Mark McNellie accepted the responsibility of building the Storm football program from the ground up when he was introduced as the program’s first head coach in August of 2006. At that time, the football program was announced as a club sport with plans to become a varsity team in just one year’s time.

McNellie developed a staff, roster and schedule from scratch and then led the team to a 7-2 record against a combination of junior varsity and club competition in 2007. A year later, McNellie made history when the program took the field for its inaugural varsity contest on August 28 as an NCAA Division II competitor.  Then, in 2009, McNellie led the Storm to a 7-4 record in its second season, a four-game improvement from a 3-8 record as a rookie program. In 2010, the team faced another daunting challenge, that of competing in the nation's premier Division II football conference, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The Storm proved to be up to the challenge with three wins over in-state oppponents and near misses against nationally-ranked Hillsdale and traditional rival Gannon. 

The 2011 season was highlighted by the program's first victories over archrival Gannon University and perennial GLIAC power Ashland University.  Five players earned All-GLIAC accolades and Lake Erie again ranked in the top half of the NCAA Division II offensive statistical leaders for the season.

Lake Erie finished the 2010 season again ranked among the national offensive leaders and had five players garner post-season conference accolades.  The Storm ranked second in the GLIAC in total offense and was 23rd nationally in that category (425.8 ypg).  The Storm scored over 30 points four times, most notably 48 in a wild three-point win at Findlay and 37 in a near upset of No. 8 Hillsdale on the road. 

The 2009 season featured a pair of thrilling overtime victories as well as a late-season four-game winning streak that saw the Storm outscore its opponents 108-23.  For the year, the Storm averaged nearly 30 points (29.0 ppg.) and over 400 yards of total offense per contest.  Included in that total was the nation’s 19^th ranked rushing attack (206.91 ypg.) .  The Storm’s 400.9 total yards-per-game ranked 39^th among all NCAA Division II teams.  Based on the team’s performance, McNellie was named a semifinalist for the Liberty Mutual Division II Coach of the Year award.

McNellie led his team onto the field for an official NCAA contest for the first time on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008.  And though the team suffered a tough 24-22 loss to Gannon University, it was clear that the program was on the right track.  A few close defeats followed before the Storm broke through for the first victory in both the program’s history and McNellie’s head coaching career on Oct. 4 with a 34-27 upset of West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Glenville State University.  That game helped Lake Erie close that initial season with three wins in its final six games.

After a year of recruiting, the Storm fielded a nearly 100-man roster for the 2007 club campaign.  During that season, Lake Erie outscored its opponents 421-155, posting a 7-2 record against junior varsity and club teams.

McNellie arrived at Lake Erie by way of Mercyhurst College, where he spent 17 years on the football coaching staff - the last four as assistant head coach. McNellie, 42, worked his way up the Mercyhurst staff, beginning as the defensive line coach in 1990 before taking over the linebackers in 1991 and becoming the defensive coordinator in 1992. He served as the offensive coordinator in 2001 and returned to oversee the defense the following year when he was elevated to assistant head coach. He was also involved with Mercyhurst’s transition to scholarship football in 1998 and has overseen defenses which have been nationally ranked in several categories during his tenure. McNellie served as the recruiting coordinator for Mercyhurst football with his main recruiting area having been Northeast Ohio.

Before his tenure at Mercyhurst, McNellie spent two years at Fairmont State University where he served one year each as the offensive line and defensive line coach.  During his time at Fairmont, the Falcons won the West Virginia Conference title and advanced to the NAIA playoffs in 1988.

The Bedford, Ohio, native is a 1988 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, where he was a three-time football letterman. He earned his master’s degree from West Virginia University in 1990. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children, Calvin (12), Carson (9) and Raegan (6). The McNellie family resides in Concord. 

McNellie at Lake Erie

Gerald Hazzard joined the Storm coaching staff as the offensive coordinator in January 2007.  Hazzard was the first assistant hired by Mark McNellie. His first year with the Storm was during its club status, with this season marking his fifth with the team and his ninth overall in the collegiate arena.  In addition to directing and calling plays for the Storm offense, he will also work directly with the quarterbacks.

