"Talkin’ Old School” With Roger Franklin Williams Podcast

Guests were Boone High School Football Coach Sprinkle, Apopka High School Football Coach Neeson, Deland High School Football Coach Darlington.

The Mary Gardner Show blends celebrity interviews, cultural insight, expert coaching, and meaningful conversations that help listeners navigate leadership, communication, relationships, and life in a complicated world.

Mary is known nationally as The Charisma Coach—a trusted advisor to executives, celebrities, authors, and high achievers. With decades of experience in media, personal branding, professional speaking, and high-level coaching, Mary brings truth, humor, inspiration, and practical strategies to every episode.

Listeners tune in for:

• Celebrity and expert interviews
• Leadership + communication strategies
• Human interest and legacy stories
• Faith-infused encouragement
• Real conversations about culture and community
• Tools for personal and professional growth

Each week Mary welcomes extraordinary guests who are shaping the world of Business, Media, Leadership, Entertainment, Wellness, Faith, Technology, and Philanthropy. Past and upcoming guests include authors, CEOs, cultural thinkers, athletes, artists, and innovators who bring meaningful, enlightening conversations to the airwaves.

Rocky Bleier’s story - a gripping tale of courage on both the football fields of America
and the battle fields of Vietnam - has held audiences in rapt attention for years.
Yet, the motivational message behind it, detailing how ordinary people can become
extraordinary achievers, defines success in the new American century.
With the same optimism, sense of humor and steadfast determination that were his
trademarks as a Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Rocky Bleier takes audiences from
his early years through his professional career and talks about the lessons he learned
along the way….lessons that we all can benefit from.
Not falling within the ideal of what a running back should look like, Bleier had to run
harder and play smarter to be able to stand out. Despite his drive and ability to make
the big play, the Pittsburgh Steelers only considered him a late round pick. But before
the season ended that first year, he was drafted again…this time by the United States
Army. At the height of the Vietnam War, Bleier was thrust into combat early and was
seriously wounded when his platoon ran into an ambush. Receiving wounds from
both rifle fire and grenade fragments in his legs, he was barely able to walk and his
professional football career seemed to have ended before it began...
For more than two years, he drove himself. Little by little he overcame obstacles and
fought his way back. He not only made the Pittsburgh Steelers, but also eventually
became a starting running back on a team that won four Super Bowls and became the
greatest football team of the 20th century.
The hard lessons Rocky Bleier learned early in his life that helped him overcome
adversity and reach his goals, have paid off after football. These lessons are seen
between the lines in the popular book on his life, “Fighting Back.

Network Sound and Video, Inc. was founded in 1980 by Vito Fera and has been a trusted leader in audio and video restoration for over 40 years.

We specialize in preserving your most valuable memories—transforming aging media into high-quality digital formats that can be enjoyed for generations.
​
A Personal Approach You Can TrustAt Network Sound and Video, every project is handled with care and attention to detail.
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All work is completed in-house at our Longwood studio to ensure the highest level of quality control.  You'll never be 'just a number' with us - our team provides personalized, one-on-one service from start to finish.What We DoWe offer a full range of audio and video services, including:
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• Audio and video restoration
• VHS and camcorder tape transfers
• Film transfer (8mm, Super 8mm, 16mm)
• Photo, slide and negative scanning
• Custom photo slideshow production
• CD and DVD duplication
• Audio mastering and editing

​  ​Whether you need a single tape converted or a large archival project, we have the experience and equipment to handle it.Serving Central Florida and BeyondWe proudly serve customers throughout Central Florida, including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, and Pensacola.
Not local?  No problem.  We also provide secure nationwide service by mail.
Why Choose UsVito & Rhonda at our Longwood, FL studio serving Central Florida.

