Coaches, players all thank Bucktail's Ransom | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

April 05, 2019 at 12:09PM

FARWELL — It was a who's who of Bucktail football as former coaches and players joined family and friends in thanking recently retired coach Bruce Ransom for his 25 years of dedication to the program, which included 16 years as coach.

Under the guise that he was attending a gender reveal party, the unsuspecting Ransom walked in carrying a case of water to see people that he has cared about all of his life or since having met through Bucktail. The surprise often moved him to tears throughout the afternoon.

Ransom's credentials will likely stay atop of many lists forever at Bucktail as the smallest public school to field a football team in the state seemingly makes that task for the Bucks more difficult by the year.

Some of those accomplishments include 2010 All-American Football League Sportsmanship Award; 2003, 2008, 2011 and 2013 All-American Football League Coach of the Year as well as hosting a 2011 playoff game, the only time in school history. The Bucks made the playoffs six times under Ransom as he posted a career 69-88 record.

Although the numbers speak plenty, they did little to measure the appreciation of what a room full of people understand all too well.

Coaching such a small school's football program is a monumental task, and even keeping a program going when injuries have forced the Bucks to finish with as small as a 13-player roster is something that a person has to experience to understand the tribulations.

On hand that day were former coaches and players that have lived the experience of coaching, where the size of your roster dictates every practice and every play that you run.

The smaller graduating classes at Bucktail have correlated to the smaller rosters for Bucktail athletics, but co-ops and consolidations have also seen many Bucks' opponents suddenly blossom into schools too large to compete with.

North Penn and Liberty were once two separate opponents but now make up one team. Same for North Penn and Mansfield. Many down seasons for the Bucks saw anticipation in playing East Juniata, typically a smaller program. East Juniata joined a co-op with the Midd-West School District making it AAAA.

Although casual fans and parents don't see the full spectrum of difficulties, Ransom's retirement party was filled with a room of people that have walked in similar shoes.

Former coach Bob Young, who himself could not be more beloved by alumni of Bucktail, said wins and losses are far from a fair measuring stick when it comes to coaching from such a small school.

"Bruce did a tremendous job for what he had to work with. I'm sure he's had a lot of sleepless nights and I'm proud of what you've done for our school," Young said in front of the 100-plus people to Ransom.

Former assistant to Ransom, Bill Penton, who's likely his best friend through his years of coaching, echoed Young's sentiment.

"Wins are hard to come by when your roster is so small, but the effort that Bruce got out of his players was unbelievable," Penton said.

"Opposing coaches always praised us following a game for what Bruce could get out of such a small team. Look around the room, look at all of the former players that are here today, that's how you measure success."

Tyler Barth, who had been an assistant principal at Bucktail and acting athletic director, talked about the time that he had to fill in for Ransom at a practice. Barth talked about the big plans that he had until getting to practice before realizing that the team couldn't even run plays with 11 players on offense and 11 players on defense.

Barth had first met Ransom while refereeing and spoke of how highly Ransom was appreciated by officials, approaching them before each game and wanting to know if a player was not conducting himself properly on the field.

Along with Penton and Young, Reed Morton, Tom Kerstetter and Puppy Shaffer's widow Barb were also in attendance. Ransom was afforded a unique opportunity, as people that coached him when he played for the Bucks either joined his staff or were always a phone call away. More recent assistants Bill Probst and new Bucktail coach Jared Hurlbert were also on hand as Bucktail principal Betsy Dickey led the banquet.

There were plenty of good-natured laughs, as well particularly when his formers coaches talked about Ransom's playing days. Coach Young said that he remembered Ransom being a "scrawny kid" that wanted to be a quarterback.

Penton said he vividly remembers Ransom running a bootleg as a sophomore quarterback and getting "crushed, demolished" on a hit. As Penton ran over to see if Ransom was all right, his quarterback looked through the ear-hole of his helmet and said excitedly "did you see the shot that I gave that guy?"

Ransom's wife, Maria, told how several years ago she began giving her husband a single rose before each game, in hopes that no players would get hurt. Maria, the cheerleading coach, would have the rose delivered game day via a cheerleader at the school. She said that people will never know what all her husband has done for players from washing uniforms, helping students often through church to have money for class dues, and even in one case helping find someone a date for a school dance.

Maria finished by giving Ransom his final rose, bringing him to tears.

When Ransom stood and thanked everyone for coming he went down the list of those in attendance. He directed many of his comments to the teachers that were on hand.

"Bucktail is the greatest place in the world. Seeing what a positive impact that we as educators and coaches have had on so many kids is such a bigger picture than a scoreboard could ever show," he said. "I am truly touched, humbled and blessed he added."

Although Ransom didn't actually say what his plans are in the fall as the Bucks take the field without him, but Barth offered his suggestion.

"Go and sit in the stands, look down on the field from the bleachers, the place where everyone knows exactly what to do."

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