Monday, April 11, 2011

Bill Ferrario

Bill was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and graduated from West Scranton High School.  After graduating high school, Bill continued his football career at the University of Wisconsin where he was part of the offensive line for Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne and Michael Bennett.  Bill started all 50 games in his career at Wisconsin (only 3rd player to accomplish this).  He helped the Badgers capture back to back Rose Bowl Championships. 

After his career was finished at Wisconsin, he was a 4th round selection in the 2001 NFL of the Green Bay Packers.   Waived by the Packers in 2003, he spent time with the Redskins and Panthers and was finally released by the Panthers in 2005.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Qadry “The Missle” Ismail

Qadry was born in Newark, New Jersey but grew up in Wilkes-Barre PA and attended E. L. Meyers High School.    After his career at E. L. Meyers High School ended Qadry took his skills to the University of Syracuse.  Some accomplishments at Syracuse include 1991 All American, All Big East First team and conference second team kick returner.

Qadry was a second pick of the Minnesota Vikings but also played for the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts.   Qadry was part of the Baltimore Ravens during their Super Bowl (XXXV) run when they defeated the NY Giants 34-7.

He finished his career with 353 receptions, 5137 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Currently Qadry works as an NFL analyst for ESPN and resides in Bel Air, Maryland with his wife and family. 
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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Raghib “The Rocket” Ismail

Raghib was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey but grew up in Wilkes-Barre PA and attended E.L Meyers High School.   After playing football at Meyers High School, Raghib took his football skills to the University of Notre Dame. During the 1989 regular season game against Michigan, Ismail returned two kickoffs for TDs a feat never accomplished by a Michigan opponent.   After the 1990 season  Rocket finished second for the Heisman losing to BYU QB Ty Detmer, but was projected to the top selection of 1991 NFL Draft before deciding at the last minute to sign with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. 

After two successful years in the CFL, Rocket joined the Raiders in 1993 and was traded after the 1995 season to the Carolina Panthers.  Ismail had a career year (at the time) in 1998 with the Panthers with 69 receptions and 1,024 yards.  In 1999 Ismail signed with the Dallas Cowboys and had a career year with 1,097 yards and six touchdowns.  In 2000 due to injury Ismail was limited to eight games and the 2001 season marked his last season in the league.

Ismail’s younger brother, Qadry, also had a career in the NFL.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Bill Lazor

Bill grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and graduated from Scranton Central High School.   After graduating from high school, Bill continued his football career at Cornell, setting several passing records.  Cornell is also where he started his coaching career, serving in such roles as passing game coordinator, recruiting coordinator, and quarterbacks coach.   He continued his collegiate coaching career at the University of Buffalo, serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

In 2003 he was hired by Dan Reeves with the Atlanta Falcons offensive quality control coach, which then led to stops with the Washington Redskins as QB coach  under Joe Gibbs and with the Seattle Seahawks under Jim Mora Jr. and Mike Holmgren.   

Bill was the offensive coordinator and QB Coach for the University of Virginia and recently got hired by the Philadelphia Eagles QB Coach.


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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Jimmy Cefalo

Jimmy was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania and attended Pittston Area High School prior to a standout career at Penn State University in the mid 70’s.     He led the Nittany Lions in all-purpose yards his senior season and was MVP of the Gator Bowl.  Jimmy was a 3rd round pick of the Dolphins in the 1978 NFL Draft.   With the Dolphins, Cefalo played in two Super Bowls (XVII and XIX) and caught a 76 yard touchdown in the Super Bowl loss to the Washington Redskins.   He also caught in 1984 the Dan Marino pass that broke the record for the most touchdown passes in a season.

After his football career concluded Cefalo has worked as commentator for the NFL on NBC, MLB games, as well as, the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea.   He now hosts a morning news program on WIOD radio in Miami .

Sunday, April 3, 2011

John McNulty

John attended Abington Heights High School (Clarks Summit, PA), McNulty received his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Penn State in 1990.


McNulty was a safety at Penn State (1988-90) and was a member of two Nittany Lion bowl teams. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant helping out with the wide receivers at the University of Michigan in 1991. Michigan won two Big Ten titles and appeared in four bowl games including two Rose Bowl appearances during his time in Ann Arbor. In 1994, McNulty worked with standout wide receivers and future NFL players Amani Toomer and Mercury Hayes.


John currently works with the Arizona Cardinals as wide receivers coach after being hired on 2/18/09. McNulty came to Arizona after working five seasons at Rutgers, coaching the last three seasons as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks after originally joining the staff as the wide receivers coach in 2004. McNulty has previously worked in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1998-2002) and Dallas Cowboys (2003).