• 40+ years of experience
• All work done in-house
• Fast turnaround times
• Personalized, one-on-one service
• Trusted by families, businesses and professionals

Our CommitmentWe are committed to delivering the highest quality results with
​exceptional customer service at a fair price.
All work is done in-house.Our Core Values1. To act in such a manner as to uphold personal and professional honor and integrity.
2. To make Godly choices. (Matthew 7:24)
3. To treat others the way we want to be treated.  (Luke 6:31)

Ready to get started?  Contact us today for a free estimate.Visit Our StudioWe welcome you to visit our Longwood / Orlando location to discuss your project.
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No appointment needed -
​Free Estimates

Hours:
Monday–Thursday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

​📞 (407) 834-8555

Barry Smith was born and raised in Miami and was a standout, two‑sport athlete (football and track) at Miami Coral Park HS. He was All-State and honorable mention All-American at wide receiver and a state champion high hurdler. To this day, he is among the 100 top all-time HS football players in Dade County. At FSU, he was a two-sport athlete – running on the record-breaking High Hurdles Shuttle Relay team as well as a 1st Team All-American Wide Receiver, and NCAA leader in TD receptions and reception yards. He broke all FSU season and career scoring records and held the record for most TD catches of any receiver in the state until 1987.

Drafted in the first round by the Green Bay Packers (1973) he went on to be NFC Rookie of the Year finalist and Green Bay Packer Man of the Year in 1975. In 1976, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the franchise’s inaugural season. He was traded to his hometown Miami Dolphins the next year, however the return to Miami was cut short as Smith contracted polio during preseason camp. He was inducted into the FSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979 and made the College Football Hall of Fame ballot in 2021.

David Langdon

Football Program Director and Head Football Coach

David Langdon joined the TGS athletic staff in 2023 as assistant athletic director and Geneva's inaugural football program director and head coach. Prior to Geneva, he served as the athletic director and assistant head varsity football coach at Trinity Preparatory School, Winter Park. Geneva will be his fourth position as an inaugural football coach—he started the football programs at Cypress Creek High School, Pine Castle Christian Academy, and Orlando Christian Prep. David also served as the head coach for Dr. Phillips High School. He is a six-time Florida Athletic Coaches Association District Coach of the Year. He is also a former winner of the Herff Jones Metro Conference Boys’s Track and Field Coach of the Year Award. Coach Langdon currently serves on the leadership board for the Metro Seminole County Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

David and his wife, Christina, have three adult children—twin daughters, Lilly and Melanie, and son, Kellen.

