Area high school coaching carousel finally slowing down
High school finished in May and June, but the spring and summer have still been fairly busy in the world of coaching moves in Middle Georgia.
Mary Persons lost baseball head coach Jonathan Gastley to Jackson County in Jefferson in May after he won more than 125 games in eight seasons with the Bulldogs. That left Taylor County with an opening after Clae Mathis left to replace Gastley.
Mathis was hired a month ago, leaving his alma mater after three seasons, including a 22-8 mark in 2016.
“(Gastley) had an opportunity to get closer to home,” Mary Persons athletics director Brian Nelson said. “It worked out good for him, and I think it’s going to work out good for us in the fact that we feel like (Mathis) is a pretty good coach here.”
Mary Persons was in the market for a girls soccer coach, while ACE might have found one as it in the process of building a full athletics program.
Robby Jones resigned as a coach and teacher at Mary Persons after five seasons and a 54-28-6 record, and he will join the teaching staff at ACE. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet 16 twice and lost in the first round of last season’s playoffs to Wayne County in Jones’ time with the program.
The Bulldogs hired Dallas Hall to replace Jones. Hall takes over after two seasons with Anderson (South Carolina) University head coach Ciaran Traquair, one at Anderson and one at Wesleyan College. Hall has also coached at Mount de Sales and T.L. Hanna in South Carolina and has experience in Middle Georgia with Southern Alliance Futbol.
Hall also interned with the Buffalo Bills of the NFL.
Peach County didn’t go far to fill its second basketball opening. In fact, the Trojans got their new girls basketball head coach from the same school they got their new boys basketball head coach, Lamar County.
Peach County hired Tamica Andrews recently to replace longtime head coach Maxine Cherry, who retired after the 2015-16 season.
Lamar County went 15-12 last season, a nice turnaround from 6-19 in Andrews’ first season with Lamar County. She has also been an assistant under former Westside head coach Deb Baber. Andrews was a standout at Putnam County and was on the War Eagles’ Class A state title team in 1997-98 and Class AA runner-up team in 1998-99.
Peach County hired Prelvis Paster as the boys coach in the spring. Paster has been a head coach for boys or girls at Macon County, Mary Persons, Howard, Griffin and Lamar County.
Houston County’s football and baseball staff lost assistant Joe Scott — who was a quarterback at Northside — to Brunswick. Scott was the Bears’ quarterbacks coach in football and infield/baserunning coach for the GHSA Class AAAAA state champions, and he’ll coach quarterbacks for head coach Larry Harold, formerly of Macon County.
Houston County hired Todd George as its new wrestling coach, replacing Greg Martin. George comes to Houston County from Crisp County.
Houston County wrestling assistant coach Josh Lauritsen has headed north, to Warner Robins as wrestling head coach.
Dodge County added Robert Cotton as head basketball coach and an assistant in football. Cotton was at Wayne County.
Assistant football coach Tim Horton left Dodge County, and Ted Bellflower has taken over as offensive coordinator.
This story was originally published July 8, 2016 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Area high school coaching carousel finally slowing down."