It didn't take much to sell Lou Pukal on the University of North Carolina.

Having a former Freeport Yellowjacket wanting you to come down sealed the deal.

Pukal, who graduated from Freeport in 1964 following a stellar football career as a lineman, spent his next four years in Chapel Hill.

"I loved the area. I visited the school and fell in love with it. I was recruited by Bud Carson, who was an assistant at North Carolina.

"(Former Highlands coach) Tim Karrs and I came down together," Pukal added.

The athleticism and success Pukal enjoyed at both institutions is the reason for his induction into the Armstrong County Hall of Fame next month.

"The things that stood out were the esprit de corps, the hard work, the people you knew and played with," said Pukal. "We had a good team at Freeport. It was a good experience.

"At North Carolina, you lived with someone for four years. You form real good bonds. We still have reunions a couple times a year," Pukal added.

Pukal, 58, of Summerfield, N.C., was an all-star lineman and team captain for the Yellowjackets and a spot in the WPIAL Big 33 game was only one of the honors he received.

After getting a scholarship from North Carolina, Pukal was a three-year letter-winner for the Tar Heels. He was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference honor roll on two occasions.

"I started half of my sophomore year and my junior and senior years," said Pukal. "We were mediocre. We won some big games and that was about it. We did beat Ohio State and Michigan."

Pukal earned his degree in health and physical education in 1968 and followed up with a master's degree in school administration in 1970.

After spending a year as a teacher in Greensboro, N.C., Pukal and his wife, Rosemary, moved to Virginia.

He spent four years at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Va., then spent the next three years at the newly-built Chantilly High, where he also was the head football coach.

He had stints as a track coach and spent one year as a golf coach as well.

From there, Pukal spent the next 24 years as the director of student activities at Herndon High School, but was not permitted to coach because of his administrative role.

When Pukal retired in 2000 from Fairfax County Schools, the Herndon High School field house was named in his honor.

"That was a shock," said Pukal. "We had a banquet and I didn't realize it. Fairfax County has 26 high schools. I appreciated it. They probably don't realize who that guy is now since I don't live there anymore.

"I still go back for a football game in the fall while I visit my daughter," Pukal added.

The Pukals have two children, Marianne, 27, who lives in Washington D.C., and son Andrew, 25, of Chapel Hill.

Pukal still finds his way back to the Freeport area a few times each year to visit his mother, Wilma, who resides in Sarver.

Pukal will be joined by fellow inductees Elmer Morgan, Vince DeVivo, Don Olshansky, Richard Greenbaum, Gene Nicholas Lazaroff, Dale Schrecengost, Terry Claypool and Jonathan Blanciak.

The ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. April 24 at Laube Hall in Freeport.