Pogue leaving SPHS after this year
Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 11, 2016
Pogue
South Panola head coach Lance Pogue announced Friday the 2016 season will be his last at South Panola. He comes into the season with a 203-51 overall record (119-11 while at South Panola).
He reiterated in a phone conversation that he does not want this season to be about him, but all about this team.
“I want everyone to get behind this team,” Pogue said. “It will be a fun team to watch. By October, it’s no telling what you will see.”
Pogue came to South Panola in the spring of 2007 following Ricky Woods. Under Pogue, South Panola has five state championships, played for six and won a national championship in 2010.
While at South Panola, he has seen over 100 players sign with community colleges and universities. He instigated South Panola being one of the first high schools to get an artificial turf field soon after taking the job.
He had the opportunity to coach his son, Tyler, at quarterback and winning the state championship his junior year.
Pogue raised South Panola to national prominence and in 2010 brought a National Championship to the perennial powerhouse. That went a long way to healing the wound of having an 89-game win streak broken in the 2008 State Championship—the fifth longest win-streak in the nation.
He did not get into what he plans to do after he leaves South Panola but did say, “It is time.”
Invested and eligible to retire, Pogue says he is not ready to go that route yet.
