On Thursday, February 28th, a week after a memorable birthday celebration, Philip A. “Tony” Ciriegio passed away with his wife of almost 40 years, Wendy Galloway Ciriegio, by his side. Tony loved being around his family and friends. Those who knew him well usually found him grinning. He was happiest when surrounded by his three daughters, Laura, Carolyn, and Sarah, and, of course, the love of his life, Wendy. His newest joys were his grandchildren, Brooklyn, Cate, and Owen.
Born on February 20th, 1955 in Piqua, Ohio to Philip and Fannie Ciriegio, Tony grew up testing his father’s patience, doing no wrong in his mother’s eyes, and earning the affection of his older sister Sylvia. His younger days in Piqua were almost always spent near a playing field or with his best friends, who mostly helped keep him out of trouble, except when he wrecked his Nova. Tony also spent a lot of time with his large Italian family, including many special aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Tony attended The College of Wooster where he made lifelong friends, but, most importantly, met Wendy. It was his most successful sales pitch--even though it took extra negotiating with his father-in-law. Tony and Wendy built a life in Covington, Ohio while Tony established a successful 28-year career at Agfa as a sales executive. Before weekends were devoted to volleyball, basketball, and softball games for the girls, he enjoyed spending time with his family at Lake Erie and, most importantly, taking his favorite uncle fishing on Tony’s Boston Whaler, “Pigboat.” Tony’s fishing days with Uncle Shorty were second only to those spent with Scot, Wendy’s brother or Junior, as Tony called him.
Tony secretly hoped that one of his daughters would follow in his footsteps by attending Wooster. To his delight, all three attended and met their husbands during their time at Wooster. Tony was excited to welcome son-in-laws Dan, Chris, and Adam into the family since he was always outnumbered by women, but was also pleased to have more sports fans for watching football, golf, and racing.
Tony reached his lifelong goal to retire at 55 and enjoyed golfing, watching Betsy's sons, his great nephews, Austin and Kyle, and traveling to visit the girls. Tony's retirement was cut short by the new job of managing a diagnosis of young onset Alzheimer’s in 2011 at age 56. While the disease brought challenges every day, it created a renewed focus of the importance of family and being grateful for the good things in life. In spite of the disease, Tony celebrated Carolyn’s marriage, helped welcome his first grandchild, and gave Adam permission to marry Sarah. Tony continued to travel, making a trip to celebrate his nephew, Jamie’s wedding, and making a last visit to his favorite vacation spot, Pine Lake, Wisconsin in 2015. Early in the disease, Tony and Wendy enjoyed volunteering at St. James, spending weekends with the girls, listening to music, and walking as much as possible at local parks – always on the lookout for unique birds.
The last two and a half years of Tony’s life were spent at the Ganzhorn Suites in Columbus, with a passionate and dedicated staff who, not surprisingly, loved Tony as if he were family. Nicknamed "the smiley guy," Tony rarely went a day without seeing a member of his family and found visits from his grandchildren especially meaningful. The Ganzhorn staff gave Tony and his family quality time together and a second home in Columbus.
Tony will be remembered for his infectious smile, his fierce love for his family, and his never-ending devotion to Wendy. A service and celebration of life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 23rd at St. James Episcopal Church, 200 High Street, Piqua, Ohio, followed by a luncheon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a scholarship fund of your choice, or to the Alzheimer’s Association to help further research, awareness, and advocacy.
Excerpt From Piqua Daily Call (Newspaper) - October 7, 1972, Piqua, Ohio:
Saturday, Octobar 7, 1972 PIQUA DAILY CALL 11 Central Drops 15-14 League Thriller To Shawnee BY KEN BARHORST Call Sports Editor key pass interception midway through the third period by the hosts reversed a first-half dominance by Piqua and resulted in the Tribe losing a heart-breaker to Lima Shawnee, 15-14, in a key Miami Valley League encounter for both squads here Friday night. The game, Shawnee's Homecoming, pitted two evenly matched teams in what promised to be a real dogfight. And it's safe to say that none of the packed crowd left without getting their money's worth as they saw Shawnee take an early lead, then witnessed Central score two times before the half for an intermission lead, before the host Tribe scored in the third period and hung on for the win. "We played good enough football to win and that's what hurts the commented Central coach Chuck Asher in a dejected post-game locker-room. "There were two real good football teams out there tonight and I felt both teams played extremely good football. We let 'em out of too many big yardage situations. We contained them real well until they had to come up with the big play and they did." Piqua got a break early. After being forced to punt on the the first set of downs, Shawnee took the ball near midfield. On the second play from scrimmage. Shawnee speed merchant Dennis Richardson took a quick pitch around left end and bolted SO yards for an apparent score. But Shawnee was called for clipping and the ball came back to Shawnee's 35 where they were forced to punt. Central again couldn't get untracked and punted to Shawnee who took the ball on their own 40 and began a TD march. The Indians drove to the Piqua 16 where it was first and 10 when Tribe linebacker Tim Duer broke through and Piqua Coll Sports tossed Richardson for a six-yard loss back to the 22 and it looked like the Tribe was in business. But a little took care of that. On the next play Shawnee quarterback Tink Andrews hit end Dennis Shaw