75 years with plenty of success, the Knights will finally play Warren
Pictured are the members of the 1951 Northern Area football team.
Pictured is the napkin holder from Northern Area's first win. The napkin holder sits in the trophy case at Eisenhower High School.
Pictured are the members of the 1951 Northern Area football team.
Pictured is the napkin holder from Northern Area's first win. The napkin holder sits in the trophy case at Eisenhower High School.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: With the highly anticipated Warren at Eisenhower football game set for Friday, Times Observer correspondents Steve Younger and Nate Sandberg have collaborated to write daily articles pertaining to the matchup of the Warren County rivals. Today's topic: The success of each football program over the years.
It is appropriate that the first meeting between Warren and Eisenhower is taking place during the 75th season of football for the Knights.
It was in 1951 when Fred Bauer opened practice for the Northern Area Knights behind what would become Sugar Grove Elementary School. The Bauer name is synonymous with Eisenhower football as Fred Bauer was the grandfather of Ike graduate and current Warren County single-season rushing record holder Benji Bauer, who ran for 2,068 yards in 2022.
The first two seasons under Bauer in the new program saw the Knights play a junior varsity schedule. In 1954, Bauer stepped down as the head coach and assistant coach Norge Luvison took over the reins.
Luvison's start was a rough one as the Knights lost their first 10 games before they beat Union City on Oct. 1 for the program's first win. The team stopped in Corry to celebrate at what was then Verna's Restaurant to celebrate the win and a napkin holder from the restaurant was "acquired" to commemorate the win. After reparations were made to the restaurant when Coach Luvison discovered the guilty party, the silver napkin holder sits in a trophy case at Eisenhower High School to this day.
With the first win out of the way, the Knights went on a roll, posting a 38-9-3 record over the next six years, highlighted by a perfect 8-0 season in 1959.
Luvison finished with a career coaching record of 63-29-3, stepping down after the 1964 season.
The Knights have had a long history of success, including championships in 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1963 under Luvison.
The winning continued under head coach Conrad Danielson as Eisenhower won five conference titles (1990, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997).
Current head coach Jim Penley bleeds Eisenhower blue and gold. As a member of the championship teams under Danielson, he has continued the winning tradition and has certainly put his own stamp on the program.
Penley started his 23rd season at the helm this fall, and has coached a remarkable 236 games and is highlighted by his 2020 team that was third in the state in scoring, averaging 49 points per game and winning a thrilling 22-21 double-overtime playoff game against West Middlesex to advance to the district championship game. His 2022 team won 11 games and his teams have qualified for the playoffs in 13 of the last 20 years.
In Penley's tenure as head coach, he has had 29 players who have gone on and played in college, with Mitch Straight (Akron) and Caleb Jakubczak (Mercyhurst) playing at the Division I level. The last five years have seen Owen Trumbull, Jared Beers, Dillon Benson, Drake Vanderhoof, Conner Younger, Mike Vanatta, Kris Bunk, Shawn Pascuzzi, Cole Kellogg and Gavin Lindemuth play at the Division II and III levels.