ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 11, 1997 TAG: 9703110121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM THE ROANOKE TIMES
Jeff Johnson is expected to succeed Ed Scott as PH's football coach after 11 years on staff.
After a wait of nearly four months, Patrick Henry will name long-time assistant Jeff Johnson as its new football coach today.
School principal Dr. Betty Lee, according to sources, is expected to meet with the football team this morning and tell them that Johnson will follow Ed Scott, who resigned suddenly at the end of last season.
PH, which was slow to name a boys' basketball coach following the departure of Woody Deans last year, tapped Johnson, who, in addition to being a football assistant, has been a successful track and field coach.
Johnson had his most recent success two weeks ago when the Patriots finished second in the Group AAA indoor meet.
His outdoor teams have won the past two Group AAA Northwest Region titles and last spring finished tied as the state runner-up in outdoor track. That was the highest finish by a Roanoke Valley District team since 1985, when William Fleming tied Bethel for the state title.
PH athletic director Dave Osborne and Johnson were unavailable for comment Monday. Lee had no comment other than to say that she would be meeting with the football team today. However, sources, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said Johnson will get the job after an 11-year tenure as a football assistant.
Johnson came to Patrick Henry after serving two years as a head coach at Natural Bridge. He joined the staff of Larry Carter in 1985.
When Carter took the Lord Botetourt job in 1989, Johnson remained at PH under Dennis Vaught, who resigned before the end of the 1989 season after making an alleged racial comment.
Scott, who had won a Group AA Division 4 championship at Park View-Sterling, took the PH job in 1990. He retained Johnson as one of his top assistants.
Johnson had said that if Scott were to leave, he would like to be considered for the PH job. He applied this year to take over a team that returns many veterans from a club that went 6-4 despite losing its final four games.
Johnson has been the school's track coach for eight years and was named Timesland track coach of the year following his team's Northwest Region title in 1995.
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