Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Lycoming Football - Mike Clark announces 2021 coaching staff

After the Lebanon Valley in 2019, "Celebration."

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – As practice commenced on Thursday, Lycoming head football coach Mike Clark announced the addition of four new assistant coaches for the 2021-22 academic year, as Greg Merchlinsky (wide receivers), Adam Gehr (outside linebackers), Jermaine Reyes ’15 (linebackers) and Ryan Bastian (tight ends) join the staff.

 

In addition, Karl Roberts (defensive pass game coordinator) and Mike Pearson ’91 (running backs) will return for their first full playing season this year.

 

Fourteenth-year head coach Mike Clark ’93 (offensive coordinator/offensive line) also welcomes back a corps of experienced coaches in associate head coach Steve Wiser ’74 (48th year, defensive coordinator/defensive line), assistant head coach Tim Landis (9th year, quarterbacks/special teams coordinator), Chris Kish ’12 (10th year, linebackers) and Andrew Wagner ’13 (3rd year, offensive line).

 

After three years at Muhlenberg College, Merchlinsky is set for his first year with the Lycoming College football team in 2021, working as an assistant coach with the wide receivers.

 

Merchlinsky worked with the tight ends at Muhlenberg in 2018-19 and the wide receivers in 2019. He helped the Mules reach the NCAA Championship semifinals in 2018 and quarterfinals in 2019. He also oversaw Muhlenberg's social media accounts.

 

A 2018 graduate of Penn State University, Merchlinsky served as a special teams intern for the nationally-ranked Nittany Lions for two years. Working alongside the special teams quality control coach, he analyzed film and developed scouting reports.

 

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism. The Mahanoy City, Pa., native played football at Mahanoy Area High School.

 

After 16 seasons at Hughesville High School, Gehr is set for his first season with the Warriors as an assistant coach in 2021, working with the outside linebackers.

 

Gehr served most recently as the head coach of the Spartans from 2018-20, but he worked as an assistant coach with the program from 2005-17, spending time with the linebackers and as defensive coordinator. During his time in Hughesville, he helped the team to 10 appearances in the district playoffs and three Heartland Athletic Conference titles.

 

A Lycoming County Juvenile Probation Officer, Gehr earned a bachelor of science from Mansfield University in 2007. He and wife, Jennifer, have three sons, Aiden, Brody and Dawson, and reside in Hughesville.

 

A three-year letterwinner as a linebacker for the Warriors, Jermaine Reyes will start his second stint as an assistant coach with the blue and gold in 2021, as he returns for his fifth year as an assistant coach with the program after working with the team from 2015-18. He will again work primarily with the linebackers.

 

Reyes worked as an assistant linebackers coach from 2016-18 and he served as a student assistant with the team in 2015 as he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in business management.

 

Reyes appeared in nine games as a senior in 2014, making a career-high 26 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. Reyes appeared in 24 career games with the Warriors, finishing his career with 46 career tackles and 5.5 for loss.

 

Bastian begins his collegiate coaching career with the tight ends at Lycoming in 2021.

 

Bastian has volunteered with the Loyalsock Little League and Pop Warner programs and with his alma mater, South Williamsport Area High School.

 

He most recently worked as an account sales manager with Red Bull in Pittsburgh. He earned a bachelor of Science in sports/entertainment/event management from Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) in 2018.

 

A native of South Williamsport, Bastian is engaged to Jamie Souls.

 

After three years as an assistant coach at Western New England University, Roberts stepped into his role as the defensive pass game coordinator at Lycoming in fall 2020.

 

Roberts helped lead Western New England to a 25-8 record from 2017-19 while winning three straight Commonwealth Coast Conference titles. He personally coached eight all-conference selections in the secondary and took on extra roles each season, jumping from just coaching cornerbacks in 2017 to the whole secondary in 2018 before taking on Director of Football Operations and Video Coordinator roles in 2019.

 

Roberts was a four-year starter at defensive back at Guilford College. The Charlotte, N.C. native was a two-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) selection and was a team captain as a senior. Roberts was also a member of Guilford’s 2015 squad that posted a program best 9-1 record. He also participated in the National Bowl senior all-star game.

 

Roberts earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Guilford College in 2017 and earned a Master of Arts in Sports Leadership from Western New England in 2020.

 

Pearson returned to Lycoming for a second stint as an assistant coach at his alma mater after working for six years as the head spring football coach at Chestnut Hill College. Pearson will work with running backs this season.

 

The 2021 season will mark Pearson’s 31st on the sidelines. From 2015-19, he started the sprint football team as the head coach at Chestnut Hill College, developing the team into a competitor in the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL), as his 2019 team posted a 5-2 record, the program’s third straight winning season. He finished his time at the school with an 18-15 mark as head coach, mentoring 51 all-conference selections.

 

Prior to that, Pearson worked as the defensive back, wide receiver, and tight end coach for Mansfield University’s inaugural sprint football program (2011-2013) before working with the defensive backs at Lock Haven University in 2014.

 

Pearson’s first stint on the Warrior staff came from 2001-07, when he worked as the wide receivers coach. He coached 10 All-MAC performers, five D3Football.com All-Region picks and three D3Football.com All-Americans: Sean McGinley, Sean Hennigar and Ricky Lannetti. He helped the Warriors to an appearance in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals in 2003.

 

Pearson began his career as the head junior varsity coach at Towanda Area (1991-93) before becoming the linebacker and wide receivers coach at South Williamsport Area (1994-96). He worked in California for four years, working as the defensive coordinator at 29 Palms (1997-98) and the head coach at Yucca Valley High School (1999-00) before joining the Warriors’ staff. Pearson was also the head coach at South Williamsport Area High School (2008-10), coaching the 2009 and 2011 District IV North All-Star Team in the annual Lions’ Club game and serving as the president of the District IV Coaches’ Association.

Pearson was a four-year letterwinner at receiver at Lycoming College from 1987-90, helping the team to 36 wins, two MAC Championships (1989 and 1990), two NCAA Division III Championship appearances and an appearance in the Stagg Bowl, the Division III National Championship game (1990).

 

He graduated in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and later collected a master’s degree in sport management from the University of California (PA) in 2007.

 

Pearson is a fifth-grade teacher at Connections Academy. He and wife, Malena ’91, have three children, Angelo, Beau and Mia.


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