OJR football icon Hank Bernat dies at 90
“We were winning by three scores, so Coach pulled me out of the game and put other guys in. Somebody mentioned to him the fact I was about 40 yards short of a school record.
“Hank wasn’t one to put kids in to break records. But he said, ‘Okay, put him back in.’ I ran the ball one more time, got the record, and he took me back out.”
Glanski (Class of 1981) was part of the 1980 team that shared the Ches-Mont League championship with Spring-Ford after both lost their respective Thanksgiving Day games with Pottstown and Boyertown.
Bernat played a part in Glanski becoming a coach in later years. Part of that went back to how the Roberts staff influenced the players’ mindset.
“The first thing I think about was the pride he instilled into us as players,” he said. “He made us proud of ourselves, proud of our teammates and proud to put that red helmet on and step out onto field. That permeated into the program and carried into the school and community.
“He and his staff had a lot do with me choosing direction I wanted to go. It was a wonderful playing experience. I knew how much they all helped me, ... if I could pass on doing the same thing, that’s how I wanted to end up.”
A funeral mass will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 212 Dayton St. in Phoenixville on Tuesday, February 4, at 10 a.m.
Visitation will be from 6-9 p.m. Monday at The R. Strunk Funeral Home in Phoenixville, and on Tuesday from 8:30-10 a.m. at the church.