Enshrined
Menhart humbled to be inducted into Washington-Greene HOF
John Menhart looked around him and wondered if he belonged.
It was Sunday, June 7 and Menhart was at the Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame induction banquet, held at Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe, as part of the Class of 2026.
无毛视频淢y thoughts were, honestly, how humbling it is,无毛视频� Menhart said in recalling his enshrinement. 无毛视频淟ast year I went into the Greene County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame and just being there around those people and hearing their accomplishments, and this year, too, it makes you question, 无毛视频楢m I worthy of this?无毛视频� There are people that have done pretty amazing things and you无毛视频檙e in there with them.无毛视频�
Menhart, a 1973 Carmichaels graduate, had a major impact himself as a football player and later a coach with the Mikes.
无毛视频淚 see my journey as being lifelong,无毛视频� said the 70-year-old Menhart. 无毛视频淚 played here, then I played in college (at Indiana University of Pa.), then I came back and coached here for a lot of years.无毛视频�
Menhart was a three-year starter in football for Carmichaels and earned all-conference and all-county honors along the way. He rushed for 1,100 yards and scored 94 points as a sophomore and added more than 700 yards as a junior despite missing the first four games due to an injury. During his senior campaign, Menhart rushed for 1,266 yards and rang up 132 points, which led to him being selected to the Big 33 Check List and chosen as the Pittsburgh Dapper Dan WPIAL Class B Offensive MVP.
无毛视频淢y senior year our record was 6-1-2,无毛视频� Menhart pointed out. 无毛视频淲e tied Jefferson-Morgan, 6-6, and they went on and played and beat Midland for the WPIAL championship. There was only one playoff game and it was based on Gardner points. We also tied Fairchance and we lost to Frazier, 7-6.无毛视频�
Menhart went on to become a starter at three different positions at IUP before returning to Carmichaels as an assistant and eventually head football coach. He is the Mikes无毛视频� all-time leader in coaching wins with an overall record of 101-69-2 and led them to four Tri-County South Conference championships. His 2002 team reached the WPIAL semifinals.
Menhart was named the Tri-County South Coach of the Year four times and the Washington-Greene WANB/Greene County Messenger Coach of the Year in 2002. He was inducted into the Tri-County Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007.
Menhart took a look back on his journey that led to multiple Hall-of-Fame honors.
STARTING OUT
Menhart didn无毛视频檛 play organized football until he was a freshman in high school.
无毛视频淲hen I was a kid we didn无毛视频檛 even have junior high football,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淵ou weren无毛视频檛 even allowed to play until you got to ninth grade. There was no little league football or anything like that. So I started then.无毛视频�
Menhart did play organized baseball in his younger days.
无毛视频淚 played baseball forever. That无毛视频檚 all you had around here is Little League baseball at that time,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淚 always loved sports. Back then everyone wanted to be Jim Brown and everybody wanted to go to Penn State or West Virginia.无毛视频�
High school football was unrivaled in its popularity, according to Menhart.
无毛视频淏ack then when you were a kid all it took to get you excited about playing football was to turn the lights on Friday night,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淵ou didn无毛视频檛 need further motivation, that was enough. That无毛视频檚 the way I felt about it.无毛视频�
When he did begin to play football, Menhart excelled, as did his cousin Dave Menhart.
无毛视频淒ave was the quarterback when I was the running back.无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淲e were in the same class.无毛视频�
Menhart无毛视频檚 younger brother Mike also started for the Mikes a few years later.
无毛视频淚 actually coached my brother my first year back,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淚 was an assistant coach. He无毛视频檚 five years younger than me. They had a good group.无毛视频�
Running the ball was the name of the game during Menhart无毛视频檚 playing career with the Mikes.
无毛视频淏ack then things were different. You had 10 men in the box. Everyone was in two tights (tight ends) and you just were going to beat each other up until somebody won,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淚t was a true honor back then to get 1,000 yards. Now some of these kids get 1,000 yards in three games,无毛视频� Menhart added with a laugh.
无毛视频淲e ran 26 Power. My coach was Vic Lapkowicz. I loved Vic. He无毛视频檇 put his glasses down on his nose and he无毛视频檇 look at us and say, 无毛视频�26 Power. We无毛视频檙e going to run it until they stop us or we无毛视频檙e going to run it until it works.'无毛视频�
ONTO IUP
Menhart had plenty of options when it came to continuing his football career in college.
