KING RESIGNS AS FOOTBALL COACH AT A-C VALLEY

FOXBURG – According to the on-line edition of the Clarion News, the A-C Valley School Board accepted the resignation of Don King as head varsity football coach at its Nov. 17 meeting.

Along with King’s resignation, the resignation of assistant coach Steve Spiker was also accepted, according to the Clarion News.

In two years at A-C Valley, King had a record of 1-17 with the lone win coming over Union this season.

King is the fourth A-C Valley head coach to leave the program since 1998.

Ed Conto resigned as both athletic director and head football coach following the 1998 season to take an assistant principal’s position at Karns City. Conto became the head football coach at Karns City in 2000.

Scott Austin coached the Falcons in 1999 before resigning for personal reasons. Ray Gilman replaced Austin and coached in 2000 and 2001 before King took over prior to the 2002 season.

Since nearly upsetting Clearfield in the District 9 Class AAA title game in 1999 (A-C Valley is really a Class A school being forced to play as a Class AAA school by the PIAA because of a co-op agreement with Cranberry) and then starting the 2000 season 3-0, A-C Valley has had a lot of trouble. In their last 33 games, the Falcons are 3-30 (.091) while being outscored 1,044-367 under both King and Gilman. In the process, A-C Valley lost what at the time was a District-9 leading 18 games in a row.

That is quite a turnaround for a program that went a combined 28-16 (.636) between 1996-1999 with appearances in the District 9 Class AAA title game in 1998 and 1999 and trips to the District 6-9 playoffs in 1996 and 1997.