Football Program FUN FACTS!

IndianaBanana

Well-known buffoon
Isn't offseason conversation "fun?"

You know what else is fun? Fun Facts!
Whats your football programs fun facts? It doesn't matter how mundane or crazy interesting it may be, it's fun to learn trivial facts.

Examples:
-Celebrities that played on the team
-Programs that won state championships or general powerhouses in their day that aren't around anymore
-Newest programs
-Oldest Programs
-Most Western/Eastern/Northern/Southern stadium
-Oldest coaching tenure
-weird stories on/off the field
-least mentioned programs on Yappi
-Unique colors/mascot

Anything you deem notable, I want to hear it!


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I'd file this under interesting story:

Tim Seder, while coaching football/baseball/basketball and teaching health/physical education at Lucas High School was routinely kicking 40+ yard field goals after the Cubs football practices. The players and coaches eventually talked him into recording a video which was sent out to multiple NFL teams. Astonishingly, he was contacted by the Dallas Cowboys and received an invite to training camp where he won the placekicker job over rookie Rian Lindell. He went on to play 5 seasons professionally (3 NFL, 2 Arena), reportedly making over 2 million dollars. What a great story.
 
I'd file this under interesting story:

Tim Seder, while coaching football/baseball/basketball and teaching health/physical education at Lucas High School was routinely kicking 40+ yard field goals after the Cubs football practices. The players and coaches eventually talked him into recording a video which was sent out to multiple NFL teams. Astonishingly, he was contacted by the Dallas Cowboys and received an invite to training camp where he won the placekicker job over rookie Rian Lindell. He went on to play 5 seasons professionally (3 NFL, 2 Arena), reportedly making over 2 million dollars. What a great story.
Now THAT is a Fun Fact!
 
*I think this one is unique...We had a coach let go after 11 games. 1 full season, and after the first game of the next year......

I remember after game 1, at the end of practice on Monday the Principal came out, talked to coach briefly, came to the huddle and said "Mr ____ is your new Head coach". A previous assistant got out of his car as he had been watching practice.

The new HC said we had a lot of work to do so we stayed that evening late. We put in a new offense that week with like a couple pass plays and a few run plays.



...and we won on friday
 
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Canton McKinley has won 38 playoff games in their history. Massillon has won 39. Marion Local has won 44 in the last 10 years.

Since 2012 Mentor has 7 combined playoff wins against St. Edward and St. Ignatius. The rest of the state has 3.

Hoover went 50 years (1965-2015) without losing to arch-rival Jackson in back-to-back seasons.

Kirtland went 98-2 in the last ten regular seasons, Akron North has gone 6-94 in the last ten regular seasons

New Conotton Valley head coach Don Hertler Jr. is their eleventh in 14 seasons. None of the previous ten ever had a winning season with the Rockets.

Vanlue hasn't had a winning season since 1964. Solon has not had a losing season since 1968.

Fun nicknames/ mascots: Rootstown Rovers, Cleveland East Technical Scarabs, Barberton Magics
 
Canton McKinley has won 38 playoff games in their history. Massillon has won 39. Marion Local has won 44 in the last 10 years.

Since 2012 Mentor has 7 combined playoff wins against St. Edward and St. Ignatius. The rest of the state has 3.

Hoover went 50 years (1965-2015) without losing to arch-rival Jackson in back-to-back seasons.

Kirtland went 98-2 in the last ten regular seasons, Akron North has gone 6-94 in the last ten regular seasons

New Conotton Valley head coach Don Hertler Jr. is their eleventh in 14 seasons. None of the previous ten ever had a winning season with the Rockets.

Vanlue hasn't had a winning season since 1964. Solon has not had a losing season since 1968.

Fun nicknames/ mascots: Rootstown Rovers, Cleveland East Technical Scarabs, Barberton Magics
By the way it is Barberton Magic. But most always say Magics...
 
