Marshall Hyzdu believes there is one main reason he is currently the president of Moeller High School: Steve Klonne.
Hyzdu, a 1996 Moeller graduate, played football for the Crusaders when Klonne was head coach. At the time, Hyzdu’s career goals were to make it in the financial world.
He did just that, working on Wall Street in New York City and marketing jobs before returning to Cincinnati to become president of his alma mater in 2016. Klonne was the reason he returned. Hyzdu, who went to Dartmouth, recalled a conversation he had with Klonne while he was back home on a break from college.
“His influence on me is second to none,” Hyzdu said. “He put his arm around me and said ‘Marshall, go to Wall Street. Go to corporate America, make your money, and when you’re done, come back.’ I’m a 45-year-old man and this guy’s the best. He still has that impact on me. He saw something in me and he planted that seed, 20-something years in the making. I can never thank him enough.”
Moeller will honor the legendary head football coach during its home football game Saturday against Cleveland St. Ignatius.
Kickoff is 2 p.m. at Mount St. Joseph’s University Schueler Field. Moeller will honor him at halftime.
Klonne retired from coaching football early this season after more than 27 years with the football program in some capacity.
For the past five seasons, he had been a special assistant to the head coach, helping the Crusaders to the state semifinals in 2021 and 2022.
Jim Lippincott, who was the Cincinnati Bengals director of operations before retiring in 2011, was an assistant coach for Moeller with Klonne in two different tenures before and after his span with the Bengals. He said Klonne is one of his closest friends.
“I think anybody who has had the career he had should retire and everyone should be happy for him,” Lippincott said. “I’m a bit melancholy that he won’t be in the halls anymore. It’s an end to a chapter of history for Moeller. If you think of the lives he has touched, it’s sad for me that he won’t be there.”
Here are a few facts about Klonne’s career
Steve Klonne won two state championships
In 1982, Moeller names Klonne head coach. In 19 seasons, his teams went 169-48 overall: 57-14 in the Greater Catholic League and 17-10 in the playoffs. He guided his Crusaders to state titles in 1982 and 1985 with the 1982 team being named by USA Today as national champions. Moeller was also state runner-up four times: 1988, 1989, 1993 and 1997.
Before taking over the program, Klonne started his coaching career at Moeller as an assistant coach under Gerry Faust in 1979 and 1980 in which the Crusaders won back-to-back state championships. He served one year under Ted Bacigalupo in 1981 in which the Crusaders were state runner-up.
More: OHSAA football: Moeller among 17 Southwest Ohio high school teams that pulled off perfection
Steve Klonne led McNicholas to success
Klonne went on to coach at McNicholas and took the Rockets to the state semifinals in 2010, winning the GCL, Southwest District, Ohio Regional, Paul Brown and Southwestern Ohio Football Coach of the Year honors.
Klonne also received the National Collegiate Football Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement in football. He is a member of the Moeller, LaRosa’s and Hamilton County halls of fame.
Klonne returned to Moeller in 2012
Klonne and Lippincott returned to Moeller in 2012, helping the Crusaders to state championships in 2012 and 2013.
Lippincott was defensive coordinator for Klonne in the 1980s and was also Moeller’s athletic director. He returned to coaching defense in 2012 and 2013.
“We won four together,” Lippincott said. “Four of the nine. We and others did it together. Football, those state championships are a result of a whole lot of people doing their jobs the best they can. It’s such a team effort.”
His mastery of the game helped Moeller players get scholarships
Lippincott said Klonne’s knowledge of the game and curiosity to learn more helped him build relationships with college coaches and give his players more exposure.
“He’s a tireless worker,” Lippincott said. “He would study Xs and Ox for hours, trying to be current. When college coaches visited us, he wouldn’t let them leave until they showed us their blocking schemes. They knew they would come to Moeller last because they knew they would be there awhile.”
Steve Klonne was an offensive coach and trusted his defensive coaches
Lippincott said Klonne was tough on his coaches but also trusted them enough to delegate.
“He never watched us practice defense,” Lippincott said. “We trusted each other. We talked to each other a lot and spent so much time together. If on Friday night, we didn’t have a good game defensively – we might have won the game but gave up two or three scores – he would call me Saturday night and make sure I didn’t jump off the cliff. Same thing if we won 10-7, I would call him and do the same things.”
Teaching players about life mattered more to Steve Klonne than strategy
“He is one of the most influential men in my life,” Hyzdu said. “I always tell people that he taught me what it means to be a man. Accepting responsibility. There were times as a teenager, you would try to get away with some stuff. And he made it very clear that men accept responsibility for all their actions, and that was his expectation of us.”
Said Lippincott: “He loved kids. He was good with them. He had the unique ability to say the right things to people at the right time. If they needed a pat on the back, they got it. If they needed a kick in the rear, they got it.”
Lippincott said Klonne was strict but didn’t have many rules.
“Never lie. Never embarrass Moeller High School, your teammates or the coaching staff,” Lippincott said.
Steve Klonne in his own words
Moeller recently posted an interview Klonne did with Faust a few years ago. Klonne said: “We all had the same mission and that was to make young men winners in life as well as winners on the field. That was the most important thing. When you dedicated your life to all the things that make up Moeller football, the players we had to coach and the faculty we had to teach our players, high school was a very special place and still is today. It’s a very special place because of the Catholic education, discipline.”
2023-10-04 23:50:24
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