Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

Two coaches resign: Farr, Bacon

Farr leaves Spring Valley at 3-30; Bacon cites obstacles from administration

Three days after their football seasons ended, two Midlands high schools are looking for new head coaches.

Spring Valley's Quay Farr and Dreher's Bill Bacon both resigned Monday, each coming off disappointing seasons that ended with losses on Friday night.

Farr had a 3-30 record in three seasons at Spring Valley, where he replaced Jimmy Noonan in 2007. Noonan had led the Vikings to back-to-back Region 5-4A championships, featuring future college players such as Mason Cloy (Clemson), Kyle Fischer (Vanderbilt), Andre Roberts (The Citadel), Quintin Richardson (South Carolina) and Tim Green (Southern Mississippi).

Farr inherited a program with significantly less talent and was never able to recapture that level of success.

A former USC player, he said leaving isn't easy. But losses such as Friday's 7-6 season finale against Lancaster - the Vikings eighth consecutive loss that ended a 2-9 season - convinced him to let someone else tackle the job.

"It's not easy when you are in a place you love," Farr said. "The kids are great. The faculty is wonderful. The administration is fantastic. It was a good marriage except for Friday night results. That's what you are there for."

Farr told the Vikings players he planned to resign following a 21-19 loss to Ridge View on Oct. 23. Spring Valley athletics director Tim Hunter said he and the administration spent the past two weeks trying to convince Farr to stay.

Farr said last week he was open to staying but wanted to get through the Lancaster game before deciding. That result was another close loss, the Vikings' fifth by five points or fewer this season.

"This was a dream job to me," Farr said. "I wanted this since I played at Carolina. The Ridge View loss really set everything in motion. It was a game we felt like we could win but didn't win. So many of (the games) have been on the edge of the 33 here. We just haven't been able to put it together."

At Dreher, Bacon stepped aside after his 11th season as Blue Devils coach ended Friday night with a 41-0 loss to Marlboro County in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

The Blue Devils went 3-8 this season after going 2-8 and missing the playoffs in 2008. Bacon said he was told his job was under scrutiny in September following a 34-31 loss to Richland District 1 rival Keenan.

"I sat down and made a list of the positives and negatives," Bacon said. "There were a whole lot more negatives."

Bacon cited obstacles put in his way by Dreher administration as the main factors in his decision.

"When I first got the job here, we had a weightlifting class," Bacon said. "Five years ago, (they) took it away and said it would be back the next year. It hasn't come back since then. You can look at our football record over the last five years and see it has gone down."

A Dreher assistant for five years before becoming head coach in 1999, Bacon also said he had trouble putting together the staff he wanted.

"I had some really great candidates who were good coaches and good teachers," Bacon said. "For some reason, those guys didn't get hired here. Ultimately what we had is three guys on staff who are certified teachers. The six other guys did a good job but they had other jobs in the community. It's hard when you don't have all your coaches in the hallways seeing the players all day."

Attempts to reach Dreher athletics director Mike DuBard for comment on Monday were unsuccessful.

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