By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
EL DORADO - When the 2017 football season commences, it will be rather strange to attend a Junction City game and not see David Carpenter coaching on the sidelines.
Carpenter announced his retirement last week, and the process of naming his successor is in its early stages.
“We want to take plenty of time to interview and get to know whoever it’s going to be,” said Junction City School District superintendent Robby Lowe. “I think that we’ll have a quality pool to select from, including the people who are on our staff now. We’re just going to wade through it and find the best person.”
In its first season in the 3A ranks, Junction City finished with an 8-4 record, falling in the second round of the playoffs to Rivercrest, but whoever lands the position will have plenty of talent to work with.
“We have a good group of juniors this year, a good group of sophomores behind them and a good group of ninth-graders, so there’s definitely talent to work with,” Lowe said.
Carpenter’s decision to leave early in the school year also will give the Dragons plenty of time to make a decision.
“That was the idea of coach announcing it now,” Lowe said. “We can actively seek the person who will be the best for for the program. We’re not on a timetable. It’s one of those things that we’ll pare it down probably in late January to the candidates we want to interview and go from there.”
Lowe had plenty of praise for Carpenter and his accomplishments with the school.
“Junction City football certainly wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for him coming back in 1996,” Lowe said. “He and I coached together from 1996 to 2008, so I watched firsthand the impact he had on kids and the respect those kids had for him. He’s done a lot more than win football games.”
From a personal standpoint, Lowe said he will miss Carpenter being on the sidelines, but was greatly appreciative of the job he has done at Junction City.
“It’s bittersweet,” Lowe said. “I’m happy for him that he’s going to be able to spend more time with his family and not be tied down. I don’t know how many hours in a week it is, but it’s a bunch. From the perspective of being a fan of Junction City football, he has had an impressive run.”