toward the left sidelines who immediately lateraled the ball back to Richardson coming full steam toward the goal line. Shaw kicked the extra point and Shawnee led 7-0. The TD naturally gave Shawnee the lead but much to their dismay it also fired up Piqua Central's offensive unit and one runner in particular R. J. Williams. Williams took the ensuing kickoff and dashed 39 yards before being dragged down, a prelude of what was to come for the remainder of the first half. The ball rested on the Shawnee 46-yard line following the return and the Tribe went to work quickly. On the first play from scrimmage following Williams' return quarterback Randi Pearson drilled a 41-yard pass to flanker Brent Burns giving the Tribe first and goal from the five before Shawnee had a chance to stop celebrating its first score. However, the next three plays netted minus one yard, setting up a crucial fourth and goal from the six. Shawnee, expecting a pass, double- teamed Pearson's favorite targets, Duer and Bums, but failed to account for anyone drifting out of the backfield, which is exactly what Central's leading scorer Steve Vincent did. Pearson laid the ball perfectly over Vincent's left shoulder and the burly fullback powered in for the score. The kick by Tony Ciriegio was good and Central had tied it with remaining in the half, just 81 seconds after Shawnee's initial tally. Piqua again forced Shawnee to punt on the next set of downs and a clipping penalty on the return backed the Tribe up to its own five. Here, Williams took charge, dazzling onlookers with his speed off the line and his open field, running, and aggravating ulcers with his Jimmy Brown-style of carrying the one hand outstretched. It took the Tribe 10 plays to cover the 95 yards and take the lead. The drive started with Williams picking up two consecutive first downs. He added gains of four and 14 yards before a pass from Pearson to sophomore tight end Mike Faler gave the Tribe a first down on the Shawnee 19. Pearson again called on his fleet- footed running back on the next play and Williams' took the hand-off going left, reversed his field after being hit three times at the line, and flew across the field for a touchdown that gave the Tribe a 14-7 lead after Ciriegio's kick, a lead they enjoyed at the half. Central had another opportunity to score before the half ended when the running of Williams again put the Tribe in good field position with a first down at the Shawnee 35. But Pearson threw the ball into the hands of Shawnee's Don Lundblad, foiling the threat. Shawnee took the second half kickoff and began moving. Starting at its own 29 they drove to Piqua's 15 where on a second and nine situation, senior co- captain Scott Clevenger intercepted an Andrews pass. Central took over on its 10 and moved out to the 25-yard line where they were faced with a third and seven situation. Pearson dropped back to pass but watched his protection break down, causing him to under-throw the ball badly, right into the hands of Shawnee's Hugh Baker, who took the ball to the Central three where three plays later, Doug Roser took it in from a yard out. Roser's score didn't come easy however, as when he crossed the goal line he was met viciously by Clevenger, who banged in hard enough to be heard around the stadium. Still, the lead was cut to one point at 14-13 with just left in the third quarter. Shawnee decided to go for the lead instead of a tie and the screen pass from Andrews to Roser was good as the latter trotted in untouched for a 15-14 lead. Piqua had one last golden opportunity when they almost used Shawnee's own trick to beat 'em. From their own 15- yard line very late in the final period, Pearson employed a Shawnee tactic by hitting Tim Duer near the left sideline in what was supposed to be a pass- lateral. Williams was coming hard right behind him and was clearly in the open. But Duer got excited and threw the ball well over Williams head. What could have been an 85-yard TD combination was nothing more than a one- yard loss, ending Piqua's hopes for a comeback. Williams finished the game with 104 yards in 19 carries, 91 yards coming in the first half while Vincent was limited to just 12 yards in five carries. "R. J. had a tremendous Asher went on. "That was one of his best games ever. We played real well in the first half but just couldn't get going in the last We'll just have to win 'em all from here on out and 1 think we can do it. These kids want to play football and they played well tonight." Pearson connected on eight of 18 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown and had two intercepted. Andrews hit on eight of 14 attempts for 82 yards. Another phase of the game that usually goes unnoticed is the kicking department. Ciriegio, who also kicks off for the Tribe kept Shawnee deep in their own territory when he had the chance, averaging just under 50 yards per kickoff in three cracks. The loss gives Central an 0-1 mark in MVL play and a 3-2 mark overall. Next week the Tribe is back in MVL action against Urbana in their annual Homecoming contest. Score by Quarters: Kirst Downs Piqua 0 14 0 Yards Rushing Uma Shawnee 708 Yards Passing Scoring Summary: Total Yards 22-yard pass Passes Attempted lateral; PAT: Shaw kick. Passes Completed six-yard pass from Interceptions By Pearson; PAT: Ciriegio kick. Yards Penalized 19-yard run; PAT: Punts-Average Ciriegio kick. Fumbles one-yard run; Fumbles Lost PAT: Flanagan, pass from Andrews. The Yardstick Piqua Shawnee 11 13 116 103 219 18 a i 55 3-30 2 1 86 82 168 14 8 2 20 7-37 3 INTERCEPTION Lima Shawnee's Don Lundblad (44) tumbles to the turf after being tripped up by Piqua's R.J. Williams (22on The play was set up when Lundblad intercepted a 'Cats Victim BACK OFF Piqua's Tony Ciriegio tries to push Shawnee speedster Dennis Richardson in action Friday night at Shawnee. The two Indian Tribes clashed in a key Miami Valley League game, won by Shawnee. Richardson scored one of two Shawnee touchdowns.
