Sources have confirmed to Outside the Huddle that Coach Jared Sauder, the winningest coach in Leo football history, has stepped down.
It was announced on the PA at Leo on Tuesday that Sauder will ascend to a vice principal position within the school.
Sauder confirmed the news via text on Tuesday evening.
In 16 years at the helm of the Lions, Sauder went 139-42, with his lone losing season his first – a 4-6 campaign in 2006.
Sauder built the Leo football program into a northeast Indiana powerhouse, owning the Allen County Athletic Conference to the tune of six-straight league titles from 2009-14. In 2015, the Lions moved to the newly-created Northeast Eight. In the league’s seven years of existence, Leo has won the conference championship four times.
The Lions reached double-digit victories six times during Sauder’s tenure, including the last three years. Leo won a pair of sectionals and two regionals under Sauder in 2010 and 2010, with semistate defeats coming at the hands of teams out of South Bend both years – St. Joseph in 2010 and Washington one year later.
Leo currently holds an 18-game regular-season winning streak over NE8 foes entering the 2022 campaign. The Lions and East Noble have seen their annual matchups become one of the top rivalries in the area in a relatively short time.
No other coach comes close to the impact made upon Leo football than Sauder. His 139 career wins are over double the amount of the Rick Lightfoot, who won 54 games between 1987 and 1998.
Sauder’s career winning percentage of .767 is also the best in Leo history, with Gary Lake in second at .725 when he coached the program to a 29-11 record from 1974-77.
With the start of spring football across the state, it is expected that Leo will act quickly to fill the now-vacant head coaching position.
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