Frank Pomarico, from Howard Beach, New York, moved into the starting lineup at left guard during his sophomore year in 1971 at Notre Dame. He remained a fixture for the Irish through the 1973 season when he was named tri-captain, along with Dave Casper and Mike Townsend.There were bigger players for the Irish, faster players, and players who went on to stellar professional careers. But no one cherished his role as a leader of the Notre Dame squad more than the 6-foot-1, 250-pound Pomarico. His journey to and through Notre Dame truly was a labor of love toward his alma mater.Here is Pomarico's story as told to Irish Illustrated senior editor Tim Prister, the author/editor of What It Means To Be Fighting Irish (copyright 2004, Triumph Books, Chicago, Ill.)Notre Dame was a simple choice for me. When I was growing up in New York, Gerry DiNardo and I were classmates in grade school and high school, and his brother, Larry, was someone we looked up to.So now I get to high school, Larry goes to Notre Dame, Gerry and I are sophomores in high school, and Larry comes back talking about this guy named Ara Parseghian. Of course, Larry could have gone to any school he wanted. All the academies, Harvard…but he picked Notre Dame because I think he thought that was his greatest challenge athletically as well as academically. Our goal was, 'Maybe someday that can happen to us.'My senior year I was recruited by North Carolina and Notre Dame. Places like Villanova said I was too small. Most other schools thought I was too small. I was 6-foot-1, about 235 when I came to Notre Dame.Ara took a chance on me. He had success with Larry and thought, 'Let's see if we can have a warm body with Frank.'I knew all about Ara before I got there. Ara was a very, very impressive guy. He's got these piercing eyes that make you stand at attention, and everything he said was gobbled up because we felt if we wanted to be successful as a team, as individuals we were going to try to emulate his intensity, his character. That was something that we believed in. Even if you lost games, you would still win by showing your character and strong will.Ara instilled in us that the game may be over and we may have lost the battle, but we didn't lose the war. We were always trying to achieve and improve on the athletic field, as individuals, or in the classroom. So it was never really lost; time just ran out. He used to talk about not having a breaking point.When I think of my greatest memories at Notre Dame, the first one was my sophomore year (1971) against Northwestern when we came out of that tunnel. It was more than just coming out of the tunnel. It was also the feeling and emotion that was shared with me by guys like Walt Patulski, Dan Novokov, John Dampeer, Andy Huff, Ed Gulyas, John Cieszkowski…They were supportive. These guys were saying, 'You're going to do it; it's going to be easier than practice!' So we go out, score the first touchdown over my hole, and went on to win, 50-7.The most satisfying game was the Southern Cal game in 1973 (a 23-14 victory). They were national champs in 1972 and 1974, and when we played them in 1973, we were 5-0. The first four games of that year I had ripped up my ankle and I was in a cast for about a month. I came back for the Rice game and only played on an extra point. I started the Army game and I probably wasn't ready, but I wanted to come back. I knew if I didn't come back for the Army game, I probably wouldn't play against Southern Cal.We had a strong ground game. We were going to grind it out. We weren't going to win on the big play. The buildup to that game after Anthony Davis had scored six touchdowns the year before was intense. Playing against them was an emotional, electric time.We did (grind it out against them), but we also had an 85-yard touchdown run by Eric Penick, so we did beat them with the big play as well.My college career culminated with the (24-23) victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to win the national title. It was overwhelming. Seven years of dreaming ended in the locker room with myfather, my grandfather, and my little brother, not yelling and screaming, but just watching everybody go crazy. I don't think we had the animosity toward Alabama that we had toward Southern Cal, but it was a humongous victory for us.That year, Ara had broken precedent by making three of us captains. I think it was very close in the voting between me and David Casper as the offensive captain. So Dave was the team captain, I was the offensive captain, and Mike Townsend was the defensive captain, so to speak. We all had different roles. I was more of a quiet leader. I tried to lead by example through hard work during the off-season and tried to do the right thing.One time somebody asked me if the tradition of Rockne and Gipper helped us in our games, and I said, 'The tradition here is the guys I'm with right now that make it such a special place. They're the guys who help me. Because of the people, there is no place in the world quite like Notre Dame.Frank Pomarico, is in sales in Jackson, Mich. He also coaches tight ends and tackles at Lumen Christi High School, where his son, Tommy, starred the in 2005 and 2006.  Tommy went on to the University of Michigan to become a three year starter for the Wolverines as a long snapper and played in the Gator Bowl and finished his career in the Sugar Bowl victory at the end of the 2011 season.  We thank Lloyd Carr at the University of Michigan for having faith in Tom’s ability to play there."People say to me, 'How can you send your son to Michigan?' Pomarico laughed. "I tell them, 'I pray for Notre Dame, but, now I root for Michigan.'Pomarico does a radio show with former UNLV football coach Harvey Hyde (1982-85) in Las Vegas and still loves talking about Notre Dame Football. Like Irish fans, he sees the upcoming schedule as rigorous, but views it with encouragement and confidence in Brian Kelly’s ability to take Notre Dame to new heights in the future.

https://www.froggers.com/

Froggers Grill & Bar in Apopka opened in 2004 and features a casual restaurant sports bar atmosphere specializing in Wings and full liquor bar with 12 beers on tap, over 32 HD LED TV's, 3 Big Screen Projectors, a pool table and dartboards.

Head coach Marcus Neeson began with the Blue Darters as the freshman defensive coordinator before becoming the freshman head coach. He later coached the varsity secondary and served as defensive coordinator in 2023 before taking over as head coach in 2025. 

Scott Perry is the head football coach of the Lake Mary High School Rams, where he recently guided the program to its first state title. 

