In September, the fraternity of Beta Theta Pi was known as a crazy, freespirited house with no true unity. Recently at Roy Rike field, a decisive loss put Beta as a runner-up in fraternity football. Was it a loss? As a coach and player I can say with backing of the spectators there Beta House physically-mentally out played Fiji and, probably more important, won the respect of all our peers in all other fraternities! The championship was not a loss but a thrilling victory. The 1976 season will be remembered as the stepping stone year for many championship trophies to come in to Beta Theta Pi house in the near future, All great teams had to experience the taste of defeat before amassing their talent dedication and desire into a classic team. Beta is in the preliminary stage now, but next year the dynasty will begin. The important thing is that this year’s team has finally set the example for the championship teams in the future. I would like to acknowledge these SUPER guys.
Throughout the year our offense Brian Welch, Peter Zonino and Chris Dantis, the unsung heroes of a team, displayed incredible awe and power, physically punishing opponents to be recognized as the tops in the league. Our receiving corp had it all. Karl Kimball, our leading receiver, always seemed to make the outstanding “clutch” pass throughout the year. Chris Scanlon, known as the burner, was the team’s distance threat, who led the team in scoring with 4 TD’s. Chuck Narwitz and Steve Perkins, quick receivers with excellent hands who ran the in-between pass patterns were also vital to the success of the team. Also to be included is Craig Ferrer who was one of the outstanding receivers along with Karl Kimball. As quarterback, we (Beta) had a great one, Keith “The Greek” Keriazokos. It was his leadership and pin-point passing that baffled the opponents throughout the year, (including the finals) that gave Beta the opportunity to advance into the championship game. To fill out the offense are the RB’s (Running Backs). Brian Rosenfelt, our heavyduty back, in the estimation of many, is the best block back in the business and also to his credit is an excellent receiver. Dave McCreadie, known as the demon of the get down, was our sweep specialist to keep the defense honest.
Defensively, Beta was tops in the league. The Defensive line, Duncan Hill, Les Savage, Andy “Bear” Thompson, and Mike Hairan are similar to the “Fearsome Foursome” the L.A. Rams had in the 50’s. A secondary yielded but four TD’s all year! This secondary includes middle linebacker, Matt Breckheimer, rated as one of the premiere linebackers in the league including his counterpart, left outside backer, Brad Pratt. Tom David fills out the linebacking corp admirably. The defensive backs were Craig Ferrer and Brian Kingston, who both did outstanding jobs throughout the year and played in top form in the championship game, as did every member of the team. This bunch of guys made Beta CHAMPIONS once and for all.
Before closing I would like to express one more important part of this team’s success, the specialty team. By this I do not mean the kickoff kick return units, as much as the guys who should have played more, but did not. This is a special group. There are two kinds of champions, ones who played in our games and the ones that came out to every practice, every game, for the benefit of team courage and guts are what these guys have … to keep going … to refuse to quit. These men are vital to a team’s success, for they must sacrifice the most pride, and seem to end with the least. These champions are Bob Harmon (LBRB), Dick Thomas (LB-DB), John Narwicz (defensive line), Chip Chapman (LB) and Jim Ries (SE). I thahk you guys the most! The team and all of us in the house are better for it.
Daniel Lawbar ‘zg
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