A Mount Rushmore for Ohio high school football coaches on OHSAA playoffs 50th anniversary

As an amusement for the 50th anniversary of the OHSAA playoffs, imagine a Mount Rushmore for Ohio high school football coaches.

One might debate what it could be called. If there were room for only four faces, Rushmore style, arguments might drag into quadruple overtime.

There are obvious candidates.

Paul Brown's run at Massillon from 1932-40 became so magnificent that a statewide campaign to make him head coach at Ohio State ensued. Brown landed in Columbus in 1941 and won a national championship in 1942.

Gerry Faust's work at Cincinnati Moeller from 1962-80 produced a 178-23-2 record and, as with Brown, immediate transfer to an iconic college program, Notre Dame.

Chuck Kyle played high school ball at Cleveland St. Ignatius and never really left. He was the Ignatius head coach for 30 seasons, including the one that ended with a playoff loss to Lakewood St. Edward on Nov. 11. The more pertinent "11" is Kyle's 11 Division I state championships.

Brown and Faust finished on fire.

In Brown's last six years at Massillon, his Tigers went 58-1-1. In Faust's last six years at Moeller, his Fighting Crusaders went 70-1.

Brown's teams played fewer games because there was no playoff system. Faust's teams played so many games because they kept making the playoffs, back when it was very hard to do.

Based on polls, Massillon historians claim six state championships and four national titles across Brown's last six years.

Ohio's playoff system kicked off in 1972. Faust's teams won the big-school division in 1975, '76, '77, '79 and '80. In three of those title games, Moeller flattened Gahanna Lincoln, Parma Padua and Massillon by a combined score of 114-19.

Kyle was in his sixth year at St. Ignatius when he won his first state title, kicking off a bit of a hot streak.

Some sages might accept Brown, Faust and Kyle as automatics on Buckeye Mountain - can we call it that? On a four-headed memorial, this would leave one open spot, and, community loyalties being what they are, and Ohio history being what it is, nominations would be staggering.

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One imagines Steubenville boosters demanding a place for Reno Saccoccia, who this year became Ohio's all-time wins leader. We are certain Manchester's Jim France, the man Saccoccia passed, has supporters.

As history-minded journalist Steve King asserts, "France is in the running because of no losing seasons in 49 years at a small public school. That stands out even more than his 401 wins."

That's one argument for one man.

Even the great ones tend to blend in if one contemplates identifying a small herd of GOATs from a pool that makes your head swim.

It would take a month to fairly compile a top 50 from among pilots who are in the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. Simply by way of example as to the crowd of names, the charter class, elected in 1970, included Paul Brown, John Brickles, Charles "Punque" Cartledge, Tiger Elison, Ernie Goldfrey, Chuck Mather, Jack Mollenkopf and Jim Robinson.

The Class of 1980 was Jim Aiken, Harold Castor, Babe Flossie, Sid Gillman, Bob Kettlewall and Joe Rufus.

The Class of 1990 was Tom Ballaban, Bucky Buckenmeyer, L.C. Bols, Joe Carlo, Paul Keltner and Billie McFarren.

The Class of 2000 was Don Bucci, John Brideweser, Patrick Gucciardo, Jim Dally, Bob Seaman and Tom Greer.

The Class of 2010 was Dave Bruney, Jim Chapman, Tom Crosby, Tom Dunlap, Mo Tipton and … Chuck Kyle.

The Class of 2020 was Bill Albright, Steve Bartlett, Brian Cross, Ty Fleming, Whit Parks and Jim Ryan.

That's six classes out of 53. And the exercise is to pick four from forever.

Most of the Hall of Famers would not be Buckeye Mountain candidates. All represent important stories in their communities.

Paul Brown learned a lot of football from "Punque" Cartledge, a Steubenville icon.

Mather posted a 57-3 record at Massillon.

Bucci ran a marathon at Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, just as John Cistone (Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) and Augie Bossu (Cleveland Benedictine) won state titles and logged more years than there are miles in a marathon.

J.D. Graham didn't "do a marathon" with a mere 21 years at Newark Catholic, but his 220-30-1 record and seven playoff championships represent a decent run for the money.

These last few names evoke "public schools vs. private schools vis-a-vis the playoffs," a marathon argument for another time. But, just to throw a more current name out there, Tim Tyrell's Akron Archbishop Hoban teams have contended for Division III or Division II state titles every year for a while now.

Tyrrell, in his 10th year at Hoban, has driven his current squad to the Division II state final. That required five wins, in which the closest game was 41-20 against Massillon.

In the public-school domain, current top men Tiger LaVerde of Kirtland (17th year) and Tim Goodwin of Marion Local (23rd year) occupy formidable peaks.

In August, LaVerde reached his 200th career win, becoming the third fastest in the nation to do so at one high school.

Across the last 10 seasons, LaVerde's Kirtland Hornets are 137-6, with five state championships; Goodwin's Marion Local Flyers are 136-8, with seven state titles. Their only three meetings were in state title games, in which LaVerde is 2-1 against Goodwin.

They'll collide for a fourth time in the Division VI championship game in Canton on Saturday afternoon.

Winner gets a spot on Buckeye Mountain?

Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Chuck Kyle joins Moeller Massillon football coaches among OHSAA best