In 2009, the Storm offense ranked 19^th nationally in rushing (206.9 ypg.) and 39^th in total offense (400.6 ypg.) per game en route to a 7-4 record.  The 2010 offense racked up similar numbers and ranked 23rd in rushing (201.9 ypg.) and in total offense (425.82) while also posting top-five conference rankings in the three major offensive categories (passing, rushing and total offense). 

Hazzard came to Lake Erie College with a combined four years coaching experience as a student assistant at his alma mater,  Baldwin-Wallace College, as well as an offensive assistant at Gettysburg College. While at Gettysburg, he coached the Centennial Conference rushing champion and the all-purpose champion in 2005 and 2006, in addition to the scoring champion in 2006.

Prior to coaching, Hazzard was a four-year letterman and also served as team captain at B-W where he was the 2002 recipient of the Eloise Tressel "Jacket" award. He graduated in 2003 with a bachelor of arts degree in sport management and then earned a master's of science degree in athletic administration from McDaniel College in 2007.

A 1999 graduate of North Olmsted High School, he was a three-year varsity fullback and linebacker. The Cleveland native and his wife, Emily, married in June 2007. The couple resides in Painesville with their children Gerald IV and Lucy.

Tom Anthony joined the Lake Erie staff as an assistant coach in June, 2011 and will be in his first season with the Storm.  Anthony will coach the defensive backs.

Anthony, who most recently spent the spring of 2011 as an assistant coach at Baldwin-Wallace College,  was a graduate assistant working with the safeties at Miami University during the 2010 season and was the interim defensive backs coach for the RedHawks’ 35-21 victory over Middle Tennessee State University in the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl.  In that contest, Miami defensive back Dayonne Nunley was named Defensive Player of the Game. Prior to Miami he was an assistant at Youngstown State University for two seasons (2008-09) working with the defensive line and outside linebackers.

Following an outstanding playing career at Augustana College (Ill.), Anthony began his coaching career in 2006 at his alma mater before moving on to the University of St. Francis (Ill.) in 2007. 

As a player for the perennial national power Vikings, Anthony earned first-team Division III All-American honors from d3Football.com as a senior in 2005 after recording an NCAA all-divisions high 13 interceptions along with 42 tackles, a 92-yard touchdown return and picking up Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Most Valuable Player honors.  He started his career on offense and was a second-team All-CCIW pick as a freshman after catching 33 passes and scoring eight touchdowns.

Following his collegiate playing career, Anthony played for three teams in the Arena Football League and Arena 2 league. 

Anthony earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Augustana and received his master’s in management from St. Francis. He and his wife, Kelsey, reside in Olmsted Falls, Ohio.

Chris Coan joined the Lake Erie staff during the summer of 2010 and spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach before being promoted to a full-time assistant position in the spring of 2012.  Now entering his third season overall with the program, he will direct the defensive line after previously working on the offensive side of the ball.  

Coan, who played collegiately at Ashland University, spent two years as a student assistant coach at the University of Akron and also coached one year as an assistant at nearby Lake Catholic High School.

Coan played two seasons at Ashland – where the Eagles reached the NCAA Division II Playoffs both years-   before going on to Akron where he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and criminal justice.  With the Zips he worked with the wide receivers and tight ends.

In high school, Coan was a two-time first-team All-Ohio tight end at Lake Catholic, playing on the Cougars 2001 state championship team.  His father played at Ohio State under legendary coach Woody Hayes and his brother, Tim, played on a pair of DIII national championship teams at Mount Union.

Coan lives in Willoughby.

James Boyeas returned to the Lake Erie College football staff as an assistant coach in the spring of 2012.  Previously was a graduate assistant with the Storm from 2008-09Boyeas will coach the offensive line.

Prior to returning to LEC, Boyeas spent time as a program assistant at Grand Valley State University working with the offense.  In 2010, the Lakers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Before coming to Lake Erie in 2008, he spent one year as a graduate assistant at Valley City State University where he worked with the tight ends.  During his graduate assistantship, he coached the Storm running backs and wings.  

A graduate of Heidelberg College with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education, he was a three-year starter at left tackle. He earned Most Improved Offensive Player honors as a junior, then served as a team captain his senior season. Boyeas played one year professionally in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) for the Stuebenville Stampede.