Born on February 20th, 1955 in Piqua, Ohio to Philip and Fannie Ciriegio, Tony grew up testing his father’s patience, doing no wrong in his mother’s eyes, and earning the affection of his older sister Sylvia. His younger days in Piqua were almost always spent near a playing field or with his best friends, who mostly helped keep him out of trouble, except when he wrecked his Nova. Tony also spent a lot of time with his large Italian family, including many special aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Tony attended The College of Wooster where he made lifelong friends, but, most importantly, met Wendy. It was his most successful sales pitch--even though it took extra negotiating with his father-in-law. Tony and Wendy built a life in Covington, Ohio while Tony established a successful 28-year career at Agfa as a sales executive. Before weekends were devoted to volleyball, basketball, and softball games for the girls, he enjoyed spending time with his family at Lake Erie and, most importantly, taking his favorite uncle fishing on Tony’s Boston Whaler, “Pigboat.” Tony’s fishing days with Uncle Shorty were second only to those spent with Scot, Wendy’s brother or Junior, as Tony called him.
Tony secretly hoped that one of his daughters would follow in his footsteps by attending Wooster. To his delight, all three attended and met their husbands during their time at Wooster. Tony was excited to welcome son-in-laws Dan, Chris, and Adam into the family since he was always outnumbered by women, but was also pleased to have more sports fans for watching football, golf, and racing.
Tony reached his lifelong goal to retire at 55 and enjoyed golfing, watching Betsy's sons, his great nephews, Austin and Kyle, and traveling to visit the girls. Tony's retirement was cut short by the new job of managing a diagnosis of young onset Alzheimer’s in 2011 at age 56. While the disease brought challenges every day, it created a renewed focus of the importance of family and being grateful for the good things in life. In spite of the disease, Tony celebrated Carolyn’s marriage, helped welcome his first grandchild, and gave Adam permission to marry Sarah. Tony continued to travel, making a trip to celebrate his nephew, Jamie’s wedding, and making a last visit to his favorite vacation spot, Pine Lake, Wisconsin in 2015. Early in the disease, Tony and Wendy enjoyed volunteering at St. James, spending weekends with the girls, listening to music, and walking as much as possible at local parks – always on the lookout for unique birds.
The last two and a half years of Tony’s life were spent at the Ganzhorn Suites in Columbus, with a passionate and dedicated staff who, not surprisingly, loved Tony as if he were family. Nicknamed "the smiley guy," Tony rarely went a day without seeing a member of his family and found visits from his grandchildren especially meaningful. The Ganzhorn staff gave Tony and his family quality time together and a second home in Columbus.
Tony will be remembered for his infectious smile, his fierce love for his family, and his never-ending devotion to Wendy. A service and celebration of life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 23rd at St. James Episcopal Church, 200 High Street, Piqua, Ohio, followed by a luncheon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a scholarship fund of your choice, or to the Alzheimer’s Association to help further research, awareness, and advocacy.
Excerpt From Piqua Daily Call (Newspaper) - October 7, 1972, Piqua, Ohio:
Saturday, Octobar 7, 1972 PIQUA DAILY CALL 11 Central Drops 15-14 League Thriller To Shawnee BY KEN BARHORST Call Sports Editor key pass interception midway through the third period by the hosts reversed a first-half dominance by Piqua and resulted in the Tribe losing a heart-breaker to Lima Shawnee, 15-14, in a key Miami Valley League encounter for both squads here Friday night. The game, Shawnee's Homecoming, pitted two evenly matched teams in what promised to be a real dogfight. And it's safe to say that none of the packed crowd left without getting their money's worth as they saw Shawnee take an early lead, then witnessed Central score two times before the half for an intermission lead, before the host Tribe scored in the third period and hung on for the win. "We played good enough football to win and that's what hurts the commented Central coach Chuck Asher in a dejected post-game locker-room. "There were two real good football teams out there tonight and I felt both teams played extremely good football. We let 'em out of too many big yardage situations. We contained them real well until they had to come up with the big play and they did." Piqua got a break early. After being forced to punt on the the first set of downs, Shawnee took the ball near midfield. On the second play from scrimmage. Shawnee speed merchant Dennis Richardson took a quick pitch around left end and bolted SO yards for an apparent score. But Shawnee was called for clipping and the ball came back to Shawnee's 35 where they were forced to punt. Central again couldn't get untracked and punted to Shawnee who took the ball on their own 40 and began a TD march. The Indians drove to the Piqua 16 where it was first and 10 when Tribe linebacker Tim Duer broke through and Piqua Coll Sports tossed Richardson for a six-yard loss back to the 22 and it looked like the Tribe was in business. But a little took care of that. On the next play Shawnee quarterback Tink Andrews hit end Dennis Shaw toward the left sidelines who immediately lateraled the ball back to Richardson coming full steam toward the goal line. Shaw kicked the extra point and Shawnee led 7-0. The TD naturally gave Shawnee the lead but much to their dismay it also