Lancaster Fisher Catholic

Famous Players: Jim Cordle (New York Giants/tOSU), Bill Bender (National College Football writer,Sporting News)

Pedantic, But Fun!: The Irish have had ten (10) different helmet designs in the past ten (10) years. Despite the fact that black is definitely not a school color, FC for some reason started wearing black uniforms, helmets and pants out of nowhere about five years ago.

Special Teams, Good and Bad: had a kid land a 74 yard punt against West Jefferson in 2012. We were playing Whitehall in 2011 and were punting from our own 10, and our LS snapped it through the damn uprights! Also had a corner that was 5’1” that year. He wasn’t that bad, actually...
 
It's been mentioned a bit regarding Norwalk Truckers and not having a winning season from 1978-2010, a span of 33 football seasons. However, from 1974-2012, Norwalk did have 1.000 winning Pct during Postseason. It's now dwindled to about 64%(7-4 playoff record).
 
Despite the fact that black is definitely not a school color, FC for some reason started wearing black uniforms, helmets and pants out of nowhere about five years ago.
Classic "black for the black sake" uniform trend or BFBS. Even when it isn't part of the color pallet, it can still be used tastefully... in moderation. But when it takes precedence for too long, it overstays it's welcome and quickly becomes dated.
You see it less, but GFGS (gray for grays sake) has recently taken its place as the new uninspired uniform trend.

If I didn't end up doing what I happily do now as a career, I would have went into athletic apparel/uniform design... so I guess that counts as a personal fun fact.
 
Minster's football team had a German exchange student (Albert Burger) handle their kicking duties in 1951. He did the kicking soccer-style.

A lot of research has been done, but nobody has found evidence of anyone else kicking soccer-style in an American football game before 1951. The closest was a kicker for the University of Illinois who kicked soccer-style a few years later, but according to their sports information director he did not play high school football, only soccer.

So it is possible that Minster had the first soccer-style kicker in the history of American football.
 
Classic "black for the black sake" uniform trend or BFBS. Even when it isn't part of the color pallet, it can still be used tastefully... in moderation. But when it takes precedence for too long, it overstays it's welcome and quickly becomes dated.
You see it less, but GFGS (gray for grays sake) has recently taken its place as the new uninspired uniform trend.

If I didn't end up doing what I happily do now as a career, I would have went into athletic apparel/uniform design... so I guess that counts as a personal fun fact.
My Green Bulldogs wore the all black home uniforms for several years, and it became boring. In 2019 the Dawgs went back to the orange jerseys, and I thought it was a much better look. I completely agree about the black unis becoming dated. When college teams have black alternate uniforms though, I usually like the look. I actually bought a black Ezekiel Elliott Ohio State jersey back in 2015.
 
Nice! Fort Loramie's program started in 2003 when 5 older men decided they wanted the school to play football back around 2001. They had fundraisers of all kinds until they got enough money, and kicked off their first varsity season in '05. There was a JV program started in '03 I believe, and the first touchdown scored in Loramies history is actually off of a trick play against Marion Local (I believe). This was a trick play where the Wide Receiver threw it to the Quarterback (kinda like the Philly Special). Overall a good story though on how everything initially started.
 
The city of Barberton was given the name " MAGIC CITY " because of phenomenal growth during its industrial years. The high school team was referred to as the BARBERTON MAGIC. I assume Magics came later....this is from the history of Barberton.
 
Nice! Fort Loramie's program started in 2003 when 5 older men decided they wanted the school to play football back around 2001. They had fundraisers of all kinds until they got enough money, and kicked off their first varsity season in '05. There was a JV program started in '03 I believe, and the first touchdown scored in Loramies history is actually off of a trick play against Marion Local (I believe). This was a trick play where the Wide Receiver threw it to the Quarterback (kinda like the Philly Special). Overall a good story though on how everything initially started.
Looking forward to Lucas v FL in 2021!
 
