The passing of the torch has officially been completed.

Marian High School has named a football coach to succeed legendary leader Stan Dakosty, who guided the program for the past 40 years to heights that had never been seen before at the school.Pat Morgans was named Thursday morning by principal Jean Susko to carry on the tradition which Dakosty had woven for four decades.The new mentor has plenty of ties to the program being a former standout player for the Colts, and serving two different stints as a Colt assistant coach under Dakosty.A 1986 graduate of Marian, Morgans went on to earn a scholarship to Bucknell. He earned a BS degree in Political Science in 1990, and a Master's Degree in secondary mathematics education from Bloomsburg University.Morgans is no stranger to coaching, but this will be his first official head coaching position. He has been an assistant coach for 24 years, including 12 at his alma mater. Previously he coached at Jim Thorpe for nine seasons, at Blue Mountain for two seasons, and at Palmerton for one season."I have huge shoes to fill," said Morgans. "Coach Dakosty taught me more than just football. He taught me about life and about being a man."Morgans knows all about the life lessons, and more importantly overcoming adversity.Back in August of 1994 he was severely injured in an industrial accident which cost him his right leg. It took nearly eight months to physically rehab from his injury, but the mental adjustment was even tougher.Morgans said a big lift in that aspect of his recovery came from Dakosty, who called him and offered him a job as an assistant coach."He called me and said anytime I wanted to come on board and coach with him, I was welcome," said Morgans. "I could have moped around, but that offer changed my life, I got excited and jumped right into coaching. I found out in a hurry that what we take for granted in life isn't a guarentee."Right after I was discharged from the hospital, we had to stop for medicine at a pharmacy and here I am getting out of the car putting my right foot out first and I don't have one. Those are the things that we take for granted, walking through a door, and sitting in a seat I had to learn all over again."Morgans also learned on how to overcome such an adversity with strength and determination.He not only went to work as a football coach, but he went on to earn a master's degree and now teaches pre-calculus and algebra at Jim Thorpe High School."Pat was a great football player. He is a great coach, and most importantly, he is a great person," said Dakosty about his replacement. "In my mind, this was an easy decision. Pat played in the league, coached teams in the league, and he knows our players and our program."Morgans' football approach is different than one would expect.His motto is "Be flexible."He intends to apply his motto to the team, starting with weightlifting in January."I met with the players Thursday morning and I basically said that we have the responsibility to carry on the tradition that was set forth by not only coach Dakosty but the players before them," said Morgans. "I will never force a kid to learn a system they are unable to succeed at. What I want to do is build around the players' ability and if that means running a different offense and defense we will do that."Morgans is in the process of putting together a staff, and hopes to have everything in place by the time the Christmas break is over."Once coach Dakosty made up his mind to retire, he asked if anyone on our staff was interested in taking the program over, and I told him I was," said Morgans. "Mrs. Susko (principal) wanted to have things in place, and it wasn't a long drawn out process. I'm thankful that she has the trust and confidence in me to take over such a great football program with a great tradition."I can't wait to blow that first whistle when we hit the field come August."