top of page

Cradle of tight ends

Venango County has produced three tight ends who have played Power 5 football in the last 50 years.

BFB214CB-EAA0-4DBF-AE81-ABCF0FDFD761_4_5005_c.jpeg
Lou Fogle, Franklin, Clemson
Image 108.jpeg

Fogle (6-2, 225) was a tight end in high school, but played wide receiver in college, appearing in 30 games at Clemson. In 1964, he signed with the Montreal Alouettes and saw limited action for the Quebec Rifles and the Richmond Rebels that season. From there, he became a highly successful high school coach (Hall of Fame, Coach of the Year) in the Carolinas, using the "BFS" program -- bigger, faster, stronger -- to transform weak programs into powerhouses. His teams at 4A Asheville, NC.,  won 213 games. Another at Dorman High School in South Carolina went 41-18 in 3A and was a state runnerup. 

ByhamPitt%20shirt_edited.jpg
Nate Byham, Franklin, Pitt
8EC7A343-AD25-4DBA-94DF-CA7AB232B3C4.jpeg

Known mainly for his blocking, Byham (6-4, 268) caught 11 passes for 83 yards in 29 games for San Francisco and Tampa Bay before a knee injury cut his pro career short. Byham was a sixth round draft choice out of Pitt. He then embarked on a college coaching career and is now offensive coordinator at Stanford.

Image 107_edited.jpg
Ben Koyack, Oil City, Notre Dame
Image 106.jpeg

A seventh-round draft pick, Koyack's four-year pro career was with one team -- Jacksonville. The 6-5, 258-pounder caught 25 passes for 208 yards in 48 games for the Jaguars. He had two memorable moments, the first with Notre Dame when he caught the game-winner in a 17-14 victory over Stanford in 2014. Then in 2018, his fourth down catch from Blake Bortles snapped a 3-3 tie in an NFL playoff game. (His high school career also included a dramatic game winner. It came against Sharon in his home finale. )

ABOUT THIS SITE

If you are from Anywhere, USA, and happened to stumble upon this site, Franklin and Oil City are about eight miles apart along Route 8 in Venango County, Pa. -- which is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Erie in the western part of the state.

​

yardsandpoints.com (formerly venangofootball.com and then route8rivalry.com) covers the grid doings of Oil City and Franklin high schools in Venango County. It also includes the football histories of the two schools, which date back to 1896, along with that of (RIP) Venango Catholic (nee Christian and formerly St. Joseph in Oil City), which dropped the sport in the 1990s. I've recently included more stuff on basketball as well as the doings in other sports.

​

Former Derrick sports editor Penny Weichel is webmaster.

​

Contact pennyweichel@gmail.com if need be.

bottom of page