How do you define legacy in sports?

The matter usually comes down to one question that always seems to carry the most weight.

How many championships have you won?

When we look between the hashes on the gridiron in southeast Ohio, those championships have been hard to come by since 1972, when the Ohio High School Athletic Association began the playoff era, only eight of a possible 285 state champions have come from this region just under 3%.

So in lieu of championships, how else can we quantify legacy?

In December 2019, during his iconic Heisman speech, Joe Burrow needed just 31 seconds to put a spotlight on southeast Ohio.

Over the next month, donations to the Athens County food pantry surged to nearly $650,000, and the seeds were sown for a legacy.

Joe and his family are still writing.

But when it comes to the game itself, given all that Joe has accomplished, it might be easy to forget he never won a high school state championship.

That's where we'll begin the Plains, Ohio, in 2014.

I definitely always believed that Joe could do whatever he set his mind to.

He was always very driven and I just always felt like he was going to take the next step because he was he was very focused on becoming the best that he could be.

It was very evident to everybody in our program that that this guy was going to show up every day and reach a different level of work ethic.

And, you know, it was not okay to be good.

We had to be great.

That's what struck me about Joe, is we're going to win with this kid, whether he has a bunch of talent or not.

And win they did.

The Athens Bulldogs entered the 2014 playoffs an unbeaten 10-0 and were soon staring down St Francis DeSales in the regional final.

The Bulldogs had made it this far the past two seasons, but faltered both times.

A five touchdown performance from Joe saw the Bulldogs finally get over the hump and soon the team was on the precipice of history.

A chance at a first ever state title for Athens.

The only thing standing in their way was the Toledo Central Catholic Fighting Irish.

I remember sitting down with the offensive guys saying, Toledo Central Catholic has the best high school defense I've ever seen and I don't think they can stop us.

And I knew with the guys that we have and with Joe as our triggerman, I felt like we could score on anybody.

The Bulldogs absolutely could score on anybody as they put up 52 points on that vaunted Fighting Irish defense.

But with a rushing touchdown with 15 seconds on the clock, Toledo Central Catholic put up 56 points of their own and beat the Bulldogs by four for the state title.

If you've ever watched his interview after the game, he said it was the worst day of his life.

And so that kind of tells it all.

It was devastating for all of us.

We all believed, I think, until the very last second that they still had a chance to win.

I think there were going to be a whole lot of tears after that game no matter what, because it kind of hits you all at once as a coach and as players that this was it.

I wish I could rewind and not even coach and just watch that season from afar.

It was so special around here.

Joe left Athens High School as the greatest to ever do it at the program, commandeering one of the most historic offenses in Ohio high school football history.

The Bulldogs averaged 57.4 points per game and Joe won Gatorade player of the Year in Ohio for the second year in a row.

That isn't Joe's legacy, though.

We'll come back to that because Athens wasn't the only legendary high school football team making noise in the early 2010s.

Let's head 12 miles up State Route 13.

Welcome to Glouster, home of Trimble High School.

This small town of about 1500 love few things more than their Tomcats.

And for good reason.

Trimble has a long standing tradition of success in the Tri-Valley conference.

But it wasn't until 2013 that things reached a fever pitch.

The legacy that cemented itself might have started on the field then, but it lives on now, on people's heads.

This is the legacy of the Mohawk Mafia.

I knew we had some good kids coming up, and the year before that, you know, we started to get better and better and you could just feel it.

Head coach Phil Faires and the Trimble Tomcats were coming off a heartbreaking playoff loss in 2012 and came into the 2013 season looking to carry that momentum to greater heights.

Former Trimble wide receiver and cornerback Austin Downs knew that his class was born to win.

We had the bulk of our cast back.

We were a play away from being at that level.

I think we knew then, like, let's ramp it up, do what we can get the most out of this, because we knew then that we had a chance in 2013 to get to the final stage.

Success came quickly in 2013.

The Tomcats strolled through their regular season, ending with a perfect 10-0 record before the playoffs.

The spotless record wasn't the most notable thing about the Trimble football team, though.

It started with that group when they were younger.

They had some success in little League had some success in junior high.

A few of them got their haircut in the Mohawk.

You can do that stuff when you win.