Just recently John rejoined Greg Schiano as an assistant with Tampa Bay Buccaneers


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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Evan Prall


Evan grew up in Scranton and went to West Scranton High School.  He continued his football career at East Stroudsburg University where he set PSAC records for receiving, breaking those held by Andre Reed.  Evan signed with the Arizona Cardinals and spent time with the NY Jets  after his career came to an end at East Stroudsburg .  Currently Evan teaches and coachs in NEPA and also runs  Air Raid Academy with his  with his college qb, Jimmy Terwilliger.


Congrats to Evan Prall on become Head Coach Prall

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Mark Duda

Mark Duda, born in Plymouth, PA and graduated from Wyoming Valley West High School.  Mark went to the University of Maryland was drafted in the fourth round of the 1983 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals). Duda played in the NFL for five seasons from 1983 to 1987 and currently is the head football coach at Lackawanna College.

One of the many beneficiaries of Duda's vast knowledge of football is Bryant McKinnie, who was selected in the first round (No. 7) of the 2002 National Football League Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. McKinnie played at Lackawanna in 1997 and 1998 and went on to The University of Miami (Fla) where he was the recipient of the prestigious Outland Trophy and a consensus All-American offensive lineman.  Another current NFL player who played for Coach Duda is Buffalo Bills, WR Donald Jones.

He was inducted into the University of Maryland Wall of Fame in 1994 and a year later was inducted into the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sport Hall of Fame.  

James Mungro

James Mungro, II, born in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania  played his entire NFL career was with the Indianapolis Colts.   Mungro attended East Stroudsburg South High School and was Parade and Street and Smith’s All-America grid performer. He was also Pennsylvania Player-of-the-Year as a junior and all-state selection in his final two seasons. He rushed for 2,541 yards and 34 TDs as senior. He set the Pennsylvania state record after rushing for 8,432 yards and totaling 9,513 all-purpose yards during his career.  
Mungro was a four-year letterman who totaled 529-2, 869, 29 touchdowns (TD) rushing for the Syracuse University Orangemen. He had his best year as a senior with 1,170, 14 TDs rushing. Undrafted, Mungro was signed by the Detroit Lions in 2002 but was cut at the end of training camp that year. The Indianapolis Colts signed him immediately, and he became a backup to Edgerrin James. He rushed for 114 yards in his first start.  

Bo Orlando


Bo Orlando from Berwick PA played safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Oilers, San Diego Chargers, and Cincinnati Bengals during his NFL career. Orlando played quarterback and defensive back at Berwick High School in Pennsylvania. He led his team to a 13-0 season during his senior year and a #1 ranking on the USA Today Top 25 in 1983.
Orlando played quarterback in high school, but when the West Virginia Mountaineers recruited him, they moved him to strong-safety. He helped lead the Mountaineers to their undefeated 1988 season was selected 157th overall, sixth round in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He played five seasons with the Oilers, into 1994, recording seven interceptions and returning one for a touchdown. He then played one season with the Chargers, two with the Bengals, and his last season in 1998 with the Steelers.

Ron Powlus

Ron Powlus born in Berwick, PA and played football at the University of Notre Dame was one of the most heavily-touted prospects in the history of high school football, he was an offensive standout at Berwick High School. Powlus was named Parade Magazine prep player of the year and USA Today offensive prep player of the year in 1992.

He started all 44 regular-season games (plus two bowl games) in which he played for the Irish and finished with 558 career completions on 969 attempts for 7,602 yards and 52 touchdowns. He set the Irish single-game mark for TD passes in a game with four (three times) and at one point completed 14 straight passes. He set single-season marks in 1997 as a senior with his 182 completions and 298 attempts.

After Notre Dame he signed as a free agent in 1998 with the Tennessee Oilers of the National Football League and then was on the Detroit Lions' preseason roster in 1999 and the Philadelphia Eagles' roster in 2000. He played with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe in the spring of 2000.  Powlus served under Charlie Weis at Notre Dame and is currently the quarterbacks coach for the University of Akron Zips football team.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Yogi Roth

He played high school football at Lackawanna Trail High School in Dalton, PA and college football at Pittsburgh, where he was a wide receiver. After working as a video assistant at the University of Southern California, he was promoted to Quarterbacks graduate assistant coach.


Yogi is also the executive producer on an ESPN documentary titled ‘2 For the Show’ that follows former University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker and former Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor as they end their collegiate careers and enter the National Football League. It is slated to air in April 2011.


