A Visit with former WPIAL champion football player Eric Kasperowicz


Background Info: According to his WPIAL Hall of Fame bio, Kasperowicz was on the Parade All-American team in 1994 that included only eight quarterbacks across the country. One was Peyton Manning. At North Hills, Kasperowicz was one of the best all-around players in WPIAL history. He had 6,869 career yards and also had 20 career interceptions as a defensive back. He is still among the top 20 passers in WPIAL history with 5,500 yards (330 of 581 attempts). He also rushed for 1,369 yards and had an unforgettable senior year, leading North Hills to WPIAL and state championships. He completed 164 of 274 for 2,781 yards, rushed for 837 and intercepted 14 passes. And late in the state championship game, he threw for a 28-yard touchdown fourth-and-goal and then ran for the two-point conversion in a 15- 14 North Hills win. After high school, Kasperowicz went on to play linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition, he is the only WPIAL quarterback to also coach a team to WPIAL and PIAA titles.

Eric Kasperowicz on his WPIAL playing experience.
"To be honest it was form 1990 to 1994 and it was all I knew. There wasn’t’ the internet or social media and only the newspapers and that’s where you got all the information outside of you and that was about it and that was the world. As far as we knew, the WPIAL was the best thing in the world. They didn’t come up with a state championship until 1987 or 88 and, as far as we were concerned the WPIAL was the best around. The we won the WPIAL my senior year and moved on to the state and, at that time, it was a little creepy because all we knew was the WPIAL championship. To go on and win the state championship and we ended up winning that and pulling it out, too. At the time, it didn.t seem like it was that big of a deal. The WPIAL was king."

Eric Kasperowicz’s thoughts on playing for legendary coach Jack McCurry.
"Jack was awesome and I still think he’s one of the best all-time. Obviously I learned a lot from him, I played under him for four years as a quarterback and I coached under him for 10 years, so we had a nice career. Jack was the ultimate motivator and he would never be unprepared. Kids loved to play for him, he got the best out of you and, like I said, his preparation was the best I’ve ever seen."

Eric Kasperowicz on the one moment that really stands out for him as a player.
”There’s probably too many to list, but the one moment that stands out is kind of the trust (Jack) had in me. In the state championship game, we scored to make it 14-13 and there’s about 10 seconds left in the state finals and we had the chance to tie it or go for two and win it and he simply asked me, ‘What do you want to do?,’ and real calmly I said ‘Let’s go for the win,’ and he said, ‘Okay, let’s do it,’ and kind of asked me what play I thought, asked me my opinion and I said option to the right and it was more of a trust thing and something I’ve carried into my coaching career.”