Robert Kohler, Defensive Backs Muhlenberg College

Coach Kohler is one of the Lehigh Valley’s most respected football coaches who brings 38 years of experience both at the high school and college levels.  Most recently he has coached at Muhlenberg College for the past 23 years.  Along with his tenure at Muhlenberg, Coach Kohler has coached five years in the professional arena leagues in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Most recently, he has been named the head coach for the Lehigh Valley Storm of the GDFL.

At Muhlenberg College, Coach Kohler has been an integral part of winning:

• 11 Conference Championships
• 9 NCAA Division III play off games
• 3 ECAC Bowl Games

Coach Kohler is a retired public school teacher and administrator in the Allentown School District and presently works as an educational consultant along with his college coaching.  

 Darnell Stapleton, Former Pittsburgh Steeler OG and Offensive Line Consultant

Darnell Stapleton a current resident of Hackettstown, NJ spent three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing bothGuard and Center. While there, he started in 18 games including Superbowl XLIII during the 2008-09 season. Due to injuries he has chosen to retire from playing and to pursue a career in coaching. Prior to playing for the Steelers, Darnell attending Rutgers University where he became a stand out Center and was named a Rimington finalist for the top center in the nation. Most recently Darnell has helped coach MKA in Montclair, NJ to a 9-2 record, the best in the school’s history. During the off-season coach Stapleton helps top NFL prospects prepare for the combine and NFL mini-camps. He is also the head coach of the NY Sharks, a women’s professional football team.

Mark Duda, Head Football Coach, Lackawanna College

Mark Duda has been a member of the football staff at Lackawanna College since the introduction of the sport in 1993. After one season as defensive coordinator, Duda moved up to head coach and has compiled an impressive record of 107-54 while elevating the program to a position of national prominence. In his tenure at the college he has produced over 200 Division I Scholarship Athletes and has had three undefeated seasons. Mark has twice won North East Football Conference Coach of the Year honors. Under his guidance, Lackawanna College has appeared in seven bowl games and has been ranked nationally in recent years, highlighted by a No. 5 ranking at the end of the 2001 regular-season winning four championships in five years as a member of the Northeast Football Conference. One of the many beneficiaries of Duda’s vast knowledge of football is Bryant McKinnie, who was selected in the first round (No. 7) of the 2002 National Football League Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. McKinnie played at Lackawanna in 1997 and 1998 and went on to The University of Miami ( Florida) where he was the recipient of the prestigious Outland Trophy and a consensus All-American offensive lineman. A 1979 graduate of Wyoming Valley West High School in Plymouth, PA, Duda earned a football scholarship to the University of Maryland after an outstanding career with the Spartans. As a Maryland defensive lineman, he set a single-season school record with 13 sacks in a season and is tied for second in Maryland school history. Duda later starred in the National Football League, spending six seasons with the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals. Mark also served on the coaching staff of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers entry in Arena Football League 2 in 2002. Coach started his coaching career as the Defensive Coordinator for Meyers HS in 1992 and was the Defensive Line coach at East Stroudsburg University in 1990. He was inducted into the University of Maryland Wall of Fame in 1994 and a year later was inducted into the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sport Hall of Fame.

Ryan Ditze, Head Coach Phillipsburg High School

Head Coach Phillipsburg High School

Ryan Ditze, a two time All-American wide receiver, was inducted into Albright College’s Hall of Fame in 2007 as the school’s all-time leading receiver.  He holds Albright receiving records in receptions, yards, and scoring.  In 1996, he captained Albright to an MAC Championship and into the NCAA Division III Elite Eight in the national playoffs.

Following his career at Albright College, Ryan was signed by the Hildesheim Invaders of the European Football League and played professionally in Germany for a season.  After coaching tight ends at Albright College for a season Ryan returned to his home town in Phillipsburg, NJ.  He now has 12 years of coaching experience at the varsity level.  In his coaching tenure at Phillipsburg he has been both an offensive and defensive coordinator.  Coach Ditze has been an integral part of the 4 NJSIAA state championships and 5 conference championships Phillipsburg has won over the past ten years.

Charles Grande, WR and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Lackawanna College

Coach Grande has been associated with Lackawanna College’s football staff since the college made its debut in the sport in 1993. Coach Grande has had a very successful career as the receivers coach with many of his athletes earning scholarships to the Big 10, SEC, ACC, and other division I, II, and III programs nationally. Coach also serves as the head strength and conditioning coach at Lackawanna College. He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the NSCA and utilizes cutting edge techniques to create programs that enable his athletes to transition into 4 year programs

Bo Orlando, Former NFL Defensive Back (Oilers, Bengals, Chargers, Steelers)

Bo Orlando is respected as one of the greatest football players in Pennsylvania’s storied football history. He was an All-State player at Berwick High School and later went on to become one of the greatest defensive backs in West Virginia University history. Bo led WVU to an undefeated season and a national championship game appearance against Notre Dame during the 1988 season. Upon graduation, Bo was the 157th pick in the 1989 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers. Bo played 6 seasons with the Oilers and later played briefly with the Bengals, Chargers, and Steelers. Following his 10 year NFL career, Bo began coaching and is currently the defensive backs coach at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, PA. He is respected as one of the best clinicians in the country and travels nationally to work with the country’s finest prospects at various camps.

Tom Perkovich, Muhlenberg College Offensive Coordinator/O Line Coach

Tom Perkovich is in his seventh season at Muhlenberg. Perkovich returned to the Muhlenberg staff on a full-time basis in 2006, coaching the offensive line and serving as the team’s strength coach. He was special teams coordinator in 2009 and assumed the role of offensive coordinator for the 2010 season.

Perkovich returned to the Muhlenberg staff on a full-time basis in 2006, coaching the offensive line and serving as the team’s strength coach. One of Perkovich’s linemen earned first-team All-Centennial Conference honors each of the last three years. The Mules had a whopping 8:30-plus average time of possession edge the last two years.

Perkovich was running backs coach in 2003 and 2004, helping the Mules to consecutive Centennial Conference championships. Six different backs recorded 100-yard games in his two years, and one became the program’s all-time leading rusher and scorer.

After leaving Muhlenberg, Perkovich furthered his experience at two Division I schools. He was tight ends coach at College of the Holy Cross for the 2005 season and running backs coach at Colgate University in the spring of 2006.

A native of Tonawanda, N.Y., Perkovich was an all-star offensive lineman at Canisius College, earning second-team mid-major All-America honors from Football Gazette as a senior. He played in all 42 games during his four-year career, starting the final 31, and also was a four-year letterwinner in basketball.

Trey Brown, Muhlenberg College Special Teams Coordinator/QB’s Coach

Trey Brown came to Muhlenberg in 2010 after four seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Lehigh University. The Mountain Hawk offense scored 30 or more points 15 times during his tenure and led the Patriot League in scoring in 2006, when its quarterback was named to the All-Patriot League first team.

Brown coordinated an offense that averaged 32.3 points in league games in 2008 and 27.3 points in 2009. Lehigh scored more than 80 percent of the time it reached the Red Zone both seasons, including a Patriot League-best 87.9-percent efficiency in 2008.

Before coming to the Lehigh Valley, Brown spent one year with the tight ends and four with the wide receivers at the University of Pennsylvania, where he coached the two most prolific receivers in program history. The Quakers were a combined 40-9 during Brown’s stint and won Ivy League championships in 2002 and 2003.

Prior to his arrival at Penn, Brown spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford University. Brown was part of the 1999 staff named the coaching staff of the year by the Pacific-10 conference after that squad captured a Pac 10 title. The Cardinal boasted an offense that was recognized in the top 10 nationally, and the team appeared in the 2000 Rose Bowl.

A native of Longmont, Colo., Brown earned his bachelor’s in marketing from the University of Colorado in 1993.