Marcus Scott "very happy'' as West Jefferson football coach

Mike Strom, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, January 14, 2013 7:56 p.m.

West Jefferson Coach Marcus Scott could not be happier for his close friend and?new head football coach of the Karr Cougars, Nathaniel Jones.

Scott and Jones were classmates and teammates while attending Karr Junior High?School from which Scott moved on to Jesuit while Jones finished his education and playing career at Karr Senior High.

Scott, 35,?has compiled a 33-15 mark in regular-season play, 33-20 overall,?in five seasons as head coach of the Buccaneers, with all five of his teams advancing to the state playoffs.

The Buccaneers have won two district championships and twice finished as district runner-ups during that time, with the most recent being?a second-place finish in District 9-5A in 2012 behind Rummel and ahead of Jesuit and Brother Martin.

Scott's success and ties to Karr lead to natural speculation?that he would be a candidate for the vacancy created by Jabbar Juluke's December decision?to take a college coaching position as an assistant on Coach Skip Holtz's staff at Louisiana Tech.

Karr officials announced Jones' selection on Monday, three days after Scott attempted to clear the air about his presumptive candidacy.

"There are a lot of great people at Karr and many of them helped raise me because I went to junior high there,'' Scott said. "They assisted my parents in raising me. There have been a lot of rumors going around linking me with the Karr job because of my ties there.

"But I'm very happy at West Jefferson. I'm very confident that (Karr officials) will hire the right person to continue that tradition.''

"I was not a candidate for the Karr coaching position,'' Scott added. "I did not interview. I'm very happy at West Jefferson and I just want to end all of the speculation and rumors regarding this.''

Following Jones' appointment on Monday, Scott said, "I'm very happy for Nathaniel. I know he will do an excellent job.''

The future appears bright as well for Scott and West Jefferson as the Buccaneers return to a Jefferson Parish Public Schools league that will include Higgins, Ehret, Bonnabel, Grace King and Chalmette, plus one new addition?from Class 4A in?Helen Cox.

The Bucs also return one of the state's top dual threat?quarterbacks in senior Chavin Gougis and a pro-athletics principal?in Vanessa Brown-Lewis.

"The administration here at West Jefferson has been very supportive,'' Scott said. "I believe that we're on the right track for continued success.''

CITY HALL COUGARS: Karr's football team was honored Thursday by the New Orleans City Council for winning the Class 4A state championship with a record of 14-0. Karr is the first Orleans Parish public school to win a state championship in football since the school's 1993 team claimed the Class 3A crown?with a 14-1 record.

Nearly 200 Karr students appeared in the City Council chambers as Council Vice-President Jackie Clarkson of Algiers presented the school and each football player with a proclamation from the city, reciting the school motto of "second to none.''

Clarkson and the Council also?recognized the school band, cheerleaders, dance team, flag team and their moderators.?
Karr Principal John Hiser and Assistant Principal Harold Clay presented Clarkson and the Council with a poster depicting the design of the school's championship rings.?

An emotional Clarkson later said that she would make sure the City Council and the New Orleans community raises funds to to ensure that every member of the football team receives a state championship ring.

"She is efforting beyond belief to help the Cougars secure funding for their championship rings,'' Weilbaecher said.

COURT MAESTRI: TroyUniversity has honored its legendary basketball coach Don Maestri by naming the playing surface at Trojan Arena?after the former Holy Cross Tigers coach. "Court Maestri'' officially was dedicated last Thursday prior to?the men's basketball?game versus UL-Monroe. ?

Maestri, who was inducted into the inaugural class of the?Troy University Sports Hall of Fame this past summer,?has amassed 501 victories over his 30-plus seasons as?head coach of the Trojans and stands as the school's all-time winningest coach. Troy has reached the 20-win plateau eight times during Maestri's illustrious career and has won seven conference titles.

?I was really caught off guard and very surprised when they told me,? Maestri said prior to the court's dedication.??It is a very nice honor and it's also very humbling. It is an honor that I share with so many people that have helped make Troy basketball a success. In a team sport like this, there are so many people that made us successful.?

Maestri took over a struggling NCAA Division II program in 1981 and quickly turned the Trojans into a powerhouse. Troy averaged 23 wins a year over its final six seasons as a Division II member, including a 72-19 record from 1990-93.

Maestri and his longtime partner, associate head coach?David Felix, form the nation's longest tenured head coach-assistant coach duo as Felix has been on the Troy sideline for 32 seasons and Maestri for 31.

Over that span, the Trojans have led the nation in scoring three times (1991, 1992, 1996) and led the country in 3-point shooting seven different times (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006). Troy became the first team in NCAA history to score 200 points in a game when they defeated DeVry 258-141 in 1992. The Trojans sank 51 3-pointers in the game, which is still an NCAA record.

A graduate of Southern Mississippi, Maestri began his coaching career in the fall of 1970 at Holy Cross High School where in 10 seasons as coach he posted a 211-99 record. Maestri led the Tigers to a state runner-up finish in the top classification in Louisiana. His 1974 Holy Cross team finished 35-6.

Maestri has been named a conference coach of the year seven times and has earned the honor in five different leagues. Only West Virginia's Bob Huggins can claim that distinction among active coaches.

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Mike Strom can be reached at?mstrom@nola.com?or 504.232.2517. Follow him at?twitter.com/MikeStromTP.

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Source: http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-4394275707842142782/marcus-scott-very-happy-as-west-jefferson-football-coach/

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