Football Coaching Staff

Mike Hallett

Head Coach
(419) 448-2627
mhallett@heidelberg.edu

 
A continued push to strengthen and move the Heidelberg University football team back to a premier program not only in the nation, but in the Ohio Athletic Conference has been an agenda item for head coach Mike Hallett over the course of the last two years. The agenda has been attended to, as Hallett’s guidance has produced success, but no one associated with the team is willing to settle.
 
The 2009 season marks the third year with Hallett at the helm. Over the course of the last two years Heidelberg has produced a record of 8-12, which includes two seasons that saw the most wins since the 1999 season. In just two years, Hallett has coached 15 All-OAC performers, including three first team recipients. Not to be outdone, six have picked up Academic All-OAC accolades and three have earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District nods.
 
On December 16, 2006 Hallett was named the 33rd head coach in the history of the program that dates back to 1892. In his first year he led Heidelberg to an overall record of 4-6 and a 3-6 OAC mark. The Berg opened the year with a 37-26 win over Oberlin College to snap a 36-game skid, and added a 42-20 victory over nationally-ranked Baldwin-Wallace, along with end of the year wins over Wilmington College and Muskingum College.
 
In Hallett’s inaugural campaign at the Berg the offense ranked in the top-five in the league in 12 different offensive categories and its defense limited its opponent’s offense by nearly 1,000 yards from the previous season. Its defensive line provided a solid foundation that gave up 50 percent less scores on the ground as in 2006. For his efforts in restoring the winning tradition at Heidelberg, Hallett was tabbed the OAC Coach of the Year, as well as the North Region Coach of the Year according to D3football.com.
 
The 2008 season closed with an overall record of 4-6 and a 3-6 record versus league foes. The year began with a 62-point outburst against Westminster, which ties for ninth all-time in points in a single game. Heidelberg went 3-1 over its last four games, and all three wins came in its final possession of the game.
 
Hallett has over 17 years of coaching experience, including three as head coach at Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky. from 2004-06 and five as an assistant coach at Thomas More as the team's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Hallett began at Thomas More following the 1998 season and helped to bring the Saints offense among the leaders in the nation. Hallett was instrumental in Thomas More’s second appearance in the NCAA Division III Football Championship in 2001, when the team set a new school record for wins with an 11-1 season.
 
As the team’s offensive coordinator, the Saints finished among the leaders in the NCAA final statistical rankings for rushing offense in four out of five seasons, including back-to-back top-20 finishes. Thomas More boasted the third-best rushing offense in Division III with an average of 301.2 yards per game in 2001 which followed an 18th place finish in 2000 with 233.6 yards per game.
 
Prior to his stint at Thomas More, Hallett served as the head coach at Wooster High School for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Prior to Wooster, he was the assistant head coach at Akron Coventry High School from 1994-96. Before taking over the reigns at Akron Coventry, Hallett was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Orrville High School, from 1988-89.
 
An Orrville, Ohio, native, Hallett was a two-time All-American defensive lineman at Mount Union College and won a national championship in 1993.
 
Hallett and wife, Sandy, reside in Tiffin with their two children, TC (10) and Ryan (8).

 

Bryan Moore

The 2009 season marks the 11th on the sidelines for Bryan Moore and is his second at Heidelberg. Moore serves as the special team’s coordinator and oversees the development of the wide receivers.
 
In his first season at the Berg, Moore coached All-Ohio Athletic First Team selection Dawond Roddy. Roddy led the team in receiving and ranked in the top-five in the OAC in receiving yards per game and all purpose yards. Moore also worked with All-OAC honorees wide receiver Lucas Bauer and placekicker Jesse Hawkins. Under Moore’s guidance, Heidelberg’s special teams led the OAC in on-side kick success.
 
Moore brought a wealth of coaching experience with him and is working alongside head coach Mike Hallett for the second time. Prior to Heidelberg, Moore was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Emory and Henry College in 2006 and 2007. He also served as the academic supervisor.
 
From 2000-05 Moore worked with Hallett at Thomas More College. In his five years at Thomas More, he coached the quarterbacks and wide receivers and also served as the special team’s coordinator and strength coach. Aside from his football coaching duties, Moore was the academic supervisor, as well as intramural director and head men’s tennis coach.
 
Moore began his coaching career as a defensive line graduate assistant in 1999 following a successful playing career at Hiram College. Moore was a two-time captain of the Terriers, while earning two Ohio Athletic Conference awards. Moore graduated from Hiram with his named inked throughout the record book. He holds the records for most receiving touchdowns in a season, most receiving yards in a game and is the only receiver in school history with two 50-catch seasons. Within the career record book, Moore is second in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
 
He resides in Tiffin, Ohio and is married to the former Sheila Carpenter. Sheila and her three children, River (8), Skye (5) and Landen (4), are natives of Northern Kentucky.
 

