North Canton mentor becomes second Stark coach in three years to coach North-South classic
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
NORTH CANTON--John Collins delivered a 73-yard strike to receiver Jack Andes that issued North Canton Hoover a stunning 7-0 lead against Massillon 51 seconds into their Division II regional second round contest at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
The other 47:09 is what Brian Baum Sr. wants to forget about and with fervent reason.
For the first time since the Vikings concluded their season 9-3 following their season ending 62-7 loss to the Tigers, Baum will be back in the same stadium for the first time since that dismal November evening and his third time coaching inside the 18,000 seat colossus named after Massillon's revered field general. Only this time, he will be North head coach of the Division I-III all-star team as the 80th annual North-South All-Star game will be conducted Saturday morning at 11 a.m. with the Division IV-VII contest to commence 30 minutes after the I-III contest.
Baum will become the second Stark County head coach to lead the North All-Stars, joining two-time state title winning maestro Nate Moore of Massillon, who coached the Tigers to a flawless 16-0 record and Division II state championship three years ago. For Baum, everything has come into perspective for him the last 20 years after serving the United States as a war veteran. He is happy to be married with three sons and obtaining this prestigious honor makes it all the more worth it.
"This is a great opportunity for me and it is great to be home as I got out in 2006. You never know what was going to happen during war if you're going to get back home or not. It felt very good to start a family and raise three boys and I try to coach them the same as I coach my players and the current all-star players through discipline but at the same time I want them to have fun," Baum said. I appreciate the team coming together in such a short week and they are going to play hard and respect each other and have fun."
The North team will have nine players from Stark County on the roster, one of those being Massillon's Jadyce Thigpen, who was an integral force on the Tigers basketball team that scored the Division II upset of the year in unearthing defending champion Westerville North 68-63 in overtime to win their first ever state basketball title. Thigpen also has a title from the 2023 season in football as a member of their overpowering 27-1 squad.
For the last four years, Baum has had to scout and coach against players from Stark County. Now he gets to coach them as they are now allies against the South All-Stars.
"There were some very good players from Stark County that I had a chance to get and were interested in when it came to filling out our roster," he said.
It was 11 years ago that Baum and his family became residents of North Canton as he replaced veteran head coach Don Hertler Jr., a 1981 graduate of Hoover. Hertler Jr. piloted the Vikings for 19 seasons, winning nine Federal League crowns and leading them to the Division I state semifinals in 2008. Baum's first Hoover team finished 2-8 but since then they have become a consistent force in the Federal League and became league champions in 2021.
For the senior players who will be competing, it will be their final game as a high school athlete. Afterward, many will matriculate to college and compete in athletics while others enrolled in college may never play the sport again. Others will enlist in the military and there are those who will enter the workforce. They will eventually become husbands and start families.
But this much is for sure. The Friday night lights atmosphere will always be in their memories. From the first day they obtained their pads, helmets, and shoes and bore aspirations of playing on the field of their favorite athlete to where they are now, the thrill of high school football will be palpable one last time for the seniors. And Baum wants them to embrace that fortuitous moment.
"It is very exciting for them to represent their schools one last time. You have some who will play at the college level in Division II, Double AA, Division III. But there will never anything like the thrill of high school football and Friday night lights," Baum said. "High school football teaches you life lessons that stay with you after your career ends. You drop a ball, you get back up. If you lose, you get back up and control what you can. It is a balance of life. At North Canton, we have players from the football team talk to elementary and high school students and they stress the importance of family, playing as a team, and making the right decisions."
Baum will be going into his 12th season at Hoover in eight months, not before he gets the opportunity to coach inside Paul Brown Tiger Stadium and hopefully have a more serene ending than the one he had to endure back in November.
"I am excited for this opportunity. I was excited when I was selected to be the North head coach. Our players will show up and play together as a team and make the most of this moment," he said.
The last 47:09 of Brian Baum's 11th season at North Canton Hoover ended in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. But now he has a chance to have the best 48 minutes in his return to that same stadium as leader of the North All-Stars.
---BITS AND PIECES---
*Stark County Overall: Overall, there are 11 players competing in the two all-star games combined. The North team from Division IV-VII has two on their squad, offensive lineman Sean Scott from Minerva and Luke Rueling from Tuslaw.
*From a Panther to a Lion: Perry High School graduate Zach Slates wrapped up his first season at Minerva after leading his alma mater for four seasons. Minerva captured three victories this season and and the outlook is looking up for the Lions as Slates goes into his second season atop the post. Slates will be an assistant coach on the North All-Stars in the Division IV-VII game.
*Back in the high school ranks: Rick Shepas is back in the high school scene for the first time in 22 seasons as he was recently hired as head coach of East Palestine High School. The 61-year-old Shepas served as athletic director for Warren G. Harding High School for two seasons. Prior to that aside from a 12-year stint at Waynesburg University, Shepas was the head coach at Massillon for seven seasons in which the Tigers won 53 of 80 games and captured two regional titles under his watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment