Grassi

Penn Cambria moved forward with its high school varsity football program on Tuesday night by reaching into its past.

Jason Grassi, the head coach at Penn Cambria from 2013-2016, was approved by the school board to succeed Nick Felus, who resigned last month to take the head coaching job at Neshaminy.

Grassi, 47, was on Felus’ staff last season when the Panthers won their first-ever district title.

“It took a little while to think about (applying for the position),” Grassi said. “Our staff — we have a pretty good staff — we talked about if one of us took over and maintained the consistency with the program. And I thought I would be the one, and everyone was behind me.”

Grassi was a classmate of Felus at Penn Cambria, graduating high school in 1996. He and Felus also played together at Lock Haven University, where Grassi was a defensive lineman.

Grassi held assistant coaching positions at Bethany College, Lock Haven and Portage High School before joining the Penn Cambria staff as a junior high coach in 2009.

He was an assistant under Ernie Fetzer and interim coach Tony Tomaselli — his high school coach — for the PC varsity team in 2012 before getting hired as the head coach in February 2013.

Grassi’s teams went 13-28 during his four seasons as head coach before resigning after a 4-6 2016 season, saying then, “I gave everything I had to Penn Cambria. I didn’t get the results I would have liked. I wanted to give someone else a try.”

Grassi eventually joined Felus’ staff at Altoona Area High School for one year and stayed at Altoona when Vince Nedimyer Jr. took over as coach. He then rejoined Felus at Penn Cambria last season as a defensive line coach.

In six years, Felus built a program at Penn Cambria that became a perennial participant in the District 6 Class 3A championship game. After losing to Central in the 3A final in 2021, 2022 and 2023, the Panthers beat Central in the semifinals and Tyrone in the championship game this past season.

“Nick laid the foundation,” Grassi said. “He and the staff the last six years have built the ‘mountain mentality’ — that’s our motto — and we want to continue pushing it and building on the success and keep the program going with what we have coming back.”

Grassi, a teacher at Penn Cambria Elementary School, was approved at a stipend of $6,498.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Grassi, an alumnus of our program, as the new head football coach,” Penn Cambria athletic director Kate Little said. “Coach Grassi not only brings valuable experience and leadership on the field, but he is also committed to fostering a strong sense of community both within our school and beyond. We look forward to his leadership and the positive impact he will have at Penn Cambria.”

Grassi said most of the staff will stay intact with Sean Davison, Brent Davison, Brandon Nicodemus, Andrew Tomaselli and Dontae Lilly returning. He said the team has continued with its “March Madness” workouts, and that should help make an easy transition with him taking over as head coach.

“You always learn from all your coaching stops and different coaches you work with,” Grassi said. “I learned a lot from Vince and Nick, and I’m always trying to improve. Being away from the head coaching position, you see what things worked well and things you can do differently. I feel I’ve matured as a coach and person, and I want to utilize that and continue to take the program where it’s been headed.”

Grassi, his wife, Bridget, and stepsons Brady, 23, and Brennen, 19, live in Altoona.