When we talk about the history of Woodland Hills football, we can go on forever.

Steve Breaston. Rob Gronkowski. Jason Taylor. Shawntae Spencer. Lousaka Polite. Ryan Mundy. Miles Sanders. The list of great athletes who have come through that area is ridiculous.

Woodland Hills became one of the great talent-producing high school football programs in Western Pennsylvania. But sometimes when a school district becomes that successful, we forget about the history that existed in those communities before everything came together under one name.

Before Woodland Hills became the football brand generations of Western Pennsylvania sports fans recognize today, places like Swissvale, Turtle Creek, Braddock and Edgewood had their own identities.

Their own traditions. Their own fields. And their own legends.

Swissvale had a dude named Brian Chizmar. And if you don’t know that name, you need to learn it. Because Chizmar was a beast.

 

Swissvale’s Superstar

Chizmar graduated from Swissvale High School in 1986, and when you look back at what he accomplished, you realize we’re not talking about somebody who was simply a good local player. We’re talking about one of the best athletes in Western Pennsylvania during that era.

Chizmar rushed for more than 4,500 yards during his high school career.

One historical list of WPIAL 4,000-yard rushers credits him with 4,544 yards on 754 carries — an average of 6 yards every time he touched the football.

Think about doing that in that era. This wasn’t today’s spread football where teams are trying to run 70 plays, get athletes in space and manufacture touches. This was Western Pennsylvania football.

Everybody knew you were getting the ball. And you still had to stop it.

A lot of teams couldn’t stop Brian Chizmar.

Swissvale won two Three Rivers Conference championships during his career, and Chizmar earned Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 honors three consecutive years — 1984, 1985 and 1986.

Three straight years. That alone tells you how highly regarded he was.

But there’s another honor that puts his greatness into even better perspective.

 

Chizmar and Major Harris

In 1986, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette selected two players as its male athletes of the year.

One was Brian Chizmar.

The other? Major Harris. Yeah. That Major Harris.

The Brashear legend who went on to become a superstar quarterback at West Virginia, finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1989 and became one of the most iconic college football players ever produced by Western Pennsylvania.

Brian Chizmar shared the area’s top male athlete honor with him. Sometimes you don’t need to say much more than that.

Look at some of the names that won that award around that period.

Dan Marino. Bill Fralic. Brian Davis. Major Harris. Curtis Bray. Sean Gilbert. Dion Bentley. And right there among them is Brian Chizmar from Swissvale.

That’s the type of company he was keeping.

 

The 1986 Big 33 Team Was Loaded

Chizmar also represented Pennsylvania in the 1986 Big 33 Football Classic.

Go look at that roster. It’s crazy.

Major Harris was on it. Future NFL quarterback Scott Zolak was on it. Future NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey was on it. Daryl Banks from Aliquippa was there. Adam Walker from Steel Valley was there. And there was Brian Chizmar from Swissvale, listed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds as a running back and defensive back.

That wasn’t some ceremonial selection.

The Big 33 was serious business, especially in that era. If you were representing Pennsylvania in that game, you were one of the dudes.

Chizmar belonged.

 

He Wasn’t Just a Football Player

Here’s something else younger people probably don’t know. Chizmar could play baseball too.

And when I say play, I don’t mean he was just a football star who decided to come out for the baseball team. He was legit. Chizmar helped Swissvale win two conference championships in baseball, earned Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 12 recognition twice and hit over .400 during both his junior and senior seasons.

So we’re talking about a kid who rushed for more than 4,500 yards in football while also being one of the best high school baseball players in the area.

That’s an athlete.

We throw that word around too easily sometimes. Brian Chizmar was an athlete.

 

From Swissvale to Penn State

Then he went to Penn State. And this is where his story becomes even more impressive.

Chizmar arrived in Happy Valley in 1986. Penn State won the national championship that season.

Think about that transition.

You’re coming out of Swissvale High School and stepping into Joe Paterno’s Penn State program at a time when Penn State was one of the biggest brands in college football. That 1986 team went 12-0 during the regular season before beating Miami in the Fiesta Bowl to win the national championship.

And Chizmar wasn’t going to Penn State just to say he played there.

His time was coming.

