Old rivals West Geauga, Chardon to renew football rivalry

Tim Warsinskey, The Plain Dealer, August 13, 2009 9:56 a.m.

Old rivals West Geauga and Chardon play for the first time in 12 years when they open the season on a Thursday night, Aug. 27, at West Geauga.

West Geauga's football Web site has a clock counting down the seconds to the game next to a headline "The Rivalry is Back."

There was quite a bit of animosity between the schools in the late 1990s when the former version of the Chagrin Valley Conference broke up and Chardon was left out to dry as an independent. Now, there's quite a connection between the football programs.

West Geauga third-year coach Dave Bors is Chardon's former defensive coordinator. He brought with him former Chardon assistants Mark Percassi and Mitch Hewitt, who had been a big part of Chardon's success in the 1990s.

Welcome addition: Ashtabula Lakeside coach Bill Lipps got a nice surprise a few days before practice began when 6-6, 230-pound senior Emilio Parks walked into his office and said, "Coach, can I play football?"

"I think we can find some pants that will fit you," Lipps replied.

Parks is one of the top basketball players in Northeast Ohio, but has not played football since his freshman year. He averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4.4 blocks last winter. He'll be a wide receiver on the football team.

Relatively speaking: Bill Lipps, who was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach at Lakeside last month, is the second cousin of Fairport Harbor coach John Lipps. Bill Lipps replaced Van McWreath, who last month was hired as Pymatuning Valley's principal.