• Tenure: Serving his 21st year as head coach at his alma mater.
• Record: Holds an overall career coaching record of 152-82.
• Staff: Works alongside key assistants like offensive coordinator Adam Donnelly. 

Recent Achievements

• Championship Season: Led the Rams to a 12-3 record in 2025.
• State Title: Won the Class 7A state championship by defeating Vero Beach 28-27 in December 2025. 

Personal Background

• Alumnus: Graduated from Lake Mary High School before returning to coach the team.
• College Career: Played football as a lineman for the Florida Gators

Patrick Browning is Edgewater High School's Head Coach for their football program.

Paul Lounsberry is a veteran football coach best known as a longtime assistant at UCF, where he coached the offensive line from 1987–1999 and recruited quarterback Daunte Culpepper. With a 41-year coaching career, he also coached at Florida, South Carolina, Temple, and at the high school level.

The Dave Powers Crying Towel Event is an annual preseason gathering where high school football head coaches from Central Florida—including Apopka, Edgewater, Boone, and Bishop Moore—gather for dinner, humor, and a radio broadcast to kick off the new football season.

Malcolm E. "Mac" Steen (born June 30, 1948) is a former college football player and orthodontist. Steen was a prominent tackle for coach Ray Graves' Florida Gators of the University of Florida from 1967 to 1969.Graves rated Steen as the Gators best right tackle of the 1960s. He was the senior team captain in 1969.

 Richard Trapp

​  My resume includes graduation from the University of Florida, during which I was an All-American football and baseball player, then attending law school there while playing football in the NFL. I practiced for years with an insurance defense firm and, later, opened my own firm handling plaintiff cases in the fields of personal injury and commercial litigation. I have tried medical malpractice, divorces, will contests, homeowner association cases, and all types of personal injury matters. I am no longer a member of the Florida Bar and have been mediating on a full-time basis, throughout the state of Florida, since 2012. I am a Supreme Court certified circuit court mediator. Included on my page under "Attorney References" is a list of many attorneys I have mediated for, along with phone numbers and email addresses. Please feel free to contact any of them about my expertise. You will find that every attorney appreciated my efforts and would not hesitate to use me again.
Specifically, why should you hire me for a mediation?
1. I practiced for years as a defense attorney and for years as a plaintiff attorney. As such, this dual insight allows me to better understand the motivations and concerns of both sides.
2. I have successfully mediated well over 3,000 cases since 1999, the year of my first case that I mediated. Experience counts. I have mediated with almost any type of litigant (and attorney) and have learned how to gain the trust of the parties involved, which is very important in settling cases.
3. I handle only personal injury (which includes medical malpractice), commercial, and homeowners association cases (HOA). Regarding HOA cases, I have lived in HOA communities in the past and have served on HOA boards; thus, I am very familiar with those types of issues. I have mediated over 500 HOA cases.

Talking Old School: 7-15-26

Talking Old School: 7-11-26.

Marcus Neeson is the head coach of Apopka High School's football program.

Leamon Hall graduated the USMA in 1978 as the Black Knights' all-time passing leader on game, season, and career levels and virtually re-wrote Army's passing record book during his three-year career as a starter. Leamon Hall still holds the standard for single-game passing (385 yards) and in career touchdown passes (38). He was inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.

After serving in the US Army, Leamon briefly played professional football and then launched a lengthy successful career on Wall St. joining IBM’s Financial Services Industry organization. He became a Trader for Lehman Bros. and then moved on to Merrill Lynch, serving as a VP in the prestigious Institutional Sales and Trading organization. In 1996, Leamon returned to IBM as an executive forging alliances with IBM’s strategic business partners providing software solutions. 

He is recently retired, living with his family in the Atlanta, GA area and continuing his 20+ years of coaching youth athletic teams in football (no surprise there) and baseball.

