Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown: 25 notable coaches in 25 years of games

The Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown is entering its 25th season of bringing together top programs, athletes and coaching minds to compete in the highest quality competition Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky has to offer.

In the beginning:How the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown began

Skyline Chili Crosstown ShowdownA look at notable alumni

Bernie Barre

Known for winning in both Ohio and Kentucky, it was in Wyoming that Barre coached in the Crosstown Showdown toward the end of his hall-of-fame career, including a 21-8 win over Edgewood in his penultimate win season at the helm of the Cowboys.

Tom Bolden

Bolden took over the powerhouse Colerain Cardinals in 2007 and had a 9-3 record in the Showdown with them and is 12-4 overall with his current stint of winning football games at Lakota West.

Kerry Coombs

Now a coach at the University of Cincinnati after stops at Ohio State and the NFL, Coombs took over coaching duties at his alma mater, Colerain, in 1991 and the Cardinals have been a force ever since. His Cardinals picked apart two-time defending champs Elder 21-3 in 2004 on the way to an undefeated state championship of his own. Coombs was 5-2 before departing for the college ranks.

John Gibbons

Powerhouse Lakewood St Edward has made just one stop in the Crosstown Showdown, which turned into a St. Edward forfeit due to an ineligible player. Still, then-head coach John Gibbons won over 200 games in his career, leading to an Ohio Football Coaches Hall of Fame induction.

Tom Grippa

A veteran coach who won his 200th game at the beginning of the 2021 season, Grippa has had the ability to turn around a number of programs and has done the same at Milford after previous stops at Elder, La Salle and Fairfield. His Lancers went undefeated in the Crosstown Showdown from 2003-2007.

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Justin Haddix

Haddix was the head of the Corbin, Kentucky, program that fell to Beechwood 36-29 in the 2017 edition of the Crosstown Showdown. Haddix constantly led Corbin to deep playoff runs before taking over at Boyle County for the 2020 season. He’ll be seeking his third-straight state championship in 2022.

Aaron Hancock

Hancock took over the Wyoming program from Bernie Barre and needed just 115 games to reach 100 wins, a mark he reached last September. The Cowboys were Division IV state champions in 2018, including a 33-10 win over CHCA in the Crosstown Showdown. Overall, Hancock is 3-1 in Crosstown Showdown contests.

John Hebert

Hebert took over the Carmel, Ind., program in 2015 and made his lone Showdown appearance that season, a 35-28 loss to La Salle. Hebert was a coordinator at Carmel for a state title run. By 2019, Carmel had been in the state final in five of the last seven years and had no problem making deep playoff runs year after year.

Steve Klonne

Klonne won two state championships at Moeller in his first four seasons after taking over in 1982. Klonne lasted as head coach until 2000 and went 2-0 in the Showdown during the event’s first two seasons.

Terry Malone

The Crosstown Showdown caught Malone right at the end of his legendary run as the head coach of Hamilton Catholic/Badin that saw him win 360 games, making him the all-time winningest coach in Ohio at the time of his 2003 retirement. In 2002, Badin shut out Wyoming 24-0 in his only Crosstown Showdown appearance.

Dale Mueller

Mueller won over 300 games in his coaching career, including over 250 with Highlands where he was an 11-time state champion. Mueller’s squad made just one Crosstown Showdown appearance in his tenure, winning 47-17 over University Christian from Florida in his final season, 2013.

Jason Negro

Negro is the head coach of perennial national powerhouse St. John Bosco of California. Bosco came to town in 2016 and flexed its muscles to the tune of a 34-0 shutout of St. Xavier.

Doug Ramsey

The 200-game winner and his Elder Panthers have been the mainstay of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown competing in the event each season since its inception. With a 19-5 record in the event, nearly a 10th of his career wins have come in the Crosstown Showdown. Two of those Showdown wins came during Elder’s 2002 and 2003 Division I state championship seasons.

Noel Rash

Rash took over the Beechwood program in 2006 and has the Tigers with seven KHSAA state championships under his watch. In the Showdown, Rash is 6-3 with an active four-game winning streak.

Lynn Ray

Ray turned Covington Catholic into the local powerhouse it continues to be known as to this day. Ray won 234 games at Covington Catholic, including five Class AAA championships. Despite the success, Ray’s teams were 0-3 in the Crosstown Showdown, including a 52-13 loss to Moeller in the inaugural 1998 season.

Steve Rasso

Rasso led the St. Xavier program from 1978-2003 and had previously been the head coach at Covington Catholic, La Salle and Mariemont. With 249 wins over his historic career, Rasso was undefeated in his Showdown career.

John Rodenberg

Now the leader at Indian Hill, Rodenberg has had a number of successful stops across three states, including championship runs at Covington Catholic and Moeller. Rodenberg was 0-1 in the Showdown for Covington Catholic, losing to Elder in 2006 before going 11-2 the rest of the season to win the Class AAA championship. For the Crusaders though, Rodenberg went a perfect 10-0 in Showdown games.

Bob Schneider

One of the winningest coaches in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky history, Schneider won 345 games over 44 seasons with three state championships to his name. Schneider had one appearance in the Crosstown Showdown, falling to Simon Kenton 29-8 during his final season. At the time of his retirement in 2009 from Newport Central Catholic, Schneider was the winningest coach in Kentucky history.

Jay Sharrett

A head coach at Pickerington Central since 2003, Sharrett’s teams are 2-3 in the Crosstown Showdown but has won the last two including a 20-14 win over Elder in 2016.

Steve Specht

Taking over St. Xavier for the legendary Rasso, Specht and the Bombers never missed a beat and only got better. Under Specht, the Bombers have won four state titles and are the winningest team in Crosstown Showdown history with a 20-3 record in the event.

Rick Streiff

Streiff came down for the Crosstown Showdown by way of Indianapolis Cathedral in a 21-19 loss to Moeller in 2015. As the leader of Cathedral for 23 years, Streiff won more than 220 games and 10 state championships.

Vince Suriano

Another Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame inductee, Suriano had the most of his success as the head coach at Anderson from 1987-2007. Suriano went 4-1 in the Crosstown Showdown, including a 20-6 win over Moeller in 2003.

Kevin Wallace

Before joining the Louisville St. Xavier staff that brought him to the Crosstown Showdown in a 34-7 loss to Cincinnati St. Xavier in Wallace's first season (2018), he won five state championships at Bowling Green. Wallace added another trophy to his case after leading the St. Xavier Tigers to the Class 6A state title last season.

John Wilkinson

Wilkinson's teams were four-time state champions at Cocoa High School in Florida. His Cocoa squad came to the Showdown in 2011, falling to Colerain 17-7.

Mike Yeagle

Yeagle was at the helm of Beechwood for 15 seasons and was a champion over half the time with eight state titles. Yeagle’s Beechwood squad competed in the first Crosstown Showdown in 1998, defeating Ryle 27-22.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Notable coaches from 25 years of Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdowns