Mapleheightspress.com - Bruney out, Filtz in as Maple football coach

by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

Maple Heights -- One year after taking the reins of the Maple Heights football program, head coach Tom Bruney has resigned effective Jan. 18.

The Mustangs didn't have to look far to find a replacement.

According to Maple Heights' superintendent Dr. Charles Keenan, three current Maple assistant coaches applied for the job. At a special Board of Education meeting Jan. 24, the Board voted unanimously to give the job to Todd Filtz.

Filtz said the coaching staff was made aware of Bruney's decision to resign before anyone else and he couldn't pass up the opportunity to be head coach.

"I love our kids," Filtz said. "I love everybody here. I don't want to be anywhere else. Being a head coach is something that I've always wanted, so it just made sense."

According to Keenan, Filtz is scheduled to earn $39,735 next year as a physical education teacher and Play It Smart coordinator for the high school. He will earn $7,082 as head football coach.

Keenan said Bruney will earn $56,131 this year as teacher and $7,860 as head coach. Keenan said Bruney's prior experience gave him a higher salary in both jobs.

"Todd's been with us for three years in our program," Keenan said. "He's been under two great coaches and I think he'll take the best of the coaches and continue to move our program in the right direction."

"We wanted to keep some continuity for our kids," said athletic director Tom O'Connor. "We felt we had some good applicants within our district. We wanted to go with somebody who wanted to be here and work with them.

"All of our players are very familiar with Todd," O'Connor added. "All the guys have agreed to stay together. To my knowledge, our [football] staff with the exception of coach Bruney will stay intact next season."

Bruney said his decision to resign had nothing to do with any problems with Maple Heights. Bruney said he had some family issues which needed to be addressed.

"In 22 years of coaching, this is the first time I've had to choose between family and football," Bruney said. "I chose family. It was a very tough decision."

According to Bruney, he had been living in Martins Ferry since taking the job at Maple Heights and the commute had severely limited his time with his family.

"Mr. O'Connor, Dr. Keenan and I had been working on this issue for the last three months," Bruney said. "All three of us tried to figure out how I could stay. The one thing we can do here is we can always get a new football coach, but my kids can never get a new father."

Bruney said he has "hung up the whistle" and is not looking for another coaching job. He said he will remain in his position as a career-based intervention teacher at Maple Heights until the end of the school year.

New coach
is a familiar face

O'Connor said Filtz is an ideal candidate to take over as Mustangs head coach.

"He's made a commitment to our kids," O'Connor said. "We don't see this as being a stepping stone for Todd to go elsewhere. He intends on being here at Maple for some time. He's got good football knowledge. Going 7-3 last year, we felt that our coaches did a very good job and Todd was a big part of that."

A graduate of Steubenville High School, Filtz, 25, joined the Mustangs after graduating with a degree in physical education from Muskingum College in 2005. Filtz was a four-year starter at linebacker for the Muskies.

Filtz served a linebacker coach for two years under former Mustangs coach Jeff Rotsky before being promoted to defensive coordinator last season by Bruney. He also has served in his current teaching position the last three years.

Bruney said Filtz's hiring is an excellent move.

"He reminds me of me when I was that age," Bruney said. "He's going to do a fine job. I thought it was best to keep the job in the family. I think they made a wise decision."

Filtz said he has yet to determine offensive and defensive schemes for the Mustangs, but said he believes the number of players within the program should increase next season as Maple had more than 100 students at its off-season meeting.

"We're going to work our hardest to get back to the playoffs," Filtz said. "Hopefully, they're going to be ready for some hard work. We're going to be keeping a bunch of coaches.

"That left a sour taste in our mouth not getting back to the playoffs last year after going for five seasons. Our goal is to get in and really do some damage in the postseason."

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

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