Knoch makes football coaching change

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 | 6:30 PM

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Brandon Mowry will not be back as Knoch’s football coach.

The South Butler School District released a statement Tuesday announcing the move.

“At this time, we have made the decision to move in a new direction with our football program,” the statement read.“We feel it is in the best interest of our football program and student athletes to open the position and search for a new head football coach. We would like to thank Brandon Mowry for not only the work he has done these last three seasons