West Side Football Following Great Footprints

GARY – Dean “Dino” Hidalgo was a classic American — an Army veteran, a longtime member of the Indiana State Excise Police, and a man who loved sports, friends, family and a good, funny conversation.
Thank you for your life, sir.
“He woke me up at 5 a.m. so I could get my work in,” said West Side football coach and son Mark Hidalgo. “He worked with me on everything, coached me in everything. Our first game this year was tough. It was the first time he wasn’t at one of my games.”
Dean “The Dream” Hidalgo died Oct. 14 last year at age 79.
“One of the last conversations we had, he told me he wanted me to be a head coach again,” Mark said. “That was one of the reasons I took this job.”
For 31 years, Mark has coached football in Northwest Indiana, with head-coaching stops at East Chicago Central (1998-2005), River Forest (2023-24) and now West Side.
And his father was in the stands for every game — until now.
The Cougars are 3-1 heading into Friday’s game at Wheeler, and they have scored 30 or more points in each of their last three games.
Junior running back Chris Rudolph moved to Gary after starring at Mt. Vernon, Illinois, last season. He has rushed for 709 yards and 11 touchdowns in Hidalgo’s high-powered offense, including four touchdowns last Friday against Calumet.
“When I got here, I looked around and thought we had a chance to be real good,” Rudolph said. “Coach H’s offense gets our athletes in the open field. We need to play good defense against Wheeler. Our linebackers need to read their keys and make plays.”
Senior running back Courtney Anderson also plays linebacker alongside Rudolph. In four years, he has never beaten Wheeler — the only team on the Cougars’ schedule they haven’t defeated.
“When coach (Hidalgo) came here, he told us we were going to score points,” Anderson said. “But he wanted me to focus more on defense. I love running the ball, but I like hitting a guy even better. We’re going to have to do a lot of that against Wheeler.
“Levi Murray is a great running back. A tough kid. They gave us a good beating last year.”
Wheeler and Murray beat West Side 42-26 last season, when Hidalgo was an assistant at Calumet.
“Coach H is making great changes,” senior running back Kamari Loggins said. “He knows we have athletes. We’re spreading the ball around on offense. He’s preparing us for the next level. We have to come together. We have to have confidence to do great things.”
Remember the old days?
A couple of generations ago, football was considered a blue-collar sport, where the sons of steelworkers battled it out on muddy fields. It was that way for a long time.
But look at the top-ranked teams in the state today. Many have college-like facilities and resources to build their programs.
High school football has evolved into a game where resources matter. Having the support to build facilities, develop athletes and sustain a program can make a significant difference.
That’s where West Side is running uphill.
The Cougars’ best players are playing on both sides of the ball, logging more minutes than many of their opponents. Fatigue can be a tough opponent.
But right now, Hidalgo has his inner-city team playing at a very high level.
And that is something that would put a huge smile on Dino’s face.
“My father was a huge inspiration in my life,” Mark said. “He taught me everything I knew from when I was a kid. He made me the athlete that I was, and he always made me strive to be the best.”
Hidalgo was a great three-sport athlete at Merrillville. He wrestled for two years at Purdue before playing football, baseball and wrestling at MacMurray College, where he earned Collegiate All-American honors with his father looking on.
Now, the page has turned.
Dino’s life lessons are being passed on to the young men on the west side of Gary — learning to work hard, get better and never stop striving to reach the top.
A great life never dies. It passes its light to the next generation.
That is what’s happening at West Side right now.
It’s stories like this that drew me into sportswriting all those years ago. Inspiration from other people’s lives can change the world.
Well done, Mark and Dino.
And to all the Cougars following in those huge footprints.

By Steve Hanlon
Heartland Sports Network