11th of a Series...

It is the nature of football, as it is with almost any sport, that the guy who handles the ball the most gets the most credit and receives the most attention.

Many times, the guys that make the big plays possible go unobserved, or get the blame when something goes wrong. Often it’s left to the standout to give credit to those that helped them have success.

From the time they were youngsters in Geneva, Ed Pizzuto and Don Craine were pretty much linked. As they worked their way through high school football with the Eagles, Craine tended to get more notice as the feature back in coach Bob Herpy’s I-formation offense.

“I was the fullback and the blocker,” Pizzuto said without a trace of bitterness. “Don was the tailback and the feature runner.”

Actually, Pizzuto was far more than that. He was also an outstanding defensive back for the Eagles. He also became a fine kick returner for the Eagles.

But Pizzuto generally played a secondary role offensively. That is, until midway through his senior season, when Craine was injured in the Northeastern Conference game of the year against Harbor. It gave Pizzuto a chance to step into the spotlight, as Craine’s injury relegated him to defensive duty for much of the rest of season.

Pizzuto said he even heard Herpy questioned about why he didn’t utilize Pizzuto more offensively.

“Somebody asked him, ‘Why don’t you run Pizzuto?’” he said. “He said, ‘When you have a thoroughbred, you use him.’”

Pizzuto accepted that, then responded when he was called upon to share the load at tailback with Scott Spangler and helped Geneva stay on course to the 1972 NEC title and toward an undefeated season. Craine eventually came back to reclaim the tailback spot by the end of the season. A 7-6 loss to Chanel in the final game of the season cost the Eagles (9-1) a perfect season.

For his efforts, Pizzuto shared the team’s MVP award that season with Craine, who had won it by himself the previous season. Perhaps late Herpy attested best to Pizzuto’s value to the Eagles during that year in a booklet he handed out to team members detailing the events of the season.

“Ed was our, ‘Mr. Everything,’ this year,” it read. “He played flanker, tailback and safety. At flanker, Ed made some great catches that made big gains. At safety, Ed was a very aggressive tackler with 37 tackles and 27 assists.

“When he was called on to play tailback, he responded with three touchdowns against Harbor (in a 21-13 victory). Ed was selected for the second straight year as first-team All-Northeastern Conference (and Ashtabula County) defensive back. We will miss Eddie next football season.”

Pizzuto went on to take some time with football at the next level, playing for the late Lee Tressel for two seasons at Baldwin-Wallace College, before deciding on baseball as his true collegiate path. One of his football teammates was Jim Tressel, the current Ohio State football coach.