[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13153]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING INDUCTEES INTO THE SOUTH JERSEY FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 2013

  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the seven new members 
of the South Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The 
inductees were Reggie Lawrence, Phil Costa, Todd McNair, Brian Matera, 
Arnold Byrd, Mike McDevitt, and Jim Doyle.
  Reggie Lawrence has been a high school coach for sixteen years and is 
currently coaching at Willingboro. He has rebuilt the Willingboro 
program, which previously had a 0-10 record, into a local power which 
last year qualified for the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs. Mr. Lawrence 
has earned more than 100 victories during his coaching career at 
Camden, Pennsauken, Jackson Liberty, and Willingboro. Coach Lawrence 
has not only had an extremely successful coaching career, but he was 
also a star athlete at Camden High School.
  Phil Costa starred at Holy Cross High School and was named to the All 
South Jersey team. He later excelled at the University of Maryland and 
now plays for the Dallas Cowboys. He started in every game for the 
Cowboys in 2011 and was one of the best centers in the NFL. Although he 
was injured for the majority of the 2012 season, he recently signed a 
two-year contract extension and will be back on the field for the 2013 
season.
  Todd McNair played at Temple University and then professionally for 
the Houston Oilers and the Kansas City Chiefs. In his career, McNair 
caught 254 passes with seven receiving touchdowns, and rushed for 803 
yards and three touchdowns. He also averaged 18.6 yards per kickoff 
return. McNair ranks in the top 20 among Chiefs receivers with over 
1,800 receiving yards. After retirement from professional football, 
McNair coached at Camden High School and was the running backs coach 
for both the Cleveland Browns and the University of Southern 
California. During his time at USC, he was widely recognized as one of 
the most effective recruiters in college football.
  Brian Matera is one of Pennsauken's legendary players. He was the 
Indians starting linebacker for three years, earned All South Jersey 
honors, and was nominated by Scholastic Magazine as an All American.
  He also played for the University of Maryland in three bowl games. In 
1980, he even earned a tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles. Tragically, 
Brian Matera passed away in 1990 but his accomplishments will not be 
forgotten.
  Arnold Byrd earned the Oaks Award, one of the highest academic awards 
for a male student. He was also a member of the National Honor Society, 
and made All State and All South Jersey for football. He received both 
athletic and academic scholarship to Rutgers and in 1960 he was 
recognized as their most valuable football player.
  Mike McDevitt is known as one of South Jersey's top coaches. He 
currently serves as line coach at Haddonfield Memorial. He was 
previously an assistant line coach at Cherry Hill East, Pitman and 
Gloucester Catholic dating back to 1987. Coach McDevitt also served as 
Gloucester Catholic head coach from 1989-1993, making two appearances 
in state championship games.
  Finally, I would like to personally congratulate Jim Doyle, a dear 
friend and coach of my Alma Mater, Triton Regional High School. I am 
pleased to honor Coach Doyle for his distinguished service as coach and 
athletic director. For 35 years he coached football and track at 
Glassboro, Lenape, and Triton. As football coach, he earned a career 
record of 91-63-7 at Glassboro and Triton, including a perfect 8- 0 
record in the 1968 season at Triton. Two of his top high school players 
went on to play football at the collegiate level for the University of 
Virginia and Rutgers University.
  Mr. Speaker, the contributions of these seven inductees to the 
football community and to South Jersey should not go unrecognized. I 
join all of South Jersey in expressing our gratitude for Reggie, Phil, 
Todd, Brian, Arnold, Mike, Jim, and their families as they celebrate 
their induction into the South Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall 
of Fame.

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