CAT Tracks for July 17, 2004 NEW FB COACH; NEW AD

The following story from The Southern Illinoisan reports two CSD #1 athletic hirings scheduled for Monday night...

NEWELL WILL BE RECOMMENDED TO REPLACE WOODS IN CAIRO

BY TODD HEFFERMAN
THE SOUTHERN
[Fri Jul 16 2004]

CARBONDALE -- It won't be official until Monday, but Cairo High School is expected to name a new athletic director and end 18 years of football under Ronnie Woods at its July school board meeting.

Cairo interim superintendent Dr. Sam Harbin said Bobby Mayberry would be recommended to the board Monday night as the new A.D. and former assistant football coach Robert Newell would be put up for a vote as the new leader of the Pilots.

Mayberry, a 911 dispatcher for Alexander County, would replace Larry Morris if he was approved.

Harbin said he didn't see any reason why either wouldn't make it through the votes Monday night.

"Bobby has been an assistant coach for five years, and the district thought he had paid his dues and would be the best candidate for the job," he said.

Mayberry, a Cairo graduate, has helped coach the football and boys basketball teams for the last several years. Reached via cell phone Friday evening, he had no comment.

Newell coaches Cairo's baseball team and was an assistant with Woods last season. Newell was unavailable for comment Friday night.

Cairo finished 1-8 last season as a member of the 10-team Black Diamond Conference, beating Elverado-Trico 44-34 in Week 5. The Pilots gave up a conference-worst 460 points and scored 94, second worst to Elverado-Trico's 84.

Woods, a full-time minister, wanted to get out of the lead chair before last season, but when the school struggled to find a replacement, came back for what he said would be one more season. He went 29-130 in 18 seasons and took the Pilots to their last winning season in 1990.

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com