Wakefield's Smith is Siouxland Coach of the Year
By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer | Posted: Sunday, December 09, 2007
Wakefield, Neb., High School head football coach Justin Smith, left, talks with his offensive linemen during a practice this fall. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)
WAKEFIELD, Neb. -- The late and legendary Clarence Swanson, born in this neat and tidy Northeast Nebraska community in 1898, would be mighty proud. Mighty proud, indeed.
Although he's not a native son like College Football Hall of Famer Swanson, Justin Smith, honored today as the Sioux City Journal's 2007 Siouxland Football Coach of the Year, is endearing himself to Wakefielders far and wide.
Smith becomes the 57th recipient of the award, first bestowed by the newspaper in 1951.
On Smith's watch, his teams have won Nebraska Class C2 state championships in each of the past two years, rolling unbeaten to back-to-back 13-0 campaigns.
In the process, the 26-game winning streak, currently the longest in Nebraska prep football, has inflated Smith's 10-year won-lost record at the school to a glossy 63-34.
Back in the day, Swanson-led Wakefield teams weren’t nearly as awesome and dominating. The 1921 All-America end at the University of Nebraska had to wait until his collegiate days to put the town on the athletic map, probably for the first time.
Winning football games hasn't always been a cakewalk and bed of roses for Smith, a graduate of Hamburg (Iowa) High School (1993) and Dana College (1998).
There have been a few thorny steps along the way in his 10-year reign at Wakefield.
"Back when Justin first came to Wakefield we won just one game, so you can see the successful progression and how he's built a championship program,'' said Mike Clay, Wakefield's longtime boys basketball coach and football assistant. "I grew up here, participated in sports here, too, so I've got a better perspective of what Justin has accomplished.
"He works extremely hard, is focused, has a great rapport with the kids. The guy just exudes confidence and you can tell that pride has rubbed off on our student-athletes.''
In the march to the 2007 title, Smith's maroon-and-white clad Trojans turned back Wayne (13-2), Lyons-Decatur Northeast (69-14), Creighton (33-6), Ponca (35-13), Emerson-Hubbard (59-21), Homer (49-18), Pender (34-8) and Laurel-Concord (14-6) during the regular season.
The Trojans then picked up speed in the playoffs, dispatching Louisville (47-20), Laurel-Concord (35-0), Elmwood-Murdock (35-14) and Hartington Cedar Catholic (7-0) before spoiling Blue Hill's title bid for a second straight year, 19-0.
In 2006, Wakefield rolled to eight regular season wins and knocked off West Point Central Catholic, Heartland, Fremont Bergan and Howells in the playoffs before whipping Blue Hill 34-0 in the title game.
On the field the recipe for success was a sweet offensive concoction of running and passing and a huge dose of Smith's signature ingredient, spicy and inflamed defense.
"Justin was an outstanding linebacker in college at Dana and he brought that aggressive, rambunctious linebacker mentality to Wakefield football when he first arrived,'' recalls Clay. "Our offense has continued to become more versatile, but one thing you can count on when you play a team coached by Justin Smith and that is running into a hard-hitting defense.
"He’s absolutely a great teacher of defense. He can sit down for hours game-planning a defense to stop the other team.’’
The catalyst for the offense in the championship season was triple-threat quarterback/defensive back Joel Nixon.
The elusive 6-foot, 165-pound senior, a master of running the option game, passed for 1,091 yards and 10 touchdowns, rushed for 859 yards and 14 TDs and the two-time all-stater was one of the top tacklers on the team from his defensive backfield post.
Junior Ian Miner led the Trojans with 997 rushing yards and 14 TDs and in a virtually unstoppable Wing-T offense, senior Ryan Klein contributed another 771 yards on the ground after rushing for 640 yards for the 2006 title team.
"I'm in my first year at Wakefield, but it is pretty obvious Justin Smith is a coach and teacher with clear and high expectations,'' praises Jason Heitz, the principal at Wakefield. "He's a demanding guy, but he obviously has a good relationship with kids.
"The community is extremely supportive of the job he's doing and he's gained the respect he deserves.
"In a way he's kind of put Wakekfield on the high school football map. We've got a great baseball program here, too, but two state championships in football, back-to-back, is pretty impressive.''
The english and physical education instructor and his wife, Laurie, are parents of daughter Tessa, 4, and son, Tyler, 2.
Thanks to the 10 post-season triumphs directed by Smith in the past two seasons, Wakefield's playoff record stands at 12-6. His 2005 team also won a first-round game, then lost to eventual champion Plainview in the second round.
The school also advanced to post-season play in 1981, 1988, 1991, 2002 and 2004, the latter two with Smith at the helm.
