Schofield, Great Falls football coach, resigns

Coaching the North squad in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl all-star game in December was a bit of a tease for Kenneth Schofield.

Schofield battled depth concerns at Great Falls throughout the 2015 season, until low numbers forced the Red Devils to forfeit their first round playoff game against McCormick. Coaching in the North-South game about a month later put Schofield’s situation at Great Falls in stark relief. This week he resigned as the Red Devils’ coach.

“Let’s just say that my concern with the number of kids at the school was the reason,” Schofield said Thursday afternoon. “When we came in as coaches every day, we discussed, ‘there is nobody else at our school that could be playing.’”

Schofield was Great Falls’ head man for 16 successful years. The Red Devils completed three straight regular seasons without a loss (2002 to 2004) and also reached the 1A state title game in 2007, falling to Blackville-Hilda in the final. Great Falls never won the big one, but Schofield reached the postseason all 16 years and had winning campaigns 12 times. He also was a Shrine Bowl assistant coach in 2011.

“It’s been a lot of fun going to the playoffs and representing your town,” he said.

While depth was almost always an underlying issue at Great Falls, the Red Devils churned out Div. I athletes and solid citizens alike.

“The most important things are the kids that come through the school,” said Schofield, who had four of his former players on his coaching staff this past season. “You know that they’re out there working and they’ve gone to college and they’ve been able to produce – and that’s currently happening every year for us – that’s the most important thing.”

The low numbers available at Great Falls weighed on Schofield and the football program the entire fall, but he didn’t pause to consider his future until the season ended. Schofield had concerns as Great Falls began to put together its 2016 schedule, and with the North-South experience fresh in his mind, he decided to let someone else try to breathe life into Red Devils football.

“You’re coaching kids that want to play and want to be there,” Schofield said about his experience in Myrtle Beach. “You’re not gonna have that anywhere you go in the state now. But you’ll have more to choose from different places, and we’re just a very small school. We know that and that’s not something that we’re running from.”

Schofield will still teach physical education at Great Falls and may coach somewhere else next season. The 54-year-old still has two more years before he can receive full retirement benefits.

“I don’t know where it’s gonna end up,” said Schofield. “I do hope that our kids put themselves in the weight room in the offseason, I hope that they build their enthusiasm for the new coach coming in and I hope the new coach has a sound program that he’s ready to run. I really hope the best for Great Falls.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Schofield, Great Falls football coach, resigns."