These 3 Jacksonville area football coaches are getting most from their teams
High school football head coaches have a lot of their plates.
Coaching the X's and O's and the fundamentals is only a small part of the job. They are the face of their programs. Head coaches have a lot of behind-the-scenes responsibilities and ultimately are tasked for getting their teams ready to play on Friday nights.
Here is a look at three area coaches who have done the best job so far this season:
Pat Byrd, Richlands
Byrd has experienced some tough times since he was hired in March 2020, right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His Wildcats were one of the teams hit the hardest by the coronavirus. They had gone months between practicing the past two seasons. Now in his third season, Byrd has Richlands playing competitively after the team went 0-8 last year.
The season’s highlight was a 7-6 home win against Southwest, Richlands’ first victory over the Stallions since 1988.
The Wildcats are only 2-3, but the three defeats are to teams that are a combined 12-4, including East Duplin (5-1) and Princeton (4-1). Richlands lost 55-0 to East Duplin while still emotionally drained from the Southwest win and had a chance to take the lead late at Princeton, which defeated East Duplin 58-57, until some misfortunes at the end.
Richlands players play hard for Byrd and they have bought into his philosophy.
BIGGEST SURPRISES:What stands out so far this football season
BIG VICTORY:Richlands defeats Southwest for first time in 34 years
Battle Holley, East Duplin
Holley is proud of his late legendary coaching father, Jack, who retired in 2011 as the winningest coach in North Carolina history with a 412-95-9 record, but has formed his own coaching identity.
Battle is 99-44 since he took over at East Duplin in 2011 and 130-54 overall.
The Panthers are taking care of business this season in typical fashion, but then again, in a way that is unorthodox in Beulaville. A big question in the preseason was the strength of the offensive line, but the Panthers have 1,882 yards rushing in six games.
But East Duplin is now a passing team. Zack Brown as four games in which he has thrown for more than 100 yards. A stubborn high school coach would do anything not to throw the ball, but Holley knows his strengths, which is why the Panthers are perhaps the area’s best team.
RUNNING HARD:East Duplin's Gaby still finding room to run
STILL A PANTHER:East Duplin's Henderson happy to be alive after wreck
George Markle, Lejeune
George Markle became the Devilpups' coach right before the start of the season, but it wasn’t as if they were not familiar with their new boss.
Markle has worked at the school for five years and has coached baseball and wrestling and was an assistant football coach last year. While the Devilpups are 0-5 and are still looking for their first on-the-field win since the 2019 season opener, Markle and his staff deserve credit for Lejeune’s improvement.
NEW COACH:Markle takes over Lejeune football
The Devilpups were in need of positive baby steps, and that is what they have taken. Lejeune has scored in four of five games after scoring just nine points last year. Lejeune appears to have a collection of good athletes, which helps. But Markle's players also seem to be putting solid effort despite the difficulties in recent seasons, and that goes back to the influence Markle is providing.
Chris Miller can be contacted via email at chris.miller@jdnews.com. Follow him on twitter @jdnsports.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Best coaching jobs in Jacksonville high school football in 2022