Canton CC factoids:

Players either drafted or played professionally, there could be others:
Mike Rotunno, Michigan, drafted by the Cleveland Browns
Norm Nicola, Notre Dame, drafted by the Buffalo Bills, played for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL
Alan Page, Notre Dame, played for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, 1971 NFC MVP and NFL Hall of Famer
Bob Belden, Notre Dame, drafted by the Dallas Cowboys
Bob Pickard, Xavier, played for the Detroit Lions
Mark Fischer, Notre Dame, undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills, played for the Chicago Blitz of the USFL
Roger Duffy, Penn State, played for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers

Longtime SW Ohio HS head coach Jim Place was a Canton CC graduate (class of '65, IIRC).

Connor Campbell set school records with 262 yards rushing and 6 TDs in the 2013 season opener at Alliance. He had been moved to QB 5 days earlier and knew about 5 offensive plays for that game. The starting QB tore his ACL in the team's jamboree scrimmage the previous weekend, and the projected backup QB already tore his ACL in the team's 1st scrimmage a couple weeks earlier.

The old football stadium was built by the booster club. Prior to that, CCHS home games were played primarily at Canton Lehman HS (1945-1949) and North Canton Memorial Stadium (1950-1953).

The 1945 team won 1 game but had to forfeit it due to an eligibility issue to finish the season 0-8. The players were thought to be eligible until it was discovered that summer school grades and credits did not count toward establishing eligibility for the fall. Only grades from the previous spring counted.

Canton CC played in the 1st ever night game at Leetonia on October 20, 1945. Leetonia routed them 53-0. The Leetonia head coach was Chuck Mather who eventually coached at Massillon and the U. of Kansas. 1 of Leetonia's players was Pat Mancuso who went on to become a coaching legend at Cincinnati Princeton HS. Canton's CC's predecessor St. John HS played in the 1st ever night game at Orrville on October 7, 1938 and lost 19-0.

Longest known punt in school history: 77 yards on November 20, 1953 against Pittsburgh North Catholic (now known as Cardinal Wuerl HS). The punter was Charles "Sonny" Spielman who is the father of Rick and Chris Spielman.

If anyone wants to know about Canton CC series records against specific opponents (1945-present), please message me. It's in an Excel file that doesn't copy and paste well to this site.
 
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Canton CC coaching succession, W-L-T records, and win % and other facts:
Del Halpin, 1945-1947, 26 games coached, 5 wins, 20 losses, 1 tie (.212). Halpin was a Massillon and Miami U. teammate of Paul Brown and kicked a FG that stood as a Massillon record for 50 years. Canton CC opted to split the head football and basketball coaching duties in 1948, and Halpin opted for the basketball job which he held into the mid-1950s. Halpin would later coach and teach at Northwest HS for many years. Halpin served in the Army during WWII.

Vincent "Rocky" Snyder, 1948-1951, 33 games coached, 13 wins, 19 losses, 1 tie (.409). Snyder played at Massillon and Purdue. He also coached at Portsmouth and Struthers. He resigned 5 games into the 1951 season citing "too many hands in the pot." He went on to have a career in education, coached junior high football in Massillon, eventually served on Massillon City Council, and once ran for mayor. Snyder served in the Navy during WWII.

Anthony "Jiggs" Fabiano, 1951-1954, 35 games coached, 20 wins, 13 losses, 2 ties (.600). Fabiano resigned following the 1954 season due to a lack of support. He also coached baseball at Canton CC. Fabiano was coached by Woody Hayes at New Philadelphia HS and played college baseball at Memphis State. Fabiano took a job with an insurance company but eventually served as Canton's Safety Service Director. It is likely but unknown if Fabiano served in WWII.

Les Zorge, 1955-1956, 18 games coached, 7 wins, 11 losses (.389). Zorge was hired after Cleveland Cathedral Latin head coach Dan Mormile backed out of a handshake agreement to become the head coach. He graduated from Cleveland East HS, and it took him 6 years to graduate from KSU because he was pitching in the minor leagues for the White Sox organization while attending college. Because of his pro career, he was ineligible to play collegiately. Zorge previously coached at Norwalk St. Paul and Lorain St. Mary. He utilized the single wing offense while all previous coaches preferred the "T." He founded the wrestling program in 1956 but immediately got on everyone's bad side when he banned onlookers from attending his football practices (a la Norman Dale in Hoosiers). He left Canton CC after 2 years to take a more lucrative coaching job at Westfield HS in New Jersey. Zorge served in the Navy during WWII.

