SHG's Ken Leonard is going after a fourth state title.
Photo by Greg Behrens
American history is deeply rooted in Springfield, Ill., which is located smack-dab in the middle of the state, smack-dab in middle America.
Some of that history is rich, some trivial.
Abraham Lincoln lived there, of course, a short jaunt from where Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy 175 years later.
Springfield is also home of the corn dog and first drive-thru eatery, the Maid-Rite Sandwich shop, which still serves customers after 88 years.
It’s fitting, then, that in Springfield also reside a father-and-son high school coaching tandem that’s not far from making state history and national news.
Nothing, after all, screams Americana more fanatically than football — sorry baseball — and the high school coach may have surpassed military, clergy and scout leaders as one of the most trusted and sturdy backbones for youth in the land.
To that end, Ken Leonard, 55, and his 29-year-old son, Derek Leonard, are national treasures and American redwoods.
They are trying to become the first Illinois football coaches to lead separate teams to state titles the same season.
Both enter the second round of playoffs this weekend 10-0; Ken’s Sacred Heart-Griffin squad is the top seed in Class 5A and Derek’s Rochester bunch is top seed in 4A. Both teams have to win three more games to reach state-title games in Champagne on Nov. 28.
Ken taught his son well and to not look ahead, but when pressed, the three-time state championship coach said: "I’ll say this – if we each get to the championship game, it will be a very happy Thanksgiving meal at the Leonard home."
One pant leg at a time
If both win state-title games, they would join at least one father-son team to do so nationally: Indiana’s winningest coach, Bud Wright, at Sheridan (Class A) and his son, Kevin Wright (Warren Central, Class 5A), who each claimed titles in 2005 and 2006.
According to the State Journal-Reporter, Paul and his son Jim Unruh each won state titles in Illinois but not the same years.
"We’re just thinking playoff win, not state title at this point," Derek said before his team’s 57-32 first-round triumph over Mascoutah on Saturday.
Derek, a former quarterback for his dad at Sacred Heart-Griffin and record-breaker at Division III Illinois College, has led Rochester to four straight playoff appearances, but Saturday was his first postseason win. Dad, whose team opened with a 48-21 win over Carbondale on Saturday, has made the postseason 24 times in 30 years, won three state crowns and placed second once. He has a record of 278-61. Son has a 30-19 mark.
Though their career points are at opposite ends, their starting points and coaching philosophies are remarkably similar. Before each became head coaches, both lost in state-title games as offensive coordinators, Ken at Chenoa in 1979 and Derek at Fairbury Prairie Central, a co-op that absorbed Chenoa, in 2003. The same year that Fairbury Prairie Central fell short, Ken’s SHG team lost in the 4A finals to Joliet Catholic.
"It’s like I’m following his path exactly," Derek said. "It’s kind of weird."
Not really, says Liz Leonard, Ken’s wife and Derek’s mom. She saw this coming about 29 years ago shortly after Derek, the middle of three children – all boys – was born.
"The first word out of his mouth was ‘ball,’" she said. "He loved all sports and all games. All he wanted to do was be around it and his dad. Honestly, he wanted be just like his dad and he was at his pant leg every step of the way."
And almost three decades later – "They’re almost like clones," she said.
Pass happy
Clones with a lot of heart, competitive spitfire and offensive innovation, that is. Both like to wing the ball, which makes sense. Ken was a four-sport star at his high school, Chenoa, and a quarterback on the football team.
"I admired my coaches," he said. "Football fit my personality and coaching; it just became my life. I still love it."
He loved the passing game and was one of the first high school coaches to follow Urban Meyer – then at Bowling Green - into the spread craze. Each of his state title teams threw for more than 2,500 yards.
Derek Leonard has coached three of state's QBs this decade.
Photo by Greg Behrens
Derek, the career Illinois College leader in touchdown passes (52), yards (6,667) and completions (546), has already molded two of the state’s all-time most prolific passers in his short high school career. At Prairie Central, Dylan Ward threw for 4,186 yards in 2003 – third-most in state history, and at Rochester he turned defensive lineman Will Lunt into the state career passing leader with 8,308 yards. Lunt also ranked first in attempts (1,084) and second in completions (603).