Note: The criteria used in selecting The Journal's coach of the year carries two major restrictions. Coaches serving in their first year at a school and previous winners are not eligible.
Although he's not a native son like College Football Hall of Famer Swanson, Justin Smith, honored today as the Sioux City Journal's 2007 Siouxland Football Coach of the Year, is endearing himself to Wakefielders far and wide.
Smith becomes the 57th recipient of the award, first bestowed by the newspaper in 1951.
On Smith's watch, his teams have won Nebraska Class C2 state championships in each of the past two years, rolling unbeaten to back-to-back 13-0 campaigns.
In the process, the 26-game winning streak, currently the longest in Nebraska prep football, has inflated Smith's 10-year won-lost record at the school to a glossy 63-34.
Back in the day, Swanson-led Wakefield teams weren’t nearly as awesome and dominating. The 1921 All-America end at the University of Nebraska had to wait until his collegiate days to put the town on the athletic map, probably for the first time.
Winning football games hasn't always been a cakewalk and bed of roses for Smith, a graduate of Hamburg (Iowa) High School (1993) and Dana College (1998).
There have been a few thorny steps along the way in his 10-year reign at Wakefield.
"Back when Justin first came to Wakefield we won just one game, so you can see the successful progression and how he's built a championship program,'' said Mike Clay, Wakefield's longtime boys basketball coach and football assistant. "I grew up here, participated in sports here, too, so I've got a better perspective of what Justin has accomplished.
"He works extremely hard, is focused, has a great rapport with the kids. The guy just exudes confidence and you can tell that pride has rubbed off on our student-athletes.''
In the march to the 2007 title, Smith's maroon-and-white clad Trojans turned back Wayne (13-2), Lyons-Decatur Northeast (69-14), Creighton (33-6), Ponca (35-13), Emerson-Hubbard (59-21), Homer (49-18), Pender (34-8) and Laurel-Concord (14-6) during the regular season.
The Trojans then picked up speed in the playoffs, dispatching Louisville (47-20), Laurel-Concord (35-0), Elmwood-Murdock (35-14) and Hartington Cedar Catholic (7-0) before spoiling Blue Hill's title bid for a second straight year, 19-0.
In 2006, Wakefield rolled to eight regular season wins and knocked off West Point Central Catholic, Heartland, Fremont Bergan and Howells in the playoffs before whipping Blue Hill 34-0 in the title game.
On the field the recipe for success was a sweet offensive concoction of running and passing and a huge dose of Smith's signature ingredient, spicy and inflamed defense.
"Justin was an outstanding linebacker in college at Dana and he brought that aggressive, rambunctious linebacker mentality to Wakefield football when he first arrived,'' recalls Clay. "Our offense has continued to become more versatile, but one thing you can count on when you play a team coached by Justin Smith and that is running into a hard-hitting defense.
"He’s absolutely a great teacher of defense. He can sit down for hours game-planning a defense to stop the other team.’’
The catalyst for the offense in the championship season was triple-threat quarterback/defensive back Joel Nixon.
The elusive 6-foot, 165-pound senior, a master of running the option game, passed for 1,091 yards and 10 touchdowns, rushed for 859 yards and 14 TDs and the two-time all-stater was one of the top tacklers on the team from his defensive backfield post.
Junior Ian Miner led the Trojans with 997 rushing yards and 14 TDs and in a virtually unstoppable Wing-T offense, senior Ryan Klein contributed another 771 yards on the ground after rushing for 640 yards for the 2006 title team.
"I'm in my first year at Wakefield, but it is pretty obvious Justin Smith is a coach and teacher with clear and high expectations,'' praises Jason Heitz, the principal at Wakefield. "He's a demanding guy, but he obviously has a good relationship with kids.
"The community is extremely supportive of the job he's doing and he's gained the respect he deserves.
"In a way he's kind of put Wakekfield on the high school football map. We've got a great baseball program here, too, but two state championships in football, back-to-back, is pretty impressive.''
The english and physical education instructor and his wife, Laurie, are parents of daughter Tessa, 4, and son, Tyler, 2.
Thanks to the 10 post-season triumphs directed by Smith in the past two seasons, Wakefield's playoff record stands at 12-6. His 2005 team also won a first-round game, then lost to eventual champion Plainview in the second round.
The school also advanced to post-season play in 1981, 1988, 1991, 2002 and 2004, the latter two with Smith at the helm.
Note: The criteria used in selecting The Journal's coach of the year carries two major restrictions. Coaches serving in their first year at a school and previous winners are not eligible.
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A Utahn wrote on Dec 14, 2007 10:56 AM:
Justin wrote on Dec 14, 2007 8:08 AM:
sister wrote on Dec 10, 2007 11:19 PM:
fellow coach wrote on Dec 10, 2007 4:47 PM: