CRANBERRY TWP — Virg Palumbo went the extra mile for his son's football team.

Actually, he went a lot farther than that.

Palumbo's son, also named Virg, is in his third season as a head coach for the Seneca Valley Junior Football Association of Cranberry Township.

The elder Palumbo, 61, a resident of Windber, Somerset County, made the drive to watch his son's team every week in the autumn of 2005.

"I told him that he needed to do something with his team's defense," Palumbo said to his son. "And he said, 'Why don't you coach the defense?'"

The younger Palumbo may have made the comment with tongue in cheek, but his father took him up on the offer.

Starting in the summer of 2006, Palumbo drove from Windber to Cranberry Township five days every week to the SV Tomahawks practices. His grandson, Tony, was a member of the team.

"I'd leave Windber at 3 p.m., drive 2Z\x hours to the practice and leave for home at about 9 p.m.," said Palumbo. "I did that every weekday during the summer practices. Then, once the season started, I'd do it four days every week.

"The cost of gas didn't hurt me as much as the stops at Dairy Queen," he said with a smile. "But it got to the point where I was spending about $50 every day."

But the relationship Palumbo was able to create with the team's players made the long trips well worth it.

"He's been around kids his whole life as a coach and educator," the younger Palumbo said of his father, who was Quigley Catholic's first football coach in 1970 and also was an assistant coach at Johnstown High School in the 1970s. He recently retired as principal at Windber High School. "The players on my team just loved him."

"The terminology I use with these kids is no different from what I'd use on a high school team," the elder Palumbo said. "I don't water it down at all. Am I teaching these kids something? I believe I am. And the kids are eager to learn."

The Tomahawks went an undefeated 7-0 during the regular season last year before falling in the playoffs.

To make things easier on himself and his wife, Lorraine, the elder Palumbo decided to rent an apartment this fall in Green Tree, where they currently spend five or six days per week. A trip that used to take him five hours roundtrip now takes less than an hour.

"I could see myself moving out here for good," said Palumbo.

Sports are second nature for the Palumbos. Virg and Lorraine's sons, Virg and Chris, played football at the Naval Academy and St. Francis (Pa.), respectively. Their daughter, Sarah Beth, is a former captain of the University of Pittsburgh cheerleaders.

The younger Palumbo has moved up a division and is now coaching the SV Chiefs, a squad of 10 and 11 year olds that includes his son. The elder Palumbo is right there on the sidelines coaching the defense at every practice and game.

"Number one, I get to be with my grandson on a regular basis," said the elder Palumbo. "Two, I'm coaching my grandson and three, I have the opportunity to coach with my son. It's an experience I'll never forget."