无毛视频淭here were a lot of letters, lot of phone calls,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淚 actually visited Penn State and talked to West Virginia a lot. It just came down to I thought my best opportunity to have success was at IUP so I went there.无毛视频�
Menhart fashioned a solid career at IUP.
无毛视频淚 got to play a lot as a freshman and I was a three-year letterman,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淢y senior year I was voted as team captain.无毛视频�
The versatile Menhart scored touchdowns at tailback, fullback and wide receiver at IUP.
无毛视频淚 actually started at three different positions,无毛视频� he explained. 无毛视频淪ome of that was attributed to injuries. One year through attrition I was a tailback, and we无毛视频檙e at California and two fullbacks went down. Those were the only ones we took so the coach was on the sidelines talking about what are we going to do. I said, 无毛视频業 can play there.无毛视频� It was a Wing-T. So I ended up playing and starting there. I started at wide receiver, too.无毛视频�
Menhart无毛视频檚 longest touchdown in college came at wide receiver on a 63-yard reception against Shippensburg.
Menhart graduated from IUP in 1978 with a bachelor无毛视频檚 degree in Health and Physical Education.
无毛视频淚 actually I stayed there (after graduation),无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淚n the summer there were three sessions, pre, main and post, and I stayed there through three sessions and got certified in safety education as well.无毛视频�
COACHING CAREER
It didn无毛视频檛 take long for Menhart to get his foot in the door of the coaching profession.
无毛视频淲hen I came home in August I interviewed here and got hired, which was really strange because it was hard to get a teaching job back then,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淚 went right into it and right into coaching. Vic was the head coach then and after him it was Tom McCombs. I spent 10 years as an assistant and then I got hired as the head coach.无毛视频�
Menhart favored passing the ball more when he was an assistant coach but that changed when he became the head man.
无毛视频淐oming from IUP, we were in a Wing-T but we threw the ball a lot,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淲hen I was a sophomore we had the leading passer and receiver in Division-II, Lynn Hieber and Len Pesotini. In the beginning at Carmichaels I didn无毛视频檛 get to call any plays but I was always tugging on people with suggestions to maybe throw more.
无毛视频淲hen Vic left, Tom became the head coach and I called the offense and he did he defense. When he left I stepped into it. It无毛视频檚 more than you would ever imagine. You went from wanting to throw the ball on every down to wanting to run every down, getting the first down and protecting the ball. Personally, I think you become a lot more mindful of controlling the game, like borderline conservative.无毛视频�
Menhart stressed the amount of talent a coach has mostly determines his win-loss record and what type of team he fields.
无毛视频淚t is what it is. You无毛视频檝e got to stay within the confines of the cards your dealt,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淪ome years your talent at a small school is deeper than it is other years.
无毛视频淏ut I never had a team I didn无毛视频檛 love and deeply respect, because they gave us everything and that无毛视频檚 all you can ask from a kid. Everyone can无毛视频檛 run a 4.5 40 and everyone can无毛视频檛 bench press 300 pounds, but they can work as hard as they can possibly work. And that无毛视频檚 what we tried to get out of them. We tried to impress upon them that we wanted them to compete on every single play then we would accept what happened.无毛视频�
Menhart has great respect from former players.
无毛视频淚 hope so. You earn respect and I tried to do that by doing what was best for my kids, and loving them,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淪ometimes there is tough love, but they were always my guys, it didn无毛视频檛 matter how bad they screwed up.无毛视频�
Menhart wouldn无毛视频檛 try to get a player out of trouble, rather he preferred to stand by them and face the consequences.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檇 never try to get them out of anything, but I said look fellows, being in school or society or on the field or at practice, I无毛视频檓 never going to try to get you out of anything but I无毛视频檓 right here with you and we无毛视频檙e going to get you through it,无毛视频� he said.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
The Mikes were almost always in the hunt for a postseason spot under Menhart.
无毛视频淲e were in the playoffs a lot,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e had some heart-breaking losses in the playoffs.无毛视频�
One in particular came in 1992 when Carmichaels dominated Clairton for much of the game but fell 14-12 when the Bears blocked a short field goal attempt by Tom Ricco in the final seconds.
