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Larger losses overshadowed by big game Kevin Blaum In the arena

Sunday November 29, 2009 | 12:00 AM

IN MANY ways, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It means family, friends, good food, field hockey, football, conversation, giving thanks, relaxation and no shopping. Except for the news that President Obama might send an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan and the eight-year war, Thursday was a great day.

There was no immediate indication of anything unique about this Thanksgiving. However, Thursday morning, while jogging through Kingston as I have done so often, the irony of it all became clear as I rounded a corner and there before me stood Kingston’s historic football stadium.

I’ve experienced 58 Thanksgiving holidays. The first 57 were celebrated with family and friends as a resident of Wilkes-Barre. Thursday was my first as a resident of Kingston.

Growing up across the river, I was a student at Coughlin High School. As a freshman in the fall of 1966 we witnessed our first high school football season. It culminated in Kingston, just off Pierce Street on the several acres of hallowed ground in front of me. On Nov. 24, 1966, Kingston and Coughlin would collide, on Thanksgiving morning, for the football championship of the entire world. Standing there last Thursday morning, I remembered just how big it was.

Were you there?

The buildup was unlike anything high school athletes had ever seen. It was the 8-0-1 Crusaders of Coughlin vs. the 9-0-0 Kingston Huskies – undefeated in 19 consecutive games. It featured legendary coaches Jim Fennell of Kingston and Joe Moran of Coughlin. In the 12-day lead up to the championship game there were daily articles filling every sports page.

Kingston’s field had seating for 9,000 fans. Director of Athletics Clyde Boyer scrambled to find additional bleachers for an overflow crowd expected to reach 15,000. By kickoff there wasn’t a square inch of available space. People were standing 10 deep all around the field. It was the biggest thing any of us could remember, and the players became local heroes.

Skip Gross, the premier quarterback in the region, led an unstoppable Kingston ground game featuring Joe Petro, Rich Bergstrasser, Larry Ansillio, Tim Lukachick, Bruce Shiner, Mike Hall, Bill Novak, Tom Jones and Bill Grogan.

The Crusaders were led by Tom and Joe Duffy, Dave Connell, Ed Langdon, Rich and Chuck Chulada, John McGraw, John Clark, Joe and Jim Blaum, Bill Krywicki, Bill Hilburt, Bill Bierbach, PJ O’Donnell, Tyrone McMullins, George Spunar, Jim Keating, Mike Lowery and Charlie Anstette. In nine games their defense relinquished only 62 points.

Up at dawn, our family raced to get seats by 8:30 for the 10 a.m. kickoff. It was bitter cold. Most experts picked Kingston by a touchdown, maybe two, and on the second play from scrimmage Petro went 76 yards to put the Huskies up 6-0. By halftime, Coughlin led 20-6. O’Donnell, Joe Blaum and Langdon had scored. The Crusaders had nine first downs, Kingston had none.

The second half belonged to Kingston. Gross to Jones made it 20-13. In the final minute, Gross again found Jones for a 55-yard TD pass. It was 20-19. The pass for an extra point — and the tie — was broken up in the end zone by McMullins, who also had three interceptions on the day.

The game exceeded the hype and everyone’s expectations. The next morning, we read every newspaper account of what transpired. But amidst all the excitement of Thanksgiving morning (1966), few noticed that morning’s headline, which read, “Viet Cong Kill 20 in Holiday Ambush.”

We give thanks for all our wonderful memories and we pray Obama is making the right decision.