Brookstone’s Gillespie among 10 new head coaches in GIAA
Number of hires: 10
Best hire: Rance Gillespie, Brookstone
Hardest to replace: Mark Farriba, Stratford Academy
Best job: Stratford Academy
Toughest job: St. Mary’s Academy
Most interesting: Fourteen of the Georgia Independent Athletic Association’s 44 11-man football teams were GHSA members last season, and their presence has reinvigorated the Georgia Independent School Association. (The GISA formed the GIAA in the offseason as a way to restructure and rebrand how it administers sports.) This might’ve happened anyway, but longtime GHSA coach Rance Gillespie also added some luster by taking the Brookstone job. Gillespie is a former Valdosta and Georgia Southern coach who led Peach County to two state titles. GIAA programs also attracted Benedictine’s assistant head coach, Kevin Prisant. He has moved across the Wilmington River to another Savannah private school, St. Andrew’s.
Class 4A
*Brookstone of Columbus hired Hart County coach Rance Gillespie to replace Blair Harrison, who is now Shaw’s head coach. This will be Gillespie’s fifth high school head-coaching job, first in the private sector. He’s best known for his six seasons at Peach County (2001-06), where he won four region and two state titles. Gillespie was Georgia Southern’s co-offensive coordinator in 2016. Brookstone was 31-26 in Harrison’s five seasons, 7-3 in 2021. Gillespie’s career record is 147-78.
*Bulloch Academy of Brooklet hired Edmund Burke Academy coach Aaron Phillips to replace Steve Pennington, who retired. Phillips’s Burke teams were 32-27 in five seasons and won a 2018 region title. Bulloch was 7-5 and 5-7 under Pennington.
*Mount de Sales of Macon promoted offensive line coach Gray Yates to replace Keith Hatcher, who became ACE Charter’s head coach. Mount de Sales was 46-39 in Hatcher’s eight seasons and 5-6 in 2021. Yates has been on Mount de Sales’ staff the past eight seasons. He previously has coached at Shelby County and Harding Academy in Tennessee and alma mater Harding University in Arkansas.
*Stratford Academy of Macon promoted offensive coordinator Chance Jones to replace Mark Farriba. Jones joined Stratford’s staff in 2020 after four seasons as head coach at Tattnall Square, where his record was 30-15. Farriba’s record at Stratford was 95-47 in two stints with one GISA championship at his alma mater. He wanted to remain as athletic director but wasn’t allowed and ended up joining ACE Charter’s staff as offensive coordinator and associate head coach
*Strong Rock Christian in Locust Grove promoted defensive coordinator Myron Jackson to replace Tommy Webb, who remained as athletic director. Jackson ran Strong Rock’s defenses the past five seasons. He was head coach of Florida’s Okeechobee High for three years and coached for 12 seasons at college programs Southern, North Carolina A&T, Western Carolina and UConn. Strong Rock has never had a winning season and was 22-58 under Webb.
Class 3A
*St. Andrew's pf Savannah promoted defensive coordinator Kevin Prisant to replace Blake Henry, who became athletic director at alma mater Loyola Blakefield in Maryland. Prisant has been on Benedictine’s staff the past seven seasons through two state championships and was assistant head coach the past four until St. Andrew’s hired him between seasons. Henry’s unexpected resignation opened the door to becoming the head coach. Prisant was head coach of Heritage School in Newnan for three seasons and led it to a 2012 GISA region title.
Class 2A
*Augusta Prep hired former Harlem and Hephzibah head coach Todd Booker to replace program founder Henry Bacheller, whose teams were 45-58-1 over 10 GISA seasons with a 2013 state title. Booker is an Augusta native who led Harlem to three consecutive 7-4 finishes through the 2019 season, after which he stepped down to become assistant principal.
*Edmund Burke Academy of Waynesboro hired Bulloch Academy assistant head coach and athletic director Andy Woodward to replace Aaron Phillips, who became Bulloch Academy’s head coach. Woodward also had been an assistant football and baseball coach at Aquinas. Phillips’ teams were 32-27 in five seasons that followed an 0-10 2016 finish.
*St Mary's Academy, the Fayetteville school formerly known as Our Lady of Mercy, hired St. Pius linebackers coach Bill Tenore to restart a program that last played varsity games in 2019. Tenore came to Georgia in 2018 from Ohio, where he was head coach of Badin and Bishop Fenwick high schools and reached the playoffs nine of 14 seasons. He was Aquinas’ head coach from 2006 to 2009. He also has been on the staffs at four small college programs.
*Southwest Georgia Academy in Damascus hired Early County defensive coordinator Kerry Morris to replace Daniel McFather, who became Pataula Charter’s head coach. Morris had coached at Early County for 30 years. Southwest Georgia was 34-20 in five seasons under McFather.
Class A
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