Mahoning Valley's winning warriors

October 24, 2014 at 12:10a.m.

The 1994 high school football season featured quite a finish for teams from leagues in the Mahoning Valley. In 20 years, we’ve not seen anything like it as West Branch, McDonald and Wellsville all played for state championships at Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

In Division VI, McDonald (13-1), led by head coach Brian Fedyski, lost to St. Henry (12-2), 21-7. In Division V, Wellsville, coached by Robert Thayer, lost to Versailles, 28-7.

In Division III, West Branch completed a perfect season on Dec. 3, 1994, with a 28-11 romp over Clyde for the state crown. That 14-0 West Branch team is still the only Northeastern Buckeye Conference team to win a state title.

“To us, that makes it special,” said Jim Laut, West Branch’s head coach during the championship season. “That only one other public school in Mahoning County [Poland] has won [since shows] it’s pretty hard to do.”

Laut was referring to Poland’s 1999 team that was the first in Ohio to go 15-0 after the playoffs were expanded to a fifth round.

“It’s difficult to win as a public school,” Laut said.

It almost didn’t happen for the Warriors, who needed overtime to defeat Salem, 28-21, in the opener. Back then, one loss often meant missing the postseason. In 1992 and 1993, West Branch went 9-1 (losing to Louisville both years) and missed the playoffs.

Linebacker Luke Williams, now a physical education teacher in the United school system in Hanoverton, was asked if he believes the Warriors would have made the postseason had they lost the opener.

“Honestly, I don’t think so,” Williams said. “Back then, only the top four [in a region] made it.”

The regular season meant a lot more two decades ago. Unlike today, when eight teams from each region qualify for the playoffs and it takes five postseason wins to be crowned state champion, only four teams advanced to Week 11 in 1994.

“It probably would have been close,” said Chris Tucker, who was a split end and outside linebacker. “The win against Louisville might have given us enough points.”

That fall, the Warriors were different from most teams in Northeast Ohio. Blessed with unusual team speed, Laut instilled a run-and-shoot offense, daring opponents to stop senior quarterback Jeff Morris’ arm. His targets included wide receivers Tucker, Kyle Doak and Jeff Grove.

Speed was everywhere. Cornerbacks Joe Lisi and Jon Lisi, running back Jeremy Stephens and tight end Bernie Berger qualified for the state track meet the following spring.

Switching to a pass-oriented offense “was not really difficult because we had switched our offense a few times before,” Laut said. “I looked for something to fit the [skill] kids we had.”

West Branch was loaded with skill players so during the offseason, Laut and his coaches made a trip to Pennsylvania’s Lock Haven University. Lock Haven assistant coach Pop Jackson had worked with June Jones and Mouse Davis, the innovators of the run-and-shoot in the old USFL.

“We latched on to the idea of trying it, then took our skill guys to camp there,” Laut said. “They helped us learn it, then our coaches went up there and studied it.”

The Warriors’ new offense debuted in the 28-21 Salem victory that was secured when Morris intercepted a pass in overtime.

“Morris had an unbelievable arm and it fit with us having so many people with speed,“ said Williams, a wingback on offense.

The Warriors rolled to seven more wins, setting up a battle of unbeatens against Louisville, the team that twice had kept West Branch out of the playoffs.

In the third quarter, the Warriors trailed 14-12 when the Leopards posted a first down at the West Branch 7. The Warriors’ defense withstood the challenge. On fourth down, the Leopards were stopped at the 5.

Morris then marched the Warriors 95 yards on 11 plays for the go-ahead score, hitting Grove with a 12-yard touchdown pass.

The Warriors’ defense remained dominant on the next series, forcing a three-and-out. After the punt, the Warriors needed just 48 yards on five plays to extend their lead to 12 in an eventual 26-21 victory. Morris capped the drive with a 6-yard toss to Tucker.

“Our defense was pretty good all [season],” Laut said.

Tucker said speed was the reason.

“Across the board, we were all pretty fast,” said Tucker, who is a physical education teacher in the West Branch system.

The Warriors saved their most amazing performances for the playoffs. The NBC champions opened the postseason by defeating Copley, 28-12.

