Bristol head football coach Leo Plenski has confirmed that he has taken the head coaching job at William Tennent.
“It’s pretty much a done deal,” said Plenski in a Feb. 13 interview.
All that remains is a Centennial School Board meeting approval that is supposed to take place Feb. 24.
Plenski takes over for Bob Rosenberger, who guided the Panthers the past two seasons.
The opportunity to coach a Quad-A team in the Suburban One League was just too tempting said Plenski, who graduated from Bristol High in 2005 then went on to play four years of collegiate football at Lafayette, graduating from there in 2009 after two years at right guard and two at right tackle.
“I always stress to the members of my team to never stop striving to be successful,” said Plenski. “I couldn’t pass up a chance to coach at the four-A level and in the Suburban One League, one of the best leagues in the state of Pennsylvania.”
“When the position became available I would have been stupid not to apply. When it was offered to me, I would have been stupid not to accept.”
A 2005 graduate of Bristol, Plenski led the Warriors for the past three seasons, taking a team that had gone 7-14 in its previous two campaigns with just six wins in the Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) and completely turned it around. Under Plenski’s guidance, Bristol went to the District 1 title game all three years he was head coach.
Last season, the Warriors went 9-4 including a 15-14 heartbreaking loss to Springfield in the Class AA championship.
Bristol captured the District 1/12 Class A title the two years previous with a win over Delco Christian in 2013 and another over Communications Tech in 2012. Both titles were won with comeback efforts with current quarterback R.J. Collins orchestrating the win over DelCo when he came in and replaced former QB Trevor Leone just before the half.
After two years working as an assistant, Plenski took over for former skipper George Gatto in 2012. When Gatto went out on medical leave, Plenski was given an interim title.
His first year at Bristol, Plenski led the Warriors to a 7-1 record in the regular season, their only loss to Communications Technical Charter. In the postseason, he led the Warriors to a 27-24 revenge triumph over Comm-Tech in the D-1/12 title game. He also guided Bristol to its first PiAA win in years when the Warriors won their 2012 state opener with Williams Valley by a 20-0 count.
The following season, Plenski was given the position on a more permanent basis and he led Bristol to a 10-2 record including a 19-6 win over DelCo Christian in the district title game and a loss to Schuylkill Haven in the opening round of states.
“We had a lot of success the past three years at Bristol,” said Plenski. “Hopefully, we can do the same thing up Street Road at William Tennent.”
The coach is thankful for the opportunity given him by his Alma Mater.
“I was 25 and I was head coach of a varsity football team,” said Plenski. “Not that many people in the whole country can say that.”
The coach says Gatto deserves some of the credit for his success.
“He taught me skills as a player and later on as a coach,” said Plenski, of his high school coach. “He taught me how to give back to the community and helped mold me as a person.”
As to who his replacement might be at Bristol, Plenski says he hasn’t a clue.
A member of Bristol High School’s Sports Hall of Fame, Plenski leaves the Warriors with a coaching record of 28-8 as a head coach.
He takes over a program that registered just six wins under Rosenberger, who when he first arrived, guided the Panthers to a 2-8 record overall while going 1-6 in the SOL National Conference.
Last season playing in the Continental Conference, Tennent went 4-6 overall, 2-5 in conference.
