Former Parkland football player and coach John Marcante was recently inducted into the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Marcante is a 1977 graduate of Parkland High School where he was an All-Lehigh Valley League football selection in 1975. He was named to the Pennsylvania Football News list of top 100 players in the state for the 1976 season in which he served as team captain.

He graduated from East Stroudsburg University in 1981, during which time he was a 1979 All Pennsylvania Conference selection as a defensive tackle. In 1981, as an offensive tackle, he was chosen All Conference First Team, ECAC First Team and Associated Press All American Honorable Mention while serving as his team's captain.

Marcante's coaching career highlights include being an assistant coach at Parkland High School during District 11 championship seasons in 1996, 1998, 2002. He was part of the PIAA Class AAAA state championship in 2002 when he served as Parkland's offensive run coordinator for a team that had over 5,000 yards rushing for the season.

Mercante also served stints as an assistant coach at Whitehall, Northampton, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic and Allentown High School. Marcante started the weight program and powerlifting team at Parkland, where he was the coach from 1994 to 1999 and again from 2002 to 2003. His teams weight-lifting teams won several championships.

After college, Mercante had a tryout with the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League. teams.

Mercante and his wife, Lynda, reside in Allentown. They have three sons Anthony, Jason, and Nicholas.