Franklin Regional’s Mike Rettger Tournament keeps alumnus’ memory alive

By: Shawn Annarelli
Sunday, December 15, 2019 | 11:48 AM

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Steve Scorpion looked up to the late Mike Rettger, who was five years older and a co-captain on Franklin Regional’s basketball team.

Rettger always made time for Scorpion in 1997, the year the Panthers made it to their second WPIAL championship game. In the three years Scorpion has led the program, he has focused on connecting the past with the present so former players can have the same impact on his team that Rettger had on him.

“Myself and one of my classmates were always at summer and fall workouts when we were in seventh and eighth grade to get ready (for high school), and we were little kids,” Scorpion said. “We were excited the older kids would help us, but Mike went above and beyond anything that was expected. He always took care of us.”

Franklin Regional recently hosted the 17th annual Mike Rettger Tournament in memory of the popular alumnus who died suddenly in 2003. More than 100 toys were collected for donation to charity, and a $2,000 scholarship was awarded to Nick Leopold, a Duquesne freshman and the team’s captain last season. A player from the girls team also will receive a scholarship.

“This is something we really like to do to keep Mike’s memory alive,” Kirk Rettger said. “Mike was kind of a soft-spoken guy, but he was a co-captain. Not the best athlete or the smartest scholastic person, but the guys around him, especially the younger ones, really looked up to him.”

Franklin Regional split its games at the tournament, with a 71-32 win over Monessen and a 68-49 loss to Baldwin.

“We played hard, and we learned from the previous game against Greensburg Salem, which we had the lead and lost it,” Scorpion said. “We played a complete game.”

Senior Logan Summerhill led the team with 32 combined points in the two tournament games. Senior center Johnny O’Toole was the only other Panther with varsity experience entering the season.

“Players like junior Luke Kimmich have stepped up, and he is our second-leading scorer,” Scorpion said. “Caden Smith, a sophomore, is a point guard, and he’s going to be really good.”

Franklin Regional and Baldwin traded leads in the first half until the Highlanders secured a six-point edge to start the fourth period.

“It’s a two-possession game even with the missed layups and turnovers we had,” Scorpion said. “Then we started the fourth period with a defensive breakdown, and they hit a 3. We came down, missed another layup. They come back, miss a shot, but we didn’t box out and that gets put back.”

The game followed a similar pattern for several possessions until the Panthers found themselves in a 15-point hole.

“It’s the little things we’ve talked about for three or four months in practice,” Scorpion said. “It’s all the things a more experienced team understands. Our inexperience showed in the (Baldwin) game. We can’t simulate that in practice, so we have to learn from it in games.”

Summerhill said team defense and the development of younger players will be the key to the Panthers’ success this season.

“I definitely feel good about our team this year, and I am confident with our young squad,” Summerhill said. “We have a lot of hunger, and we blend together well.”

Tags: Franklin Regional