OXFORD — Andy Stuckert recalled watching a VHS tape of a 1991 high school football playoff game.
His offensive coordinator back in 2003 — when Stuckert played at Hanover College — showed it as a means of inspiration.
It was Talawanda’s Division I playoff upset win over Princeton — which stood to be the Brave’s only postseason victory up until 2020.
“Ever since I saw that video, I’ve always kept an eye on Talawanda,” Stuckert said. “I think that kind of focus and attention can get back here in Oxford. I love a good underdog story. We need to recreate that.”
Stuckert accepted the head football coach position at Talawanda last week and will be leading the Brave next season, pending school board approval Thursday.
Stuckert, who spent three seasons as New Miami’s coach, said taking the position was not an easy one.
But the pros outweighed the cons.
“Leaving New Miami was a hard thing to do,” said Stuckert, who helped coach the Vikings to a 7-18 record and win their first-ever playoff game in his first year.
New Miami was Stuckert’s first head coach job. Stuckert, 39, of Fairfield, is a graduate of Fairfield High School (2001) and played football for Hanover College (2005). Prior to New Miami, he was an offensive assistant at Northwest, Little Miami and Hamilton. He is the owner of Heirloom Framing in Fairfield.
Stuckert said the opportunity to coach at New Miami and work with athletic director Eric Hayes and the administration was rewarding.
“The attachment I had with the program, the kids and the community was exciting,” he said. “I learned a great deal over at New Miami.”
Stuckert said he saw the Talawanda job as a chance to grow and mold his coaching philosophy to a higher level.
“Grass is greener comes to mind. I started thinking about it, ‘Is it too far away? Can I get my coaches there?’” Stuckert said. “But there were a lot more positives. I’m excited for the challenge.”
Stuckert said he plans on bringing a couple of his assistant coaches from New Miami with him, but also retain some Talawanda assistants.
Stuckert is Talawanda’s third head coach in five years. The Brave have gone 6-21 the last three seasons, including 1-9 this past fall.
Former Talawanda football coaches Larry Cox (2019-2020) and Jay Volker (2021-2022) precede Stuckert.
“Larry did an unbelievable job of grabbing the kids and getting them to come back out and put a system together to work towards their strengths,” Stuckert said. “Jay did a great job. It seemed like he was organized and didn’t leave the program in bad shape.
“My goal is to continue the positive stuff going on related to the program.”
When asked about his coaching schemes, Stuckert said he’s going to allow his players to determine which direction to go what that.
“You can’t throw 50 times a game if you don’t have a QB that can do that,” he said. “You can’t run the ball 50 times if you don’t have the backfield to do that either. So we will have to tailor to what we can do as a team and what our players can do individually with their attributes. We’re going to want to get the best version of what the kids can do.
“I’m excited to work with the kids, and just by working with (Talawanda athletic director) Jake Richardson within the last couple of days, I’m seeing a lot of good things. He’s been great.”
Talawanda opens up the season at home against Monroe on Aug. 19.
