JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

JIM CANTAFIO IS EPHRATA’S FINAL FOOTBALL-COACHING CANDIDATE, AND HIS NAME WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD ON MONDAY NIGHT, THE NEW ERA HAS LEARNED. BUT IS IT A DONE DEAL? 

Will Jim Cantafio be Ephrata’s next head football coach?

Or will the former embattled Conestoga Valley, Wyoming Valley West and Wilson coach resurface in another District 3 locale?

We’ll find out soon.

Pending school board approval, Ephrata is set to name Cantafio as the Mountaineers’ football coach, the New Era has learned.

“We’re still in the process of discussions,” Ephrata School District Director of Community Relations Stephanie Gingrich told the New Era.

But according to sources close to the situation, Cantafio is the school’s final candidate, and he will be recommended to Ephrata’s school board for a final vote on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Highland Elementary School in Ephrata.

While Cantafio’s goal has always been to come back to the Lancaster-Lebanon League — particularly to Section 2, where he molded CV into a powerhouse in the 80s — his name is linked to a few other jobs around District 3.

Cedar Cliff, which competes in the rugged Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference, along with heavyweights Harrisburg, Cumberland Valley, Bishop McDevitt, Altoona and State College, has a vacancy, has solid facilities, and would love to make a big splash in the coaching department.

According to a source, Cedar Cliff will hold its final round of interviews later this week, in hopes of presenting a final candidate to the school board for its meeting on Feb. 21.

Cantafio’s name has come up during Cedar Cliff’s interviewing process.

And another L-L League program, Reading High, has a vacancy, and the Red Knights are a Quad-A team that compete in Section 1, and Reading High is close to Cantafio’s home in Berks County, making that an attractive job.

Reading High, which needs to replace Victor Brown, who stepped down last fall after four seasons, just recently posted the job opening and is still accepting applications.

But the only coaching job on the table is Ephrata, which, according to sources, does not have a teaching job to go along with the football coaching duties.

So Cantafio could have a decision to make if more than one school courts him.

If he gets board approval, accepts Ephrata’s offer and becomes the Mountaineers’ coach, Cantafio would replace Ken Grove, who retired last fall after 18 seasons on Ephrata’s sideline.

Grove guided the Mountaineers to an 81-102-3 record, but Ephrata never won a section title or advanced to the district playoffs in that span.

Cantafio has had two successful coaching stints — but two abrupt departures — in the L-L League.

In his 15 seasons at CV, he led the Buckskins to a 125-45-2 record, including six Section 2 championships, a pair of District 3 Triple-A titles, and to a runner-up finish in the state Triple-A championship game in 1991.

Cantafio also coached eight Big 33 participants, two All-Americans and 11 All-State selections while at CV.

He resigned his post at CV after the 1994 season when, according to CV’s school board, a student accused Cantafio of sexual harassment. No charges were filed.

According to a published report, Wyoming Valley West officials said Cantafio was accused of, “making a few inappropriate, off-handed comments to two female students,” while at CV.

After a 27-9 stint in three seasons at Wyoming Valley West, Cantafio coached for eight seasons at Wilson, where his teams went 69-19 with four section championships and four trips to the district playoffs, including a Quad-A championship in 1999.

It was at Wilson where Cantafio coached perhaps his most prized pupil, quarterback Chad Henne, who just completed his senior season at Michigan. He was a four-year starter for the Wolverines, and will very likely be a high pick in the NFL draft later this spring.

Cantafio resigned his post at Wilson after the 2005 season. Wilson’s school board accepted his resignation in August of 2006 after Cantafio had been on suspension since that May. The grounds for that suspension were never disclosed.

Cantafio’s attorney, Kevin Moore, told the Reading Eagle, “We’re not at liberty to discuss the matter. Jim is very pleased with the successful resolution of this personal matter.”