Pat Tarquinio has never been one to brag about his coaching accomplishments.

He always said the wins his Beaver High School teams accumulated were a direct result of the players' hard work and dedication, and the long hours his coaching staff put in developing a game plan.

He still believes that and said the honor he will receive Oct. 5 is as much a tribute to the players he coached and the assistants he worked with as himself.

The Beaver Area School Board voted Sept. 17 to name the playing surface at Gypsy Glen Stadium after Tarquinio. After Oct. 5, it will be Pat Tarquinio Field at Gypsy Glen Stadium.

"I know it's kind of a long name, but I'm honored," said Tarquinio, who coached the Bobcats from 1966 through 1999, compiling an impressive 242-101-11 record along the way.

His teams won WPIAL titles in 1972, '81 and '82 along with 12 conference championships. He had seven teams that went through the regular season undefeated.

Tarquinio's overall record -- he coached at Ellwood City before going to Beaver -- is 269-143-11. When he was forced out at Beaver, he was the winningest coach in the WPIAL.

Since then, Tarquinio has been an assistant at Hopewell High School. And while head coach Dave Vestal has done an outstanding job at Hopewell, Tarquinio has had an impact on the Vikings' fortunes.

There had been talk in the past about putting Tarquinio's name on the field or the stadium at Beaver, but nothing had ever come of it.

"I had no idea they were going to do this," Tarquinio said. "I had no clue this was coming. I guess they had it up on the school district's Web site, but I didn't know anything about it."

The reason the dedication ceremony will take place Oct. 5 is because Hopewell plays the previous night. Beaver will entertain Aliquippa that evening in an important Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference game, so a large crowd will be expected.

"They thought everything out well," said Tarquinio, who played at Stowe High School and is in the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Hall of Fame. "I'm really humbled by this."

A Beaver resident, Tarquinio resigned as Beaver's coach in March 2000 after being told by the school board at the time he could coach the Bobcats one more season and then would have to quit.

He didn't want to be a lame-duck coach.

Tarquinio had offers to coach the next season and turned down a number of them because he would have had to go against Beaver. He couldn't see trying to beat the team he once coached.

What's interesting is that since the 1999 season, he hasn't been back in Gypsy Glen Stadium for a Beaver game.

"My first couple years at Hopewell we went there and scrimmaged Beaver," he said. "And I've been at the stadium for other things, but not for a [Beaver] game. Of course, I've always been working Friday nights."

In his 70s, Tarquinio has no thoughts of getting out of coaching. Even though he isn't calling the shots, Tarquinio still enjoys working with high school athletes and believes he has a lot to offer.

"It's different because I'm not pulling the trigger," he said. "I make suggestions and give my input. Dave [Vestal] has been a great guy to work with and gives me a lot of responsibility. Still, it's different than being in charge."

When Tarquinio was guiding Beaver's program, the Bobcats were tough to beat. But he worried as much about developing character as he did winning games.

And while he had talented players such as John Skorupan, who went on to play linebacker at Penn State and in the NFL with the Bills and the Giants, and Jerald Ingram, who played fullback at Michigan, Tarquinio usually won with teams made up of ordinary talent.

"I'm glad you said that because I took pride in that we won with teamwork," Tarquinio said. "Everybody on the team had a hand in our success. That's something we stressed."

Since the news of the naming of the field for Tarquinio hit the community, he has received a number of telephone calls from former players and coaches congratulating him.

"I'm grateful to the school board and administration for doing this," he said. "A lot of people went into making the program a success when I was there ... players, assistant coaches, support staff. It's an honor."

One long overdue.