John McVay, 1957-1961, 50 games coached, 41 wins, 7 losses, 2 ties (.840). McVay was another Massillon and Miami U. graduate. Prior to Canton CC, he served on the staff at Lancaster HS and was head coach at Franklin HS. McVay reverted to the "T" formation. He put the program on the map with an 8-0 upset of previously #1 ranked Warren Harding on Oct. 17, 1958. He left Canton CC to join the staff at Michigan State. He then became head coach at Dayton for 10 years and then to the WFL where he coached the Toronto Northmen/Memphis Southmen (franchise moved before ever playing a game in Toronto). He then coached w/ the NY Giants before joining the 49ers' front office where he was named NFL Executive of the year in 1989. Canton CC presents an award each year in his name to honor the most outstanding athlete(s) in the senior class. McVay is also indirectly responsible for the creation of the "victory formation." It was on his watch as interim HC of the Giants, when the Giant QB and RB fumbled an exchange while trying to run out the clock that was returned for a TD by Eagles CB and former Jets, Chiefs, and current Arizona State HC Herman Edwards.

Joe Eaglowski, 1962-1964, 30 games coached, 14 wins, 10 losses, 6 ties (.567). Eaglowski was a Massillon grad and played for Chuck Mather at Kansas before ultimately graduating from Heidelberg. He served as a Heidelberg assistant before joining the staff at Canton CC. As a former lineman, he abandoned the "T" in favor of a more power running game. He left Canton CC to rejoin McVay at Dayton and followed him to the WFL. He returned to Dayton to serve as manager of Hara Arena and was inducted into Dayton's athletic HoF in 1996.

Rey Dempsey, 1965-1970, 60 games coached, 33 wins, 25 losses, 2 ties (.567). Dempsey graduated from Pitcairn HS (PA) and Geneva College. He served as head coach at East Palestine HS prior to being hired at Canton CC. Dempsey preferred the "T," and his 1970 team went 8-2 but only gave up 13 points, 502 rushing yards and a 20% pass completion rate (18 out of 90) for the entire season! In rapid succession, he coached O-line at BGSU, head coach at YSU, and special teams with the Detroit Lions. He then became head coach at Southern Illinois and won the DI-AA national title in 1983 and was inducted into the Salukis' athletic HoF in 1996. He was hired as head coach at Memphis State but only lasted 2 years due to losses and player accusations related to his religious fervor. Dempsey spent 1991-2002 as Senior Pastor of Christ the King Church in Powell. Beginning in 2000, Dempsey worked alongside former college coach and ESPN college football color analyst Mike Gottfried in the Team Focus program which is a leadership camp for fatherless boys. Dempsey serves as the camp pastor and director of spiritual development.

Joel Spiker, 1971-1972, 20 games coached, 17 wins, 3 losses (.850). Spiker graduated from Dover St. Joseph HS (part of present-day Tusky CC HS) and Ohio Northern U. Spiker ran the "T" with a few revisions. Spiker also served as head golf coach from 1965 to 1970 and led the golfers to a district championship in 1968. He coined the name of the Hall of Fame Conference which Canton CC competed in alongside Canton Lincoln, Canton Lehman, Canton Timken, and St. Thomas Aquinas from 1972-1975. The conference folded in 1976 following the Canton City School District’s decision to close Lincoln and Lehman. Spiker left CCHS following the 1972 season to accept a position on Dempsey’s staff at YSU. In the summer of 1974, Spiker accepted a position as the AD at the soon-to-be-opening Lely HS near Naples, Florida. Spiker rejoined Dempsey in 1976 as RB coach at Southern Illinois University. After 1 season with the Salukis, Spiker returned to the Naples area.

