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By DAVE KONOPKI; Times Leader Sports Writer
Saturday, January 28, 1995 Page: 5B
Ted Jackson has coached in a lot of big games in his 10 seasons as head
football coach at Dallas High School.
This summer, he’ll have the opportunity to coach in another.
Jackson, who guided the Mountaineers to the 1993 PIAA Class AA State
Championship, has been selected as an assistant coach in the Big 33 Game in
Hershey. The prestigious game, which pits the best 33 players from
Pennsylvania against the top 33 players from Ohio, will be played on July 29
at 7 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium. Woodland Hills coach George Novak was
selected as Pennsylvania’s head coach.
“When I found out I was shocked, to be honest with you. This is a great
honor,” said Jackson, who was informed of the decision by Towanda head
football coach and Eastern Pennsylvania representative Jack Young. “This is a
great honor for the school and the kids at Dallas.”
Joining Jackson and Novak on the Pennsylvania coaching staff are
Montoursville’s Jim Bergen, Jeannette’s Art Tragesser and Bellwood-Antis’ John
Hayes.
Jackson joins Berwick’s George Curry, Hanover Area’s Alex Kopacz, GAR’s
Charlie Fick and Meyers’ Mickey Gorham as the only WVC coaches to coach in the
Big 33 Game.
The Dallas coach is hoping to get at least one player on the Big 33 squad.
Berwick’s Josh George, Dallas’ Rich Butcofski and Marty Straigis, Meyers’
Steve Brominski, Pottsville’s Randy Homa and Williamsport’s Jamie Allen, among
others, have been nominated for the team.
“We’re hoping to get a few players from our conference,” said Jackson.
“People don’t realize how hard it is to make this team. You’re only talking
about 33 players throughout the entire state. It’s rare to have more than one
or two players out of one conference, but we’ll have to wait and see what
happens.”
The roster for the Pennsylvania squad should be released in the next two
weeks.
Jackson has established himself as one of the premier coaches in the state
during the past decade. The Shavertown resident has posted an 87-26-3 record
in 10 seasons at Dallas, winning six Wyoming Valley Conference Division II
championships, a pair of Eastern Conference titles and a District 2
championship to go along with the state title.
This past season, Jackson guided the Mountaineers to the WVC Division II
and the District 2 Class AA championships. Dallas, which had the state’s
second-longest winning streak at 24 games, finished the season with an 11-1
record, losing to state champion Mount Carmel in the state quarterfinals.
TED JACKSON