young age so he could concentrate on basketball — “My dad forced me to play,” he said, “but I fell in love with it” — wishes he had more memories of the state final against Plymouth-Whitemarsh, but … he took a knee to the head in the first quarter and suffered a concussion, so Greenleaf sat him for the entire second quarter.

“My mind went blank,” Lovelace said. “I don’t remember a whole lot from that game. I went into the locker room and got some smelling salts. (The trainer) asked me, ‘Who is this?,’ pointing to my dad. I said, ‘That’s Richard Lovelace. I didn’t say, ‘dad.’”

Said Ponko: “We knew we were good. Honestly, if Aaron doesn’t sit out the second quarter, we probably win.”

The Panthers also beat Schenley, in overtime, during the regular season, as part of a strong schedule that also included Altoona, Meadville and Simon Gratz.

“I met with our AD (Bob Bozzuto) to make the schedule,” Greenleaf said. “We wanted it to be representative of a team that expected to be good. We knew we had a good team.”

Franklin Regional clipped Butler in overtime, 66-64, to advance to Hershey. Lovelace, the centerpiece of the Panthers who went on to play at Duquesne, had a game-high 33 points.

Greenleaf’s staff included a young Adrian Batts, the longtime Jeannette coach and current athletic director.

Bill Hillgrove, Jr. — yes, his dad is that guy — was the eighth grade coach for the Panthers.

“In the western final, we were losing to Butler at the Palumbo,” Batts said. “Butler had Aaron Epps ,Troy Nunes and (Bryant) Lewandowski. We were down (by double figures) and came back to win it for a trip to Hershey.”

Another well-liked assistant was Scott Columbo who, like Batts, often practiced with the players.

Greenleaf said the Panthers held the ball for three-plus minutes in the first overtime.

“Lovelace was in foul trouble. We just held it and stared at them,” Greenleaf said. “Every time there was a dead ball or something, we got it. It was going our way.”

Lovelace, an FR Hall of Famer and former Duquesne standout who now works in software sales and lives in Houston, Texas, is enjoying the doubly exhilarating March Madness of his Panthers and Dukes making postseason noise.

Duquesne made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.

“FR is in the state final, the Dukes are in the tournament and my Steelers are doing well in free agency,” Lovelace said. “It’s unreal. It’s really good to see. It’s a wild time.”

The Panthers’ starting five for the state final was Lovelace, Ponko, Kris Lynn, the late Mike Rettger and John Hopper.

John Rocco, the usual two-guard, was out with mononucleosis.

Speaking of football standouts, Ponko went on to play defensive back at Pitt. He also was one of the best shooters on the basketball team. His four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter helped the Panthers tighten the gap late.

Lynn was a controversial in-season transfer from Hempfield. He now owns a couple of restaurants and enjoys shark-diving in Florida.

Rettger, who died in 2003 of a rare brain illness, is honored every year with an early season tournament in his name.

“Mike Rettger held it all together,” Greenleaf said. “We had star power in Lovelace and Ponko. But there was a lot of talent. Nobody had ever tried to take Ponko out. (Plymouth-Whitemarsh) was the first to do it.”

And that was a box-and-1 that limited the guard’s play in the final as the District 1 Colonials put a pin in the Panthers’ balloon at Hersheypark Arena, the place where Wilt Chamberlain once scored 100 points in a game and the place where Kobe Bryant led his high school team to state glory.

“We just missed Kobe from the year before,” Greenleaf said. The late NBA star powered Lower Marion to a 4A state title in 1996.

“I knew we were going to make a run,” Greenleaf said. “We had always played (Pittsburgh) Central Catholic and we were in the tougher section. We had a huge rivalry with them. The year before, we were 1-2 in the WPIAL all year. We beat them in the (‘96) semis.

“Well, (‘97) rolls around and we’re in different sections. We didn’t get to play them so our guys were a little let down. We wanted them bad. That was huge.”

Instead, the Panthers, who lost in back-to-back WPIAL finals, drew New Castle in the ‘97 WPIAL title game.

“That was when those New Castle kids were sophomores,” Greenleaf said, “and about to make their three-year run.”

Greenleaf said having a week off after the WPIAL finals defeat was a key.

When the team arrived in Hershey, they practiced at Redland High School, where Ron Richards, the future Plum coach and referee, was coaching.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh, like Imhotep Charter, was loaded with next-level talent. Its lineup included John Salmons, who went in to play at Miami and in the NBA, Chucky Moore, who played at Seton Hall and Vanderbilt, and 6-10 center Gene Shipley.

Greenleaf has held numerous boys and girls coaching jobs in the WPIAL since he left Franklin Regional. He currently is an assistant for the La Roche women.

“If I’d have landed a teaching job then, I’d probably have been there forever,” he said. “It’s great to see them back in the state final. I’m pulling for them.”

Lovelace’s advice to the current Panthers is simple but genuine.

“It’s about enjoying the moment,” Lovelace said. “The bus ride out, the times together, those are the things that stay with you.

“You never know what can happen out there. You don’t know how the ball is going to bounce. Just stay focused and play with what got you there.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional