By Steve Svetovich
There are those select few in life who make a lifetime impact on an entire community.And Jack Henzes did it for decades for a large group of student-athletes over multiple generations.
He did it for more than half a century, impacting hundreds of lives.
Most of all, he was a teacher of life lessons.
Henzes, the legendary Dunmore Bucks football coach died Monday night, July 24, after a brief illness. The Dunmore Bucks football icon was 87.
His coaching career spanned five plus decades. He had a 52 year football coaching career. A total of 48 years were at Dunmore.
A member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, he finished his career with 444 wins. He is second in wins for any high school football coach in the state.
After serving as an assistant football coach for the Blakely Bears, coached by his late father, Jack “Papa Bear” Henzes Sr., he became the head football coach at Wyoming Area in 1966. He lost his first game, 27-13, to the Dunmore Bucks. But that loss was not a prelude for things to come.
The following week, Wyoming Area beat GAR, and in four seasons under Henzes the Warriors went 30-12.In 1971, Jack Henzes became the head football coach of the Dunmore Bucks. Dunmore beat Tunkhannock in the opener and the winning never stopped. For decades, titles and championships became synonymous with Dunmore football.
From 1973 to 1975, Dunmore won three consecutive Big 11 titles. During this time, Henzes mentored three players who later had long NFL coaching careers – Vic Fangio, Tony Marciano, and Joe Marciano.
Fangio became the best defensive coordinator in the NFL with the 49ers and Chicago Bears and is currently with the Miami Dolphins. He also had a stint as head football coach of the Denver Broncos.
“Coach Henzes had a great impact on me because of his passion and commitment to football and his ability as a coach,” Fangio said. “It was contagious to me and made me want to follow in his footsteps and become a high school coach which eventually turned me into a lifelong career of coaching in the NFL. There is no way of quantifying the impact he had on hundreds of students at Dunmore High School during his near 50 years there. He was a true Dunmore icon.”
The 1980’s brought more success to Henzes and the Bucks. The 1985 team, led by twins Bobby and the late Billy Ruddy, went 13-0 and won the Eastern Conference Class A title.
In 1986, he led the PA Big 33 team to a 21-7 win over Maryland.
In 1989, Henzes led Dunmore to its first state title, 57-18, over Keystone in the Class A title game.
In 1995, the Bucks beat Wyoming Area for another district title.
In 2000, Henzes passed his father with 252 career wins.
Henzes led Dunmore to state championship games in 2007, 2012 and 2014, but finished second in the state.
He earned his 400th career win in 2015.
In 2019, he was inducted into the National High School Coaches Hall of Fame.Coach Henzes retired for health reasons in 2019 and was replaced by current Dunmore football coach Kevin McHale who played and coached under him.
“Coach Henzes was always prepared week by week,” McHale said. “He was very precise and concise. There were no cutting corners…He did things the right way. He had a distinct way of doing things.”
“He was a great role model for all the students. The way he treated people is what I took with me from him when I became a head coach… Along with winning many football games, he went above and beyond in setting a great example for student athletes and teaching life lessons to many generations. Many of his student athletes have passed these lessons down to their children and grandchildren.”
Tim Drewes was a standout football player for Henzes at Dunmore from 2011-2014.
“Coach Henzes used to deliver gear to me and my brother Danny every Christmas,” he said. “He would write ‘Santa Henzes’ on the packages.”
“Coach taught us more than football. He taught us how to be better members of the community. Being around the Dunmore football program for over 30 years, the overwhelming theme was preparation meets opportunity. This saying that coach always stated sticks with me to this day. Our team was prepared for anything and it showed, leaving Dunmore with the most wins in program history.”
Henzes was 83 in 2019 when he resigned from his coaching duties while recovering from a heart procedure. His coaching record was 444-164-8 in 52 years.
Former Dunmore Mayor Patrick “Nibs” Loughney echoed the beliefs of the Dunmore community.
“Coach Henzes was a true gentleman most of all,” he said. “He was admired by his athletes and students and will always be in our hearts.”
Tom Carlucci played under Henzes in 2004 and 2005.
“I played for Coach in my junior and senior years,” he said. “Coach Henzes had a tremendous impact on my life. Like most kids, I needed some additional structure and purpose in life. Coach Henzes found a way to effortlessly bridge that gap for many kids. He discovered what I was good at and built me into his game plan.”
“Although he discovered my speed first, it wasn’t until several years later that I discovered that his game plan for all of us was more about life than football.”
Henzes coached the Bucks to the state title game four times, winning the Class A championship in 1989. Other titles won by Dunmore under Henzes include Eastern Conference champions 1985; Class A 2012 State Eastern champions; Class AA 2007, 2014 State Eastern champions; Disfrict 2 “A” 2012 champs; District 2 “AA” champions 1995, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.
Former Dunmore Councilman Paul Nardozzi expressed his sentiments.
“Coach was admired by the Dunmore High School students and faculty because he wasn’t just a successful football coach, but a very good teacher and listener who cared about not only his players but the entire student body. He knew mostly everyone’s name and their family.”
“As the signs say in Dunmore, it’s God, family and football. Coach Henzes wouldn’t have it any other way.”
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Sports Editor’s Note: As a sports editor for The Dunmorean for 34 years and previously as a reporter for The Pennsylvania Athlete, Scrantonian Tribune and Sunday Sun, I had the privilege to know Jack Henzes and interview him over 30 times.
I also had the privilege to interview hundreds of his student-athletes. Jack Henzes was all class and a true gentleman in all of my interactions with him. But the best thing you can say about a coach is that during hundreds of interviews I had with his players, not one ever said a bad word about him. And almost every single one called him a mentor and teacher of life lessons and preparing for adulthood.
It wasn’t just about football. “A mentor of life lessons.” What a great life.