Raffle steps down as LH football coach
Aaron Raffle returned to his alma mater at Laurel Highlands to coach its football team last year with high hopes, saying at the time he was “excited to be back and looking for some big things coming forward.”
Raffle wound up only having one season to achieve his vision.
The 1992 LH graduated reportedly turned in his resignation to the Laurel Highlands school board on Monday and it’s expected to be officially accepted during Wednesday’s meeting.
Laurel Highlands athletic director Mike Smith confirmed that Raffle was stepping down.
Although he didn’t want to comment on the reason for his decision to vacate his head coaching position, Raffle did say, “I appreciate the support, especially from the players, and I wish them nothing but success moving forward.”
The Mustangs won their first two games, 27-0 at Uniontown and 12-7 at home over Ambridge, in 2025 but lost starting running back Gio Guerriere to a season-ending injury in the victory over the Bridgers. That was just the start of a slew of injuries that ravaged LH, including quarterback Noah Lion, for the rest of the season and it lost its final eight games to finish 2-8.
Raffle came to Laurel Highlands following a football career that included being involved in youth, high school, semipro, college and women’s professional football after his high school graduation.
Raffle was head coach and defensive coordinator for George Mason’s club football team for two years before being hired at Laurel Highlands, leading it to the North Atlantic Conference championship and the national semifinals while garnering a No. 3 national ranking in his final year there.
The Mustangs will now be searching for their third coach in three years.
Raffle succeeded Rich Kolesar who had a 26-33 record in six years during which LH won its first conference championship and also won its first two playoff games in program history.
Kolesar served as defensive coordinator at Southmoreland last season under first-year head coach Dustin Shoaf, who guided the Scotties to a 9-2 record and a WPIAL playoff berth.