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Ebbert to be inducted into LV NFF Hall

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame will induct six new members during its annual ceremony this Friday, May 7 at the Northampton Community Center.

Among the inductees is Lamont "Mike" Ebbert, a 1951 graduate of Lehighton High School, where he played and later coached on the gridiron.Ebbert, whose son George has been the Lehighton head football coach the last two season, lettered four years in the sport for the Indians. He was named to the Lehigh Valley League All-Star team as a guard in 1949 and as a fullback in 1950. In 1963, he became head football coach at Lehighton, where his team won a school-record eight games. The 1963 team ended a 33-game winless streak against Northampton. His 1964 team won nine games and shared the Lehigh Valley League championship with Whitehall.Other inductees include:George Atiyeh, a defensive lineman at Dieruff High School from 1974 to 1976 who earned All-State and Big 33 honors. He also was a two-time PIAA heavyweight wrestling champion. He was an All-Southeastern Conference nose guard at Louisiana State University from 1977 to 1980. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1981, but was put on injured reserve. He played in the USFL for Denver, Oakland and Jacksonville. He was a free agent with the Steelers in 1984 but was released.Scott Saylor, a linebacker for Pen Argyl Area High School, who was named to the Colonial League first team in 1982, 1983 and 1984. He was named All-State in 1984 when he rushed for 1,386 yards and scored 21 touchdowns. He was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter at the University of Maryland, where he finished his career with 382 tackles. He was a second-team All-Atlantic Conference selection in 1988 and honorable mention All-American.Mike Bundra, who played from 1955 to 1957 at Catasauqua High School and earned All-State honors as a senior. He played at the University of Southern California from 1959 to 1961. The defensive tackle was a sixth-round draft choice of the Detroit Lions in 1962 and spent two seasons as a Lion. He also played for the NFL champion Cleveland Browns in 1964 and the New York Giants in 1965. He will be inducted posthumously.Nate Hobgood-Chittick, who was a member of Allen High School's 1992 District 11 championship team and was all-conference as a tight end and defensive end. He was second-team All-State. After playing at the University of North Carolina, Hobgood-Chittick played in the NFL from 1998 to 2004. He was a member of the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams. He also was on the roster of the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.Gerry Farkas, a 1958 graduate of Northampton Area High School won All-Lehigh Valley League honors at tackle. During his three years, Northampton won all 24 games it played for three consecutive Lehigh Valley League championships. He continued his career at Penn State and played in four consecutive bowl games, with wins over Alabama, Oregon and Georgia Tech. He became a teacher and line coach at Plainfield (N.J.) High School and later at Lebanon (Pa.) High School.Michael Zambelli, who earned nine varsity letters at Dieruff High School and was the school's most valuable football and basketball player and golfer. He scored five touchdowns in the Allen-Dieruff game. In 1971, he was an All-State honorable-mention selection and earned Big Seven Conference first-team honors. He attended Clemson University before transferring to Moravian College. He is a broadcaster for Service Electric TV. Zambelli was recognized at the recent Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Banquet. He also does commentary on Service Electric for Lehigh Valley IronPigs games.