Connelly: Hake, Yeagley: two great coaches

The last time Western Reserve’s football program beat South Range, current Blue Devils head coach Andy Hake was still in elementary school.

That was 1989.

Six years later, Dan Yeagley took over the Raiders program and led them to the postseason 13 out of the next 20 years.

It’s a matchup that hasn’t been on the schedule since 2005, and South Range still leads the all-time series 32-6, but the two Inter Tri-County League teams put on a show last Friday night in North Lima.

The Blue Devils are a program on the rise under the always-interesting Hake (56-9 record). Call him obnoxious or a loudmouth — believe me, he’s been called it all and maybe rightfully so — but don’t dare let his theatrics overshadow the fact that he’s a great football coach.

He’s a backward hat-wearing, headset-slamming, screamer of a head coach, but that’s how he shows his passion. And his players love him for it.

Across the sideline Friday night stood a mellow-tempered Yeagley (165-54) — although college football’s Steve Spurrier would look calm opposite Hake.

What Yeagley’s built at South Range is what Hake’s trying to build — a program with expectations. He’s one of the most respected coaches in the area and is just as gracious in victory as he is in defeat.

That’s why after his Raiders took one on the chin — moreso than the 20-14 final score indicated — Yeagley was quick to praise the team on the other side.

“It was a great ball game,” he said. “It was two hard-fought teams and Coach Hake always gets his kids ready to play.

“He’s a great coach and the kids play hard for him.”

If you won’t take my word for it on Hake, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better endorsement than Yeagley’s. What the Blue Devils did on Friday night, in front of South Range’s home crowd, was more impressive in person than in the box score.

Division VII Western Reserve overpowered Division VI South Range from the opening drive, and bottled up All-Ohio running back Joe Alessi outside of one long run. It was a victory worth celebrating, which is just what Hake did in the most Hake way possible.

“Hey, how ‘bout that game?,” he asked. “Dude that team’s good, man. Dude, I don’t wanna play them ever again. I gotta play them next year.

“That guy’s a great coach,” he said of Yeagley, “and that game could’ve gone either way.”

He’s right, too. What fans were treated to wasn’t just a great show on the field, but also a lesson in Coaching 101.

Hake had his team fired up and the Blue Devils delivered the first punch. But Yeagley’s players responded, as almost everybody knew they would, and had a chance to tie and take the lead with under two minutes to go.

“Dude, that is a formidable — that team’s winning the upper tier — I don’t know who’s beatin’ them,” Hake said of what he described as an A-plus organization in South Range. “That’s unreal.”

South Range will be just fine this year and is well on its way to playoff appearance No. 14 under Yeagley. But if last season wasn’t a message to D-VII teams across that state that Western Reserve’s coach is more than just a sportswriter’s dream, Friday was your proof.

Kevin Connelly is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at kconnelly@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Connelly_Vindy.