A new coaching regime begins at Healdton this football season as Reid Box takes over the reins from Bill Pascoe.
The success Healdton has enjoyed lately is one of the factors that attracted Box when the job opened up.
“Recently, they’ve been pretty good,” Box said in reference to his new team. “They made the semifinals a few years ago. There is also some good people here. The principal, Mr. (Greg) Raper, contacted me first about the job, and the administration here is also pretty good and it just seems like a good fit.”
Pascoe has taken the coaching job at Fairland, as well as the high school principal job.
During his six seasons as coach, the Bulldogs went 44-22 with four straight playoff berths, including a trip to the Class A state semifinals in 2004. They went 12-2 and played their first playoff game in 31 years that season. Pascoe shared the Daily Ardmoreite Co-Coach of the Year honors and had two team members, Caleb Brewer and Casey Powell, share player of the year honors respectively on offense and defense.
“It was a good six-year run,” Pascoe said. “I had some good players. That’s what I remember the most, and we had a good time. We did a few things that hadn’t been done. The kids were successful.”
Pascoe’s favorite memory as the Bulldog coach came in a third-round playoff game vs. Commerce.
“The Commerce game was a lot of fun,” Pascoe said. “We were the only team left playing in the district and the place was packed. We had all the Ringling people and all the Velma-Alma people out there supporting us. We played a great game and were successful. That was probably the greatest memory.”
Healdton won that game 27-21 before being eliminated by Tonkawa in the state semis a week later.
Box comes from a football family. He comes to Healdton from Mangum, where he served the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator. His father, Mark Box, has coached in the area. Mark Box was the head coach at Dickson from 1988-90 and had been an assistant at Davis for Joe Weber in the ’90s.
“He is a good one to learn from,” Reid Box said of his father. “He is a good resource to have.”
The Healdton post will be the first head coaching job for Box.
“I believe that learning organizational skills and how to deal with people from someone that has been around and been successful has prepared me well for being a head coach,” he said.
Box plans to use the wishbone on offense and a 50-front on defense. He got to work with the team in spring practice.
Mike Moguin, 221-6522
mike.moguin@ardmoreite.com
