Armstrong County Sports HOF: How Freeport grad Huth ran to history
Jack Huth openly admits he didn’t believe he was ready to carry the load for Freeport’s varsity football team when the 1973 season began.
That year, Huth was a 130-pound sophomore tailback in Freeport’s run-heavy, I-formation offense. He spent the first few series in the season-opener against Mars on the sideline.
“Our starter wasn’t doing his job very well,” Huth said. “Our head coach, Don Earley, came over to me on the bench and said: ”Huth, get in there!’
“I didn’t even know the plays. When I got the ball, I waited until I saw the legs and butts of our linemen start moving before I really got going.”
It was a meager beginning to what turned out to be a historic career at Freeport. Huth went on to gain over 1,200 yards as a sophomore, finished up two years later with over 5,000 and graduated in 1976 as Freeport’s all-time leading rusher.
He will be inducted into the Armstrong County Sports Hall of Fame at Freeport’s Laube Hall on April 27.
“We had a damn good offensive line, good fullbacks and a good quarterback,” Huth said. “We had a lot of great players.”
Under Earley’s guidance, the Yellowjackets had become a WPIAL power long before Huth began dressing for varsity. The latter’s ability to pile up yards in bunches helped the team continue that dominance.
In his three years of being the focal point of the running game, the ‘Jackets went 23-5-1 and reached the WPIAL Class A championship in 1974 against Albert Gallatin.
Bill Dillen was an assistant coach during that time and remembers the qualities that made Huth so effective.
“He had the ability to cut and make people miss, but he wasn’t afraid to run right into guys,” he said. “I had several players from opposing teams tell me that Jack was one of the toughest kids they faced.”
Huth was named to the Small School All-State team as a junior after rushing for over 2,000 yards. He was named All-Conference three consecutive years and credited Freeport’s coaching staff with creating an environment in which the players put the team first. The group included Earley, Dillen, Gary Kepple and Tom DeFilippi.
Earley earned 200 wins while coaching at several schools, including Freeport, where he remained through the 1985 season.
“His demeanor, he was very supportive,” Huth said. “He left a mark on us that we carried into our lives. He cared about his players and it was more than what happened on the field.”
Huth retired last year from his job as an electrical engineer. He lives in Slippery Rock with his wife of 40 years, Beth. The couple has a son, John.
“I’m very happy to be going into the Hall of Fame,” he said, “but I tell everybody that it’s not about me. It’s about the whole team, players and coaches.”