fired up Piqua Central's offensive unit and one runner in particular R. J. Williams. Williams took the ensuing kickoff and dashed 39 yards before being dragged down, a prelude of what was to come for the remainder of the first half. The ball rested on the Shawnee 46-yard line following the return and the Tribe went to work quickly. On the first play from scrimmage following Williams' return quarterback Randi Pearson drilled a 41-yard pass to flanker Brent Burns giving the Tribe first and goal from the five before Shawnee had a chance to stop celebrating its first score. However, the next three plays netted minus one yard, setting up a crucial fourth and goal from the six. Shawnee, expecting a pass, double- teamed Pearson's favorite targets, Duer and Bums, but failed to account for anyone drifting out of the backfield, which is exactly what Central's leading scorer Steve Vincent did. Pearson laid the ball perfectly over Vincent's left shoulder and the burly fullback powered in for the score. The kick by Tony Ciriegio was good and Central had tied it with remaining in the half, just 81 seconds after Shawnee's initial tally. Piqua again forced Shawnee to punt on the next set of downs and a clipping penalty on the return backed the Tribe up to its own five. Here, Williams took charge, dazzling onlookers with his speed off the line and his open field, running, and aggravating ulcers with his Jimmy Brown-style of carrying the one hand outstretched. It took the Tribe 10 plays to cover the 95 yards and take the lead. The drive started with Williams picking up two consecutive first downs. He added gains of four and 14 yards before a pass from Pearson to sophomore tight end Mike Faler gave the Tribe a first down on the Shawnee 19. Pearson again called on his fleet- footed running back on the next play and Williams' took the hand-off going left, reversed his field after being hit three times at the line, and flew across the field for a touchdown that gave the Tribe a 14-7 lead after Ciriegio's kick, a lead they enjoyed at the half. Central had another opportunity to score before the half ended when the running of Williams again put the Tribe in good field position with a first down at the Shawnee 35. But Pearson threw the ball into the hands of Shawnee's Don Lundblad, foiling the threat. Shawnee took the second half kickoff and began moving. Starting at its own 29 they drove to Piqua's 15 where on a second and nine situation, senior co- captain Scott Clevenger intercepted an Andrews pass. Central took over on its 10 and moved out to the 25-yard line where they were faced with a third and seven situation. Pearson dropped back to pass but watched his protection break down, causing him to under-throw the ball badly, right into the hands of Shawnee's Hugh Baker, who took the ball to the Central three where three plays later, Doug Roser took it in from a yard out. Roser's score didn't come easy however, as when he crossed the goal line he was met viciously by Clevenger, who banged in hard enough to be heard around the stadium. Still, the lead was cut to one point at 14-13 with just left in the third quarter. Shawnee decided to go for the lead instead of a tie and the screen pass from Andrews to Roser was good as the latter trotted in untouched for a 15-14 lead. Piqua had one last golden opportunity when they almost used Shawnee's own trick to beat 'em. From their own 15- yard line very late in the final period, Pearson employed a Shawnee tactic by hitting Tim Duer near the left sideline in what was supposed to be a pass- lateral. Williams was coming hard right behind him and was clearly in the open. But Duer got excited and threw the ball well over Williams head. What could have been an 85-yard TD combination was nothing more than a one- yard loss, ending Piqua's hopes for a comeback. Williams finished the game with 104 yards in 19 carries, 91 yards coming in the first half while Vincent was limited to just 12 yards in five carries. "R. J. had a tremendous Asher went on. "That was one of his best games ever. We played real well in the first half but just couldn't get going in the last We'll just have to win 'em all from here on out and 1 think we can do it. These kids want to play football and they played well tonight." Pearson connected on eight of 18 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown and had two intercepted. Andrews hit on eight of 14 attempts for 82 yards. Another phase of the game that usually goes unnoticed is the kicking department. Ciriegio, who also kicks off for the Tribe kept Shawnee deep in their own territory when he had the chance, averaging just under 50 yards per kickoff in three cracks. The loss gives Central an 0-1 mark in MVL play and a 3-2 mark overall. Next week the Tribe is back in MVL action against Urbana in their annual Homecoming contest. Score by Quarters: Kirst Downs Piqua 0 14 0 Yards Rushing Uma Shawnee 708 Yards Passing Scoring Summary: Total Yards 22-yard pass Passes Attempted lateral; PAT: Shaw kick. Passes Completed six-yard pass from Interceptions By Pearson; PAT: Ciriegio kick. Yards Penalized 19-yard run; PAT: Punts-Average Ciriegio kick. Fumbles one-yard run; Fumbles Lost PAT: Flanagan, pass from Andrews. The Yardstick Piqua Shawnee 11 13 116 103 219 18 a i 55 3-30 2 1 86 82 168 14 8 2 20 7-37 3 INTERCEPTION Lima Shawnee's Don Lundblad (44) tumbles to the turf after being tripped up by Piqua's R.J. Williams (22on The play was set up when Lundblad intercepted a 'Cats Victim BACK OFF Piqua's Tony Ciriegio tries to push Shawnee speedster Dennis Richardson in action Friday night at Shawnee. The two Indian Tribes clashed in a key Miami Valley League game, won by Shawnee. Richardson scored one of two Shawnee touchdowns.
