How a new coach at Memorial Day School is leading transition to eight-man football
Change is in the air with the Memorial Day School athletic program.
The Matadors have recently hired a new athletic director, a new football coach and announced that the football program will be moving to the eight-man format competing in the Georgia Independent Athletic Association.
Memorial Day parted ways with head football coach Jaha Taylor in February at the same time it announced the move to 8-man football next season. Taylor, who had coached the Matadors for two seasons, didn't agree with the move and is looking to land a job as an assistant coach in the Savannah area.
The school also announced the hiring of a new athletic director as Andrea Bagnall stepped in to run the program last month. She has more than 40 years of experience, and moved to Savannah from Arizona, where she was the Director of Sports Medicine at Eastern Arizona College.
The school announced the hiring of a new football coach last week as Zane Rowland took over the reins of a program with a history of success in GIAA that includes six state championships competing in 11-man football, with the most recent coming in 2017. Rowland has experience including working as an assistant at Valdosta High, and most recently at Savannah High, where he was the offensive coordinator last season for the Blue Jackets.
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"We thought he was the perfect fit because Coach Rowland is young, dynamic and has a lot of energy," said Bagnall, a graduate of the University of Tennessee who said the late, legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt was a mentor and close friend. "We thought he was the right person as we transition to 8-man football. He wants to be here and build a program."
The Matadors went 1-9 in 2022, but bounced back last season by reaching the GIAA Class A state semifinals and posting a 5-7 record. Three Matadors players will be moving on to play college ball as quarterback Tyler Kindle and lineman Joseph Barnes are headed to North Carolina Wesleyan, while receiver Craig Harris will play at St. Andrews.
Rowland is a graduate of Lowndes High School, but said he didn't play football in his prep days. He started coaching in recreation leagues nine years ago and has moved up the ladder to land his first high school head coaching job.
"It's pretty cool to think I was coaching fourth graders nine years ago and have taken the steps to be where I am now," said Rowland, 34. "I did a deep dive and researched everything about the program when I applied and I think it makes sense that we're going to be moving down to 8-man football. We graduated 11 of the 21 players on the roster, so we have 10 coming back and will try to build on that. I spoke with some coaches who have made the transition to 8-man and we'll be able to run the same offensive concepts. We'll just have to drop two offensive linemen and one skill position player."
Rowland is married and the father of four children — from the ages of 13 years old to the latest addition, his seven-month old daughter. His son, J.R., will be a freshman at Memorial Day in the fall and will compete for the starting quarterback job.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Zane Rowland hired as Memorial Day coach with move to eight-man football