Lowell Klinefelter, 1973-2013, 435 games coached, 257 wins, 172 losses, 6 ties (.598). Klinefelter graduated from Claridon HS (part of present day Caledonia River Valley HS) and Ohio St. Klinefelter served Canton CC for 48 years as a math and chemistry teacher as well as a coach and AD. In his 41 seasons at the helm, Klinefelter's teams compiled 11 playoff appearances, 3 regional championships, and 2 state championships. When he had superb talent, he won big. When he had less talent, he still fielded competitive teams that would challenge the toughest opponents. He has won more games than any other coach in Stark County HS football history, but his wife would be the first person to remind us that he has also lost more games than any other coach in Stark County HS football history. Klinefelter was inducted into the OHSFCA Hall of Fame in 2013. While many revel in his gridiron successes, Klinefelter arguably takes greater pride in his students' accomplishments within the classroom. Many don't know that Klinefelter was head basketball coach prior to being named AD and head football coach.

Jeff Lindesmith, 2014-present, 74 games coached, 49 wins, 25 losses (.662). Lindesmith is a graduate of Canton Timken HS and Wilmington College. Lindesmith began his career at Canton CC as an industrial arts teacher before assuming his role as a longtime guidance counselor at the school. Lindesmith served as an assistant on Klinefelter’s staff for 28 seasons. Additionally, Lindesmith had a highly successful tenure as Doug Miller’s assistant baseball coach which produced 2 state championships. Lindesmith is a past winner of the award given to the state’s top HS assistant baseball coach. In 2014, Lindesmith led Canton CC to its first ever undefeated regular season, first ever AP Poll championship, and a Division V state runner-up finish in the playoffs. He was also named 2014 Division V AP Coach of the Year. He followed up his highly successful rookie campaign with another Division V state runner-up finish in 2015 and the Division V state championship in 2016.
 
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In 2006 Ada’s Heath Jackson set a then state record for most receptions in a season as a Freshman. He transferred to a school in South Carolina his sophomore and half his junior year and played QB half his senior season so he never got a chance to break his own record. Five receivers all from Kenton have broken the record since then.
 
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Nice! Fort Loramie's program started in 2003 when 5 older men decided they wanted the school to play football back around 2001. They had fundraisers of all kinds until they got enough money, and kicked off their first varsity season in '05. There was a JV program started in '03 I believe, and the first touchdown scored in Loramies history is actually off of a trick play against Marion Local (I believe). This was a trick play where the Wide Receiver threw it to the Quarterback (kinda like the Philly Special). Overall a good story though on how everything initially started.
..and now favorites to win a title in 2020.
 
John McVay, 1957-1961, 50 games coached, 41 wins, 7 losses, 2 ties (.840). McVay was another Massillon and Miami U. graduate. Prior to Canton CC, he served on the staff at Lancaster HS and was head coach at Franklin HS. McVay reverted to the "T" formation. He put the program on the map with an 8-0 upset of previously #1 ranked Warren Harding on Oct. 17, 1958. He left Canton CC to join the staff at Michigan State. He then became head coach at Dayton for 10 years and then to the WFL where he coached the Toronto Northmen/Memphis Southmen (franchise moved before ever playing a game in Toronto). He then coached w/ the NY Giants before joining the 49ers' front office where he was named NFL Executive of the year in 1989. Canton CC presents an award each year in his name to honor the most outstanding athlete(s) in the senior class. McVay is also indirectly responsible for the creation of the "victory formation." It was on his watch as interim HC of the Giants, when the Giant QB and RB fumbled an exchange while trying to run out the clock that was returned for a TD by Eagles CB and former Jets, Chiefs, and current Arizona State HC Herman Edwards.

I will mention two Youngstown connections with coach McVay, 1 at CCC and 1 with the Giants.

McVay's 1959 CC team was undefeated at 9-0 and I want to say ranked in the top 5 in the AP Poll after 9 weeks but I'm not positive of that. The local connection is Youngstown East, #9 in the final AP Poll in 1958 and now 8-1 at the end of the 59 season but unranked. I had heard that the two were supposed to play in 59 but they did not. Anyway at the conclusion of his 9-game season coach McVay called Pete Lanzi, HC of East, and said his Crusaders would like to play the Golden Bears. Reportedly coach Lanzi said you're undefeated why risk it? McVay said no we want to play. So they scheduled the game and you just know what happened. East beat CC 20-14 spoiling the undefeated season. The Crusaders still finished 7th in the final AP Poll but it cost them a few slots. The best known player on that East team was Jim Snowden. He was All-City, All-State, went to ND and had a nice career with Washington in the NFL.

