Local high school coaches, players, react to Paterno's death

Area high school football coaches and players reacted to Joe Paterno's death Sunday with a mix of sadness at his passing and gratitude for his many contributions to their sport.

"I had a lot of contact with him over the years," said Mike Pettine, the longtime and successful coach at Central Bucks West. "When he came to recruit one of our players, everything came to a standstill. He had that kind of charisma. People who didn't even care that much about football wanted to meet him and be around him.

"In college football, he was always a beacon of light, the kind of guy who did everything the right way. He didn't compromise his standards."

Kevin Conlin played football at La Salle High and went on to play on the offensive line for Paterno in the late 1990s. He recalled the coach's sincerity.

"He was going to tell you the truth at all times, which is one of the greatest things you can say about somebody," said Conlin, now a teacher of American studies and the football team's defensive coordinator at Abington High. "For a lot of players, Joe Paterno was like a father figure. He kind of filled that void when you were away at college."

Mike Carey, the defensive coordinator for Archbishop Wood, the PIAA Class AAA state titlist, and his father, Leo, spent time with Paterno at the Jersey Shore.

"Joe had a great sense of humor, was a terrific communicator, loved Italian food, and loved football," Carey said. "It kills me to see him go out the way he did."

Shawnee coach Tim Gushue had two players play for Paterno. Joe Majarowitz played for the 1986 national championship team, and Jordan Caruso played at Penn State from 1997 to 2000.

"There never will be another person like him," Gushue said. "He will always stand out in my mind as someone who managed to keep it all in perspective, who brought a rational approach to this business. He understood that they still were student athletes, and it's easy to sometimes lose track of that."

Gushue admired Paterno for his demeanor off the field, too.

"He was such an approachable person. My oldest daughter was thinking about transferring to PSU, and I thought, 'I'll take a shot. Let me talk with Coach Paterno.' Sure enough, the phone rings, and it's not even his secretary. It's him. He wanted to know, 'What can I do for you?'

"As a football coach, you're always looking at other programs, college programs, high school programs. Penn State is the program we tried to model ourselves after. It's a sad day for Penn State and a sad day for football coaches everywhere.

"I heard [former Lions tackle] Matt Millen, and I think he's right. I think [Paterno] died of a broken heart."

Burlington Township coach Tom Maderia worked at Penn State football camps from 1992 to 2002, and one of his players when he coached at Holy Cross, Dennis Landolt, played at Penn State.

"The thing that impresses me most is how long he stayed at one place," Maderia said of Paterno. "That's unheard of nowadays. It's amazing when you think about it.

"I compare his situation to [former Alabama coach] Bear Bryant. I didn't think he would live long after he stopped coaching. He didn't golf, didn't fish, didn't hunt. He was a football coach. That was who he was."

Willingboro coach Reggie Lawrence was recruited by Penn State out of Camden High but wound up at North Carolina State.

"You look at the way he ran his program, it was like that was the way a college program should run," Lawrence said. "It's a tragic day for college football."

West Deptford coach Clyde Folsom sent Anthony Scirrotto to Penn State, and current star Jamil Pollard is going next year.

"It's like there's a hole in your chest," Folsom said. "We lost a great man. He meant so much to America, not just to Penn State, as far as what he stood for, his beliefs, his strength, and his integrity in building this great game of ours."