Central Valley coach Mark Lyons remembers Jordan Whitehead’s breakout play like it was yesterday.
Seven years have done nothing to blur the memory of Whitehead, then a freshman, returning an interception 99 yards for a touchdown against New Castle.
“I looked at our coaches and I said ‘You know what, we’ve got something special,’ ” Lyons said.
The moment came about a year after Robert Foster helped Central Valley win a WPIAL championship in its first year of existence after Monaca and Center high schools merged in 2010.
After successful Warriors careers, Whitehead, a two-way player but primarily a defensive back, went on to play three years at Pitt, and Foster, a receiver, went on to play at Alabama, redshirting his freshman year and suffering a season-ending shoulder injury early in his sophomore season.