By Steve Ruman

sports@vindy.com

Bill Bohren is doing something that he’s done just twice over the past 50 years — and it is driving him crazy.

Bohren is spending his Friday nights attending high school football games as a fan.

For just the second time since 1965, Bohren is not roaming the sidelines as a coach. Bohren resigned from his most recent head coaching gig at LaBrae following the 2012 season. At the time, he stressed that “after nine years it was just time for a fresh start” and vowed to guide another program in the future.

Along with the 2003 season, this marks just the second year since ’65 that Bohren hasn’t been calling shots on a Friday night.

Last year, Bohren served under Terry Howell at Champion. It was the only season in his 48-year career that he was an assistant coach.

While he is enjoying the action from the stands, Bohren is quick to point out that he does not plan to make a habit out of being a spectator.

In fact, distancing himself from the action has made Bohren only more determined to land another job.

“I do very much want to return and coach one last program,” he said. “Whether it’s maintaining an already-winning tradition or building from the ground out, I want one more team to coach.”

The well-traveled Bohren has made a career out of breathing new life everywhere he’s gone.

Bohren’s 1976 Steubenville team finished 7-1-2, Big Red’s best showing as a member of the All- American Conference. At Lakeview, Bohren compiled a 32-18 mark. At Boardman, his Spartans were 59-26, including two straight Steel Valley Conference titles and a trip to the Division I state title game.

Salem won its first conference title in 104 years under Bohren. At Niles, he won a pair of league titles and made two trips to the playoffs.

After sitting out the 2003 season, Bohren took over a LaBrae program which was 3-27 in the three years prior to his arrival. With him, the Vikings went 46-46 with a pair of postseason appearances.

Though he is not calling plays this season, Bohren has attended games each week. And, he has plenty on opinions on what he’s seen.

“Hubbard has incredible talent,” Bohren said. “No other program in this area can match their roster. Lakeview, they are so well-coached. Year in and year out Tom Pavlansky does an incredible job of making the best of what he has.”

Bohren believes Warren Harding “is still trying to find themselves,” but believes the Raiders will show improvement in league play. He wonders why Boardman’s numbers in recent years were so down, noting, “When we were there we dressed 35 seniors. That’s about the total roster they dressed last year.”

Bohren also has strong opinions on the high-scoring games which have become commonplace throughout the Valley.

“People think the spread is the sole reason for all the scoring, but the tackling is horrible,” Bohren said. “You see teams throw a 2- or 3-yard pass, but then a missed tackle at the spot turns the play into a 60-yard gain.”

In fact, Bohren already has a game plan in place for the next team he coaches.

“I’m going to run the ball 100 percent of the time,” Bohren said. “Seriously, teams can’t tackle, and because of the spread no one practices or plays run defense anymore. A strong, fundamentally-sound run game can eat up today’s defenses.”

Bohren began his coaching career at Ohio High School in Illinois. In 2007, he was inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He owns a career record of 288-165-6.