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Hampton Roads welcomes 10 new high school football coaches as VHSL practice kicks off

larry rubama, the virginian-pilot
·4 min read

For the second consecutive season, Hampton Roads will welcome 10 new high school football coaches as practice begins Thursday — the Virginia High School League’s official kickoff.

The group includes two coaches who are returning as head coaches at their alma mater in Lemort Smith and Tyler Noe.

Smith takes over at First Colonial, where he played football and ran track for the Patriots. He replaced Ty Traister, who was 4-16 in two seasons, including 3-7 last season.

“I am very excited and could not put it into words even if I tried. If there was a scale from one to 10, it would be on 100,” said Smith, who joined the Patriots’ staff in 2012 under former head coach Sam Scarborough and was an assistant under Traister. “Everyone can expect great student-athletes, a great coaching staff and a great supporting staff within the school and the community. We will be fast and exciting offensively and have a very experienced and hungry defense.”

Noe is a former Cox High football player and has been a coach in the program for more than a decade.

He takes over a Falcons program where he learned from previous coaches Bill Stachelski and Alan Faneca, who stepped down after two seasons. Faneca led the Falcons to a 16-8 record in two seasons — including 9-3 last season — and guided them to the playoffs both seasons. Cox has missed the postseason only twice since 2008, and the Falcons haven’t had a losing record since 2007.

“It’s such an honor to be the head coach at Cox,” Noe said. “Being an alumni means so much more for not only me, but for my friends who played here who have reached out to me. There’s so much tradition at Cox in every aspect, not just football. In the 12 years I was an assistant, we were just a playoff team, but I’m excited to have the opportunity to take this program to the next level. Our fans can expect a disciplined, well-rounded, organized team.”

Gloucester named Noah Crouch to replace head coach John Scalf, who led the Dukes to some of their most successful seasons before resigning after a one-win 2022 campaign.

Crouch is the son of state coaching legend Mickey Crouch, who guided Amherst County to three state championship games and a state title. Noah played on the 1998 team that lost to Hampton in the state title game.

His most recent stop was at Nelson County in the Lynchburg area. Crouch has served as a special teams coordinator, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and junior-varsity head coach.

He recently spent four days with some of his players in Madison County. He said the time away helped with team bonding. It also gave the players a chance to understand his new offense and defense.

“I can hardly stand it … I’m so excited,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better than the (Peninsula District). I’m looking forward to that challenge. There’s already been some stuff out projecting us with zero wins, so we’re pretty fired up.”

Former Lafayette assistant John Byron is the new head coach at Tabb. He becomes the sixth head football coach in Tabb’s 50-year history. He replaced Brent Ashley, who went 5-8 with Tabb before resigning in September two games into his second season, and PJ Jackson, who went 3-5 as the interim head coach.

“It’s been fun working with the team for seven months, and now is the opportunity to see what we can do,” said Byron, who was the head coach at Menchville from 2005-10 and spent the past 12 seasons as Lafayette’s defensive coordinator. “This is going into my 24th year as a football coach. It never gets old. It’s something I look forward to every year. To put in the amount of hours that we do as coaches and players, you got to love it. It’s too much time not to love it.”

Here’s a look at the other new public-school football coaches in Hampton Roads:

  • Former Oscar Smith record-setting quarterback Phillip Sims is the new coach at Princess Anne.

  • Former Maury football player Kendal Jefferson is the new head coach at Granby High.

  • Former Woodside defensive coordinator Brek Hall is the Wolverines’ new head coach.

  • Legendary football coach Tommy Reamon returns after a season off following 34 on the sidelines to become the new coach at Denbigh High.

  • At Salem and Jamestown high schools, the interim tag was taken off both Mark Hall III and Scott Lambin, respectively.

Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com. Twitter @LHRubama