Scott Dennis has a lasting impression on Blue Jays
Scott Dennis hasn't roamed the sidelines of Blue Jay Stadium since 2021, but he's made a lasting impact.
Dennis coached the Blue Jays for six seasons and was at the helm when developing Jared Verse, the 19th overall pick in this year's NFL draft.
After two years as an assistant coach at Nanticoke, his alma mater, he was hired as head coach in February. He unfortunately never saw that opportunity come to fruition having unexpectedly passed away Tuesday night -- just three days away from the season kicking off.
Instead, shockingly, Dennis' last game as a head coach comes with the Blue Jays, a squad he coached to four straight winning seasons. He posted a 36-27 record with the Blue Jays, twice leading them to the District 4 Class 2A semifinals (2017 and 2019) and another appearance in the quarterfinals (2018). He also led Central to a 5-3 record in a pandemic-shortened season in 2020.
In addition to his time at Central, Dennis went 4-16 with Holy Redeemer in 2014-2015 and was a longtime assistant for legendary Berwick coach George Curry.
As news of his death spread, Central athletic director Kevin Morgan, in disbelief, could only think of the great person Dennis was to work with all those years.
"Scott was just such a great guy, great father, great coach. It's such sad news," Morgan said. "Scott was great to work with. I've been in the AD position for a little while, but bringing in a new coach with the heart and dedication that he had was great.
"My son was a ball boy when Scott was here. It was hard to tell my son that Scott passed away. It's tough on a lot of these kids. I had a lot of these other families reaching out and telling me what impact he had on them. He's just a great guy."
Most of the reactions Morgan has heard from others in the community are shock and disbelief. With the Blue Jays starting the season with two away games, Morgan hopes to have a moment of silence in Week 3 to honor Dennis, who Morgan says "was a big part of our program for many years."
"He took over when we were struggling a little bit and he brought a whole lot of pride in. We had a couple of really good years with him and some good players like Jared Verse and Trey Devlin," Morgan said. "He not only brought that dedication to practice and games, but to the boosters and the boys.
"He was in contact with them all the time and saw them play in college. He was a great all-around person."
Playing for Dennis
Nanticoke opens the season with a home contest against North Pocono. When administration and coaches met with the players Wednesday morning, there was no hesitation the kids wanted to play in honor of the 1988 graduate.
"Based on discussions with our coaches and players, we are going to move forward with our game on Friday night against North Pocono. Both the students and coaches wish to play the game in honor of Coach Dennis," a statement from superintendent Dr. Ronald Grevera said. "This is a very sad time for our football program as well as our entire Trojan Family, and we appreciate the support of both our GNA and surrounding community."
Nanticoke athletic director Ken Bartuska was "completely floored" when he got the news Tuesday night.
"I was relaxing, watching the Phillies game when Ron Bruza called around 8:30," he said. "I had just seen him at practice a few hours earlier and he was all energetic and fired up to be coaching the first game in a few days. Everything seemed normal."
The Trojans will play with helmet decals with Dennis' initials and won't hand coaching duties over to anybody this fall. Instead, each coach will assume their respective roles such as offensive coordinator Kirk Jones calling offensive plays and defensive coordinator Bob Ashton scheming the defense. They will also make the coin toss decision an in-house one.
"We can't replace him. He was a one-of-a-kind guy," Bartuska said. "We want to pick up where he left off, but we know that is going to be difficult to do. We couldn't have found a better guy for the job if we looked anywhere in the country. To have this happen is unbelievable."
Dennis' lasting impact will stretch beyond the football field, but it's no secret he loved what he did and having it all accumulate on Friday nights.
"You take a lot of pride in it, but it's very rewarding... to see the changes, and the culture changes, and see the smiles on their faces," Dennis told the Press Enterprise in 2016. "As a coach, the most rewarding thing is to see them smile, and everybody smiles when we're winning."
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Link to story: https://www.pressenterpriseonl...
