WEST JEFFERSON, Ohio — A father-son duo is leading the West Jefferson High School football team into the Ohio High School Athletic Association state playoffs semifinals. 

What You Need To Know

  • West Jefferson (13-1) will play Coldwater (12-2) Saturday

  • Shawn Buescher is coach of the West Jefferson football team, and his son, Tyler, is also on the team

  • Tyler said being coached by his dad is a "dream come true"

Shawn Buescher has been the head coach of the Roughriders for 20 years, but he was ready to step away when his son, Tyler, got to high school.

“I was willing to go into the stands and just be dad,” said Shawn. “But it’s the best thing I’ve ever been talked into.”

The team will take on the Coldwater Cavaliers in the fifth round of the OHSAA Division VI Playoffs. In 20 years, Buescher has taken 10 teams to the regional finals.

“It’s a pretty darn good place to be a football coach and a great place to be a football player," Buescher said.

It is Tyler Buescher’s second career final four appearance. He’s the quarterback for the Roughriders. 

“We’ve been playing little league football across the street since we were 5 years old,” said Tyler Buescher. "Now, it’s our senior year, and it’s dwindling away. If we do everything right, we only have two more games, and that’s hard to believe.”

He said being coached by his dad has made the journey extra special.

“He sat me down in eighth grade and he said, ‘I'll resign if you want me to, to take a load of pressure off you.’ And I was like ‘No, I want to do this with you,’ and it’s been a dream come true," Tyler said.

West Jefferson plays Coldwater Saturday in Piqua. ​

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