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The Riverside football program will be under new direction next season after Dave Bors has stepped down from the position he held for the past 14 seasons.
Bors, who will remain as the school’s athletic director, informed members of his coaching staff as well as the players in the program of his decision on April 4.
“I don’t think there’s every a perfect time to say it’s time for the next step or that you’re done,” Bors said. “We had a great run and did a lot of great things. A lot of positiveness. There’s never going to be that perfect time. We’ll just go forward and embrace all the positive things that happened.”
Bors took over the head coaching position at Riverside in 2010, coming over to Painesville after a three-year stint at West Geauga. He took over a program that had a 2-8 record during a financial crunch in the school district in which pay-to-participate fees climbed to $885 and thus dwindled the number of participants in the program.
During the height of the financial crisis, Bors noted the freshman football program was canceled and the seventh- and eighth-grade teams were combined into one squad.
“At that time, we had 25 kids combined on our junior high team, both seventh and eighth grade,” he said. “High school, grades 9-12, we had 60.”
After the passage of an operating levy in May 2017, alleviating the major district-wide pay-to-participate fees, the program has undergone a resurgence and revival. He said the current rosters have 45 players on both seventh- and eighth-grade teams, as well as 120-130 at the high school level.
“That’s a huge victory in and of itself,” he said of the program’s bounceback. “To be where we are now is amazing. That’s less than a decade ago that we went through that — not 30 years — and we fought our way out of it.”
Bors departs with an 85-64 (.570) record at the helm of the Riverside program. Over the past three years, the Beavers have gone 28-10 (.737) with five postseason victories.
In addition to his record at the helm, Bors also:
• Compiled a conference record of 52-38.
• Led the program to playoff appearances in 2013, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, including the first-ever postseason victory in school history in 2018.
• Advanced the program to the second round of the playoffs in 2018 (and again in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), and to the third round in 2022 and 2023.
• Hosted a home football playoff game in 2020 (and again in 2021, 2022, 2023).
• Piloted the program to Academic All-Ohio honors in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
• Received a myriad of coaching awards, including the Associated Press Division II Ohio Coach of the Year in 2022.
In a news release provided by Riverside Local Schools, Bors said:
“I am proud and honored to have been able to have served as the head coach for the Riverside Beavers for the last 14 years. It’s humbling to be a small part of such a great district and community. I cannot thank everyone enough for all of the support and effort in helping to get this program to one that is recognized and respected statewide. I have said many times that this has taken a tremendous amount of hard work by a lot of tremendous people. With that said, I would like to give my sincerest thanks and gratitude to my wife, three daughters and family, all of the past and current high school, middle school, and youth coaches, all of our great players, parents, cheerleaders, trainers, administration, school boards, teachers, staff, gridiron club, and ultimately, the entire community of Riverside Nation. It could not have been done without you. I will forever cherish so many great relationships built, triumphs accomplished, and experiences had, so again, my sincerest thanks and gratitude to everyone.”
Principal Mike Hall lauded the job Bors did both as a football coach and athletic director. A former football coach himself, Hall noted the 365-day slate a coach lives with offseason training, camps and clinics along with the rigors of the season.
“Dave did a very good job balancing the needs of all the athletes in the school and being the head football coach,” Hall said. “He has always done what’s best for kids and put people ahead of process.
“Wins and losses don’t always tell you everything. We have kids who are of very strong character, are tough, proud and do things the right way and earn what is theirs. That’s Dave. He brings a blue-collar work ethic and the attitude to earn everything you get. He’s done a heck of a job, so much so that it’s going to be hard to fill his shoes.”
Riverside heads into the 2024 season having never lost a home playoff game (6-0) and riding the crest of a 16-game home winning streak dating to the 2021 season. The Beavers will be doing so under new direction.
Bors said the position will be posted within the district in the near future and then — if necessary — be posted externally.
“I look forward to continuing to work with all of the Riverside student-athletes and coaches in my role as athletic director,” Bors said, “and am extremely confident the football program will continue to build upon its success next season and beyond.”
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