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HENRY “HANK” BERNAT, OWEN J. ROBERTS FOOTBALL COACH
Henry Bernat and his wife remain Phoenixville borough residents. Henry is a Phoenixville Area High School graduate.
One of his sons, Gene Bernat, is an official and Indians manager with the Phoenixville Babe Ruth League (PBRL), a baseball staple for more than 50 years in the borough with an immaculate home playing site, deSanno Field, located at Wheatland and Mason streets in the borough. Henry Bernat’s other son, John Bernat, lives in the Spring-Ford area. Henry Bernat’s grandchildren also stood out in athletics at the scholastic level.
Henry Bernat played college football as a quarterback at the University of Tampa in Florida. He also kept the official scorebook for Owen J. Roberts in boys basketball for many years.
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The Owen J. Roberts Wildcats enjoyed a huge run of success in football in both the old Ches-Mont League and now the Pioneer Athletic Conference after the Wildcats joined the new loop in 1988, two years after the inception of the circuit.
Owen J. Roberts won a combined 11 football championships in the history of the school, eight in the Ches-Mont League and three in the PAC-10. During one stretch in the mid-1980s, the Wildcats won 28 consecutive league games.
The Wildcats won crowns in the Ches-Mont League in 1970, 1972 (co-championship), 1975, 1980, 1983 (11-0-1 record), 1984 (12-0), 1986 (12-0) and 1987.
In the PAC-10, the Wildcats won championships in 1989, 1991 and 1993. The 1991 crown was a co-championship.
Bernat led the Wildcats during their glory years and had two longtime assistants in Joe Edwards (defense) and Al Alutius (linemen, special teams). Edwards became the Wildcats’ head coach after Bernat retired from teaching biology and coaching.
For the past 11 seasons, Owen J. Roberts has been coached by Tom Barr, a former star running back at Owen J. Roberts who was a walk-on at Penn State University, where he was a member of the 1982 national championship team the Nittany Lions had under legendary head coach Joe Paterno. Barr played mostly on special teams at Penn State.
The longtime Owen J. Roberts athletic director, Dave Strock, was a placekicker for the Wildcats who went on to a Division I collegiate career at Virginia Tech University. Dave Strock later had a tryout with the Washington Redskins and did kick professionally in Shreveport, La.
His brother, Don Strock, starred at quarterback at Virginia Tech and then had a long career in the National Football League with the Miami Dolphins, mainly as a backup quarterback during coach Don Shula’s long tenure and Super Bowl championship years. Don Strock later served as an assistant coach with the Dolphins and coached recently at Division I Florida International University in Miami.
Lineman Jerry Ostroski had a long career as an offensive lineman with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills after playing Division I college ball at the University of Tulsa. Ostroski was a two-way lineman with the Wildcats during the 1980s.
Another former Owen J. Roberts star, versatile offensive and defensive back and special teams player Dan Crossman who was named Ches-Mont League Most Valuable Player (MVP) his senior year, signed to play Division I football at the University of Kansas and then transferred to the University of Pittsburgh as a defensive back. Crossman went on to play with the London Monarchs in the World Football League (WFL) and was selected as the outstanding player in the first championship game before an injury curtailed his playing career. He also turned to coaching after his playing days were over.
Other Division I players produced by Bernat and his staff were lineman Cliff Buckwalter (Penn State), running back Denny Laws (Illinois State), running back Mike Beasley (Maryland, transfer to West Virginia) and linebacker Rudy Glocker (Penn State).
This year’s Owen J. Roberts star player, linebacker/tight end Brad Megay, just committed to play Ivy League football and study at prestigious Princeton University in New Jersey. Megay was beset by injuries this past fall for the Wildcats, where he is also a basketball player.
One of his sons, Gene Bernat, is an official and Indians manager with the Phoenixville Babe Ruth League (PBRL), a baseball staple for more than 50 years in the borough with an immaculate home playing site, deSanno Field, located at Wheatland and Mason streets in the borough. Henry Bernat’s other son, John Bernat, lives in the Spring-Ford area. Henry Bernat’s grandchildren also stood out in athletics at the scholastic level.
Henry Bernat played college football as a quarterback at the University of Tampa in Florida. He also kept the official scorebook for Owen J. Roberts in boys basketball for many years.
* * *
The Owen J. Roberts Wildcats enjoyed a huge run of success in football in both the old Ches-Mont League and now the Pioneer Athletic Conference after the Wildcats joined the new loop in 1988, two years after the inception of the circuit.
Owen J. Roberts won a combined 11 football championships in the history of the school, eight in the Ches-Mont League and three in the PAC-10. During one stretch in the mid-1980s, the Wildcats won 28 consecutive league games.
The Wildcats won crowns in the Ches-Mont League in 1970, 1972 (co-championship), 1975, 1980, 1983 (11-0-1 record), 1984 (12-0), 1986 (12-0) and 1987.
In the PAC-10, the Wildcats won championships in 1989, 1991 and 1993. The 1991 crown was a co-championship.
Bernat led the Wildcats during their glory years and had two longtime assistants in Joe Edwards (defense) and Al Alutius (linemen, special teams). Edwards became the Wildcats’ head coach after Bernat retired from teaching biology and coaching.
For the past 11 seasons, Owen J. Roberts has been coached by Tom Barr, a former star running back at Owen J. Roberts who was a walk-on at Penn State University, where he was a member of the 1982 national championship team the Nittany Lions had under legendary head coach Joe Paterno. Barr played mostly on special teams at Penn State.
The longtime Owen J. Roberts athletic director, Dave Strock, was a placekicker for the Wildcats who went on to a Division I collegiate career at Virginia Tech University. Dave Strock later had a tryout with the Washington Redskins and did kick professionally in Shreveport, La.
His brother, Don Strock, starred at quarterback at Virginia Tech and then had a long career in the National Football League with the Miami Dolphins, mainly as a backup quarterback during coach Don Shula’s long tenure and Super Bowl championship years. Don Strock later served as an assistant coach with the Dolphins and coached recently at Division I Florida International University in Miami.
Lineman Jerry Ostroski had a long career as an offensive lineman with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills after playing Division I college ball at the University of Tulsa. Ostroski was a two-way lineman with the Wildcats during the 1980s.
Another former Owen J. Roberts star, versatile offensive and defensive back and special teams player Dan Crossman who was named Ches-Mont League Most Valuable Player (MVP) his senior year, signed to play Division I football at the University of Kansas and then transferred to the University of Pittsburgh as a defensive back. Crossman went on to play with the London Monarchs in the World Football League (WFL) and was selected as the outstanding player in the first championship game before an injury curtailed his playing career. He also turned to coaching after his playing days were over.
Other Division I players produced by Bernat and his staff were lineman Cliff Buckwalter (Penn State), running back Denny Laws (Illinois State), running back Mike Beasley (Maryland, transfer to West Virginia) and linebacker Rudy Glocker (Penn State).
This year’s Owen J. Roberts star player, linebacker/tight end Brad Megay, just committed to play Ivy League football and study at prestigious Princeton University in New Jersey. Megay was beset by injuries this past fall for the Wildcats, where he is also a basketball player.
posted by The Phoenix Files at
6:52 PM
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