By Adam Baker
UNCASVILLE — The Sacred Heart High family put together a strong showing on Sunday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena for the boys basketball Class L final. What made this evening, and title, so special was that it came on the 50th anniversary of the Hearts’ 1967 title season.
“I’m very excited about the program and the direction that it’s going,” said Joe Summa, a member of that ’67 team and New England College Basketball Hall of Fame. “If you look at the benefit for Kelvin Davis, and the alumni here supporting the team today, it says it all (about the Sacred Heart family). People that graduated 50 and 55 years ago are here supporting the team.”
Summa also commented on this year’s team.
“In 50 years of watching high school basketball, what this team achieved this year, with the losses from last year (of four starters) and losing Raheem (Solomon to injury), it’s the most significant accomplishment that I’ve ever seen in Waterbury basketball,” he said.
The Sacred Heart family reigned supreme on Sunday night, as they celebrated their fourth state championships, in as many seasons.
“In the crowd here tonight, you can see people who graduated 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago,” said Hearts’ athletic director Mike Madden. “There’s different generations here, whether they played a sport or not, they’re all here to show support.”
Some former Hearts’ players in attendance included, Summa, Tavares Campbell, a member of the 1997 state championship team, and Mustapha Heron. You remember him, right?
“The thing about Sacred Heart is that it’s a family-based community,” said Campbell. “The entire Sacred Heart community all comes back (to show their support), which is a great thing.”
“It’s not just a tagline, we’re a real family at Sacred Heart,” added Madden.