He’s back.
About a month after stepping down as Cedar Cliff’s head varsity football coach, Jim Cantafio has landed on his feet.
The director of football operations at Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster has a new coaching gig:
Cantafio has been approved to become Lancaster Catholic’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coach Bruce Harbach.
“Jim is an outstanding, creative football coach,” Harbach said. “He’s an excellent quarterback coach and he has an outstanding knowledge about the game of football in general. We’re thrilled to have him.”
Cantafio compiled a 262-98-2 record as a head coach, with stops at Conestoga Valley, Wyoming Valley West, Wilson and Cedar Cliff. He is a Pennsylvania Football Athletic Association Hall of Fame member.
Harbach was a wide receiver coach under Cantafio for five seasons at Wilson.
Now Cantafio is coming to Lancaster Catholic to assist under Harbach.
“I’m excited about the opportunity I have at Spooky Nook, and now being able to coach at Lancaster Catholic, it’s just a perfect fit,” Cantafio said. “Lancaster Catholic is a 5-minute drive from my home, which is convenient, and now I’ll get a chance to do what I really love to do: be an offensive coordinator and coach quarterbacks.”
“And,” he continued, “I don’t have to worry about the outside influences of being a head coach.”
Harbach, whose team is set to join L-L Section 2 this fall, bopping down from Section 1 after a 2-year cycle, said he’s been using parts of Cantafio’s offensive schemes the last couple of years.
“I’d say about 80 percent of what we’re already doing is his,” Lancaster Catholic’s coach said. “Hey, any chance I’ve gotten over the years to pick his brain, I do it.”
Now he can do it in the same coach’s office at Rossmere Stadium.
“I’ve retired as a head coach,” Cantafio said. “But I’ve not retired from being a coach. Coaching is in my blood. It’s what I do. This will give me an opportunity to work with quarterbacks; it’s a balance between Spooky Nook and Lancaster Catholic, which makes this a perfect fit.”
Harbach concurred.
“Jim has always wanted to get back to coaching in L-L Section 2,” he said. “Now he’ll get that chance. He coaches with a great deal of passion and enthusiasm and he’s just a really, really good teacher of the game of football.”
“I’ve always wanted to get back to the L-L League,” Cantafio said. “My heart has always been in the L-L League, and I think everyone knows that. The L-L League is where I started, and it’s where I hope to end my career.”