In Zach Dennis’s junior year, the 2002 football season, he was selected Star Beacon All-Ashtabula County Defensive Back of the Year.
But Dennis, who will be inducted into the Ashtabula County Hall of Fame Sunday at SPIRE Academy, is quick to credit another part of the defense for much of his success.
“Our defense only gave up around nine points a game,” the 2004 Jefferson graduate said. “I actually was given defensive back of the year and that was mostly because our defensive line was so great that quarterbacks didn’t have much time to read anything, so I was able to get a few picks. We finished 8-2 I think, and were just so close to making the playoffs.”
Dennis actually had seven interceptions that year, according to official Jefferson statistics.
He added 36 tackles and 17 assists.
Offensively, Dennis contributed 34 receptions for 569 yards, both categories led the area, and five touchdowns.
The Falcons followed that season up with another 8-2 season in 2003, again falling just short of the playoffs.
In Dennis’ four years, three of which he lettered, Jefferson went 25-14 and were Northeastern Conference co-champs in 2002 and 2003.
“Our team was full of talent our senior year and we were very lucky to have that,” Dennis said. “We had potential all-conference players at pretty much every position. I was fortunate enough to be the Player of the Year during our senior year. We ended the year with another 8-2 record but just fell short of the playoffs.We had a great team.”
In 20023, Dennis set a school-receiving record with 881 receiving yards on 53 receptions. He had 1,597 total yards and eight touchdowns on receptions, interceptions and kick returns.
In Dennis’ first year as a starter, he totaled 88 tackles with 28 assists, huge numbers for a defensive back, 16 first hits, two caused fumbles, one fumble recovery and 156 defensive points, second on the team.
On offense, Dennis added 14 catches for 191 yards and four touchdowns.
Among his honors were 2001 honorable mention all-county, 2002 Defensive Back of the Year and 2003 Ashtabula County Player of the Year. He had begun playing football in his front yard with his older brother, Jimmy.
“We used to play one versus one and my dad would be the quarterback,” Dennis said. “That is my first memory of football. I am a product of being a younger brother so having my brother, Jimmy, playing football led me to a lot of his practices and playing with his teams.”
He moved on to play running back in Jefferson’s Midget League. In sixth grade, Hurk Hagerdon was his coach.
“We were a pretty solid team,” Dennis said. ““In junior high, we had some great teams. My graduating class had a lot of talented athletes, so we were pretty lucky.
“I don’t remember our records off the top of my head, but we were very solid with a good core of players at all positions. Most of us played up and were on varsity pretty early in our high school careers.
That set up his high school career. He e was fortunate to being a member of a talented class, athletically.
“In my early years, I played with great players like Bill Maylish, Dustin Olah, Nick Aliff, Dustin Park, Jason Spang, Justin Larson, and I am sure many others that I did not mention,” Dennis said. “In my class, we were also very talented.
“We had a lot of guys that did play in college
or could have … quarterback Angelo Mirando, running back Ryan Aliff, offensive linemen Bryan Stainfield and Jeremy Graham.
“Defensively, we had Abe Woodard and Brandon Beebe at linebacker, Matt Mihoci at defensive back and Mark Baker and Alex Rabe on the defensive line.”
Dennis’ head coach was Jason Root, who took over the Falcons his sophomore year.
“I played for Rick Havens, coach Mead and TJ Furman,” Dennis said. “I have a lot of great memories from coach Root and he is one of the main reasons that I am still a coach to this day. I will always tell my current players some of the ways that coach Root motivated us in high school about how we conditioned or how fired up he would get after big wins.”
Root remains one of Dennis’ biggest advocates.
“Zach was a huge part of a very talented class of athletes,” Root said. “We could always count on him to make the big reception, or come up with an interception at a crucial time.
“He played a giant role in helping us win two NEC championships [2002 and 2003],” Root said. “Zach was not only a great athlete, but also a great student, and continues to be a great person and family man.
“I am proud of the accomplishments that he has made since graduation. As a young coach, I was fortunate to have players such as Zach on our team.”
The 2005 team was Jefferson’s last conference championship.
In addition to football, Dennis played basketball and baseball at Jefferson.
“I am pretty sure we were conference champs in both of those my senior year as well,” he said.
After graduation from Jefferson, Dennis played cornerback for one year at the University of Pennsylvania.
He transferred to Ohio Wesleyan, where he played in his three remaining years of eligibility.
“Mike Holloway was our head coach at that time, Dennis said. “I was a three-year starter at OWU. Our best record in college was 7-3. I was fortunate enough to be our team MVP my senior year while being an ESPN Academic All-District wide receiver. At graduation I was top three in most receiving categories at OWU.”
Dennis was a second-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference pick in 2007. as well as the Touchdown Club and Gazette Publication’s Golden Helmet Collegiate Player of the Year, and National Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete that year.
He finished second in school history in receiving yards (1,928), fifth in receptions (116) and third at Wesleyan in yardage for a season, 888 in 2007.
At Ohio Wesleyan, Dennis took a bachelor’s in sports management.
He added his master’s in teaching from LaGrange College. Dennis began his coaching career at Wesleyan in 2008, before moving on to LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia, where he coached from 2008-2010.
For the past 15 years, he has coached at the College of Wooster, first as wide receivers coach, then as offensive line coach, recruiting coordinator and, currently, as offensive-coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“I have been fortunate in my time at Wooster to have coached the two best quarterbacks, best tight end and best wide receiver in our school’s 150-year history.” Dennis said. “One of our quarterbacks actually was the fifth-best quarterback in the nation and we have had a top-20 passing attack in the nation a few times.”
Dennis met his wife, Heather, at LaGrange College when he was a graduate football assistant and Heather was a graduate volleyball assistant.
The Dennis’ have been married for 12 years, and have two sons, Bode and Crew.
His father, Jim Dennis and mother, Jacquie Teed, are still in the area. Jim lives in Chesterland and Jacquie in Cleveland. His brother, Jimmy, lives in Jefferson.
‘I’m still coaching football so I would say that my high school experience was a very important part of my life trajectory,” he said. “Being a college coach now, I still get to experience the impact that football can have on young people.
“I constantly think back to all the memories that I have had with my fellow teammates over the years and take a lot of pride in where I am from. My coaching style is a product of all the great men that have coached me or that I have played with throughout my life.”
