Success becomes expectation at Western Reserve

August 24, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

BERLIN CENTER

His team just earned its second state semifinal appearance in three years, its sixth straight playoff appearance and its third straight league title.

He has a new weight room with new equipment inside a new high school with a new image in the Mahoning Valley.

And as Western Reserve High coach Andy Hake sits on a bench inside a newly-renovated workout room, bragging about his players while humming along with a few bars of “Blurred Lines,” it’s easy to forget something:

Western Reserve used to stink.

From 1989, when the Blue Devils made their first playoff appearance, to 2006, when they made their second, the football team went 35-114 (a .235 winning percentage). They finished with a losing record every year from 1991-2005. Opposing teams treated their games like glorified scrimmages.

“I’m from [Mineral Ridge] and when we used to play them, we’d say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna run three plays,’” Hake said.

That changed in 2006, when then-coach Mike Kopachy led Reserve to a 9-3 record and a berth in the second round of the playoffs. Since Hake took over in 2009, the Blue Devils have gone 53-9.

“It’s not good enough to just be playing here; you’ve got to perform,” Hake said. “The fans demand a lot and we demand a lot.”

Senior lineman Matt Mace put it this way: “If you’re not serious 100 percent of the time, you will be screamed at.”

While the Blue Devils lost some good players to graduation, including first team All-Ohio quarterback Nick Allison and first team All-Ohio linebacker Dan Zilke, they’re now at the point where they expect to contend every year.

“Last year’s team was really good but we didn’t make it to state,” Mace said. “That’s the only thing we have left to do. That’s our motivation.”

Offense

Senior John Clegg takes over at quarterback, where his main targets will be towering WR Joe Falasca (6-6, 205) and Brian Sunderman. Tim Coler and Kyle Hilles will play tight end.

Senior Evan Nesbitt, who ran for more than 1,000 yards last year, was switched to receiver to make room for junior running backs Ed Smith, Joe Stubbs and Brian Benyo.

“Those guys are war-daddies,” Hake said of the three RBs. “They come to the party, man.”

Reserve returns four of its five starting offensive linemen: tackle Mace (“One of the better linemen I’ve been around,” Hake said), center Hunter Powell (“An absolute killer”) and guards Jess Bowman and T.J. Henry.

“We’re big and we out-hit people,” Powell said. “Last year, we learned if you play as a team, you win. Coach Hake really drills it into our head that you play as hard as you can all the time.”

Defense

Nic Deal, Jimmy Procick and Benyo will man the line in Reserve’s 3-5 alignment — “They’re not big, but they’re nutty,” Hake said — and Ed Smith, Stubbs, Henry, Hilles, Coler and Falasca will be the linebackers. Clegg, an all-state safety last season, “will start when it counts,” Hake said, with Wyatt Larimer (a standout pitcher on the school’s state semifinal baseball team) playing the other safety spot. Anthony Cervone and Sunderman will be the corners.

“Brian Sunderman is the best corner we’ve ever had here,” Hake said. “He shut down everybody’s best receiver all the way to the state semifinal game.”

Special teams

Henry will be the kicker, although it’s an area of concern. (“I’ll be kicking extra points,” Hake said. “That’s where we are right now.”) Diehl will handle the punting.

Outlook

Reserve has 45 boys on the team, out of 101 in the school, and Hake thinks his team will be good enough to make another run.

“We lost a lot of good players, but we have guys,” he said. “The kids here work their butts off. Every place works hard, but only some places have expectations.

“I know schools like South Range and McDonald want to kill us, but we’re good enough that we’re ready for it.”

Roster

1Anthony CervoneWR-DB5-10145Sr.

2Ryan DemskyWR-DB5-5112Fr.

3Evan NesbittWR-DB5-9171Sr.

4Cole DeZeeWR-DB5-9147Fr.

5Logan MatasRB-LB5-8166Jr.

6John CleggQB-DB6-2195Sr.

7Karl KlockengaWR-DB5-8137So.

8Aaron PostenWR-DB5-6121Fr.

9Jeep DiCioccioWR-DB5-11162So.

10Tyler HigginsWR-DB5-6120So.