Crouch

This is the fourth in a series of articles profiling the 2021 inductees into the Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame

JEFFERSON TWP — The Crouch family is taking up residence in the Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame.

Jen Crouch and her brother, Stan Crouch, have already been inducted. Now their brother, Mike Crouch, is joining them.

The latter, a former Knoch shot put record holder and standout football player, is among the seven comprising the 2021 HOF class. They will be inducted during the Knights' home football game against Freeport Sept. 3.

“This Hall of Fame is very special to me,” Crouch said. “I grew up here. I knew the words to the Knoch alma mater when I was 10. I still get goose bumps when I hear it played today.”

One of Crouch's football teammates, John Ivory, and their coach, Larry Kunselman, are also part of this year's induction class.

“Coach Kunselman is one of my favorite people in this world,” Crouch said. “He was intense, he was hard, but he made it fun. Football has to be fun.

“I've kept that in mind all the years I've coached.”

Crouch has been a varsity assistant football coach for six years. He coached for the Saxonburg Spartans for years before that.

He first got into youth coaching on the baseball side, coaching with good friend Rex Stobert.

“We coached a lot of the kids who wound up playing for that (Knoch) state championship team,” Crouch said of baseball.

A 1984 Knoch graduate, Crouch lettered three times in football and track and field. He was a fullback-linebacker as a sophomore, then an offensive-tackle-linebacker his final two seasons due to an ankle injury he suffered entering his junior year.

“I weighed maybe 210 pounds my junior year,” he said. “When I was at 225 my senior year, I was our biggest lineman.”

Crouch finished second in the conference MVP voting to teammate AJ Pagano.

He set the Knights' shot put record in 1983, hitting 54 feet, 9.75 inches. That mark stood for 30 years, until Jordan Geist came along and broke it.

Stan Crouch set the school's discus record and Jen Crouch was one of the best throwers in Knoch girls track history.

“Stan was my hero growing up,” Crouch said. “We were all six years apart, but it was always about winning in our house. That was the attitude.

“My mother (Verla) was the best horseshoe pitcher I've ever seen in my life. Whether my family was playing each other in badminton, croquet ... we're not talking friendly competition here. And my younger sister played harder than most guys.”

Crouch went on to play football at Phoenix Junior College in Arizona. He was a 230-pound nose guard his first year, then bulked up to 265 for his second season and was twice named Defensive Lineman of the Year.

He wound up receiving a scholarship to play football at Akron, but only played there for a year.

“My knee and shoulder got busted up and that was the end of that,” Crouch said. “But I have no regrets.”

Being a good friend of then-Knoch head coach Mike King, Crouch accepted an invitation to join the varsity staff as an offensive and defensive line coach. He coached under Frank Whalen and now current head coach Brandon Mowry as well.

“I do JV games on Saturdays, too, and I'm looking forward to those games,” Crouch said. “We've got a pretty good group this year.”