Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford announces football hall of fame inductees

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, August 29, 2018 | 6:24 PM

Some top-flight quarterbacks, an uncle and nephew and a nationally-highlighted team are part of the latest group to be enshrined into the Penn-Trafford Football Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2018 features former receiver Ralph Bruno, Ken and Tyler Huether, quarterback Jeff Palladino, linebacker John Schmitt, coach Ron Smith and the 1995 Warriors team.

Bruno (Class of 1989) set the standard for receiving in the program with 122 receptions for 1,854 yards and 25 touchdowns. He had 65 catches for 1,031 yards in a single season.

Ken Huether (‘82), a two-way lineman, helped lead the Warriors to a Keystone Conference title and was the conference MVP on offense and defense.

Tyler Huether (2005) was a three-year starter who graduated as the program’s all-time passing leader after throwing for more than 2,000 yards in consecutive seasons. He threw for 364 in one game.

Palladino (‘89) was the WPIAL’s first 2,000-yard passer in 1988 and graduated with 4,789 yards, a school record at the time. He piled up 2,298 yards in that ’88 season.

Schmitt (’92) was a standout outside linebacker and made all-conference three straight years. He has a school record with four defensive touchdowns and finished with more than 200 tackles and 40 sacks.

Smith (coach from 1979-87) led the Warriors to their first conference title, in 1981, which was followed by the school’s first playoff win.

In 92 games with Smith as coach, Penn-Trafford allowed just 10.9 points per game and had just one losing season.

And finally, the prolific ’95 team won 10 straight games and a conference title. Four future Warriors Hall of Famers played for the team — quarterback Tony Zimmerman, running back Matt Gavrish, receiver Marko Thomas and coach John Yaccino. The Warriors finished 10-2 and reached the WPIAL Quad-A semifinals. They were featured in an NFL Films documentary called, “Football America.”

The inductees will be recognized Sept. 21 before Penn-Trafford hosts Albert Gallatin.

The hall of fame banquet will be 5:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at Giannilli’s II in Greensburg. Tickets are $35 for guests, $20 for members of the ‘95 team.

RSVPs can be made via email at warriorfootballhof@gmail.com or by mail to Warrior Football Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 331 Harrison City, Pa., 15636. Ticket order deadline is Sept. 8. For more information, call 724-396-4396.

Irish eyes are smiling

Franklin Regional senior golfer Palmer Jackson chose Notre Dame for a number of reasons, the obvious being the prestige of the university and the level at which the Irish play. But his selection comes with a perk: “Notre Dame is the only school to offer an out-of-state membership,” Jackson said. “So we can fly to Florida (for example) and play courses at West Palm Beach. It’s a great part of the deal.”

Jackson also had scholarship offers from Stanford, Duke, Virginia, Michigan, Penn State and West Virginia.

Top soccer

The WPIAL soccer season opens this weekend.

Some of the top boys games include Norwin at No. 4 Seneca Valley on Friday night, and Penn-Trafford at No. 2 Peters Township on Saturday in Quad-A.

Greensburg Salem visits Hempfield at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Hempfield tournament.

The defending WPIAL Quad-A champion Penn-Trafford girls, meantime, visit Fox Chapel on Saturday morning. The Warriors open the season ranked No. 4.

WCCA golf

The first Westmoreland County Coaches Association event of the fall season will be Wednesday with the third annual girls golf championships at Champion Lakes Golf Club in Bolivar.

There will be a shotgun start at 9 a.m. and both team and individual titles will be awarded for the nine-hole event.

Players to watch include Penn-Trafford sophomore Lauren Barber, who finished second last year, and Greensburg Central Catholic senior Abby Zambruno and freshman Meghan Zambruno. Abby took third last year.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford