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Peifer’s
pilgrimage
By
Joe
Guistina
The field looked different, that was for sure. Behind
him, a set of bleachers erected in 1998 transformed
David Person Field into one of the nicest facilities in the
small college football arena. Underneath him, the turf
surface replaced the grass in 2012. But there was also no
doubt that Peifer felt right at home.
Familiar faces soon gathered around him — his
teammate Mike Clark ’93, now the head coach of the
Warriors, dropped over to congratulate him before
Steve Wiser ’74 and Mike Weber ’89, longtime defensive
om Peifer ’95 walked along the edge of David Person Field, watching as the
Lycoming College football team practiced. If you looked closely enough into the
sunglasses that covered his face, you could see the pride and the memories flash
through them — Middle Atlantic Conference Championship seasons in 1991 and 1992,
NCAA Championship victories, the three touchdowns that he scored for the Warriors.
coaches for the Warriors, briefly left their huddles to seek
out the returning former player. Joe Lumbis, the long-
serving equipment manager, even wandered over to wish
him good luck.
As the whistles blew and footballs flew through the
air during the training camp workout, Peifer, an
offensive coordinator at Red Land High School and
a school nurse in the West Shore School District,
exclaimed that he was missing his own team’s camp and
he needed a football fix.
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LYCOMING COLLEGE 2016 SUMMER MAGAZINE
AT H L E T I C F E AT U R E