By Kevin Connelly

kconnelly@vindy.com

BERLIN CENTER

You don’t need to spend more than a few minutes around Western Reserve football coach Andy Hake to understand how he turned the program into a monster.

“His passion really gets to you,” said Blue Devils senior lineman Jacob Graffius. “It’s impossible not to play hard for him, because of how much he cares about the team and his players.”

Hake’s passion, coupled with his ability to get the most out of his players, has resulted in a new-age powerhouse football program that shows no signs of slowing down. The Blue Devils have gone 64-11 in his six seasons as head coach and six of those losses came in the postseason.

But according to Hake, that success is not because of him.

“The kids are so cooperative and I have the best coaches,” Hake said. “And the parents insist that I ride them. They think what I’m doing isn’t enough.

“I’m like, ‘What?’ And they’re like, ‘Be hard on them.’ ”

He responded by holding 5:30 a.m. practices to begin August.

“It’s great, man,” Hake said in his usually raspy voice. “The players love it.”

They also love winning, which they understand comes at a cost.

“It’s better to be out here than on the couch or in bed being lazy,” Graffius said.

There’s no lazy in this program’s vocabulary.

OFFENSE

Hake believes he has the best player the school district’s ever seen in junior quarterback Wyatt Larimer.

Hyperbole aside, Larimer has already proven he can dominate a baseball game on the pitching mound (8-0, 1.05 ERA last spring). His next challenge will be finding similar comfort under center.

“Straight up, he’s the best athlete that’s ever come through here, skill-wise,” Hake said. “Now, you gotta get it out of him. I’m gonna tell you something, the league has never seen a guy like him.

“You should see him run. Oh my god, dude, he’s flying.”

Teddy Smith will lead a stable of running backs to fulfill the Blue Devils’ ground-and-pound style.

“I’m just excited to do whatever I can to help my team,” Smith said.

DEFENSE

In Western Reserve’s two losses last year, the defense gave up an average of 16 points.

And with nine players returning from that unit, Hake expects an even more confident bunch.

“We’re gonna hang our hat on our D,” Hake said. “Our defense bangs and our D-line is great.”

He referred to senior linebacker T.J. Henry as a “bad apple” and “one of the best players in the league.”

“I’m telling you, he’s a killer,” Hake said.

The linebacker corps also returns Joe Stubbs, Kyle Hilles and Smith.

Leading the secondary will be seniors Brian Benyo and Gregary Brunner.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Jack Cappabianca returns after an impressive freshman season to do the punting and kicking for the Blue Devils.

He’s also a fullback, tight end, linebacker and defensive end for Hake, who calls Cappabianca an “old school” player.

Larimer will likely kick the extra points.

OUTLOOK

Hake isn’t afraid of talking championships, because that’s become the expectation at Western Reserve. After all, that’s the monster he created.

“Our expectations are we want to get to the playoffs, we want to win the league and have a shot at the state title,” Hake said. “We talk about it all the time. We watch [film of] Marion Local and Coldwater daily.”

Why?

“I tell my kids, ‘Look at their speed,” he said. “Screw who we play, because they could never run with that team. Can you play at that speed? Emulate that speed.”

The Blue Devils were moved up to Division VI with the realignment, but will be one of the smallest schools in the division.

That’s not something Hake is happy about — but it does give him something else to yell about.