Coach Manzini Prepared Players Mentally and Physically

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Bellmar High School's 1959 football team had an abundance of talented players, but the Hurricanes also were led by Bap Manzini, one of the most successful head coaches in WPIAL history.

Lou Comadena also recalled Manzini that way and lauded him for the way he and his assistants -- Jim Hoffman, Tom Banjor, John Trivonovich -- prepared the team mentally and physically.

"Bap trained us to be tougher than our opponents on both sides of the ball," Comadena said. "That meant being quicker and stronger and also out-thinking them. That was a big factor all season. We scored a lot of points on touchdowns, but we had a high number of blocked punts, fumble recoveries and …