He is the co-founder of Win Forever, LLC, a competitors’ brand inspired by Carroll that focuses on athletic camps, coaching workshops, corporate coaching, entertainment and philanthropy.


Follow Yogi at YogiRoth

Ray Rychleski

Rychleski was born in Old Forge, Pa.  He earned his degree in social studies from Millersville (Pa.) State College (now known as Millersville University) in 1979.

Ray Rychleski enters his third season as special teams coordinator of the Colts.  Rychleski joined Indianapolis from the University of South Carolina, where he served one season as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.

Chris Snee


Chris is a member of the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boston College.
Snee earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. He is the son-in-law of Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.  
At Montrose High School, Snee was a two-time All-State selection, and a three-time All-Conference selection. He is believed to be the first NFL player ever to grow up in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. In his senior year he broke his hand at Western Wayne High school after getting mad at the Wildcats quarterback Brian Blaum. The Montrose Meteors lost this game in overtime.  He was named as the Regional Defensive Player of the Year in 1999. He was named Three-time All-Conference choice and a two-year All-Regional honoree. Snee played defense in high school and recorded 47 quarterback sacks in his three years as a starter on the defensive line. He led his team to the district title in both 1997 and 1998. He totaled 101 tackles in his senior season and served as their team captain. Snee was a two-time All-Conference selection and team captain on the school’s basketball team. He played in the 43rd annual Big 33 Football Classic featuring the top players from Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Tim Ruddy

Born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania from his childhood all the way through high school. Tim graduated from Dunmore High School with perfect 4.0 GPA. 


Ruddy attended The University of Notre Dame from 1990–1993. He was a four year letterman and two year starter during this time. He was selected as a second-team All-America and first-team All-Independent by The Football News and the Associated Press. Ruddy also posted a perfect 4.0 GPA his junior and senior years at Notre Dame. He graduated with 3.86 GPA. He holds a B.S. inmechanical engineering. He also earned post-graduate scholarships from the NCAA and the National Football Foundation. 

Ruddy was the second-round draft choice (65th overall) of Miami in 1994. Ruddy started 140 games of his 156 games played in which 16 of those non starts were his rookie year but he saw time in all of them. During most of his career he was the center for Dan Marino, in 2001 Ruddy was named to the Pro Bowl. He was the first Miami center to be selected to the Pro Bowl since Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson in 1987. 


Eric Shrive

One of the nation's most highly-recruited offensive linemen, Eric Shrive is ready to get back on the field and begin making an impact for the Nittany Lions. Rated the nation's No. 2 tackle out of West Scranton HS, Shrive has the skills and physical attributes to become a contributor this fall in his redshirt freshman season. He has made significant progress during his first year in Happy Valley and ended spring drills looking to challenge DeOn'tae Pannell and Johnnie Troutman for time at left guard. The talented, strong and instinctive Shrive was a prep teammate of Nittany Lion quarterback Matt McGloin. He is one of 14 returning Nittany Lions from Eastern Pennsylvania.

Greg Skrepenak


Played for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders and the Carolina Panthers. Skrepenak's professional football career spanned the final three years the Raiders played in Los Angeles, California from 1992-1994 and the first year they returned to Oakland, California in 1995. Then, it continued with consecutive seasons (1996 and 1997) with the Carolina Panthers in which he did not miss a start.
Prior to his NFL experience Skrepenak had starred in the Big Ten football conference for the University of Michigan Wolverines as a two-time All-American, team captain, and four-year starter from 1988-1991. Skrepenak played for four consecutive Big Ten Conference Champions, appeared in three Rose Bowls and won a Gator Bowl MVP. Previously he had been a scholar athlete at G. A. R. Memorial Junior Senior High School where he earned 12 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball.
Skrepenak, who was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, was elected in 2003 to serve as the Luzerne County Commissioner, a position he has held since January 2004. Skrepenak was re-elected on November 6, 2007. He had considered running for the United States House of Representatives in the 2006 elections, but decided against running for such an office this early in his political career. On December 17, 2009, Greg Skrepenak signed a plea agreement to a charge of corruption. He would resign later that day. On August 6, 2010, Greg Skrepenak was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Ron Solt

This Wilkes Barre native (went to High School at James M. Coughlin in Wilkes Barre PA) was selected 19th with the pick the Colts received from Denver in the John Elway trade after he refused to play in Baltimore the prior year.     He went to college at the University of Maryland and played professionally for the  for the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles.  

Tom Woodeshick


born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League. Woodeshick played football at Hanover Township High School and college football at West Virginia University. As a pro, he played nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and one with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League.
More Stories on Tom during his days with the Eagles.