Donnie Mays, the offensive coordinator the past five seasons at South Charleston, will be recommended as the next football coach for the Black Eagles, the Gazette-Mail has learned.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Donnie Mays, the offensive coordinator the past five seasons at South Charleston, will be recommended as the next football coach for the Black Eagles, the Gazette-Mail has learned.
Mays will replace John Messinger, who stepped down following this past season. Mays was selected after South Charleston Principal Mike Arbogast held interviews for the position earlier this week.
The final hurdle to Mays' hiring will come Thursday during a meeting of the Kanawha County School board.
When contacted by the Gazette-Mail on Friday, both Arbogast and Mays declined to confirm or discuss the recommendation.
However, a scan of the Kanawha County Schools website (www.kcs.kana.k12.wv.us) revealed that Mays' name was listed among the coaching positions at various county schools being voted upon by the board for approval on Thursday.
Mays, a 1998 Herbert Hoover High School graduate, received his undergraduate degree from West Virginia State and his masters from West Virginia University. He also played for the semi-pro West Virginia Lightning football team.
He arrived with Messinger at South Charleston in 2006, serving as the program's offensive line coach for two years. The next five seasons, he moved up to offensive coordinator for one of the state's most explosive teams, directing the attack for the back-to-back Class AAA championship squads in 2008-09.
Other known candidates in the field for the SC job included George Washington assistant coach Jason Smith and former Black Eagles coach Todd Chevalier.
Candidates recommended by county school administrators are usually ratified by the Kanawha County School board, but not always.
Also on the docket Thursday is the hiring of Huntington High School assistant Steven Freeman as football coach at Riverside.
Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Donnie Mays, the offensive coordinator the past five seasons at South Charleston, will be recommended as the next football coach for the Black Eagles, the Gazette-Mail has learned.
Mays will replace John Messinger, who stepped down following this past season. Mays was selected after South Charleston Principal Mike Arbogast held interviews for the position earlier this week.
The final hurdle to Mays' hiring will come Thursday during a meeting of the Kanawha County School board.
When contacted by the Gazette-Mail on Friday, both Arbogast and Mays declined to confirm or discuss the recommendation.
However, a scan of the Kanawha County Schools website (www.kcs.kana.k12.wv.us) revealed that Mays' name was listed among the coaching positions at various county schools being voted upon by the board for approval on Thursday.
Mays, a 1998 Herbert Hoover High School graduate, received his undergraduate degree from West Virginia State and his masters from West Virginia University. He also played for the semi-pro West Virginia Lightning football team.
He arrived with Messinger at South Charleston in 2006, serving as the program's offensive line coach for two years. The next five seasons, he moved up to offensive coordinator for one of the state's most explosive teams, directing the attack for the back-to-back Class AAA championship squads in 2008-09.
Other known candidates in the field for the SC job included George Washington assistant coach Jason Smith and former Black Eagles coach Todd Chevalier.
Candidates recommended by county school administrators are usually ratified by the Kanawha County School board, but not always.
Also on the docket Thursday is the hiring of Huntington High School assistant Steven Freeman as football coach at Riverside.
Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.
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