On Thursday, February 28th, a week after a memorable birthday celebration, Philip A. “Tony” Ciriegio passed away with his wife of almost 40 years, Wendy Galloway Ciriegio, by his side. Tony loved being around his family and friends. Those who knew him well usually found him grinning. He was happiest when surrounded by his three daughters, Laura, Carolyn, and Sarah, and, of course, the love of his life, Wendy. His newest joys were his grandchildren, Brooklyn, Cate, and Owen.
Born on February 20th, 1955 in Piqua, Ohio to Philip and Fannie Ciriegio, Tony grew up testing his father’s patience, doing no wrong in his mother’s eyes, and earning the affection of his older sister Sylvia. His younger days in Piqua were almost always spent near a playing field or with his best friends, who mostly helped keep him out of trouble, except when he wrecked his Nova. Tony also spent a lot of time with his large Italian family, including many special aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Tony attended The College of Wooster where he made lifelong friends, but, most importantly, met Wendy. It was his most successful sales pitch--even though it took extra negotiating with his father-in-law. Tony and Wendy built a life in Covington, Ohio while Tony established a successful 28-year career at Agfa as a sales executive. Before weekends were devoted to volleyball, basketball, and softball games for the girls, he enjoyed spending time with his family at Lake Erie and, most importantly, taking his favorite uncle fishing on Tony’s Boston Whaler, “Pigboat.” Tony’s fishing days with Uncle Shorty were second only to those spent with Scot, Wendy’s brother or Junior, as Tony called him.
Tony secretly hoped that one of his daughters would follow in his footsteps by attending Wooster. To his delight, all three attended and met their husbands during their time at Wooster. Tony was excited to welcome son-in-laws Dan, Chris, and Adam into the family since he was always outnumbered by women, but was also pleased to have more sports fans for watching football, golf, and racing.
Tony reached his lifelong goal to retire at 55 and enjoyed golfing, watching Betsy's sons, his great nephews, Austin and Kyle, and traveling to visit the girls. Tony's retirement was cut short by the new job of managing a diagnosis of young onset Alzheimer’s in 2011 at age 56. While the disease brought challenges every day, it created a renewed focus of the importance of family and being grateful for the good things in life. In spite of the disease, Tony celebrated Carolyn’s marriage, helped welcome his first grandchild, and gave Adam permission to marry Sarah. Tony continued to travel, making a trip to celebrate his nephew, Jamie’s wedding, and making a last visit to his favorite vacation spot, Pine Lake, Wisconsin in 2015. Early in the disease, Tony and Wendy enjoyed volunteering at St. James, spending weekends with the girls, listening to music, and walking as much as possible at local parks – always on the lookout for unique birds.
The last two and a half years of Tony’s life were spent at the Ganzhorn Suites in Columbus, with a passionate and dedicated staff who, not surprisingly, loved Tony as if he were family. Nicknamed "the smiley guy," Tony rarely went a day without seeing a member of his family and found visits from his grandchildren especially meaningful. The Ganzhorn staff gave Tony and his family quality time together and a second home in Columbus.
Tony will be remembered for his infectious smile, his fierce love for his family, and his never-ending devotion to Wendy. A service and celebration of life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 23rd at St. James Episcopal Church, 200 High Street, Piqua, Ohio, followed by a luncheon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a scholarship fund of your choice, or to the Alzheimer’s Association to help further research, awareness, and advocacy.
Excerpt From Piqua Daily Call (Newspaper) - October 7, 1972, Piqua, Ohio:
Saturday, Octobar 7, 1972 PIQUA DAILY CALL 11 Central Drops 15-14 League Thriller To Shawnee BY KEN BARHORST Call Sports Editor key pass interception midway through the third period by the hosts reversed a first-half dominance by Piqua and resulted in the Tribe losing a heart-breaker to Lima Shawnee, 15-14, in a key Miami Valley League encounter for both squads here Friday night. The game, Shawnee's Homecoming, pitted two evenly matched teams in what promised to be a real dogfight. And it's safe to say that none of the packed crowd left without getting their money's worth as they saw Shawnee take an early lead, then witnessed Central score two times before the half for an intermission lead, before the host Tribe scored in the third period and hung on for the win. "We played good enough football to win and that's what hurts the commented Central coach Chuck Asher in a dejected post-game locker-room. "There were two real good football teams out there tonight and I felt both teams played extremely good football. We let 'em out of too many big yardage situations. We contained them real well until they had to come up with the big play and they did." Piqua got a break early. After being forced to punt on the the first set of downs, Shawnee took the ball near midfield. On the second play from scrimmage. Shawnee speed merchant Dennis Richardson took a quick pitch around left end and bolted SO yards for an apparent score. But Shawnee was called for clipping and the ball came back to Shawnee's 35 where they were forced to punt. Central again couldn't get untracked and punted to Shawnee who took the ball on their own 40 and began a TD march. The Indians drove to the Piqua 16 where it was first and 10 when Tribe linebacker Tim Duer broke through and Piqua Coll Sports tossed Richardson for a six-yard loss back to the 22 and it looked like the Tribe was in business. But a little took care of that. On the next play Shawnee quarterback Tink Andrews hit end Dennis Shaw toward the left sidelines who immediately lateraled the ball back to Richardson coming full steam toward the goal line. Shaw kicked the extra point and Shawnee led 7-0. The TD naturally gave Shawnee the lead but much to their dismay it also fired up Piqua Central's offensive unit and one runner in particular R. J. Williams. Williams took the ensuing kickoff and dashed 39 yards before being dragged down, a prelude of what was to come for the remainder of the first half. The ball rested on the Shawnee 46-yard line following the return and the Tribe went to work quickly. On the first play from scrimmage following Williams' return quarterback Randi Pearson drilled a 41-yard pass to flanker Brent Burns giving the Tribe first and goal from the five before Shawnee had a chance to stop celebrating its first score. However, the next three plays netted minus one yard, setting up a crucial fourth and goal from the six. Shawnee, expecting a pass, double- teamed Pearson's favorite targets, Duer and Bums, but failed to account for anyone drifting out of the backfield, which is exactly what Central's leading scorer Steve Vincent did. Pearson laid the ball perfectly over Vincent's left shoulder and the burly fullback powered in for the score. The kick by Tony Ciriegio was good and Central had tied it with remaining in the half, just 81 seconds after Shawnee's initial tally. Piqua again forced Shawnee to punt on the next set of downs and a clipping penalty on the return backed the Tribe up to its own five. Here, Williams took charge, dazzling onlookers with his speed off the line and his open field, running, and aggravating ulcers with his Jimmy Brown-style of carrying the one hand outstretched. It took the Tribe 10 plays to cover the 95 yards and take the lead. The drive started with Williams picking up two consecutive first downs. He added gains of four and 14 yards before a pass from Pearson to sophomore tight end Mike Faler gave the Tribe a first down on the Shawnee 19. Pearson again called on his fleet- footed running back on the next play and Williams' took the hand-off going left, reversed his field after being hit three times at the line, and flew across the field for a touchdown that gave the Tribe a 14-7 lead after Ciriegio's kick, a lead they enjoyed at the half. Central had another opportunity to score before the half ended when the running of Williams again put the Tribe in good field position with a first down at the Shawnee 35. But Pearson threw the ball into the hands of Shawnee's Don Lundblad, foiling the threat. Shawnee took the second half kickoff and began moving. Starting at its own 29 they drove to Piqua's 15 where on a second and nine situation, senior co- captain Scott Clevenger intercepted an Andrews pass. Central took over on its 10 and moved out to the 25-yard line where they were faced with a third and seven situation. Pearson dropped back to pass but watched his protection break down, causing him to under-throw the ball badly, right into the hands of Shawnee's Hugh Baker, who took the ball to the Central three where three plays later, Doug Roser took it in from a yard out. Roser's score didn't come easy however, as when he crossed the goal line he was met viciously by Clevenger, who banged in hard enough to be heard around the stadium. Still, the lead was cut to one point at 14-13 with just left in the third quarter. Shawnee decided to go for the lead instead of a tie and the screen pass from Andrews to Roser was good as the latter trotted in untouched for a 15-14 lead. Piqua had one last golden opportunity when they almost used Shawnee's own trick to beat 'em. From their own 15- yard line very late in the final period, Pearson employed a Shawnee tactic by hitting Tim Duer near the left sideline in what was supposed to be a pass- lateral. Williams was coming hard right behind him and was clearly in the open. But Duer got excited and threw the ball well over Williams head. What could have been an 85-yard TD combination was nothing more than a one- yard loss, ending Piqua's hopes for a comeback. Williams finished the game with 104 yards in 19 carries, 91 yards coming in the first half while Vincent was limited to just 12 yards in five carries. "R. J. had a tremendous Asher went on. "That was one of his best games ever. We played real well in the first half but just couldn't get going in the last We'll just have to win 'em all from here on out and 1 think we can do it. These kids want to play football and they played well tonight." Pearson connected on eight of 18 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown and had two intercepted. Andrews hit on eight of 14 attempts for 82 yards. Another phase of the game that usually goes unnoticed is the kicking department. Ciriegio, who also kicks off for the Tribe kept Shawnee deep in their own territory when he had the chance, averaging just under 50 yards per kickoff in three cracks. The loss gives Central an 0-1 mark in MVL play and a 3-2 mark overall. Next week the Tribe is back in MVL action against Urbana in their annual Homecoming contest. Score by Quarters: Kirst Downs Piqua 0 14 0 Yards Rushing Uma Shawnee 708 Yards Passing Scoring Summary: Total Yards 22-yard pass Passes Attempted lateral; PAT: Shaw kick. Passes Completed six-yard pass from Interceptions By Pearson; PAT: Ciriegio kick. Yards Penalized 19-yard run; PAT: Punts-Average Ciriegio kick. Fumbles one-yard run; Fumbles Lost PAT: Flanagan, pass from Andrews. The Yardstick Piqua Shawnee 11 13 116 103 219 18 a i 55 3-30 2 1 86 82 168 14 8 2 20 7-37 3 INTERCEPTION Lima Shawnee's Don Lundblad (44) tumbles to the turf after being tripped up by Piqua's R.J. Williams (22on The play was set up when Lundblad intercepted a 'Cats Victim BACK OFF Piqua's Tony Ciriegio tries to push Shawnee speedster Dennis Richardson in action Friday night at Shawnee. The two Indian Tribes clashed in a key Miami Valley League game, won by Shawnee. Richardson scored one of two Shawnee touchdowns.