By 1987, Chizmar was making a major impact on the defense. He played what Penn State called the “hero” position, a hybrid defensive back/linebacker role that required somebody physical enough to play around the line of scrimmage but athletic enough to function in coverage.

Sounds like the perfect position for a dude who had spent high school running over people on one side of the football and chasing them down on the other.

During the 1987 season, Chizmar led Penn State in tackles and interceptions.

Let me repeat that.

A kid from Swissvale went to Penn State and led the Nittany Lions in tackles and interceptions. At one point late in that season, Chizmar had 63 tackles and was Penn State’s leading tackler despite being only a sophomore.

 

A Huge Play Against Notre Dame

One of Chizmar’s biggest moments came against Notre Dame in 1987.

Penn State beat Notre Dame 21-20 in a classic. Late in the first half, Notre Dame was threatening from the Penn State 3-yard line. Quarterback Kent Graham threw toward the end zone.

Chizmar picked it off. Touchdown opportunity gone.  He also recovered a muffed punt in the game.

Penn State ended up winning by one point. Those plays mattered.

That’s what separates simply being on the roster at a place like Penn State from actually becoming an important player there.

Chizmar made plays.

 

From Swissvale Star to Penn State Captain

By 1989, Chizmar had earned one of the biggest honors you can receive in a college football program.

He was named a Penn State captain.

The kid who grew up in Swissvale playing football near Dixon Field was now leading Penn State onto the field. That’s a journey. And it says something about him beyond athletic ability.

You don’t become a captain at a program like Penn State simply because you can run fast or tackle. Your teammates and coaches have to respect you.

Chizmar finished his Penn State career with six interceptions, and the East Boros Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame credits him as having ranked 11th on Penn State’s all-time tackles list at the time of his induction.

He eventually earned induction into that Hall of Fame in 2001.

Deservedly so.

 

Before the Woodland Hills Tradition We Know Today

This is the part of the story I find important.

Woodland Hills School District was created in 1981 through the merger of the former Swissvale, Edgewood, Churchill, Turtle Creek and General Braddock school districts.

But the transition didn’t instantly erase the old high-school identities.

Chizmar still represented Swissvale High School. That’s why remembering players like him matters.

When we look back at Woodland Hills and all the talent that eventually came through that district, we should also remember that the football DNA of that area existed long before everybody was wearing turquoise and black in one high school.

Those communities were already producing players.

Braddock had history. Turtle Creek had history. Churchill had history Swissvale had history.

And Brian Chizmar was part of that history. Actually, he was one of the best parts of it.

 

His Penn State Story Continued Through His Family

There’s another cool part to the story. The Chizmar name eventually made its way back to Penn State.

Brian’s son Max Chizmar played linebacker for the Nittany Lions decades later.

Penn State’s official biography for Max lists his father as a Penn State linebacker and defensive back from 1986 through 1989 and notes Brian’s six career interceptions.

Think about how cool that has to be.

A kid from Swissvale makes it to Penn State. Wins a national championship as part of the program. Becomes one of the team’s leading defensive players. Becomes a captain.

Then years later, his son puts on that same Penn State uniform.

That’s legacy.

 

Give Brian Chizmar His Flowers

One of the biggest reasons I started DrewSchifino.com was for stories exactly like this.

History gets lost. Especially local sports history.

People remember the NFL players. They remember the superstars who played during the internet and social-media era. But there were monsters playing Western Pennsylvania high school sports long before Hudl highlights, Instagram recruiting edits, rankings on every website and videos of every game were available on your phone.

You had to be there. Or somebody had to tell you about them.

Brian Chizmar is one of those names younger generations need to know.

More than 4,500 rushing yards. Three straight Fabulous 22 selections. Two conference championships in football. A high school All-American. A Big 33 selection. A .400-plus hitter in baseball. Two Fabulous 12 baseball selections. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Male Athlete of the Year alongside Major Harris.

Penn State. A national championship team. Led Penn State in tackles and interceptions in 1987. Six career interceptions. Penn State captain.

That’s not just a good career. That’s a hell of a résumé.

Woodland Hills eventually became one of the greatest talent factories Western Pennsylvania has ever seen.

But before people were talking about all the future NFL players coming through Woodland Hills, Swissvale had a beast of its own.

His name was Brian Chizmar. And Western Pennsylvania sports history shouldn’t forget him.

Give that man his flowers.