Tocoi Creek football hires Englewood's Zach Harbison as head coach
Tocoi Creek selected its second football coach in school history Tuesday morning, announcing the hire of Englewood's Zach Harbison.
Harbison, 31, coached Englewood for three seasons with a combined record of 11-17, including a 5-5 campaign in 2021 for a Rams team still searching for its first winning season since 2006. Englewood has only topped the .500 mark four times since 1985.
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He will take over for Mike Kolakowski, who retired in February after more than four decades in the profession, primarily within the college ranks as a defensive assistant. The Toros went 9-10 under Kolakowski overall, with a 6-4 mark this past fall.
"I think being part of a program that's currently being built is really exciting." Harbison said. "Coach K built a good foundation, and I'm coming into a good situation and being able to grow and develop off of it.
"It's a growing program with a lot of kids and a great community with a lot of parent involvement. Watching last year's kickoff classic against Paxon and seeing how many people they were supporting them got me really excited the job."
A native of Zeeland, Michigan, Harbison played both football and baseball in high school and continued his diamond career as a catcher at Cornerstone University, in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
"We are excited to have Coach Harbison bringing an exuberance that will be shown through the spirited play of the team and set an example in the classroom that all will want to reach for," Jay Willets, Tocoi Creek's principal, said.
Harbison's departure from Englewood marks the fourth football coaching change for Duval County public school during the off-season, joining Atlantic Coast, Jackson and Wolfson. The Rams are now seeking their fifth coach since the end of 2016.
As for the Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns area, two schools still have vacancies to fill: Flagler Palm Coast and Menendez.
— Clayton Freeman of the Florida Times-Union contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: High school football: Tocoi Creek Toros football hires Zach Harbison
