A look back: March 19, 1971

More than 1,500 basketball fans are advancing westward this weekend carrying blue and gold banners of Marian High School for a historic clash with St. Basil’s of Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. Saturday.

The game has Marian’s hordes of supporters worked up to a high fever of excitement. The site is the field house of St. Vincent’s College, Latrobe. At stake is the Pennsylvania Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association Class B championship.

Never has a Marian team been involved in such a game. The Rev. Edward Sacks, principal, reported the school sold every one of the 1,500 advanced tickets allocated to it for the title clash. The entourage west will include about 30 buses and hundreds of private cars carrying Colt fans.