Born on February 20th, 1955 in Piqua, Ohio to Philip and Fannie Ciriegio, Tony grew up testing his father’s patience, doing no wrong in his mother’s eyes, and earning the affection of his older sister Sylvia. His younger days in Piqua were almost always spent near a playing field or with his best friends, who mostly helped keep him out of trouble, except when he wrecked his Nova. Tony also spent a lot of time with his large Italian family, including many special aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Tony attended The College of Wooster where he made lifelong friends, but, most importantly, met Wendy. It was his most successful sales pitch--even though it took extra negotiating with his father-in-law. Tony and Wendy built a life in Covington, Ohio while Tony established a successful 28-year career at Agfa as a sales executive. Before weekends were devoted to volleyball, basketball, and softball games for the girls, he enjoyed spending time with his family at Lake Erie and, most importantly, taking his favorite uncle fishing on Tony’s Boston Whaler, “Pigboat.” Tony’s fishing days with Uncle Shorty were second only to those spent with Scot, Wendy’s brother or Junior, as Tony called him.
Tony secretly hoped that one of his daughters would follow in his footsteps by attending Wooster. To his delight, all three attended and met their husbands during their time at Wooster. Tony was excited to welcome son-in-laws Dan, Chris, and Adam into the family since he was always outnumbered by women, but was also pleased to have more sports fans for watching football, golf, and racing.
Tony reached his lifelong goal to retire at 55 and enjoyed golfing, watching Betsy's sons, his great nephews, Austin and Kyle, and traveling to visit the girls. Tony's retirement was cut short by the new job of managing a diagnosis of young onset Alzheimer’s in 2011 at age 56. While the disease brought challenges every day, it created a renewed focus of the importance of family and being grateful for the good things in life. In spite of the disease, Tony celebrated Carolyn’s marriage, helped welcome his first grandchild, and gave Adam permission to marry Sarah. Tony continued to travel, making a trip to celebrate his nephew, Jamie’s wedding, and making a last visit to his favorite vacation spot, Pine Lake, Wisconsin in 2015. Early in the disease, Tony and Wendy enjoyed volunteering at St. James, spending weekends with the girls, listening to music, and walking as much as possible at local parks – always on the lookout for unique birds.
The last two and a half years of Tony’s life were spent at the Ganzhorn Suites in Columbus, with a passionate and dedicated staff who, not surprisingly, loved Tony as if he were family. Nicknamed "the smiley guy," Tony rarely went a day without seeing a member of his family and found visits from his grandchildren especially meaningful. The Ganzhorn staff gave Tony and his family quality time together and a second home in Columbus.
Tony will be remembered for his infectious smile, his fierce love for his family, and his never-ending devotion to Wendy. A service and celebration of life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 23rd at St. James Episcopal Church, 200 High Street, Piqua, Ohio, followed by a luncheon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a scholarship fund of your choice, or to the Alzheimer’s Association to help further research, awareness, and advocacy.
Excerpt From Piqua Daily Call (Newspaper) - October 7, 1972, Piqua, Ohio:
Saturday, Octobar 7, 1972 PIQUA DAILY CALL 11 Central Drops 15-14 League Thriller To Shawnee BY KEN BARHORST Call Sports Editor key pass interception midway through the third period by the hosts reversed a first-half dominance by Piqua and resulted in the Tribe losing a heart-breaker to Lima Shawnee, 15-14, in a key Miami Valley League encounter for both squads here Friday night. The game, Shawnee's Homecoming, pitted two evenly matched teams in what promised to be a real dogfight. And it's safe to say that none of the packed crowd left without getting their money's worth as they saw Shawnee take an early lead, then witnessed Central score two times before the half for an intermission lead, before the host Tribe scored in the third period and hung on for the win. "We played good enough football to win and that's what hurts the commented Central coach Chuck Asher in a dejected post-game locker-room. "There were two real good football teams out there tonight and I felt both teams played extremely good football. We let 'em out of too many big yardage situations. We contained them real well until they had to come up with the big play and they did." Piqua got a break early. After being forced to punt on the the first set of downs, Shawnee took the ball near midfield. On the second play from scrimmage. Shawnee speed merchant Dennis Richardson took a quick pitch around left end and bolted SO yards for an apparent score. But Shawnee was called for clipping and the ball came back to Shawnee's 35 where they were forced to punt. Central again couldn't get untracked and punted to Shawnee who took the ball on their own 40 and began a TD march. The Indians drove to the Piqua 16 where it was first and 10 when Tribe linebacker Tim Duer broke through and Piqua Coll Sports tossed Richardson for a six-yard loss back to the 22 and it looked like the Tribe was in business. But a little took care of that. On the next play Shawnee quarterback Tink Andrews hit end Dennis Shaw toward the left sidelines who immediately lateraled the ball back to Richardson coming full steam toward the goal line. Shaw kicked the extra point and Shawnee led 7-0. The TD naturally gave Shawnee the lead but much to their dismay it also fired up Piqua Central's