1970's

(Click on year to view more information, year denotes season not graduation year)

1970 A Tale of Two Seasons: 

When the 1970 season began with five victories in a row, expectations were high for something special. However, lady luck was not to shine on T.J. this year as the team lost it's last four games ending the school's three consecutive seasons as conference champs. Still, performances by players such as John Yogan, Bert Bartko, Leonard Kushner and Gary Reed were bright spots.

1971 Jaguars Make First WPIAL Championship: The 1971 Jaguars were one of the finest teams in Thomas Jefferson history.  The team went a perfect 9-0 during the regular season shutting out 6 opponents along the way, and 5 of those shutouts were in the first 5 games.  This was a record for the most shutouts in TJ history.  They would ultimately lose to a tough  Kiski Area  High School in TJ's first visit to the WPIAL championship.  The leaders of this group included Jimbo Cramer, Scott Livingston, “Butch” Hines, “Skeeter” Grant, Steve Koontz, the speedy Danny Crisp,  Neil Watko, Denny Jacobs, Jeff Steltzer, and the bruising John Harchar.

1972 Jaguars Dominate, But Fall Short of Goal:  The 1972 Jaguars fresh from the previous season's WPIAL championship loss had high hopes to return and secure the WPIAL crown.  They  almost went undefeated, until a loss to Monessen late in the season ended their championship aspirations.  The team included All-American John Harchar, Dan Crist, Mike Ricci0, and Dennis Jacobs.

1973 High Flying Jaguars Narrowly Miss Playoffs:  The Thomas Jefferson Jaguars were sailing through the regular season compiling an 8-0 record behind the passing of Keith Potts and running of John Hyland and Rock Lindsey when they were upset in the season finale, thereby narrowly missing the playoffs.   The Jaguars began the season by posting an 8-6 victory over Ringgold, which incidentally was led by a quarterback named Joe Montana...

1974 Collision Course with Monessen is Set, Again:  In what seemed like a broken record, the Jaguars needed a late season win over rival Monessen to gain access to the playoffs.  That  night the Jaguars would lose on a late fourth quarter touchdown, thus ending their season.  The season displayed the tough running of Rick Leaman, and the passing of Tim Yanik with two swift receivers in Gary Gomolak and Dom Withers.  Defensively the unit was one of the best in school history, allowing a meager 5.0 points per game and recording 4 shutouts.

1975 Jaguars on the Prowl: The 1975 Jaguars finished 7-2 under head coach Bap Manzini, narrowly missing the conference crown due to a couple of early season losses to Monessen and Charleroi.  The team would rebound behind one of the best defensive efforts in TJ history (5.1 ppg).  TJ's teamwork, a unifying force with the "12th Man", stunned the WPIAL and the Big Ten Conference.

 1976  Jaguars Fight Hard in Tough Big 10: The 1976 Jaguars were looking to regain a spot at the top of the extremely competitive Big Ten Conference, but lost a few key contests against Belle Vernon and their arch nemesis Monessen.  The season was interrupted by the the teacher strike of 1976, but the team faced the adversity head on.  The team was led by Jesse Cramer, Paul Lawson, Dennis Ray, and Dave Guba.  

1977 Jaguars Finish Out of the Playoffs: The 1977 Jaguars led by head coach Bap Manzini may have been one of the best teams never to make the playoffs in TJ history.  They fell short during the final game of the season in one of the greatest games in the history of Thomas Jefferson Football to none other than Monessen High School.  The Jaguars were led offensively by Jim Giansante who broke the all-time single season rushing record, as well as the touchdown mark.  At quarterback was Bill Krahe with his terrific ball handling, and the offensive line was relentless.

 1978  Jaguars Are Young and Hungry to Prove Themselves: The 1978 Jaguars lost 25 starters from the previous season, and returned only 15 seniors.  The team fought hard the entire season, and finished with a terrific 7-3 record, 7-2 in the tough Big Ten.  The tough running of Dan Bonovich and a young Darnell Stone carried the offense with Quarterback Dan Greer at the controls.  The defense was tough and allowed less than 10 points per contest.

1979 Jaguars Rebound, Make Playoffs: 

The 1979 Jaguars led by Coach Bap Manzini, finished in second place behind Belle Vernon in the Big Ten Conference with an overall 9-1 record.  In 1979 the Jaguars finally reappeared in playoff competition after many years of being so close. This was made possible when the WPIAL playoff system expanded to include more teams. The Jaguars had now gone through an amazing 15 consecutive winning seasons under Coach Manzini.  After securing a playoff spot the team would lose to a tough Mount Lebanon team in the first round.