They took pride in cutting it.

A couple of them bought the shears that they cut hair with.

There was people in line after every practice waiting to get their haircut.

I remember doing it, dyeing it red, and then it just became like a thing of pride.

Who has the tallest Mohawk, keeping Mohawk in shape?

You better dye your Mohawk!

During the school day Other students would be joining the Mohawk Mafia, you know, at lunch break.

Go in there, cut your Mohawk, call it a day, and then it just spread like wildfire.

It started late in 2012, but it was like full blown by probably before the season even started in 2013.

That was going to be who we were.

Everywhere you looked in Glouster, there was a mohawk from babies to the eldest grandmothers and grandfathers.

Mohawk Mafia took over the town.

I would say three out of four people had Mohawks in town.

My mom was 88 years old, I think, and she got a mohawk.

So...

It's still reflected in today's teams through the posters on the walls at Gloucester Memorial Stadium and in their weekly traditions.

This is the hit stick adorned with a skull sporting that trademark red mohawk.

It's awarded to the player with the biggest hit in the team's last game.

It was an honor to get it each game and you got to keep it for the week.

That's probably the biggest thing is, you know, sign of teamwork and togetherness.

Trimble would make it all the way to the 2013 state final, but came up short against small school juggernaut Marion Local.

The loss didn't dampen what was a dream season for the Tomcats.

It didn't take anything away from what we did.

The community was there fresh after the game.

I remember coach telling us to go visit the crowds, see the fans, see your family.

We'll talk in the locker room later.

Like they've been here with you guys all along.

Glouster always has and always will be dedicated to its Tomcats.

But the team that materialized in 2013 stamped a legacy that continues to this day, a legacy that began with a group of determined young players who weren't shy about showing their togetherness and success in a way that was loud, fun and endearing for the whole community.

The first time we played in a state finals, played for a state championship, its going to be connected to that.

Any time we have a run, you'll see the Mohawk Mafia come back.

Before Coach Faires, there was another legendary coach who started his journey at Trimble.

Paul Culver Junior.

Coach Faires was an assistant on Culver Juniors staff for the Tomcats.

Culver Junior would soon leave and travel up to Thornville in Perry County, where he became head coach of the Sheridan Generals.

From 1981 until his retirement in 2015, Paul Culver Jr rewrote the Generals record books.

He won 324 games, which ranks fourth in Ohio high school history.

When he stepped down from his post, it was one of those jobs that no one wanted.

How could you possibly follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest to ever do it?

One man interviewed for the job.

I'm Paul Culver the third, and I am proudly the son of Paul Culver Jr.

Since taking over for his dad the standard has not dropped an inch at Sheridan.

The same values and ideals that Paul Culver Junior instilled in his players.

The right mental attitude, accountability.

Working as hard as possible.

Conducting yourself with class.

Paul Culver III continues to impress upon his Generals.

Big game tonight, gentlemen.

Why is it a big game?

Because the Sheridan Generals are in it.

Because the Sheridan Generals are 4-0 and they're on a mission, just like we've been on a mission since 1981, when my dad came here and he put together a staff and he started getting kids to believe in the right mental attitude and everything changed.

And we're still living off that 40 years later.

Everything tonight is about physicality and execution, and it's never good enough until the final whistle blows.

You understand me?

It is relentless.

It never lets up.

It is suffocating for the entire game.

Get after it because it's not good enough until it is the red rage perfect!

Yes.

Let's go.

I don't think that my dad finding football success changed this community.

I think the excellence was there.

The football program that he was building and the values and the work ethic and the type of people that are found here in this community.

I think it was a perfect marriage that they found each other Nice Job Caden!

That's awesome.

Keep it up.

Keep it up Red Rage!

Two Minute Drill... Ready?

Got to have this.

Got to have this.

Holy Cow!

Yes!

Wow... As a coach, the biggest thing that my dad was was he loved what he did cause he felt the game mattered.

He felt that it mattered not in terms of wins and losses, but in terms of the impact that it could have on young people.

The fact that he believed in the right mental attitude and that it instilled relationships and instilled positive work ethic and it instilled character and discipline and toughness and all those things that go into what it means to be a football player.