无毛视频淚 lost sleep over that game for years. I honestly did,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淵ou know there无毛视频檚 always the second-guessing. Why didn无毛视频檛 I just give it to our fullback (Brett) Katarsky. But Tommy was a good kicker so we went with that. And they blocked it.无毛视频�
Menhart recalled another crushing loss when the Mikes blocked a punt which wound up unbelievably costing them the game.
无毛视频淲e lost to Duquesne one year in the regular season, we were up 7-6 and we had them backed up late in the fourth quarter,无毛视频� Menhart recalled. 无毛视频淚t was like fourth and 20 and they couldn无毛视频檛 give us the ball right there so they punted. We blocked the punt, their kid picked the ball up and ran about 200 yards all around the field and wound up going for a touchdown. So we basically lost the game because we blocked a punt.
无毛视频淲e had a few head-scratchers.无毛视频�
Menhart considered his 2002 team the best he ever coached.
无毛视频淲e had Bobby Hathaway (who went on to become a starting linebacker at West Virginia), my son Jono at quarterback, Colby Giles, Justin Zelensky,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淲e ended up 11-1.无毛视频�
That season included two of Carmichaels无毛视频� greatest, most dominating playoff victories.
The Mikes romped over Bishop Canevin 42-7, in the first round and Fort Cherry, 32-0, in the quarterfinals. They then fell to eventual champion Rochester, 34-21.
无毛视频淲e lost in the semifinals to Rochester and it was a good game, played it at Thomas Jefferson,无毛视频� Menhart said.
Menhart was head coach from 1989 until that season in 2002 before stepping down, but he would return for another stint as head coach from 2009 to 2012.
无毛视频淚t wasn无毛视频檛 the same the second time, probably just the fact that Timmy (Jones) and Gene (Franks) weren无毛视频檛 there,无毛视频� Menhart said, noting his two longtime assistant coaches from his first reign as head coach. 无毛视频淲e worked well together, we trusted each other. I totally trusted them. They made as many or more decisions as I did and played a huge role in our success.无毛视频�
Being a coach is about doing what无毛视频檚 right for the kids, according to Menhart, which is what he felt he, Jones and Franks strived for.
无毛视频淚t can无毛视频檛 be about you when you无毛视频檙e a coach, it has to be about the players,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檙e here for the kids, the kids aren无毛视频檛 here for you.无毛视频�
OUTSIDE OF FOOTBALL
Menhart served as a teacher and administrator during his time at Carmichaels, including time as the high school principal and school district无毛视频檚 superintendent. He无毛视频檚 currently president of the Carmichaels Board of Education.
无毛视频淚 retired about maybe eight years ago,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淚 put in 40 years here.无毛视频�
Menhart also served on the WPIAL Basketball and Football Steering Committees.
无毛视频淚 got involved in the WPIAL, just on steering committees, but I tried to gain respect for the teams on this side of Route 70 in the pairings process,无毛视频� Menhart said.
Menhart无毛视频檚 parents were Mike and Alice Menhart and he had three siblings.
无毛视频淭wo brothers, Mike, he still lives in Carmichaels, and Bert, who is deceased, and my sister Linda, she still lives in Waynesburg,无毛视频� Menhart said.
Menhart has three grandchildren, Max and Kenzie from his daughter Jamie Krull and husband Ryan, and Josie from his son Jono and his wife Jessie Menhart.
Menhart lauded his longtime wife Cassie.
无毛视频淐assie无毛视频檚 incredible,无毛视频� Menhart said. 无毛视频淪he was always there. When you无毛视频檙e a coach it无毛视频檚 not just you that are making the sacrifices, your whole family is. I spent a lot of my kids无毛视频� younger years with other people无毛视频檚 kids. I missed a lot of stuff of theirs because I had to be somewhere else. And you无毛视频檝e got to do it if you无毛视频檙e going to do it right. Cassie deserves a tremendous amount of credit.无毛视频�
Menhart pointed out the Tales on the Trail Carmichaels Elementary Walking Trail, which current theme is America无毛视频檚 250th birthday, as a project Cassie has spearheaded and helped run.
As for the Hall of Fame ceremony, Menhart said, 无毛视频淚t was a true honor. My three grandkids were there and it meant as much to them as it did to me.
无毛视频淢y family was there, Gene and Timmy were there. They do a great job with it. It was a very class act. I无毛视频檓 very appreciative of being included in that group.无毛视频