Kiski Area hires Franklin Regional grad Haugh as football coach
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Wednesday, January 22, 2025 | 9:09 PM
Colyn Haugh remembers the tough, challenging games against Kiski Area during his days as a high school football player at Franklin Regional.
Now, the newly hired Cavaliers coach hopes to bring the same intensity and high-level ability and effort he saw in his one-time rival more than two decades ago.
Haugh, a college coach the past 17 years since graduating from Robert Morris, was brought on board Wednesday evening with a unanimous confirmation by Kiski Area School Board.
“There are a lot of emotions going through me right now,” said Haugh, who arrives at Kiski Area after most recently serving two years as the offensive line coach, run game coordinator and associate head coach at Edinboro.
“First and foremost, I am extremely excited. This is something that I always wanted to do and always felt I was ready to do. I finally have that opportunity. I am just really appreciative of the school board, (athletic director) Jake (Nulph) and the rest of the staff for believing in me.”
Haugh said he is ready to make Kiski Area a consistent winner.
“A lot has been going through my mind for a while,” said Haugh, who continued on as a lineman in college at Robert Morris before beginning his coaching career as an RMU graduate assistant for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
“I remember when this program (Kiski) was a dominant force in the WPIAL. It is something I want to help get it back to. There’s a lot of talent here. I am excited to work with the kids to make the program something the community can be proud of and where the kids are excited to come out Friday nights and perform and win football games.”
Haugh also coached at Division I St. Francis (Pa.) and Division III Westminster before arriving at Edinboro in March 2023.
Nulph, who was hired as Kiski Area athletic director in December after serving four years as Edinboro’s football coach, first met Haugh as teammates at RMU.
“We played together for two years, I coached him for two years and then we coached together at Robert Morris, St. Francis, and Westminster,” Nulph said. “Colyn was on my staff at Edinboro. I am beyond excited to hire him as the next head football coach at Kiski Area.
“He brings 17 years of college coaching experience at all levels. He’s been an offensive coordinator. He’s been a defensive coordinator. He’s been involved with special teams, and he was my associate head coach (at Edinboro). Now, he gets his chance to be the head coach. He deserves this opportunity, and I know he’ll do an amazing job.”
Haugh takes over the reins of the Cavaliers football program two months since Sam Albert stepped down after seven years as the coach. Albert decided to retire from coaching after nearly three decades of patrolling area sidelines.
Haugh said he is looking forward to meeting with the players as early as Thursday.
“I am fortunate because the guys that are here have been working out already, so they have a leg up,” Haugh said. “That tells me they are excited and champing at the bit to be great as well. I will probably be at lifting (Thursday) to see how they work and see which guys are ready to meet the challenge of being great every single day.”
Kiski Area finished the 2024 season 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the Class 5A Big East Conference. The Cavaliers missed out on a wild-card berth based on the determination of the WPIAL playoff committee, who selected the final at-large qualifiers to fill out the 5A bracket.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve joked with my buddies who I’ve worked with that I’ve done every aspect of being a head coach in different roles throughout my career, but this will be the first time doing them all together at the same time,” Haugh said.
“I am excited. I am prepared. I know I have to put together a quality staff, and there are a lot of guys who have reached out to me already. I just want to make sure I do the best I can to help put the best product on the field every Friday night for this community.”
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
Tags: Kiski Area
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