A pair of surprise guest speakers turned Tuesday night’s Council Rock North-Council Rock South senior banquet at Northampton Country Club into a memorable evening for everyone in attendance. To view photos of the evening, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
Justin Pugh has had his share of mountaintop experiences as he made his ascent from high school star to a first round draft choice of the New York Giants, but nothing, according to the Council Rock South alum, quite compares to playing in the annual Rock South-Rock North game.
“I’ve had the privilege and I’ve been blessed to play in NFL stadiums, I’ve played in front of 100,000 people at Penn State, and I got to play at Dallas Cowboy Stadium,” said Pugh at Tuesday night’s Rock South-Rock North senior banquet at Northampton Country Club. “But I would trade it all to come back and be sitting in the seats you guys are in right now. I envy you guys to have that chance to go out there one last time on Friday night to play the game you love.
“If I could say one thing, it would be to lay it all on the line when you get out there. When you go between those white lines, it’s just you and the guy across from you. I want you guys to go out there and have fun. That’s the best thing – you guys are playing the purest, simplest form of the game right now.”
Pugh and legendary Council Rock football coach Walt Snyder were surprise guest speakers at Tuesday’s banquet, and both had a captive audience when they spoke.
“I got the chills when I listened to Justin and Mr. Snyder,” Rock South senior captain Greg Paprocki said. “It was absolutely incredible.
“It really woke me up and gave me a good perspective of what I have in front of me and how much these guys mean to me and how much the people in this room mean to me. It really hit home for me tonight.
“Justin telling us that he wants to go back and play in the North-South game can only make you excited for it. It was one of the most inspirational things I’ve ever heard. I can’t even describe how emotional it made me feel.
“A lot of these guys – I played football with them in recess, and he brought that up. He really put himself in your shoes. I will never forget that speech. I will never forget what Mr. Snyder said. It’s hard to describe how much it means.”
Tyler Anderson saw Pugh the minute he entered the room.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing,’” the Rock South senior captain said. “Not many kids our age have an opportunity like this to be talked to and inspired by a guy like that.
“I know every single one of us looks up to him and Mr. Walt Snyder. Every Friday night one of our two teams is playing in a stadium named after him. This Friday night is special because we’re playing in it together. It was a real honor to have both of them come and speak to our teams.”
“To have an NFL football player, especially for him to have come to our school, that in itself is just amazing,” Rock South senior captain Sean Frusco added. “The fact that he would do that for us – I was telling one of my teammates it really hit home how fortunate we are playing this game and how it really is the last four quarters of most of our lives.”
Instead of heading for the exit when the banquet was over, Pugh took the time to mingle and sign autographs. He was in no hurry to leave.
“He’s a figure to all of us young guys,” Rock North senior captain Tyler Callender said. “It’s cool to watch something like that happen in your community.
“I hate the Giants, but I love watching him. He’s the reason why I watch the Giants now.”
Earlier this year, Pugh purchased special Under Armour shirts for all the players on his former high school team.
“I’m just so proud of him,” said his mother, Carolyn Gavaghan, herself a Council Rock grad and now a teacher in the district. “You’re just so proud that they’ve gone through this school, and they’re able to come back and give back.
“Whether it’s just inspiration or the t-shirts he was able to give, just to be able to give back to their alma mater. It’s just wonderful, and it’s the way it should be.”
Pugh’s presence was a special point of pride to his former coaches.
“We stay in contact whether it’s with the social media texting or a quick phone call, and he’s always kept in touch,” coach Vince Bedesem said. “He has that strong Council Rock tie, which is great to see.
“It’s very, very inspirational. In my estimation, we’re looking at a future Pro Bowler here and possibly beyond, in my opinion.”
If it seems as though Pugh’s days as a player at Rock South would be nothing more than a distant memory after a stellar career at Syracuse University and a new career in the NFL, guess again.
“I went 2-2 (against Rock North),” he said. “My freshman year we won, my sophomore year we lost, my junior year we won, and my senior year we lost a heartbreaker.
“I still text some of my teammates from the game. ‘How did we lose that game?’ That’s the text. I don’t say hello. It’s just – how did we lose that game. It’s something you never forget. You want to win that one. It’s something you can brag about 20 years down the road.”
Pugh followed Snyder on the program, and Snyder provided his share of inspiration as well, leaving the players with three points to remember.
“You have to have a will to win,” he said. “You won’t find that phrase anywhere in the dictionary, but I can tell you – you want to call it heart, you want to call it guts, you want to call it courage – I don’t care what you call it, but you have to have a will to win in order to win football games.
“Second, you have to be inspired. You may be inspired by a coach, by a teacher or by another player. Don’t see yourself as you are right now, but see yourself as what you could become through hard work and dedication to a cause. Football is not easy. If anybody told you football is easy, they lied to you. Football is hard, but it helps you in life. Someday down the road, when you run into a problem in your life, you’re going to say, ‘Football taught me how to handle this. I’m going to fight it, and I’m going to get through it.’
“The last thing is you have to have a strong faith. I don’t know what your faith is, your belief in a superior being. For me, it’s Jesus Christ. Nothing is accomplished in my life without a strong faith.”
Snyder provided not only inspiration to the players but to Pugh as well.
“To be able to play in that stadium and everything he’s done for the whole program, he’s the guy that started it all, and it was very special to meet him,” said Pugh.
Pugh acknowledged that he had some nerves when it came time to speak to the players, especially following Snyder.
“When you’re out there playing football, you’re in your element,” he said. “I’m comfortable out there. I’m not making any speeches. I’m blocking a guy. That’s when I’m in my comfort zone.
“When I’m talking to a bunch of guys – I was in their shoes. To see them looking up to me and they were listening to what I was saying, that’s something that’s very special to me. Being able to come back and give them some advice and to let them know, ‘You could be sitting in that seat today, but you could be up here speaking in five years.’ There’s no reason one of these guys can’t do the same thing I’m doing.
“I’ve talked to coach Bedesem ever since I left. It’s definitely a proud moment to come back here.”
The senior banquet – sponsored by John Donohoe/Sterling Limousine – is always special, but this one was especially memorable.
“We didn’t know either of them were coming,” Rock North coach Adam Collachi said of Pugh and Snyder. “It just shows how important this whole week is to our community. It’s outstanding, and it’s truly an honor to be a part of it. This is something they will truly remember.
“When you see somebody who’s your hero standing right in front of you talking about what you’re going to go through, then it becomes real. I never met Justin personally until tonight, and what a class act. Again, he’s a Council Rock person.”
John Donohoe may have said it best.
"He's just a good kid," he said of Pugh.
And on Tuesday night, that ‘good kid,’ the starting right tackle for the New York Giants, came home. Home to where his high school team is playing football in its purest form.
“You guys are not doing it for the money,” Pugh said in closing. “You’re doing it because that guy next to you is putting it all out on the line, and you want to do the same for your brothers.
“I want you guys to go out there and have fun (Friday night). At the end of the day, it’s a game. Make sure you guys cherish it. Cherish every moment out there because you never know.”
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