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Shoemaker a perfect match for Ridge

LOYSBURG – Max Shoemaker never wanted to stop coaching football at Bedford Area High School.

Following the 2003 season, Shoemaker, a principal in the district where he himself went to school, was forced to step down as coach. He just had guided the Bisons to its 10th winning season in 11 years and was four wins shy of 100.

“At that point in time, I said I didn’t necessarily like it. I’d never not coached,” Shoemaker. “I did some radio and stuff. But I missed it. My wife said I missed it. … I think she saw that emptiness.”

Shoemaker’s real marriage set the groundwork for what has been a great marriage between Shoemaker and Chestnut Ridge. At his spouse’s urging, Shoemaker took a similar position at Ridge so he could return to coaching after a five-year hiatus.

On Friday night, Shoemaker led his alma mater’s biggest rival to its third straight District 5 Class AA championship – the only three the Lions have won on the field in their history – at the expense of Bedford for the second year in a row, 17-14. It was enough to warm veteran coach, even though two of his players had just given him an ice-water bath on an already frigid night at Panther Community Stadium.

“It’s about the kids and about them enjoying this and seeing their faces light up,” said Shoemaker, now 50-31 in seven years at Chestnut Ridge and 146-78-1 including his 13-year stint at Bedford. “Sure, I’ll take it. Seeing their excitement is what drives me.”

It showed. Shoemaker fit right in with kids 40 years younger than him after the win, performing chest bumps with several of the players.

“I’m not sure what it is. I just know that when Shoemaker’s with us, man, he’s like one of us,” Lion all-state senior safety Noah Osman said. “He knows what he’s doing. We go out, and we do it.”

The Lions’ 10th win also was the team’s most in a single season.

“He’s very strict and focuses a lot on making sure the team comes first,” senior lineman Shane Davis said. “He talks a lot about putting the team before yourself. He’s very old-fashioned. He runs a lot of old-fashioned plays. We dress old-fashioned. He’s just an old-fashioned coach.”

Ridge had fielded some good teams over the years. Fran Harlan had a nice run at the school in the 1980s. However, the Lions were 0-5 in District 5 championship games before Shoemaker arrived on the scene.

Shoemaker said he believed Chestnut Ridge had the ability to be a top-tier football program when he took over the reins.

“Oh, yeah,” Shoemaker said. “In my initial years, what I saw was a very strong work ethic, a good values system and, basically, good kids to work with. They just needed to learn how to win, or not really how to win, but how to perform in the clutch, how to get over the hump.”

It didn’t happen over night. When Shoemaker took over as coach, there were a number of families that stood up to retain Dan Wilkins instead. The Lions lost to North Star and Bedford in the championship game his first two years. The next two years, District 5 was in a subregion with District 6 in Class AA, and the Lions went out in the first round both times.

However, in 2012, Ridge edged Everett, 22-21, for the school’s first on-the-field football title. This year’s seniors like Davis and Osman haven’t known anything but district gold since.

“We fought that for about three years, four years going to the district championship and coming up short, falling on our face,” Shoemaker said. “It’s all about, I believe, you have to get the kids to believe in what you’re doing, the system you are using, and they have to believe in themselves.”

Shoemaker laughed when talking about this year’s team, in particular its seniors.

“They’re the only team I’ve had that make up chants. They make up songs. They’re crazy at times, but they’re fun to be around,” Shoemaker said. “This has been a special group. They’ve won three consecutive championships. These seniors have a resiliency about them. They like to compete. They’ve been through a lot. They deserve it. They’ve worked hard for what the have.”

Shoemaker is a competitor, too. Although he downplays it, his players felt his practices had a little something extra this week as the Lions prepared to play his former team.

“He wants it more. You can tell in his voice and everything he says, he wants it more,” Davis said.

“Shoemaker definitely takes this one on a personal level. You can tell it means something to him,” Osman added. “This week in practice, he’s just more energetic. Everything’s hard work. It’s so much higher level.

“I never imagined I’d have three of these in a row. I couldn’t ask for a better season.”

The win was a little bittersweet for Shoemaker. His nephew, Nate Shoemaker, has been a three-year mainstay for Bedford. In between congratulating and celebrating with his own players, Shoemaker consoled his younger brother’s son.

“He’s my nephew. That’s tough. He’s a good kid,” Shoemaker said seriously before starting to joke.” I kept telling him he needed to transfer to Ridge, that I’d take advantage of that size. But he never bought that.”

Shoemaker still lives two houses from Bedford High School. He knows the coaches, teachers and kids there. One might think it would be a constant reminder of his disappointment of being forced to leave the Bisons. But the administration that made the move now is gone, and Shoemaker has made the most of his new coaching home.

“You can’t live your life,” Shoemaker said, “harboring bitter feelings.”

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