Prophetic words indeed.

Penley has been at Eisenhower as its head football coach since 2003, and on Oct. 28 he reached a career milestone by defeating Girard for his 100th career win.

To suggest that football has been a big part of his life would not be an overstatement.

After his high school playing days were over, he went to Edinboro University to continue playing football. It’s also where his coaching career began, serving as a graduate assistant coach under head coach Lou Tepper.

Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger

“I just loved (Penley). I was impressed with his character and the way that he coached,” said Tepper, now retired and living in Charlotte, North Carolina. “He was like a sponge for football.

“He just wanted to learn and be the best possible coach he could be,” added Tepper, who also coached at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1991 to 1996 and Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2010. “He just wanted to learn and be the best possible coach he could be. He fit right in from the start. We had a family atmosphere and his priorities were in the right order. I’m not surprised at all that he reached 100 wins. He was always a tireless worker.”

Penley left the college coaching ranks once he started his family. After his time at Edinboro, he went to Youngsville High School and served under Conrad Danielson where he continued to prepare to become a head coach.

“He was a great assistant coach who was always eager to learn,” Danielson said. “He did whatever was asked of him.”

While Penley was coaching at Youngsville, the head coaching job at Eisenhower opened up along with a teaching position. He felt he was ready so he applied and began as the head football coach in 2003. One of the most important things to Penley has been for him to continue to coach in the family atmosphere he learned early in his career.

“I love that I can develop the same family-first style of coaching that I learned under Coach Tepper, Conrad, John Martin, Jimmy Olson, Rick Eaton and Mike English,” he said.

English would go full circle, serving at Penley’s request as the Eisenhower junior high football coach for several years.

“I’m proud of Jim and his accomplishments this past season and reaching 100 wins,” English said. “My congratulations to Jim and the Knights.”

After 19 years as a head coach and reaching the career century mark in wins has provided Penley with some special memories.

“My favorite players are simply too many to count,” Penley said. “My favorite team memories would have to be playing the big schools, the powerhouse programs and having their coaches come over after a hard-fought game and say things like, ‘Coach, you have some tough, nasty kids, you play like a south team,’ because then I knew I had coached a group of young men who will be ready to face any battle that life would throw at them, and that is so much more important than all of the wins.”

Penley has been around Eisenhower football for more than 35 years as a player and coach and there can be no doubt about his commitment and loyalty to the football program.

“I’m a blue-and-gold-forever kind of guy I guess,” he said. “I played for EHS all six years I could, I coached there in junior high for four years, so this was my 29th year working day in and day out on that football field. The program is 72 years old and I’ve been there for almost half of it.”

Penley would probably have reached the 100-win milestone much sooner had he shied away from playing bigger schools and tougher programs, but that’s not him or his mentality.

“It has never been the wins, but the team,” he said. “We have played more games in Mercer County willingly than any other school in northwestern Pennsylvania. I knew there would be losses, but it’s about building a tough mentality, not having a soft schedule. It’s building a team that can compete against anyone. I’m sure that I would have reached 100 wins a while ago if not for that. But I wanted the team that we’ve seen the last three years, a team that has gone 26-4. All the teams and players over the years have been building this. Those guys and those teams have just as much to do with this and I am so proud of them all. They are such a huge part of this.”

Earning the 100th win and making it just a little sweeter was that Penley was able to share it with his two sons who played on this year’s team. Caleb Penley was a senior and an All-Region guard and linebacker, and Logan was a freshman linebacker and running back.

“It was special to win it with my boys, for sure, and these young men on this year’s team that I have watched grow up their entire lives,” Penley said. “They sold out, and worked so hard. I love that they get the honor of allowing me to get to 100 wins.”

Reaching 100 wins as a head coach is special. It is unique that all the victories came from coaching at the same school.

Jeff O’Brien, who has served on Penley’s staff for 16 years, said three things have never changed.

“You’re never going to outwork him,” O’Brien said. “He’s always looking for answers, not excuses, and he’s always loyal to his staff and his players.”

True to form, when approached about doing this article right after he reached the milestone last month, Penley asked if it could wait until the end of the season.

“I want to keep the focus on the team,” he said.