Class of 2010
Lew Ewart
Lew Ewart came to Bedford County from Masontown, but after 37 years of coaching at Northern Bedford High School, he made a name for himself in the Bedford County community.
He graduated from Masontown High School in 1955, having played high school football for four years and American Legion baseball as well.
Ewart went on to Waynesburg College where he played intramural basketball and graduated in 1960.
He came to Northern Bedford as a teacher and got his first coaching job as a junior high football assistant for $100. He coached junior high in both football and basketball for 17 years.
He later was a varsity football assistant coach under John Yaccino, Chuck Gironda, and Joe Nastasi.
After a year as a junior high basketball assistant, he became the head boys junior high coach as well as the head of the elementary recreation program in just his third year at Northern Bedford. The program was under control of the coach at the time, Dale Batzel. Batzel later brought him up as an assistant varsity coach.
"Coach Batzel and I were close friends," Ewart said. "I really appreciated all that he did for me."
Ewart worked his way up to the JV basketball coach and assistant varsity coach before getting his first varsity head coaching position.
He was the head girls coach from 1977 to 1981 and coached the county s first girl who went over 1,000 points - Robin (Imler) Over. In his four years, he coached the Lady Panthers to a 63-29 record, including two District 5 championships and two Bedford County League titles.
Ewart took over the boys program in 1982 and held on to the position until 1998. He had a record of 259-160 with four District 5 titles, three Bedford County League championships, and six Sideling Hill League titles. He was voted the Bedford County Coach of the Year three times.
"At the time (I was hired), Northern was known as a football and wrestling school, so I had two goals for our program," said Ewart. "First, to elevate it to that of football and wrestling, and second, to be competitive in every game. The kids bought in and we began working very hard to reach our goals."
Five of his male players also went over the 1,000-point plateau including A.J. Nastasi, Joe Nastasi, Mark Muthler, Mike Reed, and Jason Drenning. A.J. Nastasi is still the all-time leading scorer in the history of the PIAA with 3,833 points, while his brother Joe is sixth all-time in the state with 2,961 points.
"I learned valuable coaching ideas from the coaches that I worked under," said Ewart. "I knew by the time that I was a high school junior that I wanted to be a coach. I felt fortunate to get different coaching opportunities at Northern Bedford."
He added one more head coaching duty in 1988 when he took over the softball program for one year. That year, the Lady Panthers were 18-2 and won the District 5 and Bedford County League titles.
In his 20 years of coaching, his record was 340-191 with six BCL titles, six Sideling Hill League championships, seven District 7 titles, and 11 trips to the PIAA state tournament.
"You are never completely satisfied, but with a lot of good help and support, we began to make progress," he said. "We were able to compete and win on a more regular basis. Being competitive night in and night out is what we wanted. We wanted to gain respect and make our opponents earn what they got."
"I give the players credit for all of their hard work and the pride they developed in their team and our program. It was very rewarding for the coaches, our school, and our fans."
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Lew Ewart came to Bedford County from Masontown, but after 37 years of coaching at Northern Bedford High School, he made a name for himself in the Bedford County community.
He graduated from Masontown High School in 1955, having played high school football for four years and American Legion baseball as well.
Ewart went on to Waynesburg College where he played intramural basketball and graduated in 1960.
He came to Northern Bedford as a teacher and got his first coaching job as a junior high football assistant for $100. He coached junior high in both football and basketball for 17 years.
He later was a varsity football assistant coach under John Yaccino, Chuck Gironda, and Joe Nastasi.
After a year as a junior high basketball assistant, he became the head boys junior high coach as well as the head of the elementary recreation program in just his third year at Northern Bedford. The program was under control of the coach at the time, Dale Batzel. Batzel later brought him up as an assistant varsity coach.
"Coach Batzel and I were close friends," Ewart said. "I really appreciated all that he did for me."
Ewart worked his way up to the JV basketball coach and assistant varsity coach before getting his first varsity head coaching position.
He was the head girls coach from 1977 to 1981 and coached the county s first girl who went over 1,000 points - Robin (Imler) Over. In his four years, he coached the Lady Panthers to a 63-29 record, including two District 5 championships and two Bedford County League titles.
Ewart took over the boys program in 1982 and held on to the position until 1998. He had a record of 259-160 with four District 5 titles, three Bedford County League championships, and six Sideling Hill League titles. He was voted the Bedford County Coach of the Year three times.
"At the time (I was hired), Northern was known as a football and wrestling school, so I had two goals for our program," said Ewart. "First, to elevate it to that of football and wrestling, and second, to be competitive in every game. The kids bought in and we began working very hard to reach our goals."
Five of his male players also went over the 1,000-point plateau including A.J. Nastasi, Joe Nastasi, Mark Muthler, Mike Reed, and Jason Drenning. A.J. Nastasi is still the all-time leading scorer in the history of the PIAA with 3,833 points, while his brother Joe is sixth all-time in the state with 2,961 points.
"I learned valuable coaching ideas from the coaches that I worked under," said Ewart. "I knew by the time that I was a high school junior that I wanted to be a coach. I felt fortunate to get different coaching opportunities at Northern Bedford."
He added one more head coaching duty in 1988 when he took over the softball program for one year. That year, the Lady Panthers were 18-2 and won the District 5 and Bedford County League titles.
In his 20 years of coaching, his record was 340-191 with six BCL titles, six Sideling Hill League championships, seven District 7 titles, and 11 trips to the PIAA state tournament.
"You are never completely satisfied, but with a lot of good help and support, we began to make progress," he said. "We were able to compete and win on a more regular basis. Being competitive night in and night out is what we wanted. We wanted to gain respect and make our opponents earn what they got."
"I give the players credit for all of their hard work and the pride they developed in their team and our program. It was very rewarding for the coaches, our school, and our fans."
.--
Class of 2010
Class of 2010
Bedford County Sports
Hall of Fame
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania