Stan Crouch

This is the first in a series of six articles profiling the 2017 Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame inductees.JEFFERSON TWP — It's easy to be overwhelmed by the numbers.Stan Crouch put up plenty of them during his football and track and field career at Knoch High School, but those aren't the numbers he's talking about.The 1978 Knoch graduate will be among six inductees into his high school's Sports Hall of Fame prior to the Knights' home football season opener Sept. 9.“This school has been in existence since 1958. That's almost 60 years,” Crouch said. “When you think of all of the athletes in different sports who have been in and out of here during that time ... This is only the third induction class of our hall of fame.“To just think I'm one of the first 16 or so athletes to be inducted, I relish that honor.”He deserves it, too.Crouch was a starting fullback-linebacker on the first Knights football team to reach the WPIAL playoffs. That 1976 season began with a 15-14 loss to Freeport and was followed by eight consecutive regular season wins.Knoch allowed just 37 points in the final seven regular season games that year.“We put up rushing numbers that season that still might be school records,” Crouch said. “Mike Kunselman and Jeff Griffin rotated plays in at halfback and both rushed for more than 1,000 yards that year. I probably ran for more than 700.”The Knights dropped a 19-0 decision to eventual WPIAL Class AA champion Farrell in the first round of the playoffs.“I remember how excited everyone was around school that we got there,” Crouch said of the playoffs.Despite a couple of injuries that shortened his senior season, Crouch was named first team all-conference and was nominated to play in the Big 33 game.In track and field, he repeatedly set the school discus record while younger brother Mike owned the shot put record. Their sister, Jen Crouch, owned the shot put and discus records at Knoch.“Mike and I held those boys records for more than 30 years,” Crouch said. “Of course, Jordan Geist has shattered both of them.”Crouch went on to play football at Clarion State College and was part of the Golden Eagles' 1980 team that won the PSAC title and reached the national semifinals. Crouch was a starting inside linebacker on that team.“I couldn't have played for two (football) coaches who were any more different,” Crouch said. “Tim Karrs was our coach at Knoch and he was always fired up, always hypered.“Al Jacks was our coach at Clarion, a very laid back guy. If you were looking for a rah-rah type of pep talk, you didn't look his way. I respect both guys a lot for the records they were able to put up.”Crouch will be inducted into the Knoch Sports Hall of Fame with his niece, 1994 graduate Hope McCorkle.“This is a big deal for our family,” he said.Crouch, who turns 57 next month, runs operatios for Miller Information Systems in Allison Park. He and his wife, Beth, were high school sweethearts.