From Black Bear to Buckhorn to Golden Bear, Wallenpaupack’s Joe DeFebo signed his letter of intent on Wednesday to continue his football playing career with the Kutztown University Golden Bears.

“I was nervous,” said DeFebo about leading up to his decision to commit to Kutztown. “A little stressed out at the end, and then when I made my decision all the stress went away.”

DeFebo has racked up numerous accolades playing for the Buckhorns, and is a two-time Class AAAA All-State selection as a running back. In his career he has accumulated 5,457 rushing yards, a school record, and is fourth All-Time in the area’s prestigious rushing list.

“I learned so much here at Wallenpaupack with the coaching staff. Discipline, hard work, hopefully it will all pay off in the next four years,” he said.

The decision to play for Kutztown, wasn’t an easy one, but after meeting with the team, and Head Coach Raymond Monica, and realizing he would have the chance to start as a freshman in the PSAC League, it became clear to him last Friday that that is where he wants to play.

“I want to play. I didn’t want to sit out (a year) and the PSAC is a good league. They (Kutztown) lost their senior tailback and they have an entire offensive line coming back, and their quarterback,” he added.

Kutztown is about a two-hour drive from the Shores of the Big Lake, just far enough, yet close enough to be able to visit with family and friends, and have them be able to continue watching him on the gridiron, another aspect that made the decision a little easier for him to come up with.

“It’s close to home. The campus is nice, a little bit like around here with a little more action going on,” said DeFebo. “It’s going to be different being out there on my own and I’ll have to balance my time well between my class work and playing football, but I’m excited.”

Buckhorn Head Coach Mark Watson is happy for DeFebo and feels the school is a perfect fit for the running back.

“To me, I thought that was the best fit for him. Their senior running back is leaving and I think Joey is a perfect fit into that mix,” added Watson. “The education he’s going to get, It’s just a great fit for him. I’m very happy that’s the school he selected.”

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