Now Derek is tutoring Purdue commit Sean Robinson, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior who has thrown for 1,554 yards, 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season. In Saturday’s win, Robinson was brilliant, completing 10-of-12 passing for 174 yards and one score, and he rushed for 91 yards. Under sloppy conditions, Colten Glazebrook rushed for 148 yards and four touchdowns. With its 10th win, Rochester, 10 miles North of Springfield, set a school record for wins.
"I’m not saying it because he’s my son, but he truly has a great offensive mind," Ken said of Derek. "He’s always had a great understanding of the game, probably because he was around it so much.
"He’s been drawing up Xs and Os since he was about 5. He was always drawing up plays."
Dad isn’t drawing up just passing plays these days, and in recent years his teams have been much more power-oriented. This year’s squad has rushed for 2,115 yards, led by workhorse Greg Wilson (191 carries, 1,237 yards, 16 TDs), who has set up a remarkably efficient passing game. Senior quarterback Eric Williamson (6-1, 180) has completed almost 75 percent of his passes (107-of-143) for 1,645 yards and 18 touchdowns with just two interceptions. The Cyclones are averaging 42 points per game while allowing just eight. They have won three state crowns in four years and gone 113-10 this decade.
"I’m not saying this just because he’s my dad, but he’s honestly one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen at any level – high school, college, the NFL," Derek said. "He’s so good because he changes with his personnel. Some guys have trouble changing with the times, but my dad is so innovative. He was running the spread before the spread was cool. He ran the Polecat (now known as the A-11) back in the '80s.
"Bottom line is, he always gets the right people the ball in the right spots."
Handling tragedy, loss and reunion
Derek’s adoration for his dad digs far deeper than any trendy offense, championship runs or record-breaking passing marks.
"By far what I admire about him most is just being a good person and coaching 30 years the right way," he said. "He stands for something. He’s stuck to his guns. He’s remained strong.
"Coaching isn’t an easy profession. There’s parental pressures and time commitment and hours away from your own family. But I always wanted to do it, probably because I saw how he did it. How he handled it."
Football was a great release to the entire Leonard family when the oldest son, Phil, was killed in a car accident in February of 2000. Phil was a cornerback on the state runner-up 1995 team.
Derek, then in college, and youngest brother Brad, then at SHG and now a banker and assistant coach at Rochester, changed their numbers the following season to No. 3, which Phil wore in high school. A deeply close and religious family grew tighter.
"Obviously, that was a terrible, horrific time for all of us," Liz said. "Our faith lifted us, but the day-to-day routine and preparation of football definitely helped the boys get through the healing process. When you’re doing something you love, it’s easier to move on."
Ken said Phil’s passing definitely had both a spiritual and grounding effect.
"Our faith grew – we knew Phil is in a better place and we’ll someday be together again," he said. "But as far as football, I probably became a better coach. I became much more grounded. I realized life is so short and football is not life. Schemes and strategy don’t mean a whole lot when you compare it to life."
Ken still loves to scheme and strives to win. But he’s more balanced since the accident, he steps back and away from emotional spots, like when watching Derek coach.
"I used to sit in the stands but now I stand in the end zone and just observe," he said.
The father and son speak two or three times a day, discussing mostly football during the season. Ken has addressed the Rochester teams numerous times, and his son still shows pops plays designed on a notepad. When Ken retires in six or seven years, he’ll likely join forces with Derek and Brad as an assistant.
Next year, however, when Rochester switches to Central State Eight conference, the same as SHG, father and son will be going head-to-head, something all the Leonards dread. The Rochester-SHG showdown is already slated for Sept. 17, 2010.
"I’m sure the communities will get a kick out of it – the media – but it won’t be a fun game for us," Ken said. "I’m a very competitive person, but in this case, blood runs thicker."
Ken is certain Liz, his wife of 33 years, will be rooting for Derek and Brad that day. Liz said it will just be nice to have all the family together, which includes two grandchildren, one of them Savannah, the 13-year-old daughter of Phil.
It’s not precisely the family reunion Ken envisioned when he took to coaching 34 years ago. But it’s been nothing but a deep, rich ride.
"I knew I loved the game and I found out early I really loved coaching," he said. "I’ve been around a long time now. It’s been a great life."
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
