Elyria Sports Hall of Fame: Darrell Mayne built Elyria West into a football power with hard work and by putting his players and the program first

A notice in the Bowling Green newspaper in 1985 peaked Darrell Mayne's curiosity. He was the head football coach at Delaware Hayes High School, just north of Columbus, but was looking for a new challenge. "I was looking for a place where there was an opportunity to develop a program of true significance," said Mayne, who will be inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame on May 7 at Lorain County Community College's Spitzer Center. "My question was, 'If winning is all there is, it isn't enough.' We're a nation that glorifies victory but we're also a nation that sometimes doesn't keep track of human lives 20 years out after graduation." Mayne had met Frank Jayne, an Elyria West teacher and wrestling coach, at a conference. When he saw the notice in the Bowling Green paper about an opening at Elyria West, he called Jayne about it and Jayne convinced him to apply. "My interview was with three people including Marty Hoover (Elyria's athletic director at the time)," Mayne said. "One question was, 'You're playing for the conference championship and your No. 1 tailback breaks the rules. What happens?' I said it's real simple. A rule is a rule is a rule and if the kid's guilty, he sits. Period. That's it. The kid has to learn accountability for his own behavior." He was hired and the rest, as they say, is history. Mayne won 76 games at West and lost only 36. The Wolverines were 37-4 over his last four years before the school closed. Including his two years at Elyria High, Mayne's 87 wins rank second all time in Elyria history behind only Bill Barton's 152 at Elyria from 1955-77. In terms of wins, Jim Rattay (79-7-3) at Elyria Catholic from 1976-83 ranks third. "Nobody outworked Darrell," said Jon Laird, one of Mayne's assistant coaches. "I know a lot of people complained about the hours we put in. Are you kidding me? It was such quality. He ran a college-caliber program." Ken Fenik, who went on to lead Elyria's softball program to three state championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, was another assistant. "A lot of things I did after that with softball, I got from him," Fenik said. "Darrell's strong point was he could always motivate those guys and turn them into men. Nowadays, coaches get up in someone's face and use foul language. Darrell never did that. He didn't need that. Through the relationships he built, those kids would do anything for him." Elyria West was a unique and small school combining students from the west side of Elyria with more rural students from Elyria Township. "I think we were 25 percent minority," Mayne said. "The interesting thing, it was really a family atmosphere out there. It was really something special. Kids really got along very well." "Coach Mayne was the right man at the right time at Elyria West," said Duane Hawkins, the team's leading rusher from 1992-94. "He gave Elyria West football an identity that helped Elyria West gain respect, not only in Lorain County but throughout Northeast Ohio and the state with the playoff run in 1992." Mayne upgraded Elyria West's weight program immediately upon arrival, putting Laird, another ESHOF inductee, in charge. "We were doing things 35 years ago that is now mainstream," Laird said. "I think we were that far ahead of it. Darrell and I used to spend hours working that weight program when I first got to him. We hit gold. It worked." In 1992, Elyria West had a powerhouse team, the first public school in Elyria to qualify for the playoffs. The team went 10-0 in the regular season and outscored opponents 364-30 with six shutouts. The Wolverines were ranked No. 3 in the state in Division II in the final Associated Press poll. Defending state champion Fostoria was ranked No. 1 and Louisville No. 2. All three were unbeaten. West knocked out Amherst 19-10 in the first playoff game but lost to Fostoria 26-16 the following week under sketchy circumstances. The Wolverines jumped in front 16-0, stunning Fostoria. West stopped Fostoria on its first series and marched 50 yards in eight plays to score. Quarterback Robert Zvara ran a keeper around left end and Steve Sas kicked the point after. A safety on a bad snap on a Fostoria punt attempt made it 9-0. Hawkins, a sophomore, ran 75 yards for a score and another Sas extra point made it 16-0 with just under eight minutes to play in the first half. Fostoria quarterback Damon Moore, who later was an All-American defensive back at Ohio State, hooked up with Todd Lucius for a 75-yard pass down the Fostoria sideline. Before the