First, Lancaster Catholic brought aboard former Cedar Cliff coach Jim Cantafio to be its offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.
Now the Crusaders have brought in another former L-L League head coach, this time to be the team’s defensive coordinator.
And this guy has Conestoga Valley ties, too.
Former Buckskins’ head coach Gerad Novak is Lancaster Catholic’s new defensive coordinator.
Lancaster Catholic head coach Bruce Harbach, the beneficiary of these two new coaching hires, confirmed the move Thursday.
Novak, who was a coordinator and an assistant coach under Cantafio early in his days at Conestoga Valley, was the Buckskins’ head coach for 14 seasons, from 1995 until 2009.
He succeed Cantafio as Conestoga Valley’s head coach when Cantafio left for Wyoming Valley West — and eventually Wilson and Cedar Cliff. He recently stepped down at Cedar Cliff and took over as head of football activities at Spooky Nook Sports.
Another Conestoga Valley grad, Tom Nichols, took over for Novak for three years, from 2010-12, before he left to return to Coatesville, where he teaches and now serves as an assistant coach.
Novak stepped down on his own accord. He continues to teach at Conestoga Valley and he's also a respected L-L League basketball official.
Mark Pieters is the Buckskins’ current head coach.
Novak, who spent last fall serving as a color analyst for football games for Blue Ridge TV-11, now joins Cantafio on Harbach’s staff at Lancaster Catholic in a Conestoga Valley kind of homecoming.