]Cincinnati Colerain is coming off a dominating 15-0 season and a D-I state title. The Cardinals will be on center stage Fri., Sept. 9, as they tackle Tyler (Texas) Lee in the inaugural Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge game at Columbus Crew Stadium. We spoke with head coach Kerry Coombs (left) and the following are excerpts from that interview session.
We had a chance recently to do an interview with Cincinnati Colerain coach Kerry Coombs. Of course, his Colerain team, coming off a dominating 15-0 season and a Division I state championship, will be on center stage Fri., Sept. 9, as it tackles nationally renowned Tyler (Texas) Lee in the inaugural Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge game at Columbus Crew Stadium.
Here are excerpts from that interview session:
Ohio High: Coach, how did this game with Tyler Lee come about?
Kerry Coombs: “I know that when they called, the first thing I thought was that somebody must be kidding me. I never really gave anything like this much thought. Last year, ESPN had called us about a game with (Concord, Calif.) De La Salle. That was in the off-season before last year. We rearranged all kinds of things and it never came to fruition, so we’ve been down this road before.
“I think the difference with this game is that Kirk Herbstreit is involved. I think when he puts his name on something, it becomes much more official. It became more serious when he got involved. We are excited about having the opportunity to play.”
Tyler Lee head coach Mike Owens and Coombs appear at the announcement of the Ohio vs. Challenge.
Ohio High: Talk about the challenge your team faces.
Coombs: “I’m not going to tell you that I’m not scared to death because I am. I went down and watched them play. They have 94 juniors and seniors playing in a spring game and I couldn’t tell who the ones were and who the twos were. They’re in a different league than we are.
“But at the same time, we get to be the home team and we feel we have a good club coming back. If we play hard and work hard, we have a chance.”
Ohio High: Do you feel like you are defending Ohio’s honor with this game?
Coombs: “We can’t be sure we’ll be the best team in Cincinnati, much less Ohio or the country. I don’t think it proves anything along those lines. I think if we’re competitive and it’s a good game, I think what it would demonstrate to people is that all over the country there is good high school football being played. I hope that’s what we find and that’s true. I hope we don’t go out there and find out that our brand of football isn’t the same.
“I’m hopeful that folks in California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Florida get the idea that high school football is about the same everywhere.”
Ohio High: Coach, you lost a lot of talent off last year’s squad. Do you have the players coming up to fill some of those roles?
Coombs: “We’ve got 13 kids off last year’s team that will be playing college football this fall. Those are big holes to fill. We do have a group back that I like. We have some guys who have some Division I offers. I think what I like about this team is they have overall leadership.
“The junior class is the class that I’m concerned about. Are we going to be as talented as we were a year ago? I don’t think so. But can we be a good football team? Yeah. It’s just a matter of coaching them up and getting out there on the field and playing.”
OL Conner Smith is expected to announce his college decision August 1st.
Ohio High: A lot has been said and written about your offensive lineman, Connor Smith. What makes him special?
Coombs: “I think the thing about Connor that makes him different than anybody I’ve coached – and he’s the most recruited player I’ve ever had – is he has tremendous intensity from the beginning of a play until the end of a play. He’s a gentle giant. He’s 6-6 and 304 pounds, but he runs great. And when he plays, I mean he is a physical, nasty kid.
“Then he picks the kid up, pats them on the head and goes back to the huddle. I love Connor Smith. He’s a gem.”
Ohio High: Likewise, linebacker Cobrani Mixon returns. He has been widely recruited. What are people seeing with him?
Coombs: “With Cobrani, there are two things that are special about him. One, he tore his ACL in the fifth week of the season and he came back and played in the eighth week without surgery and finished the year. He’s a tough kid and tough kids make great players. He was a great player before he got hurt. He was a good player after he got hurt. He’s going to be healthy in the fall. He’s 6-2, 225 and he can run like the wind. He’s a physical player.”
Ohio High: After a 15-0 season, your team will go in as the hunted. Will they be ready for that?
Colerain players (l-r) Bryan Shelton, Mister Simpson, Andre Revels and Dominick Goodman celebrate the 2004 D-I title.
Coombs: “We came in last year ranked No. 1 in the preseason. I think people had their eyes on us right from the beginning. I think the difference is how do you handle last year’s success and what kind of motivation does that provide for you this year.
“If you are comfortable with last year, you’re going to get your butt kicked this year. If you’re using last year as motivation to get back, then I think you have a chance.
“The one thing I tell our kids is we’re going to play on national television in week 3. What kind of team do you want to have out there? I think that makes you work hard. I think they will work hard in the off-season and will be ready to go.”
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