Stancil named head coach at Dacula
Jan. 22—MOULTRIE — After a year coaching in Cobb County, Reggie Stancil is heading back to his familiar Gwinnett County after being named head football coach at Dacula.
The former Packer was the head coach at Peachtree Ridge from 2017-2021 and had been an assistant at Norcross in Gwinnett County for 11 years before taking over the Lions program.
After stepping down at Peachtree after the 2021 season with a 13-36 record, he coached the quarterbacks at McEachern in Cobb County last year under Franklin Stephens.
Stancil is familiar with Dacula High. He and his family live in Dacula, which is northwest of Atlanta.
"One thing about Dacula I've always admired is I always thought they had a really tough kid and had a good place for football," Stancil told Will Hammock of the Gwinnett Daily Post after accepting the job.
"I've always been intrigued by it and with me living in the community, it allows me to do more in the school, in the middle school, in the elementary school."
And, he added, "It's kind of like what South Georgia football is, a community thing."
And Dacula is just minutes from his home. He won't be facing an hour or longer commute to and from McEachern.
Stancil, 42, takes over from Casey Vogt, who resigned in November after coaching the Falcons the last two years, going 9-5 and reaching the Class 6A semifinals in 2021 and going 3-8 and losing in the first round of the 7A playoffs last fall.
Dacula traditionally has been a strong football program and has produced double digit-win seasons 14 times since 1987, winning 12 region titles over that span.
The Falcons have made the playoffs seven straight seasons and reached the Final Four while going 11-3 in 2018 and and 13-1 in 2019.
In the semifinals in 2013 and in the second round in 2014, the Falcons were eliminated by Stancil's alma mater, Colquitt County.
Before last season, Dacula had not had a losing record since 2012.
Stancil had been an assistant at Morrow, Northside-Warner Robins and Lithonia before his long tenure at Norcross, which included state championships in 2012 and 2013.
During his tenure under head coach Keith Maloof at Norcross, he coached quarterbacks and receivers and was the school's recruiting coordinator.
He also was the head baseball coach at Norcross for two seasons.
That Stancil has had a long coaching career should be no surprise, of course, being the son of longtime Colquitt County football and basketball coach James Stancil.
A member of the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame — as are his father and older brother James III — Reggie Stancil was a two-time All-State quarterback for the Packers, setting several school passing records.
A two-year starter as a pitcher and outfielder, he was named All-State in baseball as well after helping lead the Packers to the 1997 state championship.
He went on to start at quarterback for four seasons at Jacksonville State, setting several school passing records, before launching his successful coaching career.
