Legando to join Munafo Sr. in Huron HOF

HURON — Huron honored the two winningest coaches in football program history Friday night prior to hosting Perkins.Tony Munafo Sr. was already a member of the high school Hall of Fame, inducted as part of the inaugural class. Tony Legando had to wait until his coaching career was finished, which happened after the 2015 season.Legando will join his high school coach as a member of the Huron High School Hall of Fame Class of 2016 with Pat Cahill, Don Grieves, Dan Hunter, Scott Lasch, Brad Swanbeck and the 2002 state championship volleyball team.The 24th annual Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony is at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at Mesenburg's Plaza Place. Tickets are available for $25 in the high school office until Friday and can be purchased with a reservation made through the athletic director's office.Legando, a 1969 graduate, earned four letters in golf, three in football and two in basketball while in high school. He went on to play football at Ashland University before returning to the area as a teacher and football coach. After a stint as an assistant at Huron, he served as an assistant coach at Sandusky High School before returning to Huron, taking over as head coach in 1988 following Munafo's retirement.Legando compiled a 211-99 record in 28 years at the helm with seven league titles, four regional crowns and a trip to the 1993 state championship game. He is part of the Sandusky Hall of Fame as a coach of the 1987 team, was the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Coaches award winner in 1998, 2004 and 2014, earned the Fred Martinelli Achievement Award winner from Ashland University in 2005 and was the Associated Press state coach of the year in 1998 and 2014.In addition, his Tiger teams received academic All-Ohio recognition five years in a row and he coached 15 first-team all-state players.Cahill, a 1977 graduate, earned varsity letters in football, baseball and wrestling. He was a member of the 1976 undefeated team which was the first Huron team to reach the high school playoffs. Cahill earned first-team All-Ohio honors as a guard that season And added second-team all-league honors in baseball the following spring.Grieves was a three-year starter in football and basketball and earned SBC recognition in both sports as a junior and a senior. He scored 987 points in basketball and has been actively involved in the Huron Booster Club and H-Team.Hunter, a 1968 grad, earned varsity letters in golf and basketball. He was the starting guard in basketball but led the Huron golf team to Lakeland Conference and SBC team titles three straight years.Hunter went on to the University of Michigan, earning three varsity letters before graduating in 1972. He taught history and social studies at Perkins and coached the boys swim team before returning to Ann Arbor to work on his master's degree in landscape architecture. Hunter worked the landscape architect for the city of Daytona Beach for 30 years.Lasch, a 2005 graduate, earned four letters in each in cross country and track. He earned all-state recognition in cross country twice and finished fourth in the state in the 3200 and currently holds the school record in cross country, breaking a 20-year old record.He continued his career at Heidelberg University, earning All-American recognition in cross country in 2006 and All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors in indoor and outdoor track.Lasch is currently a second lieutenant in the Marines.Swanbeck is a 1995 graduate, lettering three times in football and four times in wrestling. He was a member of an SBC championship football team and was a three-time SBC wrestling champion who advanced to the state three times in a row, placing second as a senior.He is currently a Navy commander of the USS Montpelier.The 2002 volleyball team was the fourth of four straight Huron teams to reach the state Final Four. The seniors on the squad captured two state crowns and finished second once during the run that included four consecutive SBC championships.Tony Legando, left, and Tony Munafo Sr., center, receive awards before the start of Friday's Perkins-Huron game at Kalahari Field. The two are the winningest coaches in football program history at Huron.