John Klein

John Klein returns for his second year on the Heidelberg coaching staff in 2009. He serves as the defensive coordinator and oversees the secondary.
 
Klein is a veteran coach with over 21 years of experience in western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio. He has served as the defensive coordinator in nine seasons, while coordinating the offense in one season.
 
In his first season at the Berg, Klein had two All-Ohio Athletic Conference defensive performers and his secondary ranked among the leaders on the team in tackles, as well as in the OAC.
 
Klein joins Heidelberg after spending the previous five seasons at nationally-ranked Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. Klein served as the defensive coordinator of the Presidents, who won three Presidents Athletic Conference Championships and made four trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs during his time on campus.
 
At W&J Klein’s defense ranked among the nation’s leaders in numerous categories. In 2007, the Presidents forced 31 turnovers, which helped the team finish in the top-five in the country in turnover margin for the second-straight season. Over the course of his tenure at W&J, its defense gave up on average18 or less points in a game, highlighted by allowing just 12.4 points in 2004.
 
Prior to W&J, Klein served as the defensive line coach at Westminster College from 1999-2002. In 2002, the Titans led the Presidents Athletic Conference in sacks (27) and finished second in the league in scoring defense (20.5). Klein also has college coaching experience at Hiram College (1998), as well as high school experience coaching in the Youngstown, Ohio vicinity.
 
He is a graduate of Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education/mathematics. Klein currently resides in Tiffin, Ohio.
 

Jason Bendekovic

 
Bringing 16 years of coaching experience to Heidelberg is Jason Bendekovic, who is in his fourth year on the sidelines. Bendekovic coaches the offensive line and serves as the recruiting coordinator.
 
Over the course of his three years at the Berg, Bendekovic has helped to guide Heidelberg’s offense to the top half of the Ohio Athletic Conference rankings in multiple categories. In 2007 Heidelberg’s offense stood in the top-five in 12 different categories in the OAC.
 
Bendekovic’s offensive line has been paced by two-time All-OAC honoree James Blankenship. Blankenship closed out his career in 2008 with a spot on the conference’s first team.  
 
Prior to Heidelberg, Bendekovic spent the 2005 season as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Bendekovic was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Rochester from 2000-05.
 
Bendekovic also provided assistance as the offensive line coach at Rutgers University (1999), Union College (1997-1998) and Plymouth State College (1996) following his graduation from Allegheny College in 1995.
 
While at Allegheny, Bendekovic helped lead the Gators to a 38-6 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances in four years. He earned all-conference offensive line accolades in 1993 and 1994.
 
Bendekovic graduated from Allegheny with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. He is a native of Monaca, Pa. and currently resides in Tiffin, Ohio.
 

Scott Donaldson

 
Scott Donaldson returns for his sixth season on the Heidelberg sidelines in 2009. He serves as the co-defensive coordinator, with a focus on the linebackers, a position he has overseen since joining the program.
 
Under Donaldson’s guidance the linebacker core has paced the Berg defense. In each of Donaldson’s five seasons, a linebacker has led the way in tackles. More impressive is at least three of his linebackers have ranked in the top-five on the team in tackles every year.
 
Donaldson coached All-Ohio Athletic Conference performer Jeff Stiffler to his second-straight all-league honor in 2004 and added Vaughn Klein to the list of All-OAC performers in 2008.
 
Prior to joining the staff at the Berg, Donaldson was the State University of New York at Brockport linebackers and defensive backs assistant coach in 2003.
 
Donaldson was an outside linebacker for the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles, leading them to the NCAA Division III playoffs in three-straight seasons. 
 
Donaldson earned his bachelor of science degree in history and political science at SUNY Brockport in 2003 and a masters of arts in education from Heidelberg in 2006.
 
He originally hails from Tonawanda, N.Y. and currently resides in Republic, Ohio with his wife Kelly.
 

Corey Fillipovich

 
Embarking on his sixth season on the Heidelberg sidelines is defensive line coach Corey Fillipovich. Fillipovich has coached on both sides of the ball over the course of his time at the Berg, taking over the defensive line in 2005.
 
During his time at the Berg Fillipovich has coached three All-Ohio Athletic Conference honorees, led by two-time recipient (2007, 2008) defensive tackle Matt Grieves. Grieves has also earned a spot on ESPN The Magazine District 4 Academic Second Team. In his first season with the defensive line, Fillipovich coached all-league performer Joe Cox.
 
Fillipovich brings both Ohio Athletic Conference playing and coaching experience to the Berg coaching staff. A 2003 graduate of Muskingum College with a degree in history, he was a three-year letter winner with experience at multiple positions on both the offensive and defensive lines.
 
Fillipovich gained a year of coaching experience during the 2003 season as an assistant defensive line coach at Muskingum.
 