Dan LaForest is a Wealth Advisor and Financial Planner with Security Financial Management, Inc. in Orlando, FL. SFM is a full-service financial planning firm and is one of the largest independent firms in Florida. He provides financial solutions and advice to retirees, business owners, and those seeking long-term guidance.

Dan has carried over his passion for advocating education and financial literacy from his day-to-day operations to promoting student-athletes with enthusiasm. Dan has also been involved with high school sports at many levels for over a decade, playing a significant role in shaping and promoting the sports programs and the athletes who participate. He is a member of the Orlando TD Club, Florida Citrus Sports, Cure All-Star Games, former owner of Varsity Sports Network, and host of the Central Florida High School Scoreboard Show.

Dan grew up in Apopka where he played at Apopka High School and graduated from East Tennessee State University (1988-1993) where he received his degree in Business Management and lettered on the football team.

Talking Old School: 7-8-26

4 San Francisco Giants players were reprimanded by Major League Baseball for standing for their Christian Faith by writing Bible Verses on their gay pride rainbow-colored caps.

Frank Pomarico, from Howard Beach, New York, moved into the starting lineup at left guard during his sophomore year in 1971 at Notre Dame. He remained a fixture for the Irish through the 1973 season when he was named tri-captain, along with Dave Casper and Mike Townsend.There were bigger players for the Irish, faster players, and players who went on to stellar professional careers. But no one cherished his role as a leader of the Notre Dame squad more than the 6-foot-1, 250-pound Pomarico. His journey to and through Notre Dame truly was a labor of love toward his alma mater.Here is Pomarico's story as told to Irish Illustrated senior editor Tim Prister, the author/editor of What It Means To Be Fighting Irish (copyright 2004, Triumph Books, Chicago, Ill.)Notre Dame was a simple choice for me. When I was growing up in New York, Gerry DiNardo and I were classmates in grade school and high school, and his brother, Larry, was someone we looked up to.So now I get to high school, Larry goes to Notre Dame, Gerry and I are sophomores in high school, and Larry comes back talking about this guy named Ara Parseghian. Of course, Larry could have gone to any school he wanted. All the academies, Harvard…but he picked Notre Dame because I think he thought that was his greatest challenge athletically as well as academically. Our goal was, 'Maybe someday that can happen to us.'My senior year I was recruited by North Carolina and Notre Dame. Places like Villanova said I was too small. Most other schools thought I was too small. I was 6-foot-1, about 235 when I came to Notre Dame.Ara took a chance on me. He had success with Larry and thought, 'Let's see if we can have a warm body with Frank.'I knew all about Ara before I got there. Ara was a very, very impressive guy. He's got these piercing eyes that make you stand at attention, and everything he said was gobbled up because we felt if we wanted to be successful as a team, as individuals we were going to try to emulate his intensity, his character. That was something that we believed in. Even if you lost games, you would still win by showing your character and strong will.Ara instilled in us that the game may be over and we may have lost the battle, but we didn't lose the war. We were always trying to achieve and improve on the athletic field, as individuals, or in the classroom. So it was never really lost; time just ran out. He used to talk about not having a breaking point.When I think of my greatest memories at Notre Dame, the first one was my sophomore year (1971) against Northwestern when we came out of that tunnel. It was more than just coming out of the tunnel. It was also the feeling and emotion that was shared with me by guys like Walt Patulski, Dan Novokov, John Dampeer, Andy Huff, Ed Gulyas, John Cieszkowski…They were supportive. These guys were saying, 'You're going to do it; it's going to be easier than practice!' So we go out, score the first touchdown over my hole, and went on to win, 50-7.The most satisfying game was the Southern Cal game in 1973 (a 23-14 victory). They were national champs in 1972 and 1974, and when we played them in 1973, we were 5-0. The first four games of that year I had ripped up my ankle and I was in a cast for about a month. I came back for the Rice game and only played on an extra point. I started the Army game and I probably wasn't ready, but I wanted to come back. I knew if I didn't come back for the Army game, I probably wouldn't play against Southern Cal.We had a strong ground game. We were going to grind it out. We weren't going to win on the big play. The buildup to that game after Anthony Davis had scored six touchdowns the year before was intense. Playing against them was an emotional, electric time.We did (grind it out against them), but we also had an 85-yard touchdown run by Eric Penick, so we did beat them with the big play as well.My college career culminated with the (24-23) victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to win the national title. It was overwhelming. Seven years of dreaming ended in the locker room with myfather, my grandfather, and my little brother, not yelling and screaming, but just watching everybody go crazy. I don't think we had the animosity toward Alabama that we had toward Southern Cal, but it was a humongous victory for us.That year, Ara had broken precedent by making three of us captains. I think it was very close in the voting between me and David Casper as the offensive captain. So Dave was the team captain, I was the offensive captain, and Mike Townsend was the defensive captain, so to speak. We all had different roles. I was more of a quiet leader. I tried to lead by example through hard work during the off-season and tried to do the right thing.One time somebody asked me if the tradition of Rockne and Gipper helped us in our games, and I said, 'The tradition here is the guys I'm with right now that make it such a special place. They're the guys who help me. Because of the people, there is no place in the world quite like Notre Dame.Frank Pomarico, is in sales in Jackson, Mich. He also coaches tight ends and tackles at Lumen Christi High School, where his son, Tommy, starred the in 2005 and 2006.  Tommy went on to the University of Michigan to become a three year starter for the Wolverines as a long snapper and played in the Gator Bowl and finished his career in the Sugar Bowl victory at the end of the 2011 season.  We thank Lloyd Carr at the University of Michigan for having faith in Tom’s ability to play there."People say to me, 'How can you send your son to Michigan?' Pomarico laughed. "I tell them, 'I pray for Notre Dame, but, now I root for Michigan.'Pomarico does a radio show with former UNLV football coach Harvey Hyde (1982-85) in Las Vegas and still loves talking about Notre Dame Football. Like Irish fans, he sees the upcoming schedule as rigorous, but views it with encouragement and confidence in Brian Kelly’s ability to take Notre Dame to new heights in the future.

