Mercer athletes receive honors

Mercer County grabbed its share of honors in the Associated Press Class A all-state football team awards.

Mercer High linebacker Justin Angermeier grabbed a first-team defensive berth while Farrell’s Jake Hartley nailed down a second-team berth as a specialist.

Jeremiah Young, a junior at state champion Steelton-Highspire, was named the player of the year. He rushed for a state-best 3,334 yards and scored 41 touchdowns.

Angermeier was also a running back for the Mustangs this year and he could have been named a first-teamer on offense just as easily. He rushed for 1,895 yards, 23 touchdowns and 140 points. He was a real workhorse. He’s not a vocal standout, but one who teaches by example. He was one of the team leaders this season for Coach Pat McClearn.

Defensively, Angermeier’s statistics were just as impressive. He made 123 tackles (52 solos) and three quarterback sacks.

Hartley was “Mr. Everything” for first-year Steelers coach Jarrett Samuels. He was a running back, returned punts and kickoffs, played quarterback, slot, receiver, almost everywhere.

The outstanding senior rushed for 536 yards and three touchdowns, made 26 catches for 484 yards and six TDs. He scored nine touchdowns overall and 58 points. He was also a team leader and a standout in the classroom as well.

Clark enters hall

When Jim Clark played his football for Jim Wildman at Sharon High, he was a polished young player. In his senior year (1989) he powered the Tigers to a 10-0-0 regular season, the first unbeaten season at Sharon since 1966. In his junior year, he directed the Tigers to the Keystone Football League Championship and into the District 10 finals.

Clark took his talents to Ohio Wesleyan University where he was a standout and a starter for four years. He was recently inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

While competing with the Bishops, he captured All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors three times. His passing was tremendous as he ranked third in the NCAC each of his first three seasons, ranking fifth in total offense as a junior.

His senior year, he was second in passing in the NCAC and helped create Wesleyan history when he rushed for 115 yards against Wittenberg, breaking the school record as three Bishops reached 100 yards rushing in one game.

He threw touchdown passes in his first four games that season, extending his streak to 16 games in a row.

Clark showed career marks of 41 TD passes, and 5,192 total yards which set school records.

A 1994 OWU graduate, Clark lives in Hickory, N.C.

Three to enter Mercer hall

Ken Palmer, Art Amos and Kelly Jones will be inducted into Mercer High’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 2.

Palmer, a posthumous inductee, was boys and girls basketball coach at Mercer. He served as the Mustangs coach from 1967-73 when he compiled a record of 94-65.

His 1970-71 team posted a record of 24-3 and lost to Midland in the Western Regional Final. He taught health, physiology and psychology at Mercer for 31 years before retiring in 1990.

Amos and Jones are both being inducted for their basketball and football achievements.

Amos was a two-year starter for Palmer and was on the team that lost to Midland. His senior year he was co-captain, the team’s second leading scorer and was a first team All-MCAC selection. He also played on the 1971 Mustang football team that went undefeated (9-0-0) and won the Tri-County League championship.

Jones was the leading scorer on the 1970-71 basketball team and a standout wide receiver and defensive back on the football team that went 7-1-1. As a three-year starter in basketball, he scored 880 points to put him 14th on the school’s all-time scoring list. During his year’s as a starter Mercer went 48-23. He is basketball coach at Greenville High School.