Illinois Coach of the Year you ask? Each and every year it seems that the list of worthy candidates grows in numbers, and the candidates from the recently completed 2002 season was no exception. The impossbile task you say? Indeed. How could anyone choose just one of the many quality candidates? Quality candidates you ask?

Listing each and every worthy name is also an impossible a task, but here's a few names for your entertainment and consideration:

Matt Senffner Providence Catholic Coach Seff took a team that had just four returning starters back from it's 2001 Class 5A state title winner, then went out in 2002 and went 14-0 and won the 2002 Class 6A state title. Senffner finished his 35th season as the only head coach in Providence Catholic's history with a 273-105-1 record and has now won 7 state title for the New Lenox school.

Brent Pearlman Prospect Pearlman, who stunned the Illinois football world in 2001 by winning the Class 7A state title decided that once wasn't enough and again won the 2002 Class 7A state title over Edwardsville! Pearlman has built a program who's emphasis is on overall team play, speed and aggression on both sides of the ball.

Brett Kooi Lockport Brett Kooi, who has been at the helm of the Lockport Porters football program for 9 years, has taken the Porters to the pinnacle in 2002 in leading Lockport to it's first ever state football title by winning the Class 8A 2002 crown. Lockport without question had one of the toughest roads in winning it's first state title, with Kooi shaping the Porters offensive attack from a run based team to a spread passing attack in 2002!

Bill Mitz Stevenson Mitz, who entered his 21st season at Stevenson as the head coach in 2002 took the Patriots to the Class 8A state title game in 2002. Mitz led the Patriots to Champaign behind a never say die team that won several close ballgames all season long including a 9-7 Class 8A quarterfinal win over Conant as well as a thrilling 23-22 Class 8A semifinal win over Wheaton North.

Looking for more worthy candidates? How about Stagg's Tim MCAlpin who led the Chargers from a team that was off the playoff radar to the Class 7A semifinals? Or what about Lake Zurich's Mike DiMatteo who beat conference foe McHenry not once but twice in 2002 and led the Bears to the Class 7A semifinals? Chicago Mount Carmel's Frank Lenti? Was any team as better prepared in it's post-season run than the Lenti led Caravan in 2002, who also won state title #10 in Class 5A in 2002? The worthy candidates are endless......but in the end did anyone face as much adversity and win out than Pontiac's Dave Young? How did Dave Young face and handle all of the controversity? How did he manage to get his team to the 2002 Class 5A state finals? Simple.....he just went to work.

Adversity? The Pontiac Indians in 2002 had high expectations. The Indians had a solid senior class returning for the 2002 season led by team captains RB Jake Cunningham (Purdue) as well as senior All State linebacker Buck Casson and senior All State DL Aaron Vogt and all was looking good for the 2002 Indians.....that is until August 28th 2002, a day that will never be erased from the town of Pontiac when the Illinois High School Association announced the following:

The impact of this decision you ask, which was announced just two days prior to the start of the 2002 season? Head coach Mick Peterson and senior Issac Monts received in essence the Death Penalty from the IHSA, a public school accused of recruiting violations and a coach and player who received one of the harshest penalties every handed down by the Illinois High School Association.

So Dave Young, the Indians long-time Defensive coordinator was basically handed the keys and told go get em Dave. Young took over for suspended head coach Mick Peterson and suddenly found himself in charge of the Indians program and in less than 48 hours would face the season opener against long-time rival and highly ranked Morris. So what did Dave Young and the Indians do? They went to work.

Dave Young and the Indians had alot to do in a very short period of time. Gone was projected senior quarterback Issac Monts, who in the summer was thrilling the Indians fans with visions of a serious passing threat dancing in their heads. Dave Young gathered his team, put backup junior QB Ross Blakeman into the lineup for Monts and simply went to work.

Pontiac lost that first game to Morris 21-18, yet the impressive second half comeback that the Indians staged in this ballgame set the stage in front of four thousand plus fans that this Pontiac team was far from dead. The 2002 Indians just went to work, winning another Corn Belt conference title, winning 12 straight games including two overtime games, one in Week 9 against highly regarded and state ranked Metamora 18-17 and another in Round 1 of the Class 5A playoffs against conference foe Olympia 28-21. Yes, not even the IHSA's imposed death penalty could slow down the Indians in 2002.

More adversity you ask? Try having replace not one, or two, or three, but four starting quarterbacks in one season! Besides the suspension of Issac Monts, the Indians during it's 2002 run lost junior Ross Blakeman and sophomore Eric Giovanni to injuries before the Indians turned to sophomore Michael Long, who led the Indians to a second win 18-17 over Metamora in the Class 5A state Quarterfinals. Pontiac then traveled to Southern Illinois to face Belleville Althoff in the Class 5A state semifinals and defeated the Crusaders 27-21 to advance to the Class 5A state final game.

A happy Cinderella ending? No, not this time. The Indians magic ran out on the Play-Turf of Memorial Stadium against the #1 ranked Providence Catholic Celtics with a 42-0 loss in the Class 5A state final game, yet despite the sting of this final loss for the Pontiac faithful, how in the world could of anyone expected the Indians to even make a state finals game after it's 2002 emotional roller-coaster ride? Excuses? Nope, Providence proved it on the field that they were the better team that day.

In the end.....Dave Young just went to work. Dave Young is my 2002 Illinois Coach of the Year and I have also nominated Young for RivalsHigh.com National High School Coach of the Year honors as well. Congrats Dave.....from one guy who just goes to work to another!