4 San Francisco Giants players were reprimanded by Major League Baseball for standing for their Christian Faith by writing Bible Verses on their gay pride rainbow-colored caps.

About Coach Darlington Head Football Coach
Deland High School

Career Record: 251-95 (28 seasons)
Reached Playoffs in 26 of 28 years as a head coach
All-time central Florida leader in playoff victories (43)

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Apopka ’01, ’12, & ‘14
STATE RUNNER-UP: Apopka ‘13 & Valdosta ‘03
STATE FINAL 4 (semifinals): Deland ‘23, Apopka ’07 & ‘09
STATE ELITE 8 (quarterfinals): Enterprise ‘21, Apopka ‘08, Valdosta ‘04

DELAND, FL: ’22 to present
In 2 years, the Bulldogs have won Back-to-Back District titles (last title was 11 years ago).  The ’22 team broke the school single season scoring record (33 ppg), and the ’23 team shattered that record at 40 ppg.  2023 Region Champions (1st time since 2009) and state Semi-Finalist in largest classification.  Quarterback has had back to back season of more than 1,200 yards rushing AND passing, and this fall threw 21 TD passes with ZERO interceptions.  Wingback also rushed for 1,000 yards and had 900 yards receiving.

ENTERPRISE, AL: ’19-‘21
Took over a program coming off back to back 2-8 seasons.  Year 1 started 2-5, but turned it around and made the 7A playoffs in Maxpreps 3rd toughest playoff bracket in the country. Year 2 averaged 36 ppg and again made the playoffs.  Year 3, scored 41 ppg (3rd in 7A behind the teams playing for state), led the entire state of Alabama in rushing, and had 2 1,000 yard rushers. Finished in the Elite 8 (quarterfinals) in 7A.

APOPKA, FL: ’99-’02 & ’06-‘18
2013 team set a state record with 752 points, averaging 50.1 ppg over 15 games, and rushed for 6,000 yards.  The ’13, ’14, & ’15 teams each had THREE 1,000 yard rushers each season.

