From Spokane, Washington, Lappano played high school football at Gonzaga Prep and graduated in 1975.
[4] A running back, he played college football for the Idaho Vandals of the Big Sky Conference from 1975 through 1979, and set a league record for freshman, averaging over eight yards per carry.
[4][5] A hamstring injury in prior to his junior year hampered his output in 1977 and he was redshirted under new head coach Jerry Davitch in 1978.
[7] When Joe Tiller left to become head coach at Wyoming, Lappano succeeded him as offensive coordinator at WSU in 1991,[8] and guided quarterback Drew Bledsoe and running back Steve Broussard.
In 2018, Lappano joined the Salt Lake Stallions of the newly-formed Alliance of American Football as the offensive coordinator.