Hall returning to Zane Trace sidelines

• Dwane Hall, who coached Zane Trace from 2004-05, will be making a return to ZT in 2015.
• Hall went 18-4 overall during his five year tenure as the Pioneers’ head coach.
• Under Hall, Zane Trace made the state playoffs twice and went 7-0 in SVC play twice.
• The old, new head coach will be taking over a ZT team that won an SVC title and went 7-3 in 2014.

KINNIKINNICK – Dwane Hall has been in this position before.

Literally.

Hall, who served as the head football coach at Zane Trace from 2004 to 2005, will once again roam the sidelines in Kinnikinnick this fall — succeeding Gary Peters, who retired from the role after the 2014 season.

In his time at the helm of the program, Hall won two Scioto Valley Conference titles, led the Pioneers to the state playoffs twice and posted an overall record of 18-4.

“I went off and did some other things professionally,” Hall said. “And I wanted to spend some time with my kids, who were young at the time. But I knew I would want to look into the opportunity to get back into (coaching) one day if that would happen. Obviously, it did.”

Luckily for Hall, it happened at the right time as well.

In the past two seasons, the Pioneers have went 12-9 overall and 11-3 within the SVC. That run includes a trip to the postseason during the 2013 season.

“Coach Peters and his staff left a a program that’s very well-established,” Hall said. “They did a very good job of keeping the program moving and left it much, much better than what they found it. We want to keep that going. Winning conference championships and playing after the regular season ends are things we want to accomplish.”

Hall, 51, also will inherit multiple talented players from Peters’ regime, including running backs Trey Rittenhouse and Truman Love, who are both seniors.

In 2014, the two combined for 1,838 rushing yards on 257 rushes and a total of 25 touchdowns.

However, those two seniors are just a small sample of why Hall expects success at Zane Trace.

“I love the enthusiasm that I’ve seen so far,” Hall said. “We’ve got 14 seniors who have won some games and have seen success against good competition. We’re going to use that. We’re going to use that to motor us throughout our schedule.”

Last season, the Pioneers used the aforementioned potent rushing attack to will their way to a share of the SVC title. This season, much of the same will take place.

“We like running the football,” Hall said. “That’s what this team did last year, and we like that approach. But by the same token, we want to be balanced in what we do. I think that’s why this program has seen success in past years.

“We’ve had some really good athletes come through and we’ve got that here now. So we want to go to the offensive line of scrimmage with balance. That’s how we’re going to approach things.”

Hall will have to carry out that plan against some talented opponents, ones that he says cannot be overlooked.

“The coaches in this league are very, very good,” Hall said. “You’ve got to be on top of your game in conference play because there’s so many good coaches who have been around football as long as I have. When you have that much experience on the opposing sideline, you better be ready week in and week out. They know what they’re doing, so we’re going to have to be very prepared.”

Preparation will indeed be key, especially in front of a home crowd of football-crazy fans.

“This community has a passion for football,” Hall said. “We want to keep that going. That’s one of the fun things about his job, seeing the community’s passion for the game. They pull for the kids and they come to the games. It’s really special and it’s fun to be a part of.”

Hall will make his official return to the red, white and blue on Aug. 28 at Logan Elm. He’ll then be back in front of a home crowd on Sept. 4 when Zane Trace welcomes Waverly.

“I think fans are going to see the same passion from the kids that I’ve seen so far,” Hall said. “We want to take it week by week. When it’s game time, we want to have fun and play hard. That’s what we expect.”

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509