Mike McBath played for Joe Paterno at Penn State, helping lead the Nittany Lions to
their first bowl game in the Paterno era. He also was an All-East performer. McBath was
drafted in the fifth round of the 1968 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills and played five years
with the club. He finished his pro football career spending one season with the Florida
Blazers of the World Football League, as they came within one point of winning the
league championship. He was later a very successful businessman and was a co-founder
of the Arena Football League’s Orlando Predators, the most successful franchise in
league history.

Michael Strickler McBath was born May 29, 1946 in Woodbury, New Jersey. McBath
attended Woodbury, New Jersey High School. He played varsity football for three
seasons and Woodbury never lost a game. McBath played both ways, on the offensive
and defensive lines, and their quarterback was Willie Murray. Mike was co-captain his
senior year as the Herd finished 9-0. He was named to the All-South Jersey scholastic
football team following his senior year. He was also an honorable mention on the
Associated Press All-State team. Mike also was an excellent basketball player at
Woodbury and participated in track, throwing both the discuss and the shot-put while
winning several meets. 

Frank Pomarico, from Howard Beach, New York, moved into the starting lineup at left guard during his sophomore year in 1971 at Notre Dame. He remained a fixture for the Irish through the 1973 season when he was named tri-captain, along with Dave Casper and Mike Townsend.There were bigger players for the Irish, faster players, and players who went on to stellar professional careers. But no one cherished his role as a leader of the Notre Dame squad more than the 6-foot-1, 250-pound Pomarico. His journey to and through Notre Dame truly was a labor of love toward his alma mater.Here is Pomarico's story as told to Irish Illustrated senior editor Tim Prister, the author/editor of What It Means To Be Fighting Irish (copyright 2004, Triumph Books, Chicago, Ill.)Notre Dame was a simple choice for me. When I was growing up in New York, Gerry DiNardo and I were classmates in grade school and high school, and his brother, Larry, was someone we looked up to.So now I get to high school, Larry goes to Notre Dame, Gerry and I are sophomores in high school, and Larry comes back talking about this guy named Ara Parseghian. Of course, Larry could have gone to any school he wanted. All the academies, Harvard…but he picked Notre Dame because I think he thought that was his greatest challenge athletically as well as academically. Our goal was, 'Maybe someday that can happen to us.'My senior year I was recruited by North Carolina and Notre Dame. Places like Villanova said I was too small. Most other schools thought I was too small. I was 6-foot-1, about 235 when I came to Notre Dame.Ara took a chance on me. He had success with Larry and thought, 'Let's see if we can have a warm body with Frank.'I knew all about Ara before I got there. Ara was a very, very impressive guy. He's got these piercing eyes that make you stand at attention, and everything he said was gobbled up because we felt if we wanted to be successful as a team, as individuals we were going to try to emulate his intensity, his character. That was something that we believed in. Even if you lost games, you would still win by showing your character and strong will.Ara instilled in us that the game may be over and we may have lost the battle, but we didn't lose the war. We were always trying to achieve and improve on the athletic field, as individuals, or in the classroom. So it was never really lost; time just ran out. He used to talk about not having a breaking point.When I think of my greatest memories at Notre Dame, the first one was my sophomore year (1971) against Northwestern when we came out of that tunnel. It was more than just coming out of the tunnel. It was also the feeling and emotion that was shared with me by guys like Walt Patulski, Dan Novokov, John Dampeer, Andy Huff, Ed Gulyas, John Cieszkowski…They were supportive. These guys were saying, 'You're going to do it; it's going to be easier than practice!' So we go out, score the first touchdown over my hole, and went on to win, 50-7.The most satisfying game was the Southern Cal game in 1973 (a 23-14 victory). They were national champs in 1972 and 1974, and when we played them in 1973, we were 5-0. The first four games of that year I had ripped up my ankle and I was in a cast for about a month. I came back for the Rice game and only played on an extra point. I started the Army game and I probably wasn't ready, but I wanted to come back. I knew if I didn't come back for the Army game, I probably wouldn't play against Southern Cal.We had a strong ground game. We were going to grind it out. We weren't going to win on the big play. The buildup to that game after Anthony Davis had scored six touchdowns the year before was intense. Playing against them was an emotional, electric time.We did (grind it out against them), but we also had an 85-yard touchdown run by Eric Penick, so we did beat them with the big play as well.My college career culminated with the (24-23) victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to win the national title. It was overwhelming. Seven years of dreaming ended in the locker room with myfather, my grandfather, and my little brother, not yelling and screaming, but just watching everybody go crazy. I don't think we had the animosity toward Alabama that we had toward Southern Cal, but it was a humongous victory for us.That year, Ara had broken precedent by making three of us captains. I think it was very close in the voting between me and David Casper as the offensive captain. So Dave was the team captain, I was the offensive captain, and Mike Townsend was the defensive captain, so to speak. We all had different roles. I was more of a quiet leader. I tried to lead by example through hard work during the off-season and tried to do the right thing.One time somebody asked me if the tradition of Rockne and Gipper helped us in our games, and I said, 'The tradition here is the guys I'm with right now that make it such a special place. They're the guys who help me. Because of the people, there is no place in the world quite like Notre Dame.Frank Pomarico, is in sales in Jackson, Mich. He also coaches tight ends and tackles at Lumen Christi High School, where his son, Tommy, starred the in 2005 and 2006.  Tommy went on to the University of Michigan to become a three year starter for the Wolverines as a long snapper and played in the Gator Bowl and finished his career in the Sugar Bowl victory at the end of the 2011 season.  We thank Lloyd Carr at the University of Michigan for having faith in Tom’s ability to play there."People say to me, 'How can you send your son to Michigan?' Pomarico laughed. "I tell them, 'I pray for Notre Dame, but, now I root for Michigan.'Pomarico does a radio show with former UNLV football coach Harvey Hyde (1982-85) in Las Vegas and still loves talking about Notre Dame Football. Like Irish fans, he sees the upcoming schedule as rigorous, but views it with encouragement and confidence in Brian Kelly’s ability to take Notre Dame to new heights in the future

