Some of the most important lessons Grand Rapids West Catholic coach Dan Rohn learned came from his high school football coach, even though it might not be reflected in the style the Falcons play.
So, just who coached Rohn at Muskegon Orchard View during the late-1980s?
That would be John Shillito, who now coaches Zeeland West.
Both coaches will once again be playing for state championships this weekend at Ford Field in Detroit. Anyone who follows Grand Rapids-area football realizes that Shillito loves to run the football out of his wing-T offense, while Rohn doesn’t hesitate to air it out.
Different styles, yes. But both are effective. Rohn and Shillito will both be pursuing their fourth state championship this weekend.
“Obviously, we run totally different offenses, but I have been able to pick up some things from him,” Rohn said. “John spends a lot of time on the little things that matter. He used to pick me up and take me to the weight room. He gets to know his players, what buttons to push and how to get them ready for a game.
“It’s a lot of work developing a program and keeping it at the level he has kept it at. It takes a special person, and he has done it for a long time.”
Zeeland West (13-0 overall) will play Flint Powers Catholic (11-2) in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. Division 4 state finals. Shillito guided the Dux to state championships in 2006, 2011 and 2013, and he has rolled up a 110-22 record during his 11 seasons at the helm.
West Catholic (11-2) will take on River Rouge (12-1) in Saturday’s Division 5 finals. The Falcons are striving for their third consecutive state title and fourth in the past six years.
While Rohn and Shillito’s paths will cross this weekend, they will do so again next year and the one after that. OK Conference realignment has landed the two state powers on each other's schedules for 2016 and 2017. Shillito said he is looking forward to the challenge of squaring off against one of his former players.
“They present a unique challenge,” Shillito said. “We occasionally get to see them on film because they play teams in our league. They are always so well-schemed, and coaching staff-wise, they have done a great job over many years. For us, we will graduate a tremendous senior class, so next year is a little bit of a different challenge for us, too. Having them on the schedule is going to be a big challenge.”
Rohn is looking forward to the challenge as well.
“I played against John for a long time up in Fremont, and he is one of the coaches who has had my number pretty well,” Rohn said. “But it’s an opportunity. We have talked about (playing each other) in the past and it just didn’t work out. The OK Conference had to make some decisions, and whether it’s the right one or the wrong one, we all have to live with it. My motto has always been at West is that let’s play the teams on our schedule, and hopefully, we will get better so we are ready in November.”
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