Aside from his coaching duties Fillipovich serves as the equipment manager and camp director of the Heidelberg Youth Football Camp. He earned a master’s degree in education from Heidelberg in 2006.
 
He is a native of Adena, Ohio and currently resides in Tiffin, Ohio.
 

Zach Hufford

 
Zach Hufford is in his second year as a graduate assistant coach at Heidelberg and will assist with the secondary.
 
In his first year at the Berg, Hufford worked with a secondary that saw safety Shawn Shriver rank among the team’s leaders in tackles.
 
Prior to Heidelberg, Hufford was the co-defensive coordinator with Mohawk High School for the past three seasons. He focused closely on the development of Mohawk’s outside linebackers. Along the way he helped to guide Mohawk to the 2006 Midland Athletic League title and two appearances in the OHSAA playoffs.
 
Hufford also has volunteer coaching experience as Division II Tiffin University and Ashland University.
 
A 2008 Heidelberg graduate with a degree in health, physical education and recreation, along with sports management, Hufford originally hails from nearby Sycamore, Ohio and is a graduate of Mohawk. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education at Heidelberg.
 

Jeff Tibbs

 
Returning for his second season as a graduate assistant coach at Heidelberg is Jeff Tibbs. Tibbs began his coaching career overseeing the defensive line, but will move to the running backs in 2009.
 
In his first season at the Berg, Tibbs worked alongside defensive line coach Corey Fillipovich and guided All-Ohio Athletic Conference performer Matt Grieves.
 
Prior to coming to Heidelberg Tibbs spent a season as the defensive line coach at the College of Wooster following a season as a student assistant coach at Muskingum College in 2006.
 
Aside from his collegiate coaching experience Tibbs coached the defensive and offensive lines at Mifflin and Beechcroft High Schools during the summers of 2003 and 2004.
 
Tibbs was a three-year starter at Muskingum, picking up All-OAC honors in 2004 and 2005 as a member of the Muskies defensive line. In 2005 he earned a spot on the All-North Region defensive line.
 
He graduated in 2007 from Muskingum with a degree in physical education and originally hails from Columbus, Ohio. Tibbs is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education at Heidelberg.
 

Branden Jakubcin

 
Serving in multiple capacities for Heidelberg over the course of the last three years has been Branden Jakubcin. He began time at Heidelberg as a player and moved to the coaching ranks as a student assistant in 2007. This season Jakubcin returns for his fourth season and will move into a graduate assistant position on the coaching staff. Jakubcin will continue to work with the linebackers.
 
Over the course of the last two years, Heidelberg’s linebackers have been a solid unit on the field and have ranked in the top-five on the team in tackles. In 2008 Vaughn Klein was tabbed an All-OAC performer.
 
Jakubcin joined the Heidelberg football program from Ohio Dominican University and earned a varsity letter in 2006 after appearing in six contests at defensive back. He earned a starting spot in the final five contests on the year, recording a career-best 12 tackles in his first start. Jakubcin finished fifth on the team in 2006 with 41 tackles.
 
Jakubcin is a native of Huron, Ohio and attended Huron High School. He graduated from Heidelberg with a bachelor’s degree in sports management in May 2009 and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in education.
 

Jason Lewis

 
Joining the Heidelberg coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 2009 is Jason Lewis. Lewis will assist with the development of the offensive line and the tight ends.
 
Lewis brings experience as both a player and a coach from his time at Ohio Athletic Conference foe Mount Union College. He started for three years at offensive tackle for the Purple Raiders and helped guide them to four OAC titles and two NCAA Division III National Championships (2005 and 2006). He was tabbed a D3football.com All-American in 2005 and 2006, along with earning the OAC’s Mike Gregory Award for the most outstanding offensive lineman. Lewis also picked up All-OAC First Team honors twice.
 
A season ago Lewis served as an assistant coach for Mount Union and helped lead the Purple Raiders to the national championship. He served as an offensive line assistant and the junior varsity offensive coordinator. Aside from coaching he was Mount Union’s camp coordinator.
 
Lewis graduated from Mount Union in 2007 with a bachelor of arts degree in business administration. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education at Heidelberg.

Dawond Roddy

Making the transition from player to coach for Heidelberg in 2009 is Dawond Roddy. Roddy will serve as a student assistant and will work with the wide receivers.
 
Roddy concluded a stellar four-year playing career at the Berg in 2008. He was a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree, earning a spot on the first team in his senior campaign. Over the course of his career, Roddy played in all 40 contests and ranked among the team leaders in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. He also served as Heidelberg’s kick return specialist. Within the OAC, he stood among the conference leaders in receiving yards per game and all purpose yards.
 
A native of Sidney, Ohio, Roddy graduated from Sidney High School where he excelled in football, wrestling and basketball.