Huffman steps down as Pioneers coach after successful 4-year reign
The scoreboard tells a happy story for West Greene coach Rod Huffman as he surveys the field early in the third quarter during the Pioneers' game against Monessen at Kennedy Field, on Oct. 13, 2017. West Greene won, 48-16, to clinch a WPIAL playoff spot for the first time since 1993. Huffman guided West Greene to another postseason berth and a share of the Tri-County South title in 2018.
West Greene head coach Rod Huffman.
After guiding his team to the WPIAL playoffs in back-to-back seasons, West Greene High School football coach Rod Huffman has resigned.
A voting committee approved his resignation, which was submitted in mid-December, on Thursday night.
鈥淭he main reason was wanting to spend more time with my family,鈥� Huffman said. 鈥淚t was time to move on. I鈥檓 66 years old and at an age now where I can鈥檛 mix it up with hands-on coaching. It took a toll on me physically. Your body just doesn鈥檛 recover like it should because of your age. I鈥檓 not in bad health by any means, but it was just a good time to go.鈥�
West Greene gave Huffman, a 1970 graduate of the school, his first opportunity at a head coaching job when he was hired prior to the 2015 season. He spent more than 15 years coaching at Curtis Baptist High School in Augusta, Ga., and Fox Creek Charter High School in North Augusta, S.C., before returning home.
In four seasons, Huffman took a struggling Pioneers program, which hadn鈥檛 made the playoffs since 1993, to the postseason in both 2017 and 2018. West Greene went 7-4 in both seasons.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 take credit for anything that occurred there other than I was a part of it,鈥� Huffman said. 鈥淚 was blessed with good players and assistants who bought into the program. I told them when I first took the job that it would take a while, that it could be three years before winning. That is about what it took for us to get there.鈥�
West Greene went 0-9 in Huffman蘑菇视频 first year then improved to 3-7 in 2016. He was 17-24 in four seasons.
鈥淭he program is in pretty good shape, I believe,鈥� Huffman, who contemplated resigning after the 2017 season, said. 鈥淚 feel like it was a good time to step aside. I don鈥檛 regret one moment of it. The future is bright because the junior high and youth programs are strong.鈥�
The Pioneers won a tiebreaking coin flip to earn the top playoff seed from the Tri-County South Conference after they tied with Monessen and California for the title 鈥� all three teams finished 6-1 in the conference. Their playoff fate in 2017 and 2018 was the same, losing to Rochester both seasons in the first round.
West Greene, which had 30 players on its roster, lose six seniors to graduation. Quarterback Gavin Scott and running back Ben Jackson will return for their senior seasons behind an experienced offensive line. In the second game of last season, Jackson became the sixth running back in Greene County history to eclipse 4,000 career rushing yards. He ran for 1,541 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior despite missing the several games with an injury.
鈥淲e have had a nice string of (seasons) and a nice team coming back,鈥� said West Greene athletic director Bill Simms. 鈥淚 would assume that would be a positive. We were pleased of the effort (Huffman) gave. He met with the kids and had a strong message for them. We hope that it is an enticing job.鈥�
West Greene will advertise the position internally for the required 10 school days before opening it to the public.