Area football fans often like to point to bygone days when discussing the greatest era of high school football in the Mahoning Valley.

In the eyes of many, nothing today can compare to the greatness of the past.

Walk into a Niles restaurant on any given morning, and chances are you’ll come across a group of men reliving the “glory days” of Red Dragons football, which included a 48-game unbeaten streak and a pair of state championships in the 1960s.

Warren football fans will counter with the early 1970s, when Warren Western Reserve and Warren G. Harding dominated the high school football headlines. Each school won a state title between 1972-74, with WWR appearing in two state title games during the stretch. Throw in Brookfield’s state championship in 1978, and the argument can be made that the 1970s provided Trumbull County with its best era of football.

Mahoning County certainly has had its share of golden moments over the years. The county is home to 16 state titles, won by six different schools. Since the playoff era began in 1972, Mahoning County has earned at least one state title in every decade, including three by both Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline between 2000-09.

Still, the argument can be made that Mahoning County football as a whole is in the midst of perhaps its greatest era. Granted, it’s a small sample size. Perhaps it will take a few more years and maybe a few more runs at state titles to seal the deal. However there’s no denying that the county has been on a roll.

And, it’s not just one or two programs riding the waves of success.

When Mahoning County sent a record 13 of its 17 teams to the playoffs in 2022, it wasn’t necessarily a by-product of the expanded playoff format. Ten of those schools finished in the top eight of their respective regions. County schools went 11-2 in first-round games, and eight of those schools hosted second-round games.

Canfield, South Range and West Branch all advanced to the title games in their respective regions in ’22. The season culminated in historic fashion when Canfield and South Range captured state titles. It marked the first time in Mahoning County history that a pair of public schools won state championships in the same year.

Last year, 12 county teams qualified for the playoffs, 10 teams hosted first-round games, the county went 10-2 in first-round games and three teams – South Range, Ursuline and Struthers – played in regional title games.

Springfield made three consecutive trips to the state semifinals beginning in 2019, including a pair of state runner-up finishes.

Ursuline was a state runner-up in 2021. Its resume since 2020 includes a pair of regional championships and a 44-12 record.

Since 2020, West Branch owns a 48-7 record, including four league titles. During the same stretch, South Range is 54-4 with four regional final appearances, four league titles and its ’22 state championship.

Since 2015, Canfield owns an 88-22 record, which includes seven playoff appearances and its state title.

From 2021-23 Lowellville enjoyed its best three-year stretch in program history (29-6) which included back-to-back 11-win seasons.

Austintown Fitch is 35-11 with four playoff appearances since 2020.

Four weeks into the 2024 season, Mahoning County continues to flex its football muscles. Five teams – Western Reserve, West Branch, South Range, Fitch and Struthers – are 4-0. Overall, Mahoning County schools own a 46-22 record this year, including a 38-14 mark in games where a Mahoning County school played a team from outside the county.

As they did a year ago, Mahoning County schools are manhandling their neighbors to the north and south. Mahoning County schools are 10-2 in games against their Trumbull County counterparts. They are a perfect 7-0 against schools from Columbiana County.

Perhaps there is something to the old adage, “Winning breeds winning.” For years South Range was the smallest school in the Northeast 8, yet it hasn’t lost a league game since 2019. The current-day Raiders have grown up in a winning environment, they have known for years what it takes to achieve success.

By the same token, the success enjoyed by the likes of South Range, Canfield and Springfield serves as an example to other neighboring schools – both big and small, public and private – that nothing is impossible.

It also doesn’t hurt that the foundation of many of the current-day programs were molded by the likes of Hall of Fame coaches such as Mike Pavlansky (Canfield) and Dan Yeagley (South Range), who were at their respective schools for a combined 51 years.

Sean Guerriero (125-69) is in his 18th season at Springfield. Dan Reardon owns a 118-49 record with three state titles while at Ursuline.

There’s something to be said about consistency within a program.

There’s also something to be said about the coaching tree which was planted in Mahoning County decades ago, and which continues to produce fruitful results.

Prior to becoming the head coach at Lowellville, Andrew Mamula served as an assistant at Poland for seven years under Mark Brungard and Ryan Williams. Brungard – who enjoyed success as both a head coach at Poland and an assistant at Springfield – served under Paul Hulea when the Bulldogs won a state title.

Guerriero, the most successful coach in program history, once played under Hulea.

Struthers coach John Bayuk learned from the likes of Mickey Sikora, Curt Kuntz, Gary Zetts, Rob Greenamyer and of course his dad Jeff, who is a member of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Whatever the reason, Mahoning County has enjoyed a recent enormous edge over its neighboring counties when it comes to overall success on the gridiron.

If the first four weeks of the 2024 season are any indication, the trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

It seems safe to suggest that in some Mahoning County restaurant in the year 2074, a bunch of old-timers will be sipping on their coffee while reminiscing over the “glory days” of area football in the 2020s.