01/12/2026
Bio's for this year's Hall Inductees are below.
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The Hall of Fame’s annual induction banquet will be held Sunday, May 17, at the Indiana Country Club. Tickets will be available at a later date.
Following is a look at the Class of 2026, in alphabetical order:
LLOYD CLEMONS: The 1994 Indiana High School graduate rushed for 1,218 yards in two seasons at Michigan State, where he played for head coach Nick Saban. He started his college career at Rhode Island before moving on to Michigan State. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers and nearly made the team in 2000, and he spent one season on injured reserve with the New York Giants. He was the first player from Indiana High to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
DANNY FERENS: The 2012 Penns Manor High School graduate was a record-setting quarterback, a two-time all-state selection, a three-time all-Gazette player of the year and a catalyst behind 40 wins and the school’s only District 6 championship in football. He still holds the area record for career rushing yards with 5,594 and total offense with 7,828. He went on to Penn, where he was a four-year letterman and a member of two Ivy League championship teams.
JIM IRWIN: The longtime Indiana High track and field and cross-country coach established the first boys’ cross-country team at Indiana in 1966 and the first girls’ team in 1980 and went on to mentor several district champions and numerous state qualifiers and medalists, a state champion, a state runner-up and several athletes who went on to run at Division I schools. He also coached undefeated track teams in 1976 and 1981 and won Central-Western League titles in 1973, 1974 and 1979. Indiana won the District 6 team title in 1981, and he ushered the team into the WPIAL in 1986. He was the WPIAL coach of the year in 1999.
ANDREW KISH: A rare four-sport athlete and 13-time letterman at Laura Lamar High School, he started three years in football at running back and linebacker and was a two-time All-Gazette selection. He went on to IUP and led the varsity in rushing yards as a freshman before earning an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played fullback and linebacker. In 1963, Navy, behind quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach, ended the season ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. A knee injury prevented Kish from playing as a senior. An injury also limited him to one season on the academy baseball team. In high school, he was a three-year starter in basketball, a standout catcher in baseball who had a tryout with the Pirates and a runner on the track and field team.
FRED MITCHELL: A longtime coach at Penns Manor High School, he guided the track and field program from 1993-2012 and the cross-country program from 2000-2010 and made the Comets regular participants and medalists on the District 6 and PIAA level. He coached two Heritage Conference team champions in track — one boys’ and one girls’ — and the girls captured the Indiana County Meet title in 2012. In all, he led 27 athletes to the state meet and 14 to medals, including three state champions. His dual-meet record in track was 146-73.
BRIAN PIZER: No high school player in Indiana County has scored more points than the 2,294 the 2003 Saltsburg High School graduate scored from 2001-2003. As a senior, he scored 827 points, the fourth-most in area history, and averaged 29.5 per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor, a high number for a guard. He was named the All-Gazette Player of the Year after leading his team to the District 6 championship, its second in three years. He also was a rare freshman starter and helped the Trojans win a district title, its first of three in four years.
JEFF PUTT: The Indiana High graduate was a two-time wrestling All-American at Shippensburg University. He placed fourth nationally as a senior in 2000 at 125 pounds and seventh as a sophomore in 1998 at 118 and reached the national tournament as a junior. He recorded 105 career wins from 1997-2000, which remains fourth-most in program history, and he held the program’s fast-pin record of seven seconds at the time of his graduation. In high school, he placed sixth in the state at 119 pounds and won his match in the Dapper Dan Classic. He also was an assistant coach at Armstrong High School, Indiana High and Kutztown University and continues to coach youth teams in the area as well as officiate PIAA matches.
DAVE SMALL: A 1980 Purchase Line High School graduate, he began his coaching career in 1982 and was head coach at his alma mater from 2000-2012. He led his teams to Heritage Conference titles in 2001, 2006 and 2008 and reached the District 6 semifinals each season. He was twice named the All-Gazette Coach of the Year. After he left Purchase Line, he was a highly sought-after assistant coach at programs in the area. As a scholastic athlete, he was an All-Gazette selection in football and basketball and a state qualifier in track and field.
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