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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


The Prep Report

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With Jamie DeMoney

First and Ten - A look at 10 of the nation’s top coaches under 40.

Josh Niblett, Hoover (AL): The 38-year-old is 27-3 with a state title in two years at this national power in suburban Birmingham. He was a scout-team quarterback for Alabama’s 1992 national championship team.

Josh Floyd, Shiloh Christian (AR): Floyd, 30, already led his alma mater to three state titles and a 70-12 record in six seasons.

Charlie Ragle, Chaparral (AZ): Ragle, 33, guided the Firebirds to the 5A/II state title in his third year on the job. He is a former assistant coach at Arizona State.

Coley Candaele, Vista Murrieta (CA): Candaele won a CIF crown at his alma mater, Carpinteria, before becoming Vista Murrieta’s coach when the school opened in 2003. The 38-year-old Cal Poly grad has won 54 games, three league titles, and finished 13-1 with a runner-up finish in the CIF-SS Inland Division last year.

Tony Sanchez, Bishop Gorman (NV): After turning California (San Ramon, CA) into a winner, Sanchez, 36, last year led the Gaels to a 15-0 record and a spot in the national rankings in his first year on the job.

John Holecek, Loyola Academy (IL): Holececk, 38, played LB at Illinois then in the NFL for eight seasons before entering the coaching profession. His teams have won 11 games in back-to-back seasons.

Todd Kuska, St. Rita (IL): In 12 years at the helm of his alma mater, Kuska, 37, has one state championship and a pair of Prep Bowl titles.

Peter Sturrsma, East Grand Rapids (MI): Sturrsma, 39, has transformed East Grand Rapids into Michigan’s premier program. The Pioneers are 115-13 with six state titles in his 10 seasons.

Joey McGuire, Cedar Hill (TX): Seven years into his tenure, McGuire, 38, has transformed Cedar Hill from one the state’s also-rans into one of its most prominent programs. The Longhorns are 48-7 with a state title since 2006 and had a whopping 19 players earn football scholarships last Signing Day.

Ryan Wiggins, DeSales (OH): Wiggins’ coaching career started earlier than most when he was hired as an assistant at DeSales while still a freshman in college. Now, the 30-year-old is the head coach at his alma mater, where he’s gone 36-6 in three years and was state runner-up in Division III last season.

Milestone Watch - Wins continue to pile up for Louisiana legend J.T Curtis.

It took all-time coaching leader John McKissick more than 50 seasons to accumulate 500 wins. At his current pace, J.T. Curtis will accomplish the feat in less than 45.

Curtis, the only coach John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, LA) has ever had, enters his 42nd season with a 482-50-6 record. With just 18 more victories, he’ll join McKissick of Summerville (SC) as the only two coaches with 500 wins.
John Curtis Christian has won 23 state titles under Curtis since 1975. With another championship, they’ll become only the ninth team in history with at least 24 titles and would pass Valdosta (GA) on the all-time list.

Back in the Spotlight - Colquitt County’s a contender again under Propst.

State titles and national publicity were in abundance at Hoover (AL) in the 2000s with Rush Propst guiding the ship. The Bucs won 110 games and were state champs five times in nine seasons. That success – along with Propst’s skill as a promoter – even landed Hoover into the world of cable reality television on MTV’s “Two-A-Days.”

But Propst resigned from Hoover following the 2007 season amidst a cloud of controversy. He landed at Colquitt County (Moultrie, GA) and has quickly turned the program – which last won a state title in 1994 – back into a winner. The Packers went 2-8 the season before Propst’s arrival. They were 11-3 last year with a trip to the 5A state semifinals.

For the upcoming season, Colquitt County has 13 returning starters including nine on offense. The team could make another deep run into the playoffs but first must survive a brutal schedule that includes Mississippi power South Panola on August 27. “This is the toughest schedule I have played since 2006 when I was at Hoover,” said Propst.

Under the Radar - New Hampshire’s Lenahan Just Keeps Winning

Is it possible for a coach to win 320 games and 18 state championships without many people noticing? If you’re talking about Chuck Lenahan of Plymouth Regional (NH) the answer is yes.

Lenahan is to prep football in the Granite State today what the late John Wooden was to college basketball in the 1960s and 70s. The Bobcats have won more than 83 percent of their games since Lenahan became head coach in 1972. They are the first New Hampshire team to win five consecutive state titles and currently own the nation’s longest winning streak at 55 games.






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