Dave Bodolus blazed an unimaginable path at Daniel Boone
2026 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
He didn’t know it at the time — no around Birdsboro did it, either — but Dave Bodolus and Daniel Boone football were the perfect match.
For decades the Blazers were an also ran, a blue collar team that came up with an occasional inspired upset but never made a serious run at a title.
Bodolus, a chip-on-his-shoulder type of guy with a hard hat mentality, relished the challenge of changing their fortunes.
“That fits my personality,” he says. “I don’t like being the favorite. The idea of building something from the ground up appeals to me.”
The Blazers had gone 13 seasons without a winning record when Bodolus was hired in 2003. It wasn’t long before people in the Boone community, and around the Inter-County League, realized there was a new sheriff in town.
Midway through his first season the Blazers took Muhlenberg — the I-C standard-bearer at the time and headed to its third straight Section 1 championship — to double overtime.
Notice was served.
“That was kind of a wake-up call,” Bodolus says. “(After that we knew) this could be something (special). That (game) made everybody (in the program) realize that with hard work, anything’s possible.”
Even though Boone lost to the powerful Muhls 41-34, the game served as a springboard for what would become the glory days of Blazers football. They went on to finish 6-5, the first of nine straight winning seasons that saw Boone reach unprecedented heights and establish Bodolus as one of the greatest coaches in Berks history.
| Class of 2026 | |
| Gooch Adams | Wilson |
| Dave Bodolus | Daniel Boone |
| Chuck Brice | Holy Name |
| Pete Gilmore | Wilson |
| Nate Romig | Daniel Boone |
| Dr. Randy Yocum | Sch. Valley |
He’ll be honored for his run at Boone when he is inducted into the Berks County Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame on June 6, along with Gooch Adams, Chuck Brice, Pete Gilmore, Dr. Randy Yocum, and Nate Romig, one of the pillars of the program he built.
Bodolus developed a track record at his alma mater St. Pius X, which he led to a 1999 Pioneer Athletic Conference title and the PIAA Class AA semifinals two years later.
Boone players were aware of that success and bought in quickly to Bodolus’ methods.
“Dave brought a different sense of culture into the program,” Romig recalls. “He let us know pretty quickly: ‘We’re here to work.’ And if you didn’t you weren’t part of the team. That was the tone he set.”
Bodolus moved quickly. He developed a strong rapport with seniors looking for a fresh start — John Bokosky, Shawn Early, Dave Reed, and others — brought Chris Bokosky back into the program to play quarterback, and installed Romig as his workhorse tailback.
That first season the Blazers set a program record for scoring and reached the Eastern Conference playoffs, their first postseason appearance.
A year later they won the Section 2 title, their first championship since 1966; matched the program record with eight wins; and qualified for districts for the first time.
By Year Four the Blazers won 10 games, shared the Section 1 title with Governor Mifflin, and won their first district playoff game.
The program continued to get stronger and stronger, culminating with an 11-2 record and another Section 1 title in 2010, and a 10-2 record the following year, Bodolus’ last.
“I didn’t know how long it would take to get everything in place,” Bodolus says, “but we had a special group of people come together and that made everything possible.”
Over nine seasons Bodolus’ teams won 79 games, shared three section titles, won opening-round district playoff games six straight years, and reached the district semifinals three times. He was named Berks Coach of the Year twice, Section 1 Coach of the Year twice, and finished with a .738 winning percentage, currently ninth-highest in Berks history.
Bodolus recorded eight district playoff wins at Boone, none more eye-opening than the 14-12 quarterfinal over Harrisburg in 2010 — on the Cougars’ home turf, no less. Harrisburg, coached by the legendary George Chaump, saw its final hope stamped out when Zack Robinson came up with a sack on a two-point conversion attempt with 1:04 remaining.
Bodolus, a record-setting defensive end at Ursinus, coached everything at Boone – special teams, offense, defense – but he was especially adept at developing quarterbacks. Jon Monteiro, who set the Berks single-game and single-season passing records, and Casey Smith were All-State picks. Chris Bokosky is No. 3 in Berks in all-time passing yards. Tommy Bodolus, Dave’s oldest son, ranks among Berks’ greatest dual-threat quarterbacks.
“We were never the biggest or most-talented team, so we felt we had to be well-balanced,” Bodolus said. “We had to be able to throw the ball.”
The Blazers’ success before and after Bodolus illustrate his impact.
In the 14 seasons before he arrived they won 47 games, with one winning season. In the 14 seasons since he left they have won 42 games, with three winning seasons.
Bodolus produced nine All-State picks over nine seasons. In Boone’s other 58 seasons it has produced just three.
The wins were no doubt important to Bodolus, as fiery a competitor as you’ll ever meet. They aren’t paramount in his memory of that era.
“It’s the relationships with the players,” he recalls. “I remember the kids who didn’t have all that God-given talent but just worked and worked, and by their senior years ended up passing any expectations I had. Those are the special things for me.
“I thought I was gonna be at Pius forever. I grew up right down the street. When that came to an end, I felt terrible. I realize now that was a blessing; I was meant to be at Daniel Boone.”
