T/E Conestoga Football Association
The 1980s
1981 Pioneers Story
The 1981 Conestoga Pioneers amassed a winning record 6-4-1 under the guidance of head coach George Cockerill. Two losses came by one touchdown, and the other two were lost by a total of five points. Coach Cockerill praised his defense in each contest. The Pioneer offensive leaders were quarterbacks Steve Toth and Scott Dillman; running backs Bob Rosato, John Schaefer, Tom Coles; and wide receivers Steve Streeter and Dave Delaware. Tough linemen and defensive leaders were offensive and defensive tackles Chuck Gorecki and Paul Schwartz, offensive guards and linebackers Bill Shoemaker and Regan Mahoney, tight end and defensive end Randy Kienzle, and defensive back Brad Kronauer.
1982 Pioneers Story
Harry Gicking became the Head Coach for the 1982 Conestoga Football team. He was the Defensive Coordinator the previous three years. The team finished with a 4-6-1 record. But in the six losses, only one was a blow-out where the defense gave up 35 points. In the remaining losses, one was by one point, one was by two points, two were by three points, and one was by nine points. Several sophomores showed promise as the year progressed. The team completed the season with a victory on Thanksgiving Day over Marple-Newtown.
1983 Pioneers Story
The 1983 Conestoga Pioneers had a 6-4-1 season with victories against Great Valley, Pennridge, Springfield, Upper Darby, Lower Merion and Radnor. Harry Gicking coached the team. Co-captains were Pete Novelli and Ted Simpson. Other leaders were Dave Szafranski, Dale Alleyne, Chris Manion, Todd Madison, Eric Denny, Dennis Knight, Mark Murphy and Jamie Kerr.
1984 Pioneers Story
The 1984 Conestoga Pioneers, coached by Harry Gicking, amassed 4 win – 6 loss season. The wins were against Springfield, Upper Darby, Lower Merion and Penncrest. Outstanding members of the team were Todd Madison, Dave Szafranski, Eric Krohn, Tom Alleva, Dennis Knight, Jamie Kerr and Dale Alleyne.
1986 Pioneers Story
Glenn Mahoney and Craig Downey were co-captains of the 1986 Pioneer Football team. Harry Gicking was the head coach. The Pioneers collected four wins vs. Great Valley, Haverford, Upper Darby and Radnor. Outstanding on offense were quarterback Matt Gibson; halfbacks Paul Jones, John Levenson, Peter Danczewski and Bill Hedren; fullbacks Graeme Wildman and Mike Scott; tight end Dave Farling, split end Mark Heinz and offensive tackle Craig Downey. Defensive standouts were linebackers Glenn Mahoney and Graeme Wildman; cornerback Rob Nudy and nose guard John Porter; tackle Jon Swaney and defensive end Mike DeHaven.
1987 Pioneers Story
Matt Gibson and Rob Norton were co-captains of the 1987 Conestoga Pioneers. The team only registered two wins this season: the West Chester East game and the Radnor game. Coach Harry Gicking stated, “Our whole defense played very well. They played consistently all season long. Not many teams have driven the ball on us.” First string defensive players were Craig Driver, Brandon Speers, Tony DeHaven, Matt Gibson, Cameron Clark, Steve Tily, Mike Scott, Jim Porter, Rob Norton, Scott Baker and Ched Steele. Injuries plagued the team on the offensive side. Offensive leaders were Matt Gibson, Mike Scott, Mike Billela, Tim Bradford and Ched Steele.
1988 Pioneers Story
Bruce Udovich took over the reigns of the Conestoga football team in the 1988 season. His team earned him his first victory early in the season with a 19-7 win over Central League opponent Upper Darby. With two more wins and a tie, the team compiled a record of 3-7-1 for Udovich’s initial season. Wide received Craig Driver and Linebacker Andres Champion were team captains. Offensive standouts were Darrell Alston and Mike Billela.
1989 Pioneers Story
Bruce Udovich entered his second season as the Head Coach of the Conestoga Pioneers with a group of seniors who were extremely close knit. They wanted to improve on the 1988 record. And they wanted have a good start. To make certain they “wouldn’t be late for the first practice, a dozen of the Conestoga seniors slept out on the practice field and watched the Eagles-Jets game on television.”
In the season preview article in the Daily Local, senior Steve Speers said, “We have the potential to improve. We have a strong offensive line and good quarterback. I think we’ll do better than last year.” And they did. Their record was 5-4-2. Their first win was an upset 21-0 victory over West Chester East. The other wins were against Upper Darby (28-13), Lower Merion (14-13), Penncrest (21-6) and Haverford (15-14). The two ties were 6-6 vs Radnor and 9-9 on Thanksgiving Day vs. powerhouse Marple Newtown.
Captains of the team were offensive guard/defensive tackle Fritz Lloyd, offensive tackle/ defensive end Chris Shelton, and tight end/ defensive end Steve Speers. Outstanding on the offensive side were Darrell Alston, Mike Billela and John Mansfield. Udovich had praise for his defense after each game. After the Haverford game he said, “They wanted to win so bad, the defense didn’t want to let Haverford get a first down. That is wanting to win. When the game was on the line, we went out and took it.” Defensive stand-outs were Fritz Lloyd, Chris Shelton, Steve Speers, Jimmer Childs, Keith Layman, Geoff Penske and Chris Quinn. Place-kicker Jamie Knies was a goalie for Conestoga’s soccer team, and he saved the day with field goals and extra points.