Mike McBath played for Joe Paterno at Penn State, helping lead the Nittany Lions to
their first bowl game in the Paterno era. He also was an All-East performer. McBath was
drafted in the fifth round of the 1968 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills and played five years
with the club. He finished his pro football career spending one season with the Florida
Blazers of the World Football League, as they came within one point of winning the
league championship. He was later a very successful businessman and was a co-founder
of the Arena Football League’s Orlando Predators, the most successful franchise in
league history.

Michael Strickler McBath was born May 29, 1946 in Woodbury, New Jersey. McBath
attended Woodbury, New Jersey High School. He played varsity football for three
seasons and Woodbury never lost a game. McBath played both ways, on the offensive
and defensive lines, and their quarterback was Willie Murray. Mike was co-captain his
senior year as the Herd finished 9-0. He was named to the All-South Jersey scholastic
football team following his senior year. He was also an honorable mention on the
Associated Press All-State team. Mike also was an excellent basketball player at
Woodbury and participated in track, throwing both the discuss and the shot-put while
winning several meets. 

Scott Perry is the head football coach at Lake Mary High School. He is an alumnus of the school who played as an offensive lineman for the Florida Gators before returning to lead the Rams.

• Championship Season: Perry led Lake Mary to an incredible 12-3 record and the program's first-ever Class 7A state championship, sealed with an iconic, improbable last-second "Hail Mary" lateral play.
• Coach of the Year: Following the historic 2025 season, Perry was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Football Coach of the Year.
• Tenure: He has been the head coach of the Rams for over two decades, accumulating more than 150 victories.
• Player Success: He coached Class 7A Player of the Year and Notre Dame signee Noah Grubbs, who was also named Mr. Florida Football