Butkus leaves Montour

With the Montour Spartans eliminated from WPIAL playoff contention, Dick Butkus has left the team featured on the ESPN reality series, "Bound For Glory."

The Hall of Fame linebacker and star of the reality series told Montour players on Thursday night - a day before the Spartans' 34-3 loss to New Castle - that he wouldn't be finishing the season as their "head coach."

"His contract was for eight weeks, and that was the eighth week," said Lou Cerro, who was hired as coach by Montour in February but stepped aside for Butkus in August. "He won't be here this week."

Cerro added that ESPN has left behind a "skeleton" camera crew to tape the Spartans' remaining regular-season games against Blackhawk and West Allegheny. Montour is 1-6 overall and 0-4 in the Parkway Conference.

Cerro laments that Montour could have been bound for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs had the Spartans won their close games. They lost by eight points to Elizabeth Forward, seven to Chartiers Valley, four to Moon and three to Ambridge.

"We were 22 points away from being 5-2," Cerro said. "That's how close we were. If we would've won one of those close games earlier, we could have turned the corner. Now, we have to go back to square one."

Even though Butkus had a limited role in day-to-day coaching duties and had choice words for the Montour players - often challenging them to stop being "losers" - Cerro called the show a "great experience."

"I thought it would be disruptive, but it really hasn't been," Cerro said. "As the weeks went on, he became more comfortable with everybody and started putting his two cents worth in. He started doing more coaching, especially with the linebackers and defense.

"Butkus didn't want to lose. He was getting frustrated. He did say he wished he was here earlier, so he could have come in and worked with everybody two or three days a week instead of coming in cold."