Dating all the way back to his playing days at ELCO in the early 2000s, when he and his Raider teammates were busy putting the school’s football program on the map, Joe Thomas has always been a “we” guy, not a “me” guy.
Today, almost a quarter century later, not much has changed for Thomas.
With the exception of the fact that he has long since traded in his ELCO blue and gold in favor of Bishop Guilfoyle’s school colors of purple and gold and the pursuit of section and district titles for the annual pursuit of a state championship.
Thomas, with his biggest contribution yet, recently helped District 6 power Guilfoyle to its fifth state title in the last 10 years with a 41-22 win over Port Allegenie in the Class A title game at Cumberland Valley.
Guilfoyle previously captured state titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2021, and this year did it again in Thomas’s first as defensive coordinator.
“We were 6-5 last year and went 14-1 this season,” said Thomas, an assistant at Guilfoyle since 2012. “It was fun. These kids came back from losing to Bald Eagle in the first round of the (district playoffs) last year. It was exciting. The kids were hungry. They didn’t like the losing. They wanted to keep up the legacy and the tradition. It was fun. The whole ride was pretty fun.”
In a way, Bishop Guilfoyle’s turnaround mirrored the ELCO resurgence that Thomas was a part of in 2000 and 2001.
Thomas was a linebacker and productive and effective receiver out of the backfield for those two ELCO squads, coached by Mark Evans and quarterbacked by Zack Kulp, that followed up a 1-9 1999 season with consecutive district playoff appearances, including a title game berth in 2002.
In addition, Evans, now the highly successful head coach at Manheim Township, was provided with coaching role models like defensive coordinator John Carley, offensive line coach John Wetzel, and Thomas’s older brother and longtime assistant Skeeter Thomas.
“I think just the game-planning part,” Thomas said of what he took with him from ELCO into his coaching career. “I think just the experience of that, my junior and senior year, that playoff push that we had.”
And if you prod him just slightly, Thomas will name his biggest coaching role model.
“I think probably my brother, Skeeter,” he said. “He started at the junior high level when I was there, then he went to varsity, and he’s been there ever since. He’s probably the role model that I followed, just the way he interacts with the kids. That’s what I wanted. That’s what I carry with me now.”
And like all good assistant coaches, Thomas is confident in his ability to run his own program, he’s just not sure that he wants to. Part of that is the comfort level he enjoys with longtime Guilfoyle head coach Justin Wheeler, and part of that is just an assistant’s desire to remain largely anonymous and spend time with his family, wife Carleen, son Ty, and daughter Madison.
“I do, but I don’t,” he said with a chuckle when asked if he had any interest in being a head coach. “I’m having fun with what I’m doing now. I like working for Coach Wheeler. I think he’s one of the best in the state. If he were to step down, I don’t know what would happen. I’d never say never, I guess. But I’ve had calls and never really acted on any of them.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified ELCO’s offensive line coach. We sincerely regret the error.
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