The co-coach system working for Shade

Co-head coaches occasionally pop up in sports like basketball or softball. In football, it's a rare thing.

Rockwood tried it a few years ago.

Shade decided to do the same for the 2012 season. Mike Pribish, who had been the Panthers' head coach the previous two years, was joined by Don Fyfe, who had served as Shade's football coach in the early 2000s.

It's safe to say, the situation has worked well.

Shade is 5-4 heading into the regular-season finale against Rockwood. The Panthers will be the home team in a game played at Somerset.

"They added the 10th week to the regular season, and we were at the WestPAC meeting before the season sitting beside Rockwood," Pribish explained. "Our teams had played for years and rather than scrambling to fill the game, we said, 'Let's play each other at the end of the season.' We thought it would be great to play on turf."

Whether Shade wins or not, the Panthers' season won't end there.

They'll be in the District 5-A playoffs for the first time since 1989.

So, yeah, the co-head coaching system has worked. Of course, it helps that Shade has talent like Brock Medva, Nash Walker and Brian Spangler.

"The way Don and I work together, the players see that and they've responded to it," Pribish said.

Fyfe works with the offense, and Pribish gets the defense.

"We start as soon as we exchange film. Don gets the offensive game plan. I get the defensive game plan," Pribish said. "On Monday, the players lift weights and we look at game film. By the end of Monday, we're in pretty good shape."