Simpson was too big, too strong and too good
Fans chanted, “He’s too big,” every time Lanfer Simpson carried the football.
Opponents thought, “He’s too strong,” every time Simpson ran over a defender as one of the most productive fullbacks in WPIAL history or crushed a quarterback as an all-state-caliber linebacker.
And, by the time Simpson graduated from Waynesburg High School in 2001 as a highly decorated three-sport (football, wrestling and track) athlete, the general consensus was, “He’s too good.”
“He was an athlete, not just a muscle-and-brawn guy,” said Waynesburg football coach Russ Moore, who guided the Raiders to the 1999 WPIAL Class AA championship with Simpson as a key player.
“When I was (athletic director), there was a girls basketball game a couple years ago. At halftime, Lanfer sat on the floor at halfcourt and made a basket on his first shot. Was it luck? I don’t know, but he’s always been an athlete, not just a big, old bruiser.”
By seventh grade, Simpson weighed 185 pounds, but his athleticism allowed for him to play in the backfield and, by the time he left Waynesburg, Simpson had rushed for 4,010 yards – a rarity for someone who primarily lined up at fullback. More than 1,200 of those yards (and 120-plus tackles) came during his sophomore season, when Waynesburg played in Class AAA. Somehow, Simpson was left off the all-conference team.
The snub provided motivation for the following year, and Simpson made statement after statement as Waynesburg rolled through WPIAL competition on the way to its first championship.
“Every game that next year, Coach Moore would say, “Remember this guy? He didn’t vote for you.’ That made me mad every game that year,” Simpson said. “I wanted to have a big game every game. I wanted them to know who I was and who we were. That was a lot of motivation.”
Simpson’s junior year remains the stuff of legend in Greene County.
He made everyone’s all-state team. Simpson earned every newspaper’s Class AA Player of the Year honor. He ran over defenses for 1,542 yards, scored 19 touchdowns and spent considerable amounts of time chasing quarterbacks and running backs down behind the line of scrimmage as he had 115 tackles, four forced fumbles and three interceptions. The scary thing was, as good as Simpson was, his teammates were mighty talented, too. Waynesburg beat rival Wash High twice, including a convincing 30-3 victory at Three Rivers Stadium for the WPIAL title.
“I always said Lanfer was a gentle giant, but my thing always was when they finally got to me, did something to make him mad, that’s when I said people were in trouble,” Moore said. “When people did something he didn’t like, that’s when he turned it up a notch.”
Simpson turned it up a notch in every sport he played. For all his success playing football with one of the best groups in Waynesburg history, he was a regular on the medals stand in wrestling and track. As a senior, Simpson was an easy choice for Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Year.
And while his style on the football field was tough and brash, he’s far more comfortable talking about others. Simpson quickly points out teammates such as Lee Fritz, Greg Carson, Brandon Doppelheuer, Bryce Cree and Jeremy Gayman. And, for all his success in football, time made Simpson realize something.
“Wrestling was something I was good at, but I always considered it my second sport,” Simpson said. “I won freestyle at states multiple times and placed at nationals. Our wrestling team was so good, we had Coleman Scott and Drew Headlee. I never considered myself on their level and I always thought I would play in the NFL back then. I never got in shape well enough to be a great wrestler because my thing was I hated to run. But still, looking back, my skills were probably best suited for wrestling.”
Simpson spent time on the West Virginia University football team before joining the wrestling team. He chose the Mountaineers over Penn State to stay close to his family and he’s glad he made the choice as his mother, Clarketta, died while he was at WVU. Times were tough for Simpson and remaining focused was difficult, but, just like he did in sports, he overcame and conquered.
These days, Simpson is a superintendent for production at EQT in Waynesburg. He’s married and the father of a 14-month-old son. Simpson serves as pastor at Mapletown United Methodist, and he stays involved with Greene County sports as a member of the Greene Sports Net broadcast team.
“I hit rock bottom after my mom died, and I called on Christ. I started speaking at churches and it led to my role as a pastor,” Simpson said. “I’m in a really good place. I couldn’t be happier.”
Mike Kovak is assistant night editor for the Observer-Reporter. His email address is mkovak@observer-reporter.com.