The 2nd is the aforementioned "Miracle in the Meadowlands" game with the Eagles. I respectfully submit that McVay's OC is more responsible for the "victory formation" than McVay himself. The OC was a guy named Bob Gibson, no not THAT Bob Gibson. :) This Bob Gibson was a former 2nd team All-City QB at Youngstown Woodrow Wilson. He played college ball at YSU. He was a HC at East Liverpool and also at Bowling Green. He called that infamous play that Herm Edwards returned for a TD. Suffice to say it was the last play he ever called. He was fired the next day and never coached again.
 
I will mention two Youngstown connections with coach McVay, 1 at CCC and 1 with the Giants.

McVay's 1959 CC team was undefeated at 9-0 and I want to say ranked in the top 5 in the AP Poll after 9 weeks but I'm not positive of that. The local connection is Youngstown East, #9 in the final AP Poll in 1958 and now 8-1 at the end of the 59 season but unranked. I had heard that the two were supposed to play in 59 but they did not. Anyway at the conclusion of his 9-game season coach McVay called Pete Lanzi, HC of East, and said his Crusaders would like to play the Golden Bears. Reportedly coach Lanzi said you're undefeated why risk it? McVay said no we want to play. So they scheduled the game and you just know what happened. East beat CC 20-14 spoiling the undefeated season. The Crusaders still finished 7th in the final AP Poll but it cost them a few slots. The best known player on that East team was Jim Snowden. He was All-City, All-State, went to ND and had a nice career with Washington in the NFL.

The 2nd is the aforementioned "Miracle in the Meadowlands" game with the Eagles. I respectfully submit that McVay's OC is more responsible for the "victory formation" than McVay himself. The OC was a guy named Bob Gibson, no not THAT Bob Gibson. :) This Bob Gibson was a former 2nd team All-City QB at Youngstown Woodrow Wilson. He played college ball at YSU. He was a HC at East Liverpool and also at Bowling Green. He called that infamous play that Herm Edwards returned for a TD. Suffice to say it was the last play he ever called. He was fired the next day and never coached again.

Canton CC was #6 in the AP Poll after 9 games but was unranked in the UPI Poll. Despite having an unblemished record, 1 team ahead of them in the AP Poll had 1 loss (#4 Marion Harding) while another had 1 tie (#5 Toledo DeVilbiss), so Canton CC needed a win against a good opponent not only to help their cause for that season but also to build their reputation for future seasons. That #7 final ranking was the best Canton CC ever finished during the pre-playoff era. The '60 team went 9-1 but finished #18 while the '61 team went 10-1 but finished #15.
 
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Pretty fun topic/idea and some great tidbits to read. Here's a few from Archbishop Hoban:

Tiger Tale: According to an Akron Beacon Journal article, before and during the Knights' 33-6 drubbing of the Cuyahoga Falls Tigers in 1966 the Tiger coaches and administrators attempted to inspire their players by claiming Hoban was cheating (yep, those accusations abounded even in the sixties) by bugging the Falls locker room with listening devices and enlisting other dirty tactics to gain an advantage. The story picked-up steam in the Falls community and Hoban became the target of (false) foul play accusations in the media which prompted Falls head coach Wally Hood’s need to quell the outrage, admitting in the ABJ that these tall tales were just a ploy to rev-up the team.

