Coach Demikoff goes into his 7th year as the Head Coach of the Patriot Football Program . In just his 4th year as head coach, he led the Patriots to a State Championship in 2016 . The highly regarded coach has been with the program since 1999 when he came to Wayne after serving as an assistant coach at Belleville High School for many years.
Coach Dem was hired as the running backs and defensive ends coach at Hills in 1999, and the Patriots haven’t looked back since. Under his tutelage, former and current NFL stars Ryan Neill and Greg Olsen emerged as standout pass rushers along with former All-Staters David Ogden, Joe Giampapa, John Ihne, and Peter Daibes. His running backs have turned the record books at Wayne Hills upside down and include former stars A.J. Spicer, Bryan Williams, Chazz Lynn, Ray Van Peenen, Danny DeCicco, Carlton Marcin, and Brian Dowling. Demikoff was a key cog in the “Golden Age” of Wayne Hills Football which saw the Patriots rattle off 55 straight wins between 2004-09. Their decade of dominance (2000-09) included a 108-11 record and an astonishing 6 State Championships. They would go on to add two more State Titles in the next three years.
During his tenure as Defensive Coordinator, his defenses re-wrote the Wayne Hills record books. The ’06, ’07 and ’10 units each posted 6 shut-outs in their respective seasons. The ’06 defense was stingy all year holding their opponents to 49 total points for the entire season (4.1ppg). They also set the mark for fewest offensive yards allowed in a season with 1,397 (116 per game). The ’07 squad set the mark for interceptions in a season with 24, while returning 6 of them for touchdowns – another record. They were just as miserly when it came to the run game as they set the mark for fewest rushing yards in a game when they held Northern Highlands to minus 52. Highlands would finish with minus 28 total yards for the game establishing yet another record.
Wayne’s playing career dates back to his time at Clifton High School where he played under head coaches Dennis Hecht, Alex Kaplanovich, and John Iannucci. As a quarterback, he showed his future coaching skills by easily grasping three different offensive systems in four years. After prepping for the Mustangs, where he sustained a career ending shoulder injury his senior year, he moved on to Rutgers University. He would receive his B.A. from Rutgers where he majored in history, and would go on to complete his Masters Degree from Mary Grove College. He is certified to teach Social Studies. He began his teaching career at Belleville High School where he was an extremely valued member of the faculty. He coached football, basketball, and baseball at some point in his 17 years at Belleville. He was named Teacher of the Year in 2011by his peers. Belleville’s loss is Wayne Hills’ gain as he will continue teaching at Hills this year.
Coach Demikoff has two sons, Tyler and Troy, who are avid Wayne Hills fans. In his spare time, Wayne loves spending time with his children, and enjoys following his favorite team the Pittsburgh Pirates.