Midlands private school football coach stepping down midseason
Heathwood Hall football coach Rick Reetz is stepping down a little over halfway through his first season with the program.
Reetz confirmed the move to The State on Wednesday.
“I stepped down as head football coach yesterday,” Reetz said. “I felt it was in the best interest of the program.”
Rip Blackstone will assume the role as interim coach, according to Heathwood Hall athletic director Eva Greenburg. Blackstone was head coach at Heathwood from 2008-10 and led the Highlanders to the 2009 SCISA 3A championship game.
Tymere Zimmerman will be promoted to assistant head coach and also remain as head junior varsity coach.
The Highlanders are 1-5 this season and have lost five straight games after winning their opener against Great Falls, 42-6. Heathwood lost starting quarterback Patrick Belk for the season in the second game with a leg injury.
Heathwood Hall, which competes in SCISA’s largest classification, are also 0-4 in region play and has lost its last three games by 49, 39 and 31 points. Heathwood Hall plays at Laurence Manning this week.
Reetz was hired in March to replace Danny Lewis, who left to take a coaching position at The Citadel. He was one of three finalists for the job.
Reetz spent last season as offensive coordinator for Rabun Gap (Ga.) and has more than 30 years of coaching experience. Rabun Gap averaged 382 yards of offense in 2022 and featured a Division I prospect in quarterback Gavin Owens. Before Rabun Gap, Reetz was an assistant coach at James Island and head coach at St. Andrews in Austin, Texas.
Reetz is best known in the Palmetto State for his decade at Porter-Gaud, a SCISA school in Charleston. He was 71-47 overall and had two SCISA Class 3A championship game appearances in 2010 and 2016.
Heathwood Hall becomes the first Columbia area’s first high school football job opening of the cycle. Last year, Reetz was one of eight new coaches hired in the Midlands.
This story was originally published September 27, 2023 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Midlands private school football coach stepping down midseason."
