Noel LaMontagne started all 43 games consecutively in his four years as a tackle on the offensive and defensive lines for Coach Robert Clark at Southern Lehigh High School. He was voted 1st Team All-Colonial League as an offensive and defensive lineman in 1994 and 1995 and Academic All-Colonial League in 1994 and 1995. He served as a co-Captain of the 1995 SLHS Spartan team with other All-Colonial League standouts Judd Orlando and Scott Unger. He was also awarded the SLHS Football Team MVP and Scholar Athlete Award following the 1995 season. Noel was voted 1st Team All-State Big School as an offensive lineman in 1995. Noel was selected to play in the 1995 McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic and served as a captain and starting offensive tackle for the Mountain Valley-Colonial Team. Later that same year, he was selected to be a starter in the Big-33 Football Classic against the state of Ohio as an offensive tackle. In the game, Noel ended up playing both offensive and defensive tackle and served as a co-captain alongside Brandon Short, Aaron Harris and Mark Lapadula for the victorious Pennsylvania squad. During his four years at SLHS, Noel participated on the Track and Field Team. He won the Colonial League Championship in the Shot-Put in 1994 and the Colonial League Championship in the Discus in 1995. He also was a District Champion in the Discus in 1995 and a PIAA State Championship Runner-Up that same year. Noel was elected as the SLHS Track and Field MVP in 1995 for the spring and winter teams. The SLHS Athletic Department awarded him as their Male Athlete of the Year in 1995 and he was awarded the Gerald Anuszewski Award as “The Southern Lehigh High School Ideal Athlete”. In addition, Noel was a 1995 Lee Iacocca Leadership Award Nominee and the Southern Lehigh National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Nominee for 1995.
College career
Upon completion of his SLHS career in 1995, Noel accepted a full-athletic scholarship to the University of Virginia to play football for George Welsh and the Cavaliers. He was a member of the 1995 UVa Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Team. He was voted as a 1st Team All-Virginia State offensive guard in 1998 and 1999. Also following the 1998 and 1999 seasons, Noel was voted a 1st Team All-ACC offensive guard. He is one of only two UVa offensive linemen ever to receive 1st Team All-ACC offensive linemen Honors twice in their career. During the 1998 and 1999 seasons, Noel received several ACC-Offensive Lineman of the Week Awards from the conference for his outstanding play and was voted as a 1st Team All-American at offensive guard following the 1999 season. In 1999, Noel was elected as a co-captain of the football team alongside Thomas Jones and Travis Griffith. The ACC awarded the prestigious Tatum Award to Noel as the 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was selected as 1st Team Academic All-ACC in 1998 and 1999, while also being selected as an Academic All-American in 1999.
Professional career
After suffering a career threatening knee injury in his final college Bowl game in 1999 against the University of Illinois, Noel was signed as a free agent to play for the Cleveland Browns in the spring of 2000. He was with the Browns organization from 2000 until 2002, playing all five positions along the offensive line, before continued damage and trauma to his surgically repaired knee ended his playing career. While his time with the Browns was cut short, Noel was still able to beat the odds and fulfill his childhood dream of playing in the NFL. He saw significant playing time at offensive right guard in the 1999 season when the Cleveland Browns played regular season games against the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Post-football career
On June 5, 2005 in recognition of his athletic and academic career, the SLHS Athletic Department inducted Noel into the Southern Lehigh High School Sports Hall of Fame. He was also inducted as a Distinguished Alumni of the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Game Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2011, the University of Virginia and the Virginia Football program retired his #77 jersey in Charlottesville, VA during halftime of the UVa versus North Carolina State football game. During his collegiate and professional playing career Noel was involved in the community through several charitably based organizations. He worked with multiple child based charity groups that focused on education and literacy. His upbringing around the construction industry also heavily influenced his involvement in Habitat for Humanity. As a current member of the NFL Players Association Alumni and National Football League Alumni he has continued to participate in endeavors that serve the community and others.
