Huntington HS celebrates football program’s 50th year
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — In Huntington Township (just outside of Chillicothe), football Friday night is a community event. During the fall, if there is a home game, you will find a sea of green at Myrl Shoemaker Stadium. This year is like any other year, but this year people are buzzing with excitement in the Huntington hills as Huntington High School celebrates the football program’s 50th year.
Huntington’s first football team took the field in 1972 as a JV squad with 36 players with a 5-2-1 record. In 1983 they played their first season at Myrl Shoemaker Athletic Complex. By 1986, the team would end a successful season as SVC champions. The best start to a season came in 1999 with a 6-0 start. Over the span of 50 years, the program has seen 13 head coaches. Huntington football has had 12 athletes receive SVC Player of the Year ranging from kicker, punter, lineman, special teams, offensive, and defensive.
In addition to the natural buzz surrounding the program’s 50th year, there is also excitement about a new coaching staff. The new head coach is no stranger to high school sports, bringing 30 years of experience to the Huntsmen. Coach Ed Yates has served as an assistant for many different football programs, most recently he was assistant coach at Huntington for the last 5 years. I was able to ask Coach Yates about his background as an assistant football coach, “I have been coaching football for 30 years as an assistant at many schools. This is my 6th year at Huntington where I have been an assistant for the previous 5 years. Before that I was an assistant at Chillicothe with Coach Hinton in 2016. I was an assistant at Adena for 24 years under head coaches Paul Thomas, Howard Zody, and Jake Grooms. I coached at Madison Plains in 1994 under Tony Break. I also coached at Greenfield in 1991 under coach Troy Dawson and began my career at Bradford for two years under Coach Shaffer in 1989 and 1990. So I’ve been doing it for a while.”
Many people in Ross County will associate Coach Yates with high school baseball, and rightfully so. He was Adena’s head baseball coach for 13 years and has been coaching baseball at Huntington for 5 years now. Yates also has experience coaching softball and cross country.
After a brief conversation with Coach Yates, it is abundantly clear that he is coaching because he has a passion for young people. After Coach Keller stepped down last year, Yates felt led to pursue the position. “After last year, Coach Keller decided to step down as head coach of football at Huntington. I prayed about it and felt that God wanted me to apply for the job, so I did.”
Like any other coach, Coach Yates wants to win games, but wins and losses aren’t the most important things to him. He is hopeful to have a long lasting, positive impact on the lives of these young men. “I felt that the players needed someone to lead them and care for them in a way that they could learn from. Someone that would teach them more than the game of football. Someone that would show them how to take responsibility for their actions and how to be disciplined in everything that they do. I felt like they needed a coach who would be a father-figure to them and help them understand how to apply hard work to their lives. My goal is to have a positive example in the lives of these young people before I retire. I want them to be able to relate the lessons that they learn from football into their adult lives and change their lives for the better. This adventure isn’t about me … it’s about them!”
Huntington’s athletic director, Justin Kellough, had great things to say about the new football coach. “Coach Yates is a disciplined, inspirational, knowledgeable, and hard working coach. All things that we have already witnessed trickle down to his baseball program and in the classroom. We hope he has that same effect on our football program. A program that sees a lot of success in the youth levels as well as Junior High, but as of late has struggled to put together winning seasons in a tough league. Our football program top to bottom has an upward pointing arrow. Things like weight room commitment, Junior High staff, and participation in our youth football program are all improvements this season.”
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