For Lakeview coach Ron DeJulio Jr., last Friday’s 10-7 win over Springfield was special in more ways than one.

For starters, the victory gave DeJulio a win in his first-ever game as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

The manner in which the ‘Dogs prevailed was also “special.”

Bulldogs kicker Easton Bradley booted a field goal in overtime to secure the victory.

According to DeJulio, the outcome is further proof that the play of the special teams unit is vital to the success of any football team, at any level of play.

“We seriously practice special teams every single day, we put a lot of effort into it during the season, and during the off-season,” DeJulio said. “Special teams is an emphasis. I’m sure every coach will tell you the same thing.

“Even before our game-winning field goal, special teams set us up for the win. Easton’s punts flipped the field for us throughout the night. Our philosophy going in was to run the ball, control the clock and let the defense and the special teams pin the opponent deep into its own territory.”

Lakeview was one of several area teams which secured an opening-week victory as a direct result of the play of its special teams.

DeJulio believes a deeper dive would reveal that nearly every win can be traced back to a solid performance from the special teams unit.

“Spending so many years with Pav (Tom Pavlansky), I learned the importance of special teams,” DeJulio said. “He would always spend twenty to thirty minutes each day at practice working with that unit, and that’s something I carried over when I became a head coach.

“Pav was a bit of a riverboat gambler when it came to fake punts, onside kicks and such. But he was successful at what he did. That’s because he always worked diligently on that aspect of the game throughout the year. His teams were prepared.”

DeJulio noted that with earlier starts to the season, the number of full-day practices have diminished. Coaches are forced to cram a lot of instruction into shorter periods of time. Still, he and his staff find ample time to work on the part of the game that includes the kicking game and all that goes with it.

“The blocking, the coverage when we’re on the receiving end, the snap, the hold, it can all be a major liability if that unit is not prepared in all phases,” DeJulio said. “We don’t have as much practice time as we used to, but I would be willing to say we still spend just as much time working on special teams as we did ten years ago.”

In Howland’s 10-8 win over arch-rival Niles, the difference in the game was a blocked punt that went out of the end zone for a safety, breaking an 8-8 tie with under two minutes left in the game. The Tigers then recovered an onside kick to seal the victory.

“Every week we talk about how three or four special teams plays per game can be game-changing moments. Friday was a great example of that,” Howland coach Brian Jones said. “As a coaching staff, if you’re not dedicating the proper amount of time toward the special teams unit, you’re not giving your team a fair chance. It’s that important.”

Jones credited Special Teams Coordinator Sean Borawiec for “putting our team in a position to win that game because of his attention to detail.” He noted that in addition to the game-winning blocked punt and the coverage on the onside kick, his special team unit made other adjustments that helped pave the way to victory.

“We did some things that the typical fan might not even notice,” Jones said. “We decided to drop two players back to field punts in an effort to not allow the ball to hit the field and bounce backward. We did a study during the off-season and it was pretty noticeable how much yardage we would lose on a punt just by not fielding the ball. We call that hidden yardage that doesn’t show up in the boxscore but it can be a game-changer.”

“Our blocking on punts and kickoffs was solid, and that’s huge. For every second that the blocking unit can latch onto the opponent during a return, that’s ten extra yards.”

Jones says that throughout his coaching career, he has seen his share of game-changing special team moments, both for the good and bad.

“When I was at Liberty we had a punt blocked that proved to be catastrophic,” Jones said. “When I was at Poland we had a number of walk-off game-winning field goals. I’ve been around so many instances where special teams either won or lost games.”

This past summer, Howland began its training camp with a pair of two-hour practices focused solely on special teams.

“There’s so much that goes into a punt, a kickoff, a field goal.” Jones said. “On a field goal everyone is focused on the kicker, but that ball has to be snapped just right. The holder has to field that ball and instantly get it placed. Everything has to be timed just right and unless the line does its job up front none of it matters.”

“In every practice throughout the year you have to place your players in all those scenarios where they are ready to rush the field and set up those plays under duress. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of discipline from all eleven players out there.”

In Canfield’s 26-21 win over West Branch, the Cardinals returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns. Sophomore Donnie Ferko returned a kickoff 78 yards to paydirt, and Sami Hout tied a school record with a 93-yard return.

Ferko’s run to the end zone proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

“Our kids understand the importance of special teams, we stress it literally every day,” said Canfield coach Joe Ignazio. “We have a depth chart for special teams, and it gives the younger kids a chance to earn an opportunity to get on the field, be held accountable and gain experience.”

“Players often don’t want to look beyond offense and defense, but here you are an important part of the team and you can earn a varsity letter based on your performance on the special teams unit.”

During each practice, the Cardinals set aside a minimum of 20 minutes for special team drills. Ignazio says it’s not enough to just physically work on special teams. Prior to the start of each season, the Cardinals spend an entire practice walking through 20 to 30 different scenarios which might happen while the special team unit is on the field. Some are commonplace, others are rare occurrences which might catch a team off-guard.

“I’ve been blessed to be around coaches who study the game, who have seen it all,” Ignazio said. “They pick up the most minute details. You learn to follow their lead. The kids sometimes hate those practices, but at the same time they understand the importance.”

When he was the head coach at Boardman, Ignazio’s team was involved in a bizarre special teams play which led to an 18-15 win over Warren G. Harding. Trailing 15-14 with just four seconds left on the clock, Boardman lined up for what could have been a game-winning field goal. The kick was blocked, and Harding players rushed toward the opposite end of the field in celebrations. However, the ball never crossed the line of scrimmage, making it a live play. A Boardman player scooped up the loose pigskin and raced to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

“I was upset that we had that ball blocked, but I was extremely proud that our team didn’t lose its composure, and they all understood what was happening in front of them and they reacted accordingly. We were lucky because we had an officiating crew that knew the rules. I’m sure there are some crews who might have instinctively blown the play dead.”

While an assistant, Ignazio was part of a game against Canton McKinley in which a gusty wind blew a punt backwards behind the line of scrimmage. As the ball fell to the turf both teams started running off the field.

“The coaches on the McKinley sidelines were yelling for their players to pick up the ball,” Ignazio said. “A big lineman scoops it up, runs enough for a first down and we lose on a 48-yard field goal because of that drive.”

“I can go through every year and find at least one bizarre special teams play that turned a game around.”

In the opening week of the 2025 season, Ignazio, DeJulio and Jones are all excited to be on the right side of “special” victories.

“I think because of what happened (Friday), we don’t have to remind our players the rest of the year about the importance of special teams,” Jones said.