2009 Small School Coach of the Year
Written by: Dave on Monday, January 4th, 2010Dan Smith, Bedford Area
Most teams would be done and prepping for the start of the next season after beginning a football season with a 1-5 record. But Dan Smith and Bedford Area were just getting warmed up. The Bison won six of their next seven games after that rough start and made it to the state playoffs, defeating City League rep. Westinghouse and favored Karns City from District 9. In its six wins to improve to 7-6 overall, Bedford scored no fewer than 24 points. Despite losing to eventual PIAA runner-up Greensburg Central Catholic by 37 points, Bedford served notice that some teams with sub-.500 records that are in the playoffs should not be taken lightly. The seven wins by Smith’s squad was quite a marked improvement from 2008, when the Bison won only a single football game. The District 5 “AA” championship over Chesnut Ridge was Bedford’s 10th in school history and first since 1995.
