Western Reserve has 20 lettermen and 12 starters back from last year’s 13-1 season, in which the Blue Devils finished as a Division VII state semifinalist.

Coach Andy Hake is in his sixth season with a record of 57-9. The Devils have won 22 consecutive regular-season games.

Q. How has your team progressed since the start of the season?

A. First of all, we are lucky to have talented kids who are also coachable. I think that’s the first thing, they are very coachable kids. I think our team’s getting better, but we can always improve. It’s the little things, things like penalties and turnovers that can beat you. But to answer your question, yes I think we are getting better week to week.

Q. How has the experience of your team helped maintain your success?

A. We have so many guys who have been through these battles. Our experience is a weapon, it’s a weapon we use. I think that’s a big deal, the experience.

Q. Does the success the program has had in recent years put pressure on the kids to match it and, if so, how does the staff deal with that?

A. The big thing is we are really hard on our kids in practice and that keeps them humble. If we’re patting everybody on the back and telling them how great they are, they can become full of pride and that is your first downfall. I’m not saying don’t be proud of your accomplishments, just don’t go over the top. So we are really hard on the kids in practice on staying humble.

Q. What do you consider the strength of your team?

A. Our seniors are the strength of our team, it’s always the seniors. They really buy in to what we’re saying. I know that we’ve had some talent, but the senior classes have been 11, six, eight, six and nine. They buy into what we’re saying, they’re great kids and they lead by example. And I can’t talk about our strengths without mentioning our offensive line and the defense. The defense is always the strength of our team.

Q. How big a role do your assistant coaches play in Western Reserve’s success?

A. Head coaches get too much credit and too much blame. There is a leadership factor you need a leader as head coach, but after that you’ve got to have some assistant coaches. This is my sixth season here and most of the guys have been here since day one. Our success has had as much to do with parents letting us coach their kids hard. The parents in this community encourage us to coach their kids hard. The kids want it. How are you going to talk about going undefeated, winning regional titles, going to the state semifinals if you don’t coach the kids hard? I’m blessed with great coaches, I’m blessed with great players and I’m blessed with great parents of the players who let us coach the kids tough.

Q. Have you had a pleasant surprise this season?

A. We lost all our senior linebackers last year and the kids we moved into those positions have been so tough and loyal, I think that’s the pleasant surprise. Our defense kind of picked up where we left off last year.

Q. What problems does Mineral Ridge present this week?

A. Well, I’m from there, so I’ll be coming home. And I coached there before so for me I’m going against my home town which is cool. For the kids it’s another league game, another game where the opponent present problems. I think they (Mineral Ridge) are getting better, they’ve got a lot of young kids. They also have a veteran coaching staff that we have a lot of respect for. Jeff Whittaker, the Pappada brothers, those guys have been around for a long time and they’re going to have those kids ready to play.