You keep upping the ante.

What are you going to do next?

What are you going to do next?

Holy crap.

The right mental attitude is the real key to it.

Whats up guys?

good to see, good to see, good to see ya.

Paul Culver Junior and the right mental attitude are present each and every game day at Sheridan.

After retiring in 2015, Culver Junior remained a steady presence at the stadium that now bears his name.

After watching a big play off victory in 2020, Culver Junior found his son on the field and gave him a memory he'll never forget.

We're walking around just watching the kids enjoy it, and I see my dad, and at that point it's end stages cancer.

He just comes up to me with this look in his eyes and it was twofold in the sense that he was proud of his son.

He was proud of his community.

But I know on some level he was proud of the football team that he had built and that it's still here and it's still significant.

And that's not arrogant because he knew he was doing something significant.

He knew he was doing something that was going going to create a legacy that was going to last.

Culver Junior passed away in February of 2022.

The lessons he instilled were always bigger than the game itself and serve as a good reminder that when life revolves around sports, championships aren't everything.

If you put your name on someone's heart, if my dad instills the right mental attitude in someone's heart, instills the right way of doing things on someone's heart, that's going to last.

And ultimately, that's more important than a championship.

You'd be hard pressed to find a heart that hasn't been carved upon in Thornville by the Culver family, but making your name synonymous with core values that carry weight takes time.

Something the Culvers have been cultivating in Perry County since 1981.

Back in Athens County, another name is trying to mean something as well, though this one is just getting started and recently took a major step forward with the establishment of the Joe Burrow Foundation.

It's certainly important to our family name.

It's not just the Joe Foundation, it's the Joe Burrow Foundation.

Joe, once upon a time in an interview, said everybody has the responsibility to do good.

That's part of our our focus is to with our foundation is to do good.

Our mission is to provide resources and support for the underprivileged and underserved.

And our two main areas of focus are food insecurity and youth mental health.

The foundation is still in its early stages, but Jim, Robin and Joe have major plans to expand and grow the foundation's reach and capabilities throughout the next decade.

That's a major part of the legacy Joe will have in Athens County.

Of course, legendary football player, but also someone who, with the platform he was given, was able to bring about meaningful change and help the lives of thousands in southeast Ohio who desperately needed it.

It's more what's in his heart and that's that he loves this area.

People are proud of him.

The legacy that you leave is people think of you and what touches their heart to the point that they remember.

We feel like we have a responsibility to do good, as Joe said.

So we want to leave a lasting impression when it really comes right down to it.

Your legacy is your family and and the difference that you make.

Legacy is the impact that you have on the people that come after you.

Joe's legacy with the Hunger Relief Fund is going to last a long time.

I have no doubt that Joe is going to be committed to this for a long time and, you know, probably a couple of generations of people will benefit from this, which is, you know, just incredible for this area.

Legacy is just how you are remembered.

We talked about that a lot, like how does this team want to be remembered?

We want to be remembered, you know, the team that went the furthest, as you know, of any others that have been through these walls and we worked hard to be remembered, you know, differently than everybody else.

They were one of the hardest workers as a team, not just one or two players.

That's the first group that I didn't have a senior as captain.

I made juniors captain that year Legacy is something of significance that lingers or still lasts after you are gone.

People might say, My dad's football program, but I don't think that's my dad's legacy.

I think that's a part of my dad's legacy.

My dad's legacy.

The significance is the fact that he believed in the right mental attitude and that it instilled positive work ethic and it instilled positive relationships.

And those get passed down.

So long as I'm the coach of the Sheridan Generals, that's going to be the right mental attitude.

And I think this district has enough of an ownership of it.

The people in this community have enough of an ownership of it that long after I'm gone, people are going to still talk about the right mental attitude.

All this talk of legacy, yet no mention of trophies or banners won.

That's not to say these teams aren't chasing them, only that during that pursuit, a more meaningful kind of legacy is written, one that ultimately means more than any piece of hardware ever could.

So take the football away.

And what do you get?

You get community united by something bigger than the game itself.

Traditions made that last lifetimes and the commitment to build a better future for all those who come after.

These are the Friday night legacies found throughout Southeast Ohio.

These are the legacies worth celebrating.