This is the second of a two-part series which chronicles the illustrious careers of three former Andrew Warde High School basketball players and their coach from the successful Crimson Eagles squad in the early 1970s.The following article is reprinted from the the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper. Former Andrew Warde High School Crimson Eagles' basketball players Mike Abraham (#32), Dave Schulz (with the basketball), and Glenn Mackno (#14), played together in the 70s, coached with and against each other in the 80s, and now work together in the Fairfield public school system.
With the start of a second public high school sports program in Fairfield, the rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe high schools has been renewed. Three former players on Andrew Warde High School's 1973 FCIAC division championship basketball team feel the rivalry will be somewhat different this time around."Our games were very intense," Glenn Mackno said. "I do look forward to the rivalry. I hope (it's) a different type of rivalry. I don't think I want it to go back to the days where they were fierce."
"It was pretty hot and heated," added Dave Schulz, the athletic director at Fairfield Ludlowe High School.
The youth feeder programs of today bring athletes from both sides of town together, something that did not exist in their playing days. Today's high school athletes likely will have been teammates in the past, which should create a friendly rivalry, they expect. Because players on opposite sides of town did not grow up playing in youth leagues together in the 70s, those on Ludlowe's basketball team were as unfamiliar as those from an out-of-town team to Warde's players, Mackno recalled.
"We went on the court not knowing each other. They were just an opponent," said Mackno, now the principal at Roger Ludlowe Middle School.
In the 1973 Warde yearbook, the basketball team listed its goals for the season, and the first was to "beat Ludlowe twice." For the record, Warde won both meetings en route to a 15-5 season in 1972-73.
"I believe the rivalry will be equal to what it was in my heyday coaching in the 70s and 80s," said Coach Ed Bengermino, acknowledging that the youth programs of today might make things a little different.
"I think that will soften it a little bit because they know each other, but when they throw that ball up, they're not going to be friendly," Bengermino said. "They're going to want to beat each other."
No matter who wins the next matchup between Warde and Ludlowe, you can bet there will be some good memories in the stands in the old gymnasium.
Do you think today's rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe will be as intense as it was back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s? Please take part in our latest online poll below. Just click on the drop-down menu to vote.
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