According to the Plain Dealer, Rocky River’s Ron Lewis will be named the new coach at Lakewood, returning the former Ranger wideout to his alma mater.
In six seasons at Rocky River, Lewis compiled a 37-26 record; but in 2006 and 2007, the Pirates went a combined 20-3, reaching the Division III playoffs each season, and didn’t drop a single Western Shore Conference game (14-0).
Last year Lewis coached his team to an undefeated regular season (7-0 West Shore Conference, 10-0 overall) and the first playoff win in school history, a 37-23 stomping of Hubbard. They were three points away from a Division III regional final, falling for a second straight November to Lake Catholic (damn those Cougars).
Here’s a rehash of last season’s Pirate plunder, courtesy of YouTube, for those few Ranger fans still sweating the Brunswicks, Solons and Strongsvilles of the world:
Lewis replaces Jim Slagle, who resigned after a 4-6 season.
Tom Stacey, formerly coach at Massillon Washington, will take over at Green. Despite two playoff runs in three years — including a state runner-up finish in 2005 — Stacey was not offered an extension after a 6-4 finish in 2007. “A lot of expectations,” he told the Beacon-Journal at his introductory press conference. “It’s the same here.”
And finally, Canton’s two most proud programs finally have new coaches. McKinley first looked at more than thirty candidates, narrowed it to just under a dozen (five of whom are leading NEO programs, say the PD), and then finally chose Middlefield’s Ron Johnson.
Timken, coming off a miserable 2-9 finish in 2007 (a positive, when you consider they entered the season on a 28-game losing streak) hired 1974 Trojan alum Kevin Henderson, luring him away from Walsh University.