Rushing performance: Hoban boasts two of the OHSAA’s All-Time leading rushers: Tyrell Sutton ’05 finished his career as Ohio’s All-Time leader (now second) with 9,426 yards and Todd Sibley ’17 is in the Top Ten with 7,329 yards on the ground. Hoban has had 15 different rushers eclipse the 1,000 yard mark, several in multiple campaigns: Victor Dawson (2019), Deamonte Trayanum (2018), Tyris Dickerson (2018, 2017), Sibley (2013, 14, 15, 16), Darshawn James (2011), Laymon Carter (2008), DJ Johnson (2006), Steve Yoak (2005), Tyrell Sutton (2001, 02, 03, 04), Tony Sutton (1999, 2000), Ryan DeGeorge (1998), Dustin Wimberly (1997), Dan DeGeorge (1991), Lakumba Wallace (1987, 88), Chuck Mesko (1966, 67). Tony Sutton, Tyrell Sutton (three times), Sibley (twice) and Dickerson have all gained over 2,000 rushing yards in a season.

Olympic Speed: Harry “Butch” Reynolds ’83 was already a track and basketball standout at Hoban when he joined Coach Clem Caraboolad’s football squad for his senior season. He led the team in receiving in 1982 and went on to prominence on the track, winning Olympic Gold in the 4x400 and Silver in the 400 in the 1988 games and held the World Record in the 400 for 11 years.

Coaching Honor: Clem Caraboolad took over the helm of Hoban football in 1982, tackling the task of returning the program to the area prominence it had achieved in the late 1950’s and into the 60’s. The program had turned the corner, finishing with winning records in 1986 and ’87 (6-4 and 7-3), the first consecutive winning marks for Hoban Football since 1967/68. Caraboolad passed away unexpectedly at age 43 on January 29, 1988, setting-off an outpouring of appreciation and recognition from former students, players, colleagues and friends. Overwhelmed by the tributes it received, the Akron Beacon Journal later that year created the Clem Caraboolad Coach of the Year Award, still given each year to an area coaching honoree in any sport who has impacted the lives of their student-athletes on and off of the playing field.

Super Bowl Guarantee: Hoban Hall of Fame linebacker John Neidert ’64 played for the AFL Champion New York Jets in Super Bowl III, participating in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in professional football history as the upstarts from the AFL toppled the heavily favored Colts of the NFL behind the leadership, and guarantee, of quarterback Joe Namath.

Penguin Connection: Hoban football has an interesting link with the football program at Youngstown State University. Hoban’s longest tenured coach, Ralph Orsini (1994-2012) played football at YSU, as did his successor, Tim Tyrrell (2013-present). Tyrrell’s current staff features former Penguin wideout Trent Boykin. Both Tyrrell and Boykin played on National Championship teams for Coach Jim Tressel, who had success mining talent from Hoban, as Donnie Zwisler ‘90, YSU’s All-Time leader in playoff receptions, and Leon Jones ‘92, an All-American linebacker for YSU, each played a role in multiple NCAA 1-AA National titles for his Penguins. Hoban’s Chris DiMauro ‘99, a Beacon Journal All-Star, also went on to play linebacker and fullback for Coach Tressel at YSU.

Battling Bradshaw: Hoban, Summit County and Akron University Hall of Fame Quarterback Don Zwisler ’64 guided the Akron Zips to their first ever collegiate bowl game in 1968 when the squad faced Louisiana Tech in the Grantland Rice Bowl in Murfreesboro, TN. The 7-2-1 Zips fell to the Bulldogs by a 33-13 score that day at the hands of their own strong-armed signal-caller: Terry Bradshaw.

Rivalry Coaching Rotation: Before taking the helm from his mentor Eddie Wentz as head man at St. Vincent (later St. Vincent-St. Mary), legendary Fighting Irish Coach John Cistone left his post as a St. V assistant and spent one season as an assistant to Coach to Hoban’s first-year boss Tony Paris in 1964. Also the Hoban Athletic Director that fall, Cistone left Hoban in December of ’64 to return to St. V, Hoban’s biggest rival, to succeed Wentz as head coach. When Hoban Coach Don Zwisler ’64 stepped-down following the 1981 season, Hoban turned to its other area rival, Walsh Jesuit, picking Warrior assistant Clem Caraboolad to take the reins. In his second season Caraboolad led Hoban to its first-ever win over Walsh.

