Story byThe Times-Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)Bill O'Boyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Mon, February 16, 2026 at 2:17 AM UTC·4 min readFeb. 15—In September of 2021, a reunion was held to remember a great team, a great game, and a great coach. The members of that great team that gathered 55 years after that great game were the Coughlin Crusaders. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe great game was played on Thursday, Nov. 24, 1966, against another great team — the Kingston Huskies. The great coach who guided the Crusaders, Joe Moran, passed away this week at the age of 92. The reunion was an opportunity to celebrate that victory once again, but it was more of a tribute to Coach Moran — yes, a great football coach, but more importantly, a gentleman and a real role model who lived an exemplary life. The newspaper report of the Wilkes-Barre Record said, "Kingston put on a tremendous second-half surge, but fell short of its mark, as the fired-up red and blue-shirted Crusaders of Coughlin High School mustered a 20-19 victory yesterday for the Wyoming Valley Conference Championship."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCoach Moran and several of his former players from that 1966 Wyoming Valley Conference Championship football team attended the reunion — about 40 team members, coaches, and guests — to celebrate their victory over Kingston on Thanksgiving Day, Nov.
