Wildcats name new football coach

Posted at 5:25 pm January 24, 2023
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge football has a new coach, Derek Rang.

Rang has an overall head coaching record of 86-29 at Powell, Dresden, Gatlinburg-Pittman, and Lewis County High Schools, and he coached the Dresden Lions when they won the 2016 state championship, according to Oak Ridge Schools.

5Star Preps reported that Rang, 28, resigned after one season at Lewis in west Tennessee, where he had an 11-2 record in 2022.

Oak Ridge Schools said each school coached by Rang has advanced to the TSSAA playoff quarterfinals or beyond, and Rang has won 18 postseason games as a head coach.

“He has been the recipient of numerous coaching awards, including being a three-time Region Coach of the Year, North Knox Coach of the Year, and USA Today State Coach of the Year, and he has been a finalist for Tennessee Titans coach of the year,” the school district said. “Coach Rang has coached a Mr. Football Winner, two Mr. Football semifinalists, and 29 All State players. Rang was a three-time state champion at Maryville High School, where he played for the legendary coach George Quarles. He teaches math and has taught Algebra I, Geometry, and SAILS Statistics.”

Rang replaces former Coach Scott Cummings, who resigned in December after one season. Before Oak Ridge, Cummings won a state championship at West in 2014, and he coached at Halls from 2019-2021. He finished his one season at Oak Ridge with a 7-6 record and a trip to the Class 5A state quarterfinals, where the Wildcats lost to Powell 43-13.

Cummings had replaced Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gaddis, who won a state championship in 1991, retired as coach in 2021 after more than 300 wins, and now serves as Oak Ridge athletic director.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Wildcats name new football coach

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