Former Lorain High football standout Vince Villanucci dies at age 58; first to win Golden Helmet and Lombardi awards, made it to the NFL

Sometimes the years can play tricks on the mind and the memories. For example, Vince Villanucci, who died April 9 at age 58 after a long illness, was credited with kicking a game-winning, fourth-quarter field goal against Admiral King in the annual Lorain-King battle at George Daniel Stadium in October 1981. Terry King, a colorful and legendary player and coach at Lorain High, was an assistant in 1981 to head coach Vic Furiga and it was his job to find someone, anyone who could kick extra points for the Steelmen. "We needed a field goal kicker," King said. "We had no soccer people we could go after or anything like that. We took what we had." Enter Villanucci, an outstanding guard and linebacker who at the end of the season would become the first player to win both the Golden Helmet and Lombardi awards that go to the best senior football player and lineman in Lorain County. But could he kick? "I looked at Vince and said, 'You're the best person that we have on our team,'" King said. "I told him he's going to kick field goals and extra points as long as we're here every day for as long as we are here. "We kicked before practice. We kicked during practice and we kicked after practice." The game turned out to be a fierce defensive battle as neither team could move the ball or score through better than three quarters, according to King. It appeared the game would end in a 0-0 stalemate. Or would it? Tom Bauer, a member of the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame board, was handing out the plaques at the 2021 banquet in which Villanucci was to be inducted. "Terry's thing was, 'The score was tied at the end of the first quarter,'" Bauer said. '"It was tied at the end of the second quarter and on and on. With two minutes to go in the game, Terry said, he kicked a 47-yard field goal to win the game.'" "His reward was a Sweet Valley. That's cheap, cheap, cheap pop that you used to buy. We used to keep it in a Coke machine. If you pressed Coke you might get a grape Sweet Valley. You never knew what would come out. When Terry told that story, everyone laughed, it was a good story." Turns out the 33-yard field goal came in the first quarter but Lorain made it stand up in a 3-0 win. "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story," Bauer said with a laugh. "I'm surprised that field goal held up," Furiga said at the time. "We were going to go for the field goal all the way. We knew (Villanucci) had the range. He has kicked a couple of 30-yarders in practice." Lorain was 4-2-1 coming into the game and the Admirals were 4-3, but 3-0 in the Buckeye Conference with a chance to win the league title. The Steelmen definitely wanted to put a crimp in those plans, which they did. Then, led by Villanucci, Lorain got two more shutouts to finish 7-2-1 while the Admirals lost their final two to wind up 4-6. King may have embellished the situation a bit, but Villanucci did knock through a 45-yard field goal against Elyria in the season finale, a 23-0 Lorain win. At the time, it was the longest field goal for a Lorain school. Besides being a member of the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame, Villanucci is a figure in Arizona as a football coach. At Lorain High, he was a second-team All-Ohio offensive lineman and a state placer in wrestling, finishing third at 185 pounds. After a four-year football career at Bowling Green, Villanucci made the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills and later was active for the Green Bay Packers in 1987. With the Falcons, Villanucci was an All-Mid-American Conference selection. During his four years with BG, the Falcons won MAC championships twice and finished the 1985 season unbeaten in the regular season. After graduation, Villanucci obtained his master's degree in sports medicine and became an assistant coach. He moved to Nogales, Arizona, where he compiled a 50-28 record with back-to-back 10-win seasons in seven years as a head coach. He took two of his teams to the state semifinals and was named Coach of the Year in 2012. He also coached wrestling and track at Nogales. When he retired, he returned to Lorain, where he loved fishing and boating on Lake Erie. He battled CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) for many years. His longtime neighbor in Lorain, Ron Feldcamp, couldn't say enough nice things about him. "He was a very good neighbor," Feldcamp said. "He was always willing to help out. If it snowed and I'd still be in bed, I'd hear the snowblower outside. If it was real bad, I had mine on the patio and Vince would even use that. He always made sure my sidewalks were clear. Good guy." Villanucci is survived by his mother, Patricia Marie, and a brother, James A. of Rio Rancho, New Mexico. He was preceded in death by his father, Anthony, in 2022. "It's easy to talk about Vince because you're talking about one of the best that ever played for Lorain High," King said. "You could find people that were as good as him but I don't think you'd find anybody that you'd call better than him." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.