Ehlen to lead Reno football into new era
RENO, Nev. (BVM) – There might not be a coach better equipped to lead a program through a pandemic and into a new era of Reno High School football than Jason Ehlen.
The longtime coach took a teaching job at Reno last spring with the understanding that he would help out the football program in some capacity as an assistant. But when former head coach Jon Haskins was fired in November, a position Ehlen is all too familiar with opened up.
Ehlen spent four years as the head varsity coach at Valhalla High School in San Diego, four at North Valleys and was named Reno’s head coach in December. His 26 years of coaching experience in total has him more prepared than most for the task at hand.
“I like to think that with every year comes a little bit of experience, and with experience comes some wisdom,” Ehlen said. “When you’ve been coaching high school football for 25-plus years, I’d like to think I have a bit of wisdom there that will lend itself in certain situations.”
Wisdom will be of the utmost importance as Reno navigates a pandemic and begins preparation for what will likely be a reduced season. Part of Ehlen’s job in his inaugural season as Reno’s head coach, he said, will be to do everything possible to provide the best experience for all of his student-athletes, especially seniors.
Ehlen’s son, Mitchell, graduated in the spring from McQueen High School and the long-time coach said he felt awful for Mitchell and all of the seniors who lost their final semesters.
“I almost think those kids (Class of 2020) got a much better situation because they got three-quarters of a school year that was pretty normal, and there’s been nothing normal about the first part of the school year so far this year,” Ehlen said.
If and when the Huskies’ season is able to kick off in 2021, they’ll look to build upon a 7-4 campaign in 2019 with a field of new faces, and perhaps a new look.
Ehlen said he’s been a fan of the Wing-T offensive scheme for a long time, but he and offensive coordinator Gray Levy plan to begin the implementation of a spread offense. The pair coached together at both North Valleys and McQueen, and the hope is to utilize a spread offense and incorporate some of the misdirection used in Wing-T schemes.
While the spread offense is used throughout Nevada and the country, Ehlen knows a spring football season presents new challenges to an air-raid attack.
“Playing football in the months of March and April in the northern valley, you’re kind of at the mercy of the elements and whatever Mother Nature wants to bring,” Ehlen said. “Those teams that want to throw the ball a lot might not be the best case. The running game is always going to be extremely important, but with the weather conditions we’re going to deal with, it’s going to be of greater importance.”
The Huskies lost their leading passer, rusher, receiver and top-five tacklers from a season ago, but Ehlen hopes his “big boys” will be an anchor for a relatively inexperienced group.
Kadin Campbell and Theo Taus are expected to be key cogs of the offensive and defensive lines while Dylan Jackson, Carter Stokes, Josh Bass and Jordan McGinnes should provide playmaking on the perimeter.
Because Ehlen has only had three months in the weight room and a brief period of time this summer with his new team due to COVID-19, the first-year Reno head coach said he’s still getting to know his players.
Ehlen said he has a long-term vision for the Reno football program, but the short-term goal is to get the community excited about high school football.
“In regard to that, it’s much bigger than the X’s and O’s and how much success we have,” Ehlen said. “It’s about trying to build something the right way where kids can go ‘That was a lot of fun and a great experience where I grew up and found out more about myself.’
“We want people to look at it and realize that there’s a blue-collar attitude and come Friday nights, it’s just something that people get excited about and look forward to watching.”
