Click here to subscribe today or Login.
WILKES-BARRE — Meyers didn’t have to venture far to find a new varsity football coach Monday.
Keeping with tradition, the Wilkes-Barre Area School District hired from within, promoting Jeff Labatch from Meyers assistant to head coach.
Since the late Mickey Gorham retired in 1987, four of the next five head coaches — the exception was Dwayne Downing in 2010 — have been former assistant coaches. That list doesn’t include a return of Gorham in 1990 and 1991.
The school board voted 8-0 for the appointment. Board member Christine Katsock was absent. Labatch, who played quarterback and defensive back for Meyers from 1991-1993, didn’t attend the meeting and had no prior knowledge he was being selected.
“Someone who was at the meeting sent me a text,” Labatch said. “Then about two minutes later, I got a call. In the last 15 minutes, the phone has been blowing up.”
Labatch replaces Corry Hanson, who resigned after four seasons and a 14-27 record. Labatch was an assistant under Hanson for the past four years and spent 11 years as the junior high head coach. He is a teacher at Coughlin High School.
“I wanted to be a head coach for a while. Obviously, this is the number one place,” Labatch said. “I didn’t put in at other places figuring this was going to come up once I talked to Corry. I’m a lifelong Mohawk basically.”
Board member Dino Galella said there were six applicants for the position and five of them were interviewed. The other withdrew his candidacy. Galella, who chairs the athletic committee, said no board members were involved in the interview process per school district policy. The board members didn’t know who the recommendation would be until they met in executive sessions prior to the public meeting.
“It’s going to be a different role,” Labatch said, “but I don’t think it will be that much of an adjustment.”
Labatch will inherit a program that hasn’t found much success over the last nine seasons.
Meyers hasn’t posted a winning record since 2005 when it finished 7-4. Its last appearance in the District 2 playoffs came in 2009 when it lost to Northwest in the first round of the Class A tournament. The Mohawks have been in the postseason once since then, losing 65-19 to North Schuylkill in the first round of the Eastern Conference Class 2A playoffs in 2012. Their only District 2 title came in 2001 in Class 2A.
Meyers finished 3-7 for a second consecutive season and will need to replace three graduating WVC Coaches All-Star picks — lineman Richard Assuah; quarterback/defensive back Zahir Dunell; and tight end/linebacker T.J. Cistrunk.
“We’re going to be young. We lost a lot of talent,” Labatch said. “The junior high team was undefeated, so there is talent coming up. I hope we get better every day and improve week in and week out.”
The hiring of Labatch is the fifth coaching change in the 17-team WVC football league since the end of the 2014 season. There is one vacant position as Northwest recently opened all of its fall coaching jobs, including that of football coach Carl Majer.
Other new coaches for the upcoming season are; Jan Cechak, Tunkhannock; Charles Crews, Williamsport; Rich Mannello, Dallas; and Mike McCree, Hanover Area.