“When you get into coaching you don’t expect something like this but it is nice to be recognized by your peers,” Niswonger said. “Quite a few people came up from the Valley View community. Those guys – that’s my family. It was great to see them all.”
Under Niswonger, Valley View was something to see.
Taking over in 1984, Niswonger guided the Spartans to a record of 243-78-1 in 28 years. His teams won 11 Southwestern Buckeye League titles, made 16 state playoff appearances (including 12 straight), advanced to seven state semifinals and won state championships in 1994, ’96 and ’97.
From 1991-99, Valley View won 73 straight regular season games. From 1996-98 it won 39 straight games period.
Offense? From 1992-2003, Niswonger’s teams scored at least 463 points per season. Those squads own five of the top 35 single-season team scoring marks in Ohio history.
Utilizing the run-n-shoot offense, tempo, weightlifting and a two-platoon system before others, Niswonger was able to lead Valley View to historical heights.
“I don’t know if I’m an innovator or not,” Niswonger said. “But I do know I’ve soaked in a lot of stuff.”
A proclaimed “Darke County farm boy,” Niswonger played linebacker at Greenville under coaches Tom Holman and Bob Morgan. He graduated in 1975. During his three years on varsity, the Green Wave went 27-3.
Niswonger continued his career at Wilmington College where he was a four-year starter and two-year captain. He worked summers on campus to learn from Cincinnati Bengals personnel during training camp. Niswonger was inducted into WC’s HOF in 2006.
“I’d spent my whole life on the defensive side of the ball and at Wilmington I was a big note-taker and watched more film than the coaches probably did,” Niswonger joked. “The two teams I hated to play most were Earlham and Rose-Hulman because they were one-back, double slot, run-n-shoot. I decided then that someday that’s what I’d run.”
After a season as an assistant at Watkins Memorial, Niswonger became head coach at Clinton-Massie in 1980. He left there after three years and was an assistant at Carlisle for a year before landing at Valley View.
Although the Spartans had five winning seasons in Niswonger’s first six, it was a lengthy Week 10 bus ride home from Portsmouth in 1990 that altered history.
“I made the decision then, that night, that we were going to go two-platoon and run the run-n-shoot all the time,” Niswonger said. “The other coaches thought I was nuts.”
With just 38 players on the roster, Valley View went 8-2 in 1991. In 1992 the Spartans went 12-1 and won the first of seven regional titles. They were regional runner-up five times.
The 2011 season was Niswonger’s last.
“I didn’t really want to leave, but I remember asking (legendary Versailles coach) Al Hetrick one time ‘When do you know?’” Niswonger said. “Al told me, ‘You’ll know.’
“It was time.”
Niswonger spent one season at Wilmington College where he was tabbed interim head coach for the final seven games on the 2012 season. His first home game was a 66-0 loss to Mount Union. Two weeks later the Quakers beat Marietta 13-12 to snap a 32-game losing streak.
Niswonger spent the last three years as an assistant at Fairmont. He currently has no coaching allegiance but intends to spend the fall as a consultant helping friends.
Several of Niswonger’s Valley View players went on to play collegiately, including 14 at the Division I level. Two played in the National Football League – Shane Hannah and Brock Bolen.
Bolen, along with other former Valley View players, including standouts Trevin Sears and Aaron Focht, were in attendance when Niswonger was inducted.
“That was the place to be on a Friday night,” Niswonger said of Valley View’s run. “I remember lining the field on game days at 10 a.m. and you’d smell apple pie and gravy and biscuits from the people that were already tailgating. People would be playing cards, hanging out and just having a good time.
“We were blessed. It really was like Friday Night Lights.”
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