Veteran football coach Ron Davies belongs to an elite fraternity that Homestead's Dave Keel and Arrowhead's Tom Taraska will gain entry to Friday at 4 p.m. in Camp Randall when the pair send their teams out to do battle for the WIAA State Division I championship for the third consecutive year.
Davies knows where the pair are going and what they're going through. He's been working hard these past seven years trying to bring the troubled Shorewood/Messmer program back to respectability, a task that reached a pinnacle this season at 6-3, but long before that, he led the juggernaut that was Kenosha Tremper to three state Division I finals from 1990-1992. His squads lost to Superior in 1990, defeated Appleton West in 1991 and lost to West in a rematch in 1992. Paul Engen's West team would gain entrance to the elite group of three-time finalists the following fall, where ironically enough, it lost to Taraska and Arrowhead in what would be the first of four titles for the vaunted Warhawk program.
Though he will be sitting for his grandchildren on Friday, Davies, who won three state titles all told at Tremper in 18 seasons, will be glued to the television observing the rubber match between Homestead and Arrowhead. He's gotten to know both coaches and has an infinite amount of respect for what they've accomplished.
"Tom (Taraska) and I were assistants at the Shrine Game in 1993 and already then I could see all the things that were going to make him successful," Davies said. 'He's very driven and Dave (Keel) I've known for most of his time at Homestead. He and his staff have been very helpful to us. In fact, last year I brought a group of our kids over to watch them during a (state) playoff practice. We were just awed at how orderly and well-run the practice was. He (Keel) was nice enough to come over and talk to us too. It really gave us a sense of how a top-shelf program was run."
"And like Tom, he goes out of his way to praise his assistants. To me that's always been the sign of a real good coach. The guys know they're valued and that motivates them to work even harder. It also lets them know that the (head) coach doesn't have a big ego and is willing to delegate authority."
In another touch of irony, the first actual meeting between Davies and Taraska was in 1991 when Davies' Trojans beat the Warhawks in a state playoff game.
"And he came up to us afterwards and talked about wanting to bring his program up to our level," Davies said.
Taraska has, as Arrowhead will be making a record ninth appearance in the finals and will be seeking its fifth state championship. Homestead is making its fourth trip to the finals and is seeking its third title.
Davies understands the motivations that are running through both teams' practices this week.
"I remember after we lost to Superior (in 1990) we so wanted to get back at them (in 1991)," he said, "but when Superior lost to West in the semifinals, we had to move on and accept that. There was no letdown. And the year after we beat West, one of our assistants Tom Follis (who went on to have a successful career at Tremper after Davies stepped down) was at an event where it just so happened there were some West players. And they made it very clear to him that they wanted to beat us this time around."
Which they did.
That idea worked last year for Arrowhead after the Highlanders thumped the Warhawks in 2006. Now that motivation serves Homestead this time around.
Davies, who is stepping down at Shorewood/Messmer to spend more time with his family, was at Homestead's semifinal win over Middleton and was impressed by the effort. He has not seen Arrowhead yet this season, but has no doubt that this championship contest will be much closer than the two one-sided affairs that have preceded it.
"What impresses me about both," he said, "is that though they don't always have the greatest student-athletes, their coaching often makes up for that. They instill in the kids the belief that they can overcome any obstacle."
"That's what we have to do with our kids. Though this year was a breakthrough, we're still a long ways from being competitive in a conference (the Greyhounds played an independent schedule after stepping out of the Woodland Conference for competitive reasons), but I believe we're on good footing. The Shorewood administration has been very supportive and I hope what we've done here will help make the (coaching) job more attractive."
Attractive to the kind of people that will be leading Homestead and Arrowhead into battle on Friday.
"I've gotten to know both of them (Taraska and Keel) and other members of their staff have helped us too over the years," Davies said. "Talk about class people."
