Most trivia experts know that Coach John
Berdell’s win streak of 25 straight games at Beaver Area High School
from 1961 to 1963 is the longest in Beaver County football history.
But did you know that he played inside linebacker and defensive end at Slippery Rock State
College? Before coming to Beaver in 1954, John coached football,
basketball, and track at McDonald Junior and Senior High Schools. John’s Beaver grid teams were known for strong defense and a
basic powerhouse offense that enabled them to pile up a 60-9-4
record from 1957 to 1964. Ironically, Beaver’s two best football
records during the Berdell regime were the perfect 9-0 slates
compiled by the 1961 and 1962 teams, when Beaver was lost in the
limbo of a WPIAL reclassification snafu and was ineligible for the
annual playoffs. The Bobcats were the Midwestern Athletic Conference
champions in 1960 and co-champs in 1964 and were WPIAL Class A
runners-up in 1960, losing to Sewickley Township High in a 13-7
thriller.
He ended his coaching career at Beaver in 1964 to devote full time
to administrative duties: he served as assistant principal and then as
high school principal from 1971 to 1978, administrative assistant
from 1978 to 1981, and as coordinator of secondary services. Another
item of Berdell trivia is the fact that the sport to which he
devoted the most years was not football but basketball: he was PIAA
cage official for 23 seasons from 1949 to 1972.
Most trivia experts know that Coach John
Berdell’s win streak of 25 straight games at Beaver Area High School
from 1961 to 1963 is the longest in Beaver County football history.
But did you know that he played inside linebacker and defensive end at Slippery Rock State
College? Before coming to Beaver in 1954, John coached football,
basketball, and track at McDonald Junior and Senior High Schools. John’s Beaver grid teams were known for strong defense and a
basic powerhouse offense that enabled them to pile up a 60-9-4
record from 1957 to 1964. Ironically, Beaver’s two best football
records during the Berdell regime were the perfect 9-0 slates
compiled by the 1961 and 1962 teams, when Beaver was lost in the
limbo of a WPIAL reclassification snafu and was ineligible for the
annual playoffs. The Bobcats were the Midwestern Athletic Conference
champions in 1960 and co-champs in 1964 and were WPIAL Class A
runners-up in 1960, losing to Sewickley Township High in a 13-7
thriller.
He ended his coaching career at Beaver in 1964 to devote full time
to administrative duties: he served as assistant principal and then as
high school principal from 1971 to 1978, administrative assistant
from 1978 to 1981, and as coordinator of secondary services. Another
item of Berdell trivia is the fact that the sport to which he
devoted the most years was not football but basketball: he was PIAA
cage official for 23 seasons from 1949 to 1972.