KFDM COOP Posted February 2, 2009 Report Posted February 2, 2009 Crouch slated to head up LC-M sports Gabriel Pruett The Orange Leader LITTLE CYPRESS — The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears did not have to look far to find their new athletic director/head football coach. Randy Crouch was right down the road at West Orange-Stark High School serving as offensive coordinator. Dr. Pauline Hargrove, superintendent with the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated ISD, will recommend to the LC-M CISD Board of Trustees the hire of Crouch at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9 in the LC-M High School auditorium when the board meets. Hargrove praised Crouch as a man of integrity and high character. “We put out a survey to our residents for their input and he aligned with that survey,†Hargrove said. “People wanted someone with ties to this community and he is well respected as an individual and a coach. Every group he has been with has been successful.†Crouch has been with the Mustangs since 1998 where WO-S has went undefeated in the regular season five times. The Mustangs have seven district titles since that time, including five in a row. “I am very excited and happy,†Crouch said. “This is a real great opportunity and I am real excited about getting the chance. I have been in coaching long enough to know you don’t take jobs just to get a title. My wife (DeWanna) and I prayed about this when the job came open and we decided together this was something we would try to do. The Lord opens opportunities and sometimes you do not understand them. I am just real excited because this is the Lord’s will.†Crouch’s former head coach, Dan Hooks at WO-S, said he was sad to see Crouch leave yet was excited for a guy he considers a friend first. “Randy is a very good friend since we have been together for 11 years,†Hooks said. “He is the type of guy if you call him at 10:30 p.m. with a flat on the highway in Vidor, he will come get you. We had some real good years since he has been here. He definitely contributed to that success and we wish him all the luck. The good thing is he did not move off to Forth Worth or Dallas. I will still stay in close contact with him and only one time a year, the second week of the season, we will be enemies. After that game, we are back to being friends.†Crouch has also served as offensive coordinator at LC-M from 1994 to 1997. The team was district runner-up in 1995 and reached the regional finals in 1997, the farthest any LC-M team has ever reached. Crouch has twice been a head coach, once at Sulphur, La. High School from 1988 to 1990 and at DeQuincy High School from 1987 to 1988. “I think it is always the more you know is better,†Crouch said. “I will try to use my experience to the best of my ability. This is not about me. This is about the kids at LC-M. I want to give them the best opportunity we can and that is what it is all about. I want to help make them successful so they can graduate and become great citizens.†Crouch admitted leaving the Mustangs was not an easy decision. “I have been there for 11 years,†Crouch added. “I had some great experiences there. We had success there and were able to do some things. I will always be indebted to people at West Orange-Stark. I don’t have enough time to thank them all.†Vicki Castino, the head volleyball coach at LC-M, said she is excited over Crouch’s hire and ready to begin a fresh start at the school. Castino has been at LC-M since 1988 and has worked for five other athletic directors. “I have worked with him before and he is a great guy to communicate with,†Castino said. “He is very knowledgeable of football and I know that is the sport they are trying to turn around but I am sure Coach Crouch will take care of all the other sports. We wanted an AD who is going to take care of all the sports and been seen at a number of events and I think he will be that person. Change is good because it refreshes you.†Hargrove reported 62 people responded to the vacant position at LC-M with 61 who actually applied. A panel of nine screened all the applications and then narrowed the field down to 25 interested parties. From there the committee trimmed the list down to seven finalists and two would eventually pull out during the interview process. “We did feel his (Crouch) knowledge of the school and of the community would benefit us,†Hargrove said. “He already knows so many people he will work for and the students. It will give us a heads up in the process. Coach Crouch also has a history here and it was at a time LC-M was very successful.†Hargrove called the hiring process a long procedure. “We were very delighted with all the fantastic candidates,†Hargrove added. “You start to wish you had more jobs to offer some of these fine men. We recognized the importance of this position and we believe he is the person who is best for the job.†Hooks believes with proper staff, Crouch could be the turning point for the LC-M program. “I think they made a good choice,†Hooks said. “He knows what to do. As a head coach you have to surround yourself with people who are on the same page as you.†Crouch will have his work cut out for him in trying to turn around the Battlin’ Bears. LC-M was 8-28 under former coach Todd Moody in four years and was 0-8 in 2008. LC-M was outscored 337-71 for the season. Opponents averaged 399.0 yards a game on offense while the Bears averaged 189.0. The Bears finished 1-9 in 2007 with a team high picked by The Orange Leader in its pre-season rankings. The Bears were outscored 278-132 that season. Crouch is now ready to get the approval from the board and get to work on turning around the Bears’ program. “At LC-M there are talented people there,†Crouch said. “I will pull from everyone possible. It’s to make it the very best we can make it and lead all sports in the right direction. I really look forward to the opportunity.†Crouch joined Brandon Faircloth, the offensive coordinator at Odessa Perriman, as the two newest coaches to join District 20-4A. Faircloth will soon be recommend to the Port Neches-Groves board to become the Indians’ new athletic director/head football coach. Central, Jasper and Port Arthur Memorial are still without a head football coach.
NDNWarrior Posted February 2, 2009 Report Posted February 2, 2009 Coach Crouch will be good for LCM. Best of luck to him and the Bears this year! A lot of talent at LCM, great community support, sounds like a "win-win" situation.
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