McDonald's Football Hall to add five members

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Five people who contributed to the rich tradition and history of the McDonald's Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic will be inducted into the event's Hall of Fame at a banquet Wednesday at Northampton Community Center.

The Hall of Fame dinner serves as a prelude to the 41st annual McDonald's Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic which is at 7 p.m. Thursday at Nazareth's Andrew Leh Stadium.

The five new inductees include the late Elwood Petchel, a legendary player at Penn State and coach at Pen Argyl who was involved with the start of the LARC Lehigh Valley all-star game in 1971.

Also being inducting are current coaches Bob Steckel Jr. of Northampton and Rich Gierula of Bethlehem Catholic, who both played in the game and continue to stay involved by serving on the board and working as coaches.

In addition, former Pius X and Lehigh football standout Phil Stambaugh, now the Royals head coach, will be saluted, as will longtime volunteer and McDonald's board member Kristen Pittman.

Here's a look at each:

Gierula — A 1983 Whitehall graduate, Gierula played on two conference title teams for Joe Gerencser's Zephyrs as an offensive tackle. He also was an accomplished powerlifter and won state championships in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He closed his high school career by playing in the 1983 LARC All-Star Football Classic. He played at East Stroudsburg University, starting for three years and earning all-PSAC honors as an offensive guard.

He has been a health and phys ed teacher at Whitehall for 20 years. He has coached at Northampton, Whitehall (17 years), Emmaus and now Becahi. Among the highlights of his career was coaching Super Bowl champion Dan Koppen at Whitehall. He has served on the McDonald's committee for 10 years.

Petchel — One of the legendary figures in Lehigh Valley football history, Petchel was first a star player at Wilson and then played quarterback and defensive back at Penn State.

He played on the team that tied Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker and SMU, 13-13, in the 1948 Cotton Bowl. He was named a third-team All-American and played in the first Hula Bowl. He led Penn State in total offense all four years that he was there and also led the Lions in interceptions in 1946 and 1948.

But he carved his most lasting niche as a coach. He coached at Pen Argyl from 1961-72 and went 78-36-5. He coached three championship teams, including an 8-0-2 team in 1963.

Petchel, who made his mark as one of the great coaching innovators, died in February at 84.

Stambaugh — The 1996 Pius X graduate participated in football, wrestling and baseball in high school and was an all-conference selection in each sport.

He stuck with football at the collegiate level and had an amazing career at Lehigh University, leading the Mountain Hawks to 31 career victories and passing for 10,575 yards and 78 touchdowns.

As a freshman, he was the MVP of the Lehigh-Lafayette Game. As a sophomore, he passed for 2,586 yards and 23 touchdowns, while completing more than 60 percent of his passes. He was named second team all-Patriot League.

As a junior, he was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year with 3,121 yards passing and 22 TDs. He finished his career with another Patriot League title in 1999 when he passed for 2,996 yards and 26 touchdowns and earned All-America honors from Don Hansen Weekly Football Gazette and a spot on the ECAC all-star team.

After Lehigh, he spent time with several professional teams.

He is the coach at Pius X and the led the Royals to a 8-4 record and the District 11 finals in his first season in 2010.

Steckel — The 1996 Parkland graduate was a two-way all-conference lineman for the Trojans, playing in the 1996 McDonald's game.

He went on to Susquehanna University and played for two seasons before finishing his undergraduate studies at Kutztown. He coached as an assistant at Parkland and Emmaus before becoming Northampton's head coach in 2008. He led the Konkrete Kids to a 10-3 record and the Eastern Conference title in his first season.

He served the McDonald's game as head coach in 2010 and was an assistant four other times. He has been on the committee for five years.

Pittman — A 1992 Northampton High and a 1996 Kutztown University grad, Pittman has been a fixture at the McDonald's game since 1986. Every summer her father, photographer John Pittman, would take her and her sister to the all-star game and find jobs for them — selling programs, selling tickets etc.

She stayed involved through the years, became a board member in 2002 and is vice president. She also has served the game as an assistant cheerleading coach and the cheerleading coach for the youth cheerleaders since 2005.