Friday night lights will continue to shine down on Mahoning County tonight when the Ohio High School Athletic Association football tournament kicks off its second week of play.

The regional quarterfinal slate includes a trio of games involving a pair of Mahoning County schools. In Division III, Canfield will play host to Ursuline in what is a rematch from a third-round game played a year ago. In Division IV, Struthers will travel to Poland for a second time in three weeks. In Division VII, Lowellville will make its second trip this year to Berlin Center to take on Western Reserve.

The lights will also shine bright in Beloit and Beaver Township as West Branch and South Range host games. Austintown Fitch and Springfield play on the road.

In fact, the spotlight has been focused on Mahoning County throughout the season. Twelve of the 17 football programs in the county qualified for the playoffs, and Mahoning County schools posted a 10-2 record in the opening round of the tournament.

During the regular season, those 12 playoff teams combined to post a 79-13 record in games played against non-Mahoning County opponents.

The success isn’t just a one-year fluke. In 2022 a record 13 schools from Mahoning County reached the playoffs. The county went 11-2 in the first round, and eight 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.

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.

In large part, Mahoning County’s success in sending teams to the playoffs the past two years isn’t the result of the expanded postseason format. A year ago, 10 of 13 qualifying schools finished in the top eight of their region. This year only Fitch and Canfield had to travel for a first-round game.

Oddly enough, Mahoning County is enjoying historic success while neighboring counties are trying to regain their football mojo. Directly to the south, Columbiana County saw six of its seven playoff participants bow out in the first round. Directly to the north, Trumbull County went 3-6 in the first round of the playoffs. Only Niles and Lakeview hosted first-round games. Even more alarming, no Trumbull County school finished better than 6-4 during the regular season.

So, what’s the secret behind the Mahoning County success?

As far as Lowellville coach Andrew Mamula is concerned, there is truth to the old adage “success breeds success.”

Mamula noted that prior to becoming a head coach, he 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. Springfield head coach Sean Guerriero, the most successful coach in program history, once played under Hulea.

“My point is that when you look at the track record of any good area coach, you’ll find that he likely played for, or coached with one of the area greats,” Mamula said. “There are so many solid coaching connections in Mahoning County. There are strong relationships that always seem to carry over from one program to another.

“It also helps when players and coaches from other programs see schools like South Range and Springfield succeed. You see what these smaller schools have accomplished, and you say, ‘Why not us.’ It provides motivation and confidence.”

Struthers coach John Bayuk echoed the comments made by Mamula. Bayuk’s mentors include 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.

“There has always been a large number of great veteran coaches in the area, and they are our greatest asset,” Bayuk said. “There’s a strong fraternity among the coaching ranks in Mahoning County. The experienced coaches, some of our area’s best of the best, they’re always willing to help guide that next generation of coaches.”

Bayuk also pointed out that last year his Struthers team defeated Jefferson in the regular season. Jefferson then went on to advance to the Division IV state semifinals.

“Our players see that and realize that’s how close we are to making a similar run,” Bayuk said. “We play in a league that prepares us for the playoffs.”

Fitch coach T.J. Parker says tradition goes a long way in the success of a program.

“In Mahoning County, high school football has been a huge part of the fabric of so many communities,” Parker said. “We have some great youth programs here that get the kids started at a young age. We have great community support. Also, we’ve recently seen some of our smaller schools experience great success.”

“It seems like some of our smaller districts are enjoying a bit of an increase in population. At the same time, some of the bigger communities in Trumbull County are shrinking in size, and that takes a toll on their football programs.”

Parker also rattled off a list of names such as Tom Pavlansky, Mike Pavlansky, Dan Yeagley, Dan Reardon and Guerriero – coaches who worked the sidelines for an extended period of time.

“Coaching can be a grueling task, and in the future I don’t think you’re going to see such long tenures,” Parker said. “We’ve been very lucky to have some great ones stay around for a good number of years. These are the types of guys who have helped build the foundation for the success we’re seeing today.”

It’s a foundation which is resulting in unparalleled success throughout Mahoning County.

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