The Southridge High School football program has lost one of its most successful coaches.
Brad Hanner, who served as the Raiders’ coach from 1994 through 2004, passed away Sunday morning, according to the athletic department’s Facebook page. He was 70.
Hanner compiled a 75-49 record during his time with Southridge, the second-most wins in program history. He also led the Raiders to an IHSAA Class 2A runner-up finish in 2002 and was twice named a North-South All-Star Game assistant coach in 1999 and 2003.
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The 1972 Turkey Run graduate also made stops at Blackford, Lawrenceburg and North Posey prior to coaching the Raiders. He later coached at Alexandria in 2007.
Southridge defensive coordinator Steve Winkler coached alongside Hanner throughout his Raiders tenure. The two have beaten each other in golf before. Winkler has also enjoyed Hanner’s cooking, noting that he could make “the most wonderful rabbit,” different stews and soups and “great barbeque.”
What Winkler admired about Hanner on the gridiron was that he would hold both players and coaches accountable.
“A lot of people who played for him and coached with him will give him credit for putting Southridge football on the map,” Winkler said. “We had some success in the (early and mid-1980s) and then we went downhill. He was hired to lift the program up, and he did it in his own way.
“He fought hard for the program. I’ve studied a lot of successful head coaches in a lot of sports, and they will fight hard for their program. Sometimes, he would ruffle some feathers along the way. I used to say he was the Bob Knight of high school football.”
Many more fans and colleagues have expressed their condolences on social media.
“I met Coach Hanner when I was hired at Southridge in 1998,” Jasper tennis coach Scott Yarbrough wrote on Facebook. “If I ever needed anything, Coach was there to help. I will remember a passionate man who loved coaching football.”
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Former Southridge, Indiana, football coach Brad Hanner dies at age 70