offensive unit and one runner in particular R. J. Williams. Williams took the ensuing kickoff and dashed 39 yards before being dragged down, a prelude of what was to come for the remainder of the first half. The ball rested on the Shawnee 46-yard line following the return and the Tribe went to work quickly. On the first play from scrimmage following Williams' return quarterback Randi Pearson drilled a 41-yard pass to flanker Brent Burns giving the Tribe first and goal from the five before Shawnee had a chance to stop celebrating its first score. However, the next three plays netted minus one yard, setting up a crucial fourth and goal from the six. Shawnee, expecting a pass, double- teamed Pearson's favorite targets, Duer and Bums, but failed to account for anyone drifting out of the backfield, which is exactly what Central's leading scorer Steve Vincent did. Pearson laid the ball perfectly over Vincent's left shoulder and the burly fullback powered in for the score. The kick by Tony Ciriegio was good and Central had tied it with remaining in the half, just 81 seconds after Shawnee's initial tally. Piqua again forced Shawnee to punt on the next set of downs and a clipping penalty on the return backed the Tribe up to its own five. Here, Williams took charge, dazzling onlookers with his speed off the line and his open field, running, and aggravating ulcers with his Jimmy Brown-style of carrying the one hand outstretched. It took the Tribe 10 plays to cover the 95 yards and take the lead. The drive started with Williams picking up two consecutive first downs. He added gains of four and 14 yards before a pass from Pearson to sophomore tight end Mike Faler gave the Tribe a first down on the Shawnee 19. Pearson again called on his fleet- footed running back on the next play and Williams' took the hand-off going left, reversed his field after being hit three times at the line, and flew across the field for a touchdown that gave the Tribe a 14-7 lead after Ciriegio's kick, a lead they enjoyed at the half. Central had another opportunity to score before the half ended when the running of Williams again put the Tribe in good field position with a first down at the Shawnee 35. But Pearson threw the ball into the hands of Shawnee's Don Lundblad, foiling the threat. Shawnee took the second half kickoff and began moving. Starting at its own 29 they drove to Piqua's 15 where on a second and nine situation, senior co- captain Scott Clevenger intercepted an Andrews pass. Central took over on its 10 and moved out to the 25-yard line where they were faced with a third and seven situation. Pearson dropped back to pass but watched his protection break down, causing him to under-throw the ball badly, right into the hands of Shawnee's Hugh Baker, who took the ball to the Central three where three plays later, Doug Roser took it in from a yard out. Roser's score didn't come easy however, as when he crossed the goal line he was met viciously by Clevenger, who banged in hard enough to be heard around the stadium. Still, the lead was cut to one point at 14-13 with just left in the third quarter. Shawnee decided to go for the lead instead of a tie and the screen pass from Andrews to Roser was good as the latter trotted in untouched for a 15-14 lead. Piqua had one last golden opportunity when they almost used Shawnee's own trick to beat 'em. From their own 15- yard line very late in the final period, Pearson employed a Shawnee tactic by hitting Tim Duer near the left sideline in what was supposed to be a pass- lateral. Williams was coming hard right behind him and was clearly in the open. But Duer got excited and threw the ball well over Williams head. What could have been an 85-yard TD combination was nothing more than a one- yard loss, ending Piqua's hopes for a comeback. Williams finished the game with 104 yards in 19 carries, 91 yards coming in the first half while Vincent was limited to just 12 yards in five carries. "R. J. had a tremendous Asher went on. "That was one of his best games ever. We played real well in the first half but just couldn't get going in the last We'll just have to win 'em all from here on out and 1 think we can do it. These kids want to play football and they played well tonight." Pearson connected on eight of 18 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown and had two intercepted. Andrews hit on eight of 14 attempts for 82 yards. Another phase of the game that usually goes unnoticed is the kicking department. Ciriegio, who also kicks off for the Tribe kept Shawnee deep in their own territory when he had the chance, averaging just under 50 yards per kickoff in three cracks. The loss gives Central an 0-1 mark in MVL play and a 3-2 mark overall. Next week the Tribe is back in MVL action against Urbana in their annual Homecoming contest. Score by Quarters: Kirst Downs Piqua 0 14 0 Yards Rushing Uma Shawnee 708 Yards Passing Scoring Summary: Total Yards 22-yard pass Passes Attempted lateral; PAT: Shaw kick. Passes Completed six-yard pass from Interceptions By Pearson; PAT: Ciriegio kick. Yards Penalized 19-yard run; PAT: Punts-Average Ciriegio kick. Fumbles one-yard run; Fumbles Lost PAT: Flanagan, pass from Andrews. The Yardstick Piqua Shawnee 11 13 116 103 219 18 a i 55 3-30 2 1 86 82 168 14 8 2 20 7-37 3 INTERCEPTION Lima Shawnee's Don Lundblad (44) tumbles to the turf after being tripped up by Piqua's R.J. Williams (22on The play was set up when Lundblad intercepted a 'Cats Victim BACK OFF Piqua's Tony Ciriegio tries to push Shawnee speedster Dennis Richardson in action Friday night at Shawnee. The two Indian Tribes clashed in a key Miami Valley League game, won by Shawnee. Richardson scored one of two Shawnee touchdowns.
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