Friendly rivals: Santoro, Poggiali are young coaches in charge of high-profile programs

PERKINS AVENUE -- It was the first night of the 2021 Ohio high school football playoffs and Marietta College offensive coordinator Lucas Poggiali was on a recruiting trip at Perkins High School. Poggiali's mind was on his job as he watched the Pirates dominate Lutheran West, but he certainly had taken note of what happened earlier that day on October 29: Mike Franklin, Sandusky's longtime coach, had announced his resignation. "I had a long time to think on my drive up," Poggiali said last week. "We still had two games left at Marietta, but human nature kind of creeps in a little bit. You think, 'maybe.'" The Sandusky job seemed like a perfect fit for Poggiali, a 2012 Sandusky High School graduate and former star quarterback. The head coach on Perkins' sideline, Jalen Santoro, was in Poggiali's corner. "I reached out to him as soon as I found out the job was open," Santoro said. "He kinda hinted that he was going to apply and I figured if he applied it was as good as his. Once I figured out he was putting in his name, my money was on him getting the job." Poggiali did get the job and was introduced in January, creating a friendly rivalry between two coaches — and two former standout players — who haven't reached 30 years of age. "When I got the job he congratulated me that night and told me that if there's anything I need, don't hesitate to reach out, which is comforting as a first-time head coach," Poggiali said. Santoro, 27, is in his third season at Perkins and is coming off a 9-4 season. Poggiali is 28 with an impressive résumé that included five seasons on Marietta's staff, including two as offensive coordinator. "If Jalen didn't have the success as a young coach right away, then I don't know if it would've been as popular of a pick," Poggiali said. "I think he kind of paved the way for younger coaches. At all levels people feel more comfortable hiring younger coaches. Times have changed, but without his success who knows if they would've felt as good about pulling the trigger on me." Santoro was quick to congratulate Poggiali when he took the Sandusky job and offered his help. "It's easy to be friends with a guy you're competing with when it's a guy like Lucas," Santoro said. "He's a standup guy. Obviously he's going to do some good things at Sandusky. He's the right guy for the job." Said Poggiali: "He's been really good in terms of reaching out and saying if I need anything, questions about the league, questions about being a first-year head coach, let me know and I'll help you out." Even though they're young, both coaches have known each other for years. They faced off one time in high school, in 2011, when Poggiali's Blue Streaks clinched a Northern Ohio League title with a decisive victory in Bellevue. A year later, Santoro led Bellevue to the state finals and was named Offensive Player of the Year in Division III. "Jalen was an absolute stud," Poggiali recalled. "They had a really good junior class and the next year they went to the state championship. We took a lot of pride in that win because it was our first year in the league." After high school, Poggiali went on to put up big passing numbers at Oberlin College while Santoro played at Tiffin University. Now they're both leading teams in the rugged Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division. Santoro was quick to welcome his contemporary into the league. "I came into a league (in 2020) where there were a lot of older, established coaches," Santoro said. "It's nice to have some younger blood, a guy you can relate to a little bit. He's probably dealing with the same issues I was once, or vice versa. It's nice to have someone close to your age you can talk to." Poggiali got a good look at Perkins during that playoff win last year. At halftime, he chatted up EHOVE principal Mike Strohl, who has two boys in the Perkins program. "He said how great Jalen had been connecting with the kids, which is something I've tried to do since I've been here, build a relationship with these kids," Poggiali said. "He's done an amazing job." The relationship between the two young coaches means there will be warm handshakes before and after the Sandusky-Perkins game. Like the two coaches, the rivalry is young. Perkins and Sandusky began playing annually in 2009. "It's a game you want to win; it's not even a five-minute bus ride," Santoro said. "It's heated and one of the more physical games we have because of the kids knowing each other so well. I wasn't aware of how big the rivalry was until I was part of it. I played in the Bellevue-Clyde rivalry but this is a little different because everybody knows everybody. It's a game everyone can get to. "When you play Sandusky you want to beat them, but being close with Lucas it's a different level of respect. It's a different aspect of the game this year, which is something I'll enjoy and I think he'll enjoy it as well." Poggiali also gives a nod to the Perkins game, but as a lifelong Blue Streak, there's another game that also gets his attention. "Our main rival is still Fremont Ross. We can't lose sight of that with our kids," he said. "The stars may have aligned for us to have a showdown with Perkins in Week 10, which is great, but Week 3 is an incredibly important game for us."