MENTOR, OHIO — Mentor High School is taking on Canton McKinley in the OHSAA Division 1 football playoffs this week.
Regardless of the outcome, it’s already been a special season for the Mentor Cardinals. This is the 100th year of football at the school.
Don Schutz, a Mentor High School football alum, is proud of the city that he calls home and the football team that he played for many years ago.
“This is a football town, always has been, always will be,” Schutz said.
Schutz played for the team in the late 70s and then coached for the team for more than 20 years. He said his family roots run deep in Mentor.
“My grandfather scored the very first touchdown here in 1924, and then my dad played in the 40s, and he graduated in 1944," he said. "My mom graduated in 1950, and then she worked for the Mentor schools her entire career."
Schutz’s son also played football for the Cardinals, and his two daughters graduated from the high school as well.
“We just love Mentor High School and Mentor football,” Schutz said.
Cardinals assistant football coach, Jordan Wilcox, isn’t originally from Mentor but has coached there for 14 years. He has seen what football means to the Mentor community.
“As soon as you’re here, you start to understand the tradition and the history and how much it means to the people of the town and the people that have been involved,” Wilcox said.
He said a lot of people have spent a lot of time and effort into making football in Mentor something great and that it shows on the football field and in the community.
As for Schutz, he has hopes that the next 100 years for this football team is just as special.
“I think the future is gonna be bright for the Mentor Cardinals,” Schutz said.