This is today’s Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook as heard on 97.9 WCHL. You can listen to previous Sports Notebooks here.

It’s time for East Chapel Hill to drop football or merge its team with another school.

Here we are in July and less than a month away from prep football practice around the state. And East Chapel Hill High School has not officially named its new head coach. Supposedly, it is Ryan Johnson, the defensive coordinator on the Wildcats’ 0-11 team last season that had to forfeit three of its last four games due to a shortage of healthy players.

The team began last season with only 23 kids and was down to 16 when it forfeited the games that it would have lost anyway. Even the 35 who Johnson said showed up for the most recent spring workouts is not enough for a team that competes in the state’s largest-school category, 4-A.

Johnson will be at least the fourth head coach in the last 10 years at the prestigious high school that regularly produces state championships in soccer, tennis, golf, lacrosse and cross country. In fact, there is not another bad sports team practicing on the Weaver Dairy Road fields. Football, because so few kids go out for the team, has always been the exception for Wildcat athletics.

Since Bill Renner, Bryn’s father, coached East to a couple of winning seasons and built a respectable program, it has slid back into gridiron obscurity, where it will remain until more kids go out for football or the sport is dropped altogether. That would be unfair for those kids who want to play and play well. Drew Davis, son of Butch, threw for 4,000 yards on Renner’s teams and there is usually at least one Division 1 prospect on the squad.

Since proportionally fewer kids go out for football at all 3 Chapel Hill high schools, some sort of merger in the sport seems logical. Imagine how good a consolidated team would be, combining players from East, Chapel Hill and Carrboro High Schools. At the very least, if East were to drop football, its players should have the option to transfer to another school or, better yet, just be allowed to play for the Chapel Hill Tigers or Carrboro Jaguars.

That would save some money for the school system and actually improve the chances for the high schools off Homestead and Smith Level roads to post great seasons and go deep into the state playoffs. The traditional way of fielding a football team at East clearly is not working. It’s time for some creative thinking.

Related Stories
‹
Chapel Hill Ends Regular Season with Win vs. ECHHS, But May Fall Short of Playoffs
After a 48-8 win vs. East Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill High football finished with a 4-6 record in head coach Ryan Horton's first season.
Here are the 2023 Football Schedules for Orange County High Schools
The 2023 high school football season begins on Friday, August 18 for schools around our community. Check out the full regular season schedules for each of Orange County’s five high schools, and be sure to check back in every weekend for results of local games! Chapel Hill High Week 1 (August 18, 7 p.m.): vs. […]
CHCCS, Orange County Schools Prepare for Class of 2023 Graduations
It is the last week of class for our K-12 school districts in Orange County, which means that graduation for the Class of 2023 is nearly here. Graduating seniors experienced many challenges over their time in high school, including adjustments to the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning, but their efforts will pay off this weekend […]
High School Football Round-Up: Week 5
Every week during the season, Chapelboro will post the scores of local high school football games. Here are the scores from Week 5! Results from Week 4 can be found here. Chapel Hill (4-0): Idle Up next: vs. East Chapel Hill   Cedar Ridge (1-3): Lost to Person County, 76-8 Up next: vs. Northwood   East […]
Students Call for Action During Walkout
Wednesday was an emotional day for students in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and across the country. Students at East Chapel Hill High School began their morning in their restorative circles – a monthly discussion on an important topic where students drive the conversation. Other recent topics have focused on sexual harassment and other issues. Wednesday’s […]
Tigers, Wildcats Team Up To Fight Childhood Cancer
Thanks to one dedicated Tiger, the CHHS and ECHHS baseball teams will join forces on April 26 to raise funds for the Vs. Cancer Foundation.
New Athletic Director Named at East Chapel Hill High School
Randy Trumbower is the new athletic director at East Chapel Hill High School. The position was approved by the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City School Board of Education on Thursday night. Trumbower has been a special education teacher and case manager at Chapel Hill High School since 2007, according to the district, and he has […]
Chapel Hill High Alumnus and Super Bowl Champion Matt Stevens Dies at 51
Matt Stevens, who played football for Chapel Hill High School and won Super Bowl XXXVI with the New England Patriots, died last Thursday. He was 51 years old. Stevens graduated from Chapel Hill High in 1991 and went on to start for Appalachian State, helping the Mountaineers win the Southern Conference championship in 1995, his […]
2024 High School Football Round-Up: Week 11
Every week during the season, Chapelboro will post the scores of local high school football games. Here are the scores from Week 11! Chapel Hill (4-6): Beat East Chapel Hill, 48-8 Cedar Ridge (0-10): Bye East Chapel Hill (4-6): Lost to Chapel Hill, 48-8 Carrboro (3-7): Lost to Southern Durham, 30-3 Orange (2-8): Lost to […]
2024 High School Football Round-Up: Week 10
Every week during the season, Chapelboro will post the scores of local high school football games. Here are the scores from Week 10! Chapel Hill (3-6): Lost to Hillside, 42-13 Next: vs. East Chapel Hill Cedar Ridge (0-10): Lost to Williams, 65-0 Next: Bye East Chapel Hill (3-6): Lost to Riverside, 12-10 Next: at Chapel Hill […]
›