Despite loss, Lock Haven’s Klacik still had lots of fun

It was a gratifying experience for the Lock Haven coach.

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — Lock Haven coach John Klacik was a little emotional when he talked to the media following the Bald Eagles’ 35-3 loss to Youngstown State University Saturday afternoon.

Not because his team lost or played poorly against the Penguins but because he was back in the room where he spent many hours as an assistant coach with YSU.

“It was fun even just sitting in this room right here,” said Klacik, who was an assistant coach under Jim Tressel and Jon Heacock for 13 years. “It was an exciting day and I told our kids right before we went out for the game, ‘All right, I saw all the people I needed to see but now we have to go out and play the game.’

“This is a special place to me and always will be.”

Heacock admitted having Klacik home was kind of special.

“It’s just coaching,” Heacock said. “We’ve been friends for a long time. It’s different but I care about him and he cares about us.

“Every Saturday I root for him to win except for today.”

A Chaney graduate, Klacik said he felt like his team acquitted itself well despite entering the game with an 0-3 record.

“I think our team is slowly starting to figure out if you play hard and keep playing and keep learning you will have a chance to be pretty good,” he said. “I was proud of our kids out there today. I thought we looked like we wanted to play and we weren’t intimidated.”

Has a young team

Klacik said that 85 percent of his team is freshman and sophomores and they are learning under fire, so the future is bright.

Klacik, who is in his third season as head coach of the Bald Eagles, pointed out that everything he learned under Tressel and Heacock over the years has been used to build his program.

“I think that it was great for our kids to come into this kind of atmosphere,” Klacik said. “We had our pre-game meal at the MVR Club and I told our kids there that this is a football town.

“I would love to have our guys keep coming back here.”

Klacik said returning to Youngstown was a very special moment for him.

“Once the ball got kicked off it was a football game. I’m sure Jon [Heacock] will say the same thing. You are coaching,” he said.

“Leading up to the kickoff it was emotional,” Klacik said. “I leaned to one of my coaches and said, ‘Did you ever think we’d be here today?’ and then we kicked a field goal and I went to him again and said, ‘Hey, did you ever think we’d be ahead?’”

Learning experience

Klacik said this game was a learning experience for his team.

“You can’t teach this on film,” Klacik said. “Our kids could see on film that we run the same things that Ohio State and Youngstown State run. It’s the same defense. It was the same pre-game.

“The programs are built on the same foundations.”

Klacik knows that if he can continue to emulate the successful programs like the Penguins and Buckeyes, he will build a winner at Lock Haven.

Saturday’s game went a long way toward achieving that goal.