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The Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame recently honored Mark Duda, head football coach at Lackawanna College, with the Meritorious Achievement Award and Commendation Certificate.
Coach Duda led the Lackawanna College Falcons to an undefeated record of 11-0 in 2018, including a closely contested victory over Arizona Western at the 2018 El Toro Bowl in Yuma, Arizona.
The Falcons finished sixth in the National NJCAA Football Rankings.
Duda was recently inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame and recognized as the Northeast Football Conference “Coach of the Year.” Coach Duda is a Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame chapter inductee, and a 1995 inductee of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Duda’s career in football began at Wyoming Valley West High School where he starred as a defensive lineman. Duda received a full scholarship to the University of Maryland, where he became a starter, recording the single season sack record. This led to the NFL draft, and a five-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning in 1983.
Duda became a member of the football staff at Lackawanna College when the program was introduced in 1993, his first year as defensive coordinator. He earned the position of head coach after one year on staff.
Duda has led his team to over 150 wins, five undefeated seasons, and eleven bowl games. These accomplishments have helped him to receive seven Northeast Football Conference Coach of the Year awards, the last being in 2018 which was shortly followed by the GridironRR.com 2018 Head Coach of the Year, awarded to him in the same month.