Berks County Football Coaches Association will induct seven new members into the Hall of Fame

Written by: David Mika on Sunday, April 28th, 2024. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

All-State picks Nolan McCready of Wyomissing and Andy Roland of Wilson highlight the latest class of the Berks County Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, which will induct seven members at its annual banquet Saturday, June 1, at the Green Valley Chateau.

The Class of 2024 also includes Dr. Gary Canner, Lloyd “Scoop” Clemens, John Dallessandro, Chris Hangen, and Scott Weidner.

This is the 21st class of the BCFCA Hall of Fame.

With the addition of seven inductees the Hall of Fame now includes 139 members. The Hall includes 38 coaches, including Clemens; 12 special contributors, including Canner; and six officials, including Weidner.

There are 30 Hall of Famers connected with Reading High, the most of any school. Wilson is next with 26, followed by Muhlenberg (14), Wyomissing (12) and Gov. Mifflin (11).

Former players must be at least 35 years old to be considered for the Hall; former coaches must be at least 50 years old and have coached at least 15 years.

The BCFCA Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 2003 with the induction of former Conrad Weiser head coach Al Silveri.

The first full class, in 2004, included Ollie Eyrich, Reading High; John Gurski, Wilson; Al Gursky, Gov. Mifflin; Ferdie Kuczala, Conrad Weiser; Ray Linn, West Reading and Gov. Mifflin; Tommy Miller, Reading High; and Lenny Moore, Reading High.

Last year’s class was composed of James Bryant, Bob Dudek, Chad Henne, Matt Lytle, Greg Storr and Ron Zeiber.

 

Here are bios for the Class of 2024:

Dr. Gary Canner
Dr. Canner is one of the forerunners in the field of sports medicine and has spent more time on the Wilson Bulldogs sidelines than almost anyone associated with the program. He has missed only a handful of Bulldogs home games, and has been at most of the road games, since becoming been the team’s orthopedic consultant in 1986.

Canner, a Connecticut native, has practiced locally since 1981 and established Berkshire Orthopedics in 1985.

He graduated from Brown University in 1973 and received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the same institution in 1981. He received his training in Sports Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Canner also served as the orthopedic consultant for Wyomissing’s football program in the mid 1980’s and has served in that capacity with Kutztown University and Ursinus College since the late 1980’s.

 

Lloyd “Scoop” Clemens

Clemens was Muhlenberg’s first football coach, in 1945, and it didn’t take him long to get the program up and running. By his third season the Muhls went 8-2 and were Berks League champs.

He coached multiple sports at two schools for more than 30 years and won over 1,300 games. His teams won 32 championships.
Clemens’ Muhlenberg football teams won or shared the Berks County championship five straight years, from 1947-1951. His winning percentage of .701 ranks 8th-highest in Berks history and is better than at least eight coaches previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Only John Yocum has won more football games at Muhlenberg.
Clemens coached at Ontelaunee High (now Schuylkill Valley) from 1927-41 and at Muhlenberg from 1942-56. He coached baseball, basketball, soccer and track and field. He was Muhlenberg athletic director from 1954-67, was the first president of the Tri-County Football Conference and of the BCIAA, and a vice president of the Berks Legion League.
Clemens, a Lebanon native, was a four-sport athlete at Schuylkill College (which became Albright College) and has been inducted into the Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.

 

John Dallessandro
Dallessandro was a giant in his era, a towering defensive end who dominated line play in the rough-and-tumble Central Penn League and became the first Reading High player selected to play in the Big 33 Classic, in 1957.

He went on to play one season at Louisiana State University, where he was on the freshman team.

During the golden era of Red Knights football, and playing for Andy Stopper, he was a standout on one of their best teams, helping them finish 7-3 in 1955, as a junior.

Dallessandro was also a standout in baseball, playing outfield for the Red Knights.

He died in 1971 at age 32.

 

Chris Hangen

Hangen was a two-time All-Berks linebacker at Reading High who went on to a standout career at Millersville University.

Hangen was one of the lynchpins of a Reading Knights team that rebounded from a winless season in 1980 to go 7-4 the following season, when he was a senior. He was an All-Berks pick at both linebacker and placekicker.

At Millersville, he set a program record with 40 sacks from 1982-85 and was a three-time all-conference pick and two-time all-ECAC selection at nose guard.

 

Nolan McCready

McCready was one of the most well-rounded players in Wyomissing history and went on to earn a starting spot at Penn State as a walk-on.

He was Berks Player of the Year as a senior in 2001 when he led the Spartans to a District 3 championship and set the Berks career record with 2,110 receiving yards.

He was Berks Receiver of the Year as a senior and finished with a program-record 107 catches.

McCready was a three-year letterman at Penn State, from 2004-06, playing in 21 games. He was a three-time Big Ten all-academic selection.

 

Andy Roland
Roland was a fierce defensive end at Wilson who earned All-State honors before going on to a productive career as a tight end at Duke.

He was named Berks Defensive Lineman of the Year and Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 Outstanding Lineman as a senior in 2000 and was selected to play tight end in the Big 33 Classic.

Roland went on to become a four-year starter for the Blue Devils from 2001-05 and was nominated for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding tight end.

He was an All-Berks pick as a tight end and defensive end as a senior, when he caught 25 passes for 503 yards and set a program record with 10 touchdown receptions in a season.

 

Scott Weidner

Weidner was an All-Berks and All-Central Penn League center at Reading High who went on to officiate at the high school level for more than 30 years.

As an official Weidner worked PIAA championship games in 2011 and 2021, five state semifinals, 20 District 3 championships and the Big 33 game in 2013. He was a crew chief for 20 years and BCFOA secretary for 26 years.

As a player he helped the Red Knights win their only outright Central Penn League championship in 1977; that team was subsequently inducted into the Reading High sports Hall of Fame.

Bios compiled courtesy of MikeDragoSports.com

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