Get to know new Jackson football head coach Jay Rohr
MASSILLON, Ohio — It’s not every day that a roar from the crowd is intended for you. Then, there’s Jay Rohr, who is accustomed to such acclaim from legions of Jackson Polar Bear football fans. You expect success when it’s all you’ve ever known. For the new head football coach of the Bears, Rohr expects nothing less this season.
“No one expects to win more than me,” he said. “I despise losing. I expect high expectations, and I accept that as a coach. Anything less, and I’d be doing a disservice to the program and to the community.” Rohr returns to Jackson as a favorite son. He is a 2002 Jackson High graduate who heard plenty of ‘roars’ during his playing days when he earned All-County recognition and was named Stark County’s Most Valuable Player at running back and inside linebacker. That helped earn Rohr a football scholarship to the University of Akron, where he played on the Zips’ special teams unit.
His coaching career kicked off at Tuslaw, where he coached eight seasons as the Mustangs’ defensive coordinator. Now, Rohr comes home to Jackson for his maiden season as the head coach at his alma mater. He takes the reins from former Jackson coach Tim Budd who stepped down after seven seasons at the helm, including a 9-3 finish a year ago.
“Tim is a phenomenal coach and person,” Rohr said. “Any coach wants to leave a program better than the way he found it, and Tim did exactly that. Our kids work hard, they’re physical and disciplined. He did not leave the cupboard bare for me.”
Not at all. Rather, the Bears’ cupboard is filled with talent and promise in the form of a whopping 42 seniors, 20 returning lettermen, and 104 football participants, the envy of most all Stark County programs. The Bears’ new grid boss also continues his work in the district as an Intervention Specialist, and the coach has put down roots in the township. He and his wife and four children live in Jackson and have enrolled their children in Jackson schools. “Being in the building is where I wanted to be, and having the kids enrolled here makes us part of the community,” he said. “We thought that was very important.”
The Bears’ success begins and ends behind a huge offensive line that should help pave the way for senior quarterback Ethan Lesco and senior running back Jason Davide. Rohr is also very high on inside linebacker Ben Holzopfel, a senior and a two-year letter winner. “We will need to be strong in the trenches,” Rohr said. “That’s the key thing in football, winning the line of scrimmage.”
And while interior design doesn’t necessarily win you football games, the Bears can trek up and down the field on a new playing turf installed by VASCO, who has laid a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose surface that is a sight to behold in the district. There are also new goal posts erected at Robert Fife Stadium.
While expectations are high, Rohr also knows the Bears’ opponents will remain unfazed. “When 7 o’clock hits on Friday, all that goes out the window,” the coach noted. “It’s our job as coaches to put the kids in the best position to win, but after that, it comes down to the players and making plays. There is no better football in Stark County than what you’ll find in the Federal League. The competition we’ll face is very good, and the teams are all well coached.”
Akron East in the opener, Mayfield, Boardman, and Central Catholic comprise the non-league foes on Jackson’s menu. Traditional league rivals, of course, include GlenOak, McKinley, Green, Hoover, Perry, and Lake. How many games Jackson will win remains to be calculated. But that Rohr you saw on the field 20 years ago will certainly be heard from the Bears’ sideline when all is said and done.
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