By Spencer Waugh
Logan Daily News

LOGAN — Game number 200. That’s the milestone head coach Dale Amyx will reach Friday night when the Logan Chieftains travel to Fulton Field to take on Lancaster in the 2009 season opener.

Considering high school football teams typically play 10 games per season, it is safe to assume most coaches should reach that number by the end of their 20th season.

So the fact that Amyx will reach that number in the first game of his 20th season is a testament to his success during the last two decades at LHS.
Amyx’s Chieftain squads have won 129 games and 12 SEOAL championships, finished with perfect regular season records three times, and made six playoff appearances in his 19 seasons as head coach.

Amyx became the longest-tenured football coach in Logan football history in 1999, reaching 10 years as head coach. He could have retired at that point and left with five SEOAL championships and a playoff appearance, which alone would have made him one of the best coaches in school history.

He will some day join Harley Meyer, John “Red” Longley, Tom Bender, Dwight Diller, and Mel Adams as former LHS football coaches now in the LHS Athletic Hall of Fame.

Adams, also an Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer, held the previous longevity mark coaching at Logan from 1957-1965. He won three SEOAL championships during that time and coached one perfect season as the Chieftains ran the table in 1964.

What separates Amyx from his predecessors, however, is the last nine seasons: 75 wins, six SEOAL championships, five playoff appearances, and three playoff game victories — the only post-season playoff wins in school history.

Amyx first joined the LHS football program in 1980, making this his 30th season on the Logan sideline. He served as an assistant to Dave Snipes (1979-1981), Steve Coate (1982-1984) and Clarence Perry (1984-1989) before moving into the head coach position in 1990.

In the last 25 years, during which Amyx has served as either head coach or one of the top assistants, Logan has amassed 170 wins (seven per season) and 15 of the school’s 23 SEOAL championships.

Without a doubt, Amyx’s three 10-0 regular seasons rank as career highlights. Prior to Amyx’s tenure, the school had all of three unbeaten regular seasons in school history (1934, 1964, 1977): the Chiefs recorded back to back 10-0 seasons in 2000 and 2001 and repeated the feat last fall.

The 2000 team started 12-0 by defeating Westerville South and Pickerington in Division I playoff games. Led by quarterback Joey Conrad, the Chieftains advanced to the regional final where they lost to eventual state champion Upper Arlington.

The 2001 team defied expectations and overcame major personnel losses to record a second-consecutive unbeaten regular season. Led by tailback Derek Harden, the Chiefs lost their first-ever home playoff game against Brady Quinn-led Dublin Coffman.

Last fall, the Chiefs got their first win against Lancaster in over 60 years on their way to an unbeaten regular season. They would defeat Dublin Jerome in a first-round playoff game before falling to Louisville in the second round.

Without a doubt, a key to Amyx’s success has been his ability to build a coaching staff that is talented and experienced.

From 1990-2007 he worked side-by-side with current LHS principal Jim Robinson, who joined the LHS coaching staff a year before Amyx.

Kelly Wolfe, who played under Amyx from 1984-1986, joined the staff in 1991, and two other current varsity coaches — Bob Cassady and Pat Walsh — have been with the program more than 10 years, not to mention freshman coach Jim Huntsberger, who has been with the staff for over 15 years.

What will a 20th season as head coach add to an already impressive legacy? The expectation is more success to add to a Hall of Fame resume.