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By SHAWN RINE

Ohio Sports Editor

Roger Waialae and Tom Bruney shared the same vision. A year ago at this time they felt they would have the horses to compete for a championship. After all, nearly everyone was returning and the stars seemed to be aligning just right.

Well, here they are, on the verge of accomplishing everything they thought possible. The thing is, though, they're doing it on different teams.

Bruney was the defensive backs coach last year at West Liberty, but when the head coaching position at Brooke opened, it was one he couldn't pass up. Now he's marveling at the Hilltoppers' run, which includes Saturday's national quarterfinal at Russek Field against California, Pa., from just down the road.

"It's ironic how it all fell together,'' Bruney said, Tuesday. "At the last minute I decided to go ahead with it and it worked out.

"It just seems like, fortunately, we've fallen into the right place at the right time, with the right group of people. It's been fun.''

Bruney has led the Bruins to a 12-0 record and a Saturday night date with University at Brooke Memorial Stadium, with a spot in the West Virginia Class AAA state title game on the line. While he says he's the beneficiary of some good timing, Waialae sees the situation a lot differently.

"When he got the job, we were all talking as a staff and I said, 'Tom will out-coach people and get those people going up there.' '' Waialae, West Liberty's fifth-year head coach said. "He has done an unbelievable job. A one-year turnaround like that is unreal.

"His knowledge of football is unbelievable.''

What Waialae may not know, though, is that Bruney partially credits his one year on the West Liberty staff for his quick success. It was there he learned the importance of letting his coaches do their own thing.

"It was an enjoyable year for me, and I got to learn some different football,'' Bruney said. "Working for Coach Waialae was enjoyable because he lets his coaches coach, and is not at all a micro-manager.

"I think that really had an effect on me because I've been a better coach this time around because I have tried to allow my coaches to coach. I think by allowing our guys to take ownership in something it's allowed them to become better coaches.''

For Waialae, the telling tale was Bruney's relationship with All-American defensive back Darren Banks. The way that situation was handled pretty much told Waialae this guy could get it done wherever he went.

"Sometimes DBs aren't the easiest guys because they've got to have an ego and a short memory. He handled them unbelievably,'' Waialae said. "It wasn't the greatest start, but once Darren realized this guy knows his football, it was as easy a sell as it was to the rest of the kids, because he knows what he's saying.

"When some people were asking me about it I told them that if he gets the job, he'll do well there. He'll restore a sense of pride that they had when I first moved to the valley, just because of his knowledge and the way the kids respond to him.''

These days, they're pretty busy with their own teams, but not so much that they haven't been keeping tabs on one another. Bruney's Bruins were playing last Saturday when the final score of the West Liberty game was announced over the Brooke Memorial public address system.

"When I heard that score last week I was in shock, because you would never think a Division-II football game would end like that. Just amazing,'' Bruney said. "I hope (West Liberty quarterback Zach) Amedro is better and able to play this week, because the football he has been playing is unbelievable.

"I think that what makes it even better, is he's a valley boy and several of their key players this year are valley boys. I think that speaks volumes of the type of football we play around here.''

Waialae has made no secret about the fact he's interested in winning with local kids first, then filling in the holes with others from around the country. So it should come as no surprise that he's been at more than one Brooke game this season.

"We've gone to a few games and it's unbelievable how he gets mismatches and gets (opponents) misaligned at times.

"He's got the advantage before the ball is even snapped.''

The Bruins and Hilltoppers are two and three games, respectively, from being exactly where Bruney and Waialae imagined.