Pearl River hires Coast high school coaching star to take over football program
Pearl River Community College has chosen one of the state’s rising stars in high school coaching to take over its football program.
East Central High School head coach Seth Smith has decided to step down from the Hurley school to accept the same position at PRCC after leading a successful seven-year rebuilding effort for the Hornets.
Smith informed the East Central players of his decision in a meeting on Tuesday morning, three sources close to the program have confirmed to the Sun Herald.
Smith was 53-34 in seven seasons as the East Central head coach, and led the program to a Class 4A South State title in 2017. The Hornets went 1-10 his first season, but showed gradual improvement with each season that followed.
East Central had its 2019 campaign come to a close in a 56-20 loss to West Jones last week, finishing a 7-5 season. The Hornets were a combined 25-2 in the two previous seasons.
Smith’s teams at East Central were known for their physical play on both sides of the ball, relying on a potent rushing attack on offense and an attacking style of play on defense.
A native of Pearl River County, Smith played football for both Pearl River Central and Pearl River Community College.
Smith will replace Ted Egger, who stepped down in October after three years on the job. Egger was 10-17 in three seasons, leading the Wildcats to a record of 3-6 this past season.
Pearl River has scheduled a press conference to introduce its new coach at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 1:30 PM.
