ASHLAND — It’s not a stretch to say the Ashland High School football program is on the doorstep of one of the most anticipated seasons in its 119 years of existence.
With a glut of talent returning from a 12-1, league-winning campaign — including first-team All-Ohio seniors Nathan Bernhard (quarterback) and Gunner Lacey (linebacker) — the Arrows have their sights set on a colossal 2025.
Ashland continued the countdown on Sunday with its annual Dr. Bill Ihrig Football Sponsor Program Kickoff Banquet, hosted by the Ashland Eagles Aerie #2178.
The event is part of a mentorship program pairing members of the Ashland community with players on the team.
“This is something that, over the years, has been very special — not only to me as a head coach — but to our athletes,” said Scott Valentine, who will begin his 20th season as head coach at AHS on Friday when the team hosts Bay in its opener at Community Stadium.
“And a lot of you are former athletes here and players that had that opportunity to make a connection with (a sponsor).”
Ashland City Schools Supt. Steve Paramore and AHS athletic director Jason Goings also both made remarks during the event, which featured dinner and a highlighted guest speaker, Rick Brindley.
A former football head coach at nearby Crestview High School, Brindley moved on to become Ashland’s athletic director from 1999 through 2015. He was part of the committee that first hired Valentine as the school’s head coach in 2002.
“I’ve always admired Scott’s dedication to the Arrow program and to the Ashland community,” Brindley said of Valentine. “He was and still is a great leader of young people.”
Brindley recently retired after serving as principal at the Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center since 2018. But he kept the focus of his speech on his time leading the Crestview football program.
Part of his tenure included first guiding the Cougars in the 1991 season after all athletics at the school were canceled during the 1990-91 year due to a levy failure.
Brindley recalled how Crestview didn’t score a point until the sixth game of the 1991 season, then recollected in great detail how the Cougars captured their first win that fall in Week 9.
In a game against South Central, the team ran its two-minute offense to perfection, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left.
“Perseverance paid off for them and we were so excited in the locker room,” Brindley said. “They doused me with water and were just excited to get a win (after a year without football).”
He went on to highlight his final season leading Crestview in 1998, when the Cougars went 9-1 and captured their first Firelands Conference title in football.
That season, Brindley and Crestview started out 8-0 before a pair of missed PAT kicks cost them a 13-12 defeat against Monroeville.
The Cougars finished the regular season 9-1 and missed qualifying for the playoffs — which only included four teams per region at the time.
Despite that, Brindley said, his time at CHS helped solidify in his mind what the game requires.
“Football is a brotherhood,” he said, “and it takes each member of the team and coaching staff to make it excel to the highest level.”
The Arrows will try to take that advice onto the field with them this season.
Their schedule includes six home games in the regular season, including two new games in the first three weeks. After taking on River Valley and Linsly (W. Va.) in Weeks 1 and 3 last year, Ashland will face Bay and Clyde in those spots.
In Week 5, meanwhile, the Arrows will host another new foe in Dover. The Crimson Tornadoes replace Maple Heights from last year’s schedule and are set to join the Ohio Cardinal Conference in football in 2026.
Among other highlights at Sunday’s event were:
• The announcement of this season’s coaching staff: defensive coaches Ryan Stackhouse, Jim Deppen, Scott Sauder, A.J. Beer, Kevin Lacey and Chris Schmidt, and offensive coaches Carl White, Jeff Cole, Brian Hennis, Austin Yeater, Stiles O’Brien and Owen Reef.
• The announcement of this season’s captains (as voted on by senior, junior and sophomore players on the team): Bernhard, Lacey, Gabe Baith, Brandon Briggs, Budha Martin and Dakota Kruty.
• The announcement of a $3,500 donation to the AHS boosters by Ashland Eagles president Dorland Davis.
• Goings said AHS has nearly 300 student-athletes participating in fall sports. Ninety of them play football.