Boyeas is a native of Parma, Ohio.

Sean Allgood is in his fifth season with the Storm football program as a wide receivers coach. Prior to Lake Erie, he was the assistant head coach at Lakeside High School and is a former assistant coach at Ashtabula High School. His experience with the two programs includes working with special teams, wide receivers and conditioning.

He spent nine years coaching at the high school level and was a part of six consecutive Northeast Conference championship teams, including the 2002 Lakeside team that reached the state playoffs.

A 1995 graduate of Northern Illinois University, he was a four-year starter for the Division I Huskies at quarterback and wide receiver. He was a team captain, earned Special Mention All-Big West, and was a four-time player of the week during his collegiate career.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology, with an emphasis in criminology.  

Allgood is currently employed as a child accounting officer with the Ashtabula Area City Schools and resides in Ashtabula with his wife, Nicole.  He has five children: Dwight (16), Aaliyah (14), Taylor (9), Sean Jr. (6) and Drayton (2).   

Frank Feola is in his fifth season as a member of the Lake Erie College coaching staff as a linebackers coach. A player at Geneva College, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the institution in 1972.

Feola is a certified financial planner with Eagle Strategies, LLC, a subsidiary of New York Life. He volunteers as a treasurer for Legatus of Cleveland, a chairperson for the City of Mentor and as a co-chair for the Project Hope Walk/Run for It's Better in Mentor Festival.

A native of New Castle, Pa., he currently resides in Mentor with his wife of 35 years, Marsha. They have three children, Frank, Ryan and Lauren, as well as one grandson.

John Kinch is in his fifth year with Lake Erie College as a defensive line coach. A varsity coach at Riverside High School since 1996 prior to joining the Storm, he was a four-year player at Youngstown State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in 1983.

He also spent five years in the Canadian Football League as a running back for the Hamilton Tigercats, the Toronto Argonauts and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In 1995, he was inducted in the YSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Kinch is currently employed by the Lake County Juvenile Court and resides in Painesville.

Returning to the Storm for his fifth season as the tight end coachs is Bud McNellie. The father of Head Coach Mark McNellie had 15 years of coaching experience at the high school level, serving 10 as head coach at Bedford, three as head coach at Cloverleaf and one year as an assistant at both Olmsted Falls and Defiance.  He is a past president of the Greater Cleveland Football Coaches Association and was a recipient of that organization’s Golden Deeds award.

As a player, he was an offensive lineman at nearby Geneva High School before moving on to play at Baldwin-Wallace College under legendary coach Lee Tressel. He also played two season s of baseball for the Yellow Jackets.

McNellie earned a bachelor’s degree from B-W in 1961, a master’s degree from Kent State University in 1966 and an education specialist degree from Kent State in 1975.

An avid runner, McNellie is one of only two people to run all 34 marathons held in Cleveland. He is a member of both the Bedford High School Athletic and Southeast Running Club halls of fame. McNellie and his wife Judy reside in Chagrin Falls and have three children, Beth, Mark and Debbie.

Brett Weidig is now in his fifth season working with the Lake Erie football program and will work with the running backs again this season after serving as the quarterbacks coach his first three years.

 A graduate of nearby Chardon High School, he played quarterback for the Hilltoppers from 1994-97. He then went on to quarterback at Mercyhurst College for four years where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing in 2002. Weidig ranks 13^th in Laker history in passing yardage.  

Currently he is employed as a sales representative for American Roll Form. He and his wife Christine were married in July of 2010 and reside in Chardon.

Ryan Dugan joined the Lake Erie College football staff as a graduate assistant coach in December 2011 following a decorated playing career at Baldwin-Wallace College.

The Mentor, Ohio, native was a four-year letterwinner as a defensive back at B-W. He was a two-time captain for the Yellow Jackets and was three times named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference team. He was a first-team All-OAC pick in 2011 and ranks fifth on the school's career interceptions list.

Dugan was also named B-w's most valuable player following the 2011 season by the Cleveland Touchdown Club.  He earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science and is currently studying to earn Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification.