GREENVILLE — Frank Horvath returned to Greenville hoping to see the Green Wave’s new football facility, reconnect with former players and assistants, and spend an evening with old friends.
He and his wife, Pam, also got a homecoming finish worth remembering.
The former Greenville varsity football coach watched the Green Wave pull out a last-second 41-40 victory over the Sidney Yellow Jackets on Friday night, retaining the Little Brown Jug in a rivalry familiar to him from his years on the sidelines.
For Horvath, who coached Greenville from 1990 through 1996, the visit offered an opportunity to revisit a community where he helped guide the football program to two playoff appearances.
“We decided it’s a beautiful night for football, and we wanted to come up,” Horvath said.
The Horvaths now live near South Lebanon, closer to his son Eric and his family. Seeing Greenville’s new facility was one reason for making the trip, but the connections to people in the program were another.
“One of my old assistants is defensive coordinator now, Max Current, so I wanted to go talk to him a little bit,” Horvath said. “Some of my other older players are on the coaching staff also.”
Those ties go back seven seasons, when Horvath helped Greenville work through difficult years and establish itself as a playoff contender.
Hired in March 1990 after coaching at Wellington High School in Lorain County, Horvath went 1-9 in his first Greenville season and 4-6 in his second.
The breakthrough came in 1992, when the Green Wave finished 7-4 and reached the postseason for the first time in program history, facing St. Marys Memorial in a Division II regional semifinal. Greenville returned to the playoffs in 1996, finishing 8-3 and facing Miami Trace in another Division II regional semifinal.
Looking back, Horvath credited the players’ effort and the community’s support for helping build the program.
“They were good teams. We had some good players, and the kids always worked hard,” he said. “Win or lose, I knew they were going to give their best effort, and I always had good support from the community, and I thought we built a pretty good program here.”
Among the players Horvath coached was Matt Light, who went on to play at Purdue before beginning an 11-year NFL career with the New England Patriots.
Light became a fixture at left tackle, protecting quarterback Tom Brady’s blind side and helping New England win three Super Bowl titles. He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2018.
“Matt was an exceptional player,” Horvath said. “You don’t get many players with his ability, and he proved it when he went on to college and did a great job in the pros.”
While postseason appearances and accomplished players remain part of Horvath’s Greenville legacy, former Greenville Senior High School Principal Steve Gruber remembers qualities that extended beyond football.
“Frank was a very solid coach in every aspect of being a coach,” Gruber said. “He knew the game, and he taught it well to his athletes.”
For Gruber, the way Horvath worked with students mattered as much as his knowledge of the sport.
“But probably more important to me, he was just a solid person to have your kids be under his influence,” Gruber said.
Gruber recalled both the challenges and successes of Horvath’s tenure, including the two playoff seasons.
“There were years when they struggled, but there were also some years where we had a good bit of success,” he said.
Friday’s visit gave Horvath and his wife time to catch up with Gruber, Jim Buchy, former Greenville wrestling coach Kyle Keagy and Keagy’s wife.
“We’re catching up with some old friends,” Horvath said. “We wanted to come back and see some people, and we’re very fortunate that we have some good friends still here in Greenville.”
The evening ended with Greenville celebrating a one-point victory and keeping the Little Brown Jug. Horvath stayed to see it all.
Gruber said watching the former coach in the stands made it clear the excitement of Greenville football still meant something to him.
“I could tell he was excited that we pulled out that win,” Gruber said. “He knows what that’s like.”
And after an evening of reunions and memories, the final moments gave everyone one more reason to remember Horvath’s return.
“That was a big, big finish,” Gruber said.
