Gary Vicini's lifelong relationship with football has taken him from being an all-state record-setting back at Ottawa Township High School to a collegiate star at Illinois Wesleyan University to a two-time state championship-winning coach at Spring Valley Hall.

Fittingly, the latter chapter of that storied legacy will come to an end in the Class 3A playoff field, of which his teams have become a fixture through the years. The Red Devils will begin their 20th postseason under him this Saturday when the No. 10-seeded Red Devils take on No. 7-seed Amboy-LaMoille in Amboy this Saturday.

"I've already made some lists in my mind of things I won't miss," Vicini said with a laugh. "Things like summer camps, double practices in August, watching hours of game film every Sunday night, I won't miss at all. Instead of doing each of those things, I'll probably be fishing, golfing and sitting on my couch watching the Bears on TV.

"But I will miss the kids, the camaraderie you share with them, the relationships you build with them. I'll miss the coaches here, and the ones from other schools I've got to know over the years É But after 33 years here and 25 years as a head coach, it's time."

Before his storied and successful career as a Red Devil, Vicini was a Pirate, and one of the best Pirates ever. Dubbed "The Naplate Express" by legendary coach Bill Novak, Vicini was the all-time leading rusher at the time he graduated, in the 1970 and '71 seasons totaling 1,821 yards, and was OTHS's second leading scorer with 196 points. He finished his career with 2,167 yards of total offense.

His high game in rushing was 168 yards, accomplished against L-P in his junior year and Streator his senior season. He also had a three-touchdown game against Mendota in 1970.

The will to fight for yards Vicini learned under Novak has stayed with him to this day.

"The thing that I've carried with me from Coach Novak is his discipline, his tenacity for getting things right, right down to the smallest detail," Vicini said. "You don't often understand those things as a player. É Coach Novak was one of those coaches who thought they'd be considered weak for giving you a water break. You never challenged them, ever. Today, kids ask you why are we doing things this way or that, so you tell them. É I can't say I've patterned myself after him, but I understand now as a coach why he ran the winged-T back then and why he did the things he did.

"Though we've added some different wrinkles from time to time, that's what we've hung our hat on here. We've stuck with it, even though it wasn't always popular with some people, and it's worked for us pretty well over the years."

After starring at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington for four years, Vicini returned to the Illinois Valley at Hall. Despite being a brief stop for some outstanding coaches like Kelly Kane, now at Streator, and Dan Darlington, who became a legend at Morris, the Spring Valley school at that time was the doormat of the NCIC Southwest. Predictably, Vicini's coaching career got off to a rocky start.

After losing his first game in the fall of 1984, his first Hall team defeated Marseilles 34-12 the following week to account for one-quarter of the program's wins in the first three seasons. The 3-6, 1-8, 0-9 records included a 0-15 mark in the conference.

But then things started to kick in. The Red Devils made their first playoff appearance in 1987 and the run had begun. His best team, some say of all of his 25 squads, was the 1991 edition, which was 12-0 when it fell in the semifinals to Addison Driscoll.

Successes piled up quickly. The first state title came in 1995 when, after trailing DuQuoin by 10 with less than three minutes left, the Red Devils rallied to win 38-32 at Hancock Stadium in Normal. Hall reached the state title game again the next year, but a controversial no-call led to a key touchdown in Carterville's rain-soaked 23-20 win.

But the Devils were soon back at center stage. With the help of assistants Steve Smith, Pete Kasperski and Joe Furlan, Vicini and the Devils in 2001 earned their second state championship, defeating previously unbeaten LeRoy 21-0 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

Through last Friday's win over a playoff-bound St. Thomas More squad back down in Champaign, Vicini's resume includes a 195-79 record, a winning percentage of 71 percent, six NCIC championships, 20 playoff appearances including 15 of the last 16 seasons, one state runner-up finish and two state championships.

"There have been a lot of very tangible things I could be proud of, but I'm most proud of the consistency of the program," Vicini said. "Since 2001, the playoffs haven't been too kind to us, but in the 1990's, we had a great run, making the quarterfinals or semifinals or championship games so many times. To have times like those with so many great young men from those teams, then to have a lot of them come back for the last home game, that was really gratifying ... So is having some of them on the staff here, like Ray Ferrari, Mike Filippini, Nick Hanck and Jason Bland. I like to think we might have influenced them into a career in education, to work with young kids and share the game with them.

"Talking to all, the former players, they reminded me of so many things I said or did at a game or practice, things I've totally forgotten but have stuck with them, things more than wins or losses, that mean a lot to me."

Lest anyone thinks Vicini is leaving the Spring Valley school in the lurch -- there are some lean years expected with small classes coming into Hall's halls -- it should be known that he made the decision to retire four years ago. He had first considered it after winning the 2001 state title, but it wasn't until a change in the state's teacher retirement plan in 2005 that he discussed it again in earnest with his family.

But for now, he wants to put off that retirement one week at a time, starting at Amboy this weekend.

"My wife, Lisa, has been a wonderful support to me, and so have my girls, Gina, Claire and Kate, who are all gone from home now. Being away from home so much, it's taken a bit of a toll on my family," Vicini said. "It's time for us now, time to do a lot of the things I never had the chance to do while coaching, being athletic director and dean of students.

"I don't know who my successor will be, but I hope that everyone -- the board, the fans -- will be patient and give him the same chance to succeed I had after my first three years. I obviously had people in my corner back then and I'll always be grateful for the chance to keep going and, ultimately, to do the things we've done here at Hall High School."