snap, Lucius appeared to be just off the Fostoria sideline and probably not within the required 15 yards of the huddle. He was wide open on the play. "We had them down 16-0," Mayne said. "Things were really going our way. That was the first time they used it. They bring the kids on the sideline and at one time or another they had more than 11 on the field in between plays. Right before the snap, there was only 10 on the field but (Lucius) steps on the field behind the official. The official never even noticed he was there. We asked the officials about it but they weren't very accepting of that possibility. "Later on they did it again. Burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me." That play has since been ruled illegal. Fostoria sliced the deficit to 16-12 at halftime and Moore scored on a short run and threw another TD pass in the second half to lead Fostoria's comeback win. Elyria West had more first downs, more total yards but also had three costly turnovers. Fostoria routed Louisville in the state semifinal 48-7 but lost to St. Mary's Memorial 28-14 in the championship game. The Wolverines and Mayne were left to wonder what might have been. "It broke my heart to go down that way," Mayne said. "It had been a magical season for Elyria West and, as a coach, I never wanted to spend any time publicly talking about it because I didn't want our kids bitter over the season. I wanted them to be rejoicing over all the success they had." LaRon Trice shared the Golden Helmet with Firelands' Ty Grude. Henry Slay was West's defensive player of the year. Hawkins led the team in rushing and Mario Brown receiving. West was 10-0 again in 1994 and outscored its opponents 327-62 but finished out of the playoff picture. It was Mayne who took on the enormous task of consolidating the two programs when West closed in 1996. Elyria High was Erie Shore co-champion in Mayne's first season. Winning 18-10 at Sandusky was the key. "It was getting later in the year and technically we weren't where we wanted to be," Mayne said. "But emotionally, we were really coming together. That's what led to that. That was one of the highlights of my life was beating Sandusky over there in Sandusky." Mayne coached a lot of oustanding players in Elyria, including three Golden Helmet winners at West. Tyrone Nelson won in 1987, Steve Tovar the following year and Trice in 1992. Nelson probably wouldn't have played college football at Akron had it not been for Mayne. "This is what he did for me," Nelson said. "When I was being recruited — it started my junior year — my mom didn't have the transportation to take me to these schools. What coach Mayne would do on the weekend, he would take his weekend and he would drive me to the schools. Some of them were far away. He took me to Michigan State. He took me to Youngstown State when (Jim) Tressel was there. He took me to the University of Pittsburgh. He did things like that. "I never saw a coach put in as much work as he did. He was very disciplined but he was very caring." Tovar, who went on to be an All-American at Ohio State and an outstanding linebacker for the Bengals, Chargers and Panthers in the NFL, praised Mayne. "I remember Coach Mayne coming over to Westwood Junior High and I met him for the first time," Tovar said. "A couple of the junior high coaches had talked to him about me and the first thing he said to me was, 'OK, we'll see you in the weight room.' I said, 'Hey, I'm doing OK on the field.'" Mayne taught Tovar it took more than playing to become great. "The offseason workout program, I learned throughout my career to enjoy being in the weight room," Tovar said. "He was a strong part of that influence." Mayne cared about the school, too, starting the West Wall of Fame to celebrate its top athletes. "When I worked with him, it was always team and community and parents and kids," Laird said. "I'll tell you what, I never heard the man cuss, never heard him put people down. He was positive, he was optimistic. We did it the right way." Mayne left Elyria in 1998 for Upper Arlington and led the Golden Bears to an undefeated state championship in 2000. Mayne and his wife, Leslie, have two daughters — Erin (Kyle) and Katie (Cody). They have two grandchildren. Mayne is extremely proud to be included in the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame. "Elyria was always my second home," he said. "Getting into the Hall of Fame in your hometown is a pretty big deal. I was fortunate to be around some really great people when I was in Elyria. It was a great journey for me and my family because of the people." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or at timothygeb@msn.com.