Football: Watkins named
Dow head coach

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Jason Watkins has been named the next varsity football coach at H.H. Dow High School, school officials announced this morning.

Watkins, who spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Chargers’ freshman team, replaces former coach Kurt Faust who stepped down in mid-November after six seasons with the team.

“We went through and interviewed numerous people and when everything came to an end it was a unanimous decision that Jason Watkins should be the choice for the next Dow High football coach,” said Dow Athletic Director Ted Davis. “We’re very excited about Jason Watkins being our next head coach, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Jason will do an outstanding job.”

Watkins, 35, is a Dow High alum and a math teacher at the school. He has coached in the program since 1998 when he served as a volunteer offensive line coach for the junior varsity team.

“It was the right time and the right situation for me to take over the Dow program,” Watkins said. “I played here, coached here, and had great experience here. Those are experiences I’d like to take to the students and staff, too.”

Watkins takes over a team that has finished below .500 the past two seasons, compiling a record of 7-11 over that time. The Chargers last made the playoffs in 2006, when they lost to Bay City Central in the first round.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure these young men and this Dow community sees this will be a group that has high expectation for themselves on and off the field,” Watkins said. “We’re going to work hard and be disciplined, and do things the right way. I think wins are going to come from that.”

Prior to coaching the freshman team, Watkins was a varsity assistant for five seasons and was the junior varsity defensive coordinator for three seasons before that. He also has coached at Cadillac High School and Ithaca High School, where he started his coaching career in 1994.

Watkins says his priorities now turn to the team’s offseason conditioning program and honing the offensive and defensive schemes. He will also look closely at staffing, though he says he hopes to retain many of the coaches in the program.

The Chargers will get a measuring stick right out the gates as they’ll open the 2009 season against Saginaw Valley League rivals Bay City Western and Mount Pleasant. Each finished 9-2 last season and lost in the second round of the playoffs.

Still, Watkins and co. will receive an injection of young talent on this year’s roster as a core of juniors who have lost only one game in two seasons of high school football will join the team.

“I believe in this, and I’m excited about taking on this challenge and starting this new chapter in my life,” Watkins said. “It’s going to be fun.”