On November 4, 1983, Brian Lewis helped Mount Union finish its football season with a performance that went well beyond his usual assignment as a receiver. Against Huntingdon at War Vets Field, he caught nine passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jack Fortney. All of that came in the first half.
The Trojans won 26–7, completing an 8–1–1 season and a three-year stretch of 24 wins, three losses and one tie. The next day's Daily News devoted both game coverage and photographs to the victory. One image showed Lewis making a 23-yard touchdown catch with Huntingdon's Scott Walters defending.1
A familiar target in No. 15
For the player wearing No. 15, it was a fitting finish. Lewis's career totals—88 receptions, 1,904 receiving yards and 25 touchdown catches—lead the career receiving categories in Mount Union's compiled football records. His 11 touchdown catches in 1983 share the listed single-season mark with B.J. Loner's 2014 total.2
Lewis could make an impact on the other side of the ball, too. In the October 14, 1983 game at Towanda, he caught nine passes and recovered two fumbles, returning one 54 yards for a touchdown. Mount Union lost that night, 27–18, but Lewis's contributions as a receiver and linebacker stood out in the newspaper account.3
His next football opportunity recognized that defensive ability. In July 1984, The Daily News reported that the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Mount Union graduate had been selected as a linebacker for the West team in the Big 33 Classic at Johnstown's Point Stadium. He was preparing to report to Virginia Military Institute the following month.4
Five sports, nine letters
Football supplied the records, but it did not define the limits of his high school athletic career. Lewis earned nine letters across five sports. He went 21–10 as a junior wrestler and won an East Sectional championship. As a senior basketball player, he appeared in all 28 games for a 19–9 Mount Union team. His baseball years included the Trojans' 1981 District VI-AA championship and 1982 state-semifinal season. In track and field, he became the ICC scoring champion as a senior.5
The 2026 Daily News Hall of Fame profile adds the personal connections behind that versatility: different sports brought different coaches, teammates and challenges. Lewis attended VMI on a football scholarship, spent two years on its football team and earned a track letter. He later transferred to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a criminology degree.6
Service and a return to coaching
His Hall of Fame biography records a 25-year career with the Pennsylvania State Police, from 1988 to 2013. Football remained part of his life. A 1999 Daily News article identified the state trooper as Juniata College's tight ends coach. By 2006, Mount Union's preseason coverage named him defensive coordinator on head coach Dave Hummel's staff.5,7,8
In 2026, Lewis joined the Huntingdon County Sports Hall of Fame. His story reaches from championship teams and receiving records to police work and teaching another generation of players. The familiar No. 15 photograph captures one part of that history: a young Trojan whose contributions extended across seasons and continued long after his final high school game.
Sources and records
- The Daily News, November 5, 1983, printed p. 4: Huntingdon game account and photographs.
- Mount Union football-record compilation, BrickTownPA local athletics archive. Career rankings refer to this compilation; the 11-touchdown season mark is shared with B.J. Loner (2014).
- The Daily News, October 15, 1983, printed p. 4: Towanda game account.
- The Daily News, July 13, 1984, printed p. 4: Big 33 selection and VMI plans.
- Huntingdon County Sports Hall of Fame, Brian Lewis biography, supplied to BrickTownPA.
- The Daily News, June 12, 2026, Hall of Fame profile: college career and retrospective account.
- The Daily News, August 28, 1999, p. 4: Juniata College coaching.
- The Daily News, August 31, 2006, printed p. 10: Mount Union defensive coordinator.
Published October 21, 2026. Game details follow contemporary newspaper accounts. Photographs are undated.