In the regional final at Warren’s Mollenkopf Stadium, the Warriors defeated Twinsburg, 21-7. The Tigers featured two future NFL players — quarterback Kelly Herndon (Toledo, Seahawks) and running back Anthony White (Kentucky, Cardinals).

“I consider it the best game I ever called on defense,” said Bob Altenhof, then the Warriors’ defensive coordinator. “It was the greatest example of team defense I ever saw.”

Altenhof, a retired teacher, is now the defensive coordinator for Southeast High School and has been coaching for 35 seasons.

“Just a tremendous effort by everybody,” said Altenhof of the Warriors defenders, who did not allow a score.

Twinsburg’s touchdown came on a White punt return.

“Our guys couldn’t catch him,” Altenhof said.

“To shut them out, all the guys had to be playing well,” Altenhof said. “[Linebacker] Dom Panezott was our leader. Kyle Doak at free safety was doing a great job.

“[Inside linebacker] Bernie Berger probably was our fastest — his speed was so valuable.”

Altenhof said the Warriors finally pulled ahead in the fourth quarter.

“I remember the electricity in the air — you could feel the tension throughout the stadium,” Altenhof said. “Their great speed on defense was holding down our offense — we struggled for three quarters.”

The win over Twinsburg set up a state semifinal match against Steubenville at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium. That game produced the strangest ending of the season.

The Warriors were in trouble almost immediately as Big Red jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.

“It was a bizarre game,” said Altenhof, whose ties to Steubenville head coach Reno Saccoccia date to when Altenhof played for United. “He was my defensive coordinator.”

Helping Big Red’s fast start was a defensive touchdown and one scored on a tipped pass.

“Steubenville [fans] are quick to point out that we got all the breaks in the second half, but they had a lot of unusual bounces go their way early,” Altenhof said.

Just before halftime, Morris scored a 5-yard touchdown to slice the halftime deficit to 14. Laut said that was crucial, saying his players went into the locker room believing they were still in the game.

In the third quarter, Morris scored on a 55-yard run.

“Morris made a long run on the counter option,” Laut said. “He broke back and before you knew it he was in the end zone. It was almost as if the Steubenville players were sleepwalking.

“At that moment, it felt like a comeback [was more than a] possibility,” Laut said. “They had a lot of confidence in themselves. We just needed something to spark them. Morris’ run was that spark.”

Momentum shifted in West Branch’s favor in the fourth quarter. Trailing 28-17, Morris threw a touchdown pass with about three minutes remaining. Laut gambled with an onside kick by Chris Zion and Curtis Knoch recovered it. That set up another Morris touchdown pass for a 31-28 lead.

With time running out, Big Red drove into Warriors territory and attempted a game-tying field goal that missed wide right.

“My understanding is that they totally shunned the kicker,” said Williams, adding that it wasn’t Steubenville’s only puzzling move of the second half. “They took Nate Johnson out at running back until the final series. In the first half, Nate Johnson was going crazy on us.”

The next day, Altenhof remembers asking Saccoccia for Steubenville’s scouting information on Clyde.

“He said, ‘The state championship was last night, you’ve already won it,’ ” Altenhof said. “He has an amazing awareness of how good other teams in the state are.”

Still, Altenhof said the Warriors weren’t going to relax because of that prediction.

West Branch scored four first-half touchdowns against Clyde. Unlike Steubenville, which was loaded with speedy players, Clyde brought plenty of size to the title showdown.

“Our confidence was pretty high,” Williams said. “Our coaches said, ‘Don’t focus on their size.’ Our speed made a big difference. No one was spreading the ball out. [Opponents] had four days, maybe three to prepare for it.”

Morris threw three touchdown passes, two to Doak, who also made an interception.

Williams created another turnover when he laid a big hit on Clyde wide receiver Chad Long, popping the ball to Panezott for an interception.

“Going out in the flat, I saw the quarterback getting ready to throw and reacted,” Williams said of his most memorable hit. “Today, I’d probably get a 15-yard penalty.”

Five years ago, the 1994 team was inducted into the West Branch Athletic Hall of Fame. Last year, Laut was inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Asked if it feels like 20 years have passed, Williams laughed.

“It doesn’t, absolutely not. It seems like it was just the other day,” he said.

Altenhof agreed.

“No, it doesn’t. It’s amazing how fast time flies.”