By Mark Carpenter-

Serious football fans will recognize the importance of a place called Beaver Falls, Pa. For those who don’t know, Beaver Falls is the home of NFL Hall of Famer “Broadway” Joe Namath and as of Feb. 5, one of Adams County’s own will be spending time on the gridiron in Beaver Falls.
In a ceremony held at Manchester High School on Feb. 5, Greyhounds’ senior Wes Jones inked his letter of intent to continue his football career at the next level, signing with Division III Geneva College, which just happens to be located in the hometown of “Broadway” Joe.
How does a young man from Manchester end up playing football in Pennsylvania?
“I’ve played the game of football since I was in the second grade,” said Jones. “I fell in love with the game the moment I stepped on the field and felt the rush and it was my goal, actually more of a dream than a goal, to play college football because not many people around here get to do that. I started to get some offers during my junior year and it then it started to become more of a goal than a dream. I checked out a lot of schools but when I stepped on the campus at Geneva, I felt like I was home. Everything just felt normal for me.”
“I was looking up Chemical Engineering programs about a year ago and I can across this school that was based on faith and that was just super cool to me. They had the program I wanted and they had football and it all just kind of fell into place. The coaching staff hasn’t really told me what position I might play, it just all depends on how things fall into place with seniors leaving and freshman coming in. I visited the campus last July and met everyone and they liked me and after that, I just fell in love with the small town and the small campus.”
Manchester head football coach Dustin Cook does an outstanding job with the young men in his program and it is always a thrill to see one of his troops head on to the next level of competition.
“Wes was one of those staple guys in our program over the last four years and he’s been one of our constants throughout the summers with his work ethic as he has developed over that time,” said Coach Cook. “He matured into a real leader of our football team last year. He started at center for us and it is always great to see kids rewarded with the opportunity to play at the next level, especially someone who has worked as hard as Wes has.”
“Wes always put his teammates first and he’s an all-around great kid, and we wish him nothing but the best as he represents Manchester. For myself and our coaching staff, we couldn’t be more proud of Wes and we know he will give it everything he has day in and day out. His signing kind of sets a precedent for our other kids that hard works pays off and hopefully they will be rewarded with an opportunity just like Wes was.”
The Geneva College “Golden Tornadoes” are a Division III member of the President’s Athletic Conference and they are coming off a 2-8 season under head coach Geno DeMarco.
While at Geneva, Jones plans to major in Chemical Engineering and minor in Psychology, with the hope of someday entering the field of Medicine.

In a Feb. 5 signing ceremony, Manchester senior Wes Jones signed his letter of intent to continue his football career at the collegiate level at Geneva College in Pennsylvania. Pictured above at the ceremony are: Front row, from left, Shannon Jones (mother), Wes Jones, and Chad Jones (father); Back row, from left, MHS Head Football Coach Dustin Cook and MHS Assistant Football Coach Nick Neria. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)