WILMINGTON – Back in 2008 when four people were vying for the Wilmington High School head football coach position, I wrote a column backing assistant coach Mike Barry as the choice to replace Almeida. I believed that Barry was the best choice at that time, coming off 12 very successful seasons as an assistant here, all the while having a significant football background before that.
In his nine years as head coach, I thought overall Barry did a fine job. The last few years doesn’t really show that, but that doesn’t take away how he carried himself everyday. Barry’s work ethic was truly remarkable. He always did what he thought was in the best interests of the student-athletes and the team.
After Barry resigned and since the coaching position had been posted, I wanted someone from outside of Wilmington to come in to give new life into the program. I was hoping for a younger coach, one who ran different types of offenses, like the “Spread”. I was hoping the new coach would be someone who would adapt to the current state of football, whether it’s at the high school, college or pro level which is a quarterback’s game, throwing the ball more frequently, hurry-up offenses, fast tempo, play-action, misdirection play calling, criss-cross patterns, etc.
It seems on paper anyway, it seems like that’s the direction the program will be heading with the hiring of new coach Craig Turner.
“We’ll stick with what we do offensively,” Turner said. “I think what I do offensively can kind of translate. As long as we have a kid who can snap the ball, we’ll be alright. I’m sure we can find that. We’ll be a spread offense team, we’ll throw it around a bit, but I’m also a big believer in running the ball. I like to have a quarterback who can run it and throw it. It’s definitely a quarterback centric offense, the way I run it, so if we get the right guy there, we can be pretty explosive.”
Athletic Director Tim Alberts was asked if he had any certain criteria in terms of X’s and O’s and scheme calling when it came to finding the next coach.
“Nope. We wanted to find the best candidate available. I know Coach Turner wants to run the ‘Spread Offense’ when he starts here and I know the kids are really excited about that. But we weren’t tied to a certain offense or defense, more so getting the best candidate for the position.”
Turner spent eight seasons as an assistant at Mystic Valley before becoming the head coach the last four years replacing Rollie Hinckley, an Ipswich High Hall of Famer. Before Turner took over, the Eagles won just several games each year, including four combined wins in 2007 and ’08.
The last three years, Turner led the team to two league titles in 2014 and ’16 and three straight sectional appearances, losing to Cathedral 29-16 in ’14, losing to Essex Tech, 34-20, in ’15 and then to Brighton, 52-28, this past season.
Throughout his four years he compiled a 28-15 record, including 6-3 in the playoffs. Wilmington hasn’t had a playoff win in the new MIAA system, nor in the old one.
“This is the perfect situation for me,” said Turner. “It’s right where I wanted to be. To get closer to home the great tradition they have here and it was just something I couldn’t pass up.
“At Mystic, I loved the people there, and I loved the kids there so it was tough to leave there. We had a lot of success. I have a two-year-old at home, so I wanted to get closer to home. I wasn’t going to leave just for anything. I wanted to go to a place that really cared about football, that had had success in the past and a place that had tradition. Mystic Valley really didn’t have any of that. The program was just twelve years old and that’s not a knock of them. It was pretty special to be able to build from scratch. To be a part of a program that has the tradition that Wilmington has, I had to throw my hat into the ring for something like that.”
Turner was asked about who will join his staff as assistants. He said that he will bring a few coaches over from Mystic Valley. He would also like to meet with the holdover assistants from Barry’s staff and see if there’s any possible matches. Until then, he is chomping at the bit to get started.
“I’m excited and this is just like a dream job for me,” he said. “A place like this with the tradition they have, I just can’t wait for August. The kids seemed excited. It’s new and it’s different and that always takes time but I think they will find that I’m a guy, I’m a coach who really has their best interests in mind.
“We’re all in it together, we’re all trying to do the same thing, we’re all trying to accomplish the same goal so I’m just really excited to get going.”