Near playoff misses: From the inception of the state playoffs in 1972 through 1997 Hoban failed to make the post-season. From 1998-2009 the Knights qualified 10 times, twice reaching the Final Four, and have reached the playoffs every season since 2015 (47 total games. 36-11 record). During the ’72-’97 stretch, Hoban finished short of the playoffs at 9-1 three times (1988, ’90 and ’91). Each of those seasons featured a single digit loss, including overtime losses to St. Joseph (20-14) in 1988 and Ursuline (14-13) in ’91. Ursuline’s 1991 squad that knocked off the Knights in overtime had a quarterback that would later become the current Hoban Head Coach: Irish Hall of Famer Tim Tyrrell.

Great Defense, Tough Finish: Hoban’s 1963 defense allowed just 40 points all season (9 games/4.4 ppg). Coach Bob Zupke’s squad entered the final week of the season having yielded just 20 points: shutting-out Stow, Barberton, Canton Timken and East, allowing only 6 points apiece to St. Ed’s, Bedford and Lincoln and a just a safety to rival St. Vincent. Perhaps riding-high on the heels of the victory over St. V, Hoban allowed 20 points in season-ending, unbeaten-season-crushing loss at the hands of Canton Central Catholic.
 
Kind of a state record:

Fort Recovery held possession for 11 minutes and 51 seconds vs. Delphos St. John's, 26 plays and eight first downs. (09/28/2002)

Question for Indianabanana - Do you recall the foreign exchange student that holds our record for longest field goal?
 
Dola Hardin Northern:

Smallest school to win a state championship: They were runner's up in the 2002 DVI Championship losing to Mogadore 27-7, finishing 14-1 on the year. Then, won the state championship in 2004 DVI beating Norwalk St. Paul 20-8, finishing 14-1 on the year. Ironically, they won the state championship but did not win the BVC conference as Findlay Liberty-Benton beat them 35-0 in week 10. I believe their state championship roster had 30 players on it, maybe less at the time of the 2004 state championship.

The head coach at the time was Pete Brunow, who was actually from the Norwalk area and had family playing against him in the state championship game. Brunow coached from 1984 - 2009 compiling a 221 - 70 record and winning 9 BVC championships during that time. Brunow was inducted into the OHSFCA Hall of Fame in 2017.

At the time of this run, there was a player who set a new state record for games started in a career. During his time at Hardin Northern, Michael Ridgeway started in 56 games from the '02 - '05 season. I believe that has since been broken, but am unsure as I can't find information relating to this "record" online. (Someone help me out here)

Another notable alum from Hardin Northern is Dean Pees. Pees started out coaching at Elmwood and then turned to the college level coaching defense at several colleges before becoming the head coach at Kent State from 1998 - 2003. He accepted a job with the New England Patriots as the linebackers coach from 2004 - 2005 and was promoted to Defensive Coordinator from 2006 - 2009. He coached inside linebackers with the Baltimore Ravens from 20010 - 2011 before becoming the Defensive Coordinator there from 2012 - 2017. He moved on to become the Defensive Coordinator of the Tennessee Titans from 2018 - 2019 and he retired in 2019. During his NFL Career he was a two time Super Bowl winning coach, once with the Patriots (Super Bowl XXXIX, 2005) and once with the Ravens (Super Bowl XLVII, 2013).

Hardin Northern fell on tough times due to lack of numbers, going 1 - 29 from 2010 - 2012. In 2013, they played a JV schedule and were removed from the BVC. They fielded a varsity team in 2014, and joined the NWCC in 2015. They have fielded a varsity team since then, and actually returned to the playoffs last year, finishing the season 8-3 overall.

Most of this information was found through maxpreps/google so if anyone more closely related to this community has anything to add I'd appreciate it. One of the great, small Ohio High School Football teams with a rich tradition and a very interesting history.
 
Kind of a state record:

Fort Recovery held possession for 11 minutes and 51 seconds vs. Delphos St. John's, 26 plays and eight first downs. (09/28/2002)

Question for Indianabanana - Do you recall the foreign exchange student that holds our record for longest field goal?
Man.... I remember him. But Can't, for the life of me, remember the guys name.
 
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