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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
ROARING SPRING -- The new head football coach at Central High School for the 2024 season will be a very familiar face.
The appointment of Jerry Albright -- who has served as an assistant coach in the school's football program at either the varsity or junior varsity levels for 28 seasons -- was approved by a unanimous vote of the Central High School Board at its monthly meeting on Monday night.
Albright, 51, most recently served as an assistant coach for the Scarlet Dragons' varsity linemen under long-time head coach Dave Baker, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
Central has enjoyed immense success on the football field over the past decade, reaching the semifinals of the PIAA state football playoffs four times, and winning its fourth consecutive District 6 Class 3A championship last season.
Albright is embracing the challenge of continuing the program's success.
"Between the junior high and varsity programs, I've seen the highs and lows,'' said Albright, who is a mathematics and pre-engineering teacher at Central High School. "Most high school football programs have an ebb and flow, but our program has been on a high now for many years.
"I'm excited about this opportunity,'' Albright said. "We've had some great players come through our program, and I'll do everything that I can do to try to help us continue that success. I hope that our players are up to the challenge of continuing our successful tradition.''
Central athletic director Stacy Kuster believes that Albright's familiarity with the football program will make for a nice transition for both Albright and the players.
"We are excited to have Coach Albright begin his new role as varsity football head coach here at Central,'' Kuster said. "We expect a smooth transition as he is no stranger to coaching our student-athletes, or our football program, having coached here in some capacity for almost 30 years.
"Coach Albright is the right person to continue to lead our outstanding football culture here at Central,'' Kuster added.
Albright has deep roots at Central -- having played varsity football himself as an offensive lineman and linebacker at the school before graduating back in 1991.
Central returns a solid nucleus of players next fall, including incoming senior quarterback Eli Muthler, who threw for 2,815 yards and 32 touchdowns last season as a junior.
The Scarlet Dragons will be tasked with replacing nine two-year starting positions on the offensive and defensive lines, as well as 2023 Altoona Mirror Player of the Year Hunter Smith, a four-year, two-way standout at running back and linebacker.
"We have a good nucleus coming back, but we're losing Hunter Smith, who had four unbelievable seasons for us,'' Albright said. "We're going to be inexperienced on the line on both sides of the ball, but if we can develop there, we will have some success.''
Central's veteran assistant coaching staff of A.J. Hoenstine (offense), Joe Kitt (defense), and Paul Frederick (quarterbacks), along with several valuable volunteer assistants, will all be returning, lending more continuity to the Scarlet Dragons program for next season.
"We can keep a lot of things consistent with what we've been doing previously,'' Albright said.
Albright's family includes his wife, Bobbi, and their sons Thad, 22, and Brady, 18, who is one of the graduating senior linemen that Central will need to replace.
Jerry Albright has been hired as Central's head varsity football coach at a salary of $7,617.60. The appointment of two other varsity head coaches was approved at Monday's meeting. Joe Bilka will become Central's new varsity girls head cross country coach at a salary of $2,520.89, and Aaron Bowers will become Central's new varsity girls head volleyball coach at a salary of $3,238.40.
Jerry Albright has more than paid his dues as a varsity assistant football coach, and he's ready to take the next step now.
"I've been a loyal, dedicated assistant for many years, and this has been a goal of mine for a while,'' Jerry Albright said. "If the opportunity arose, I was going to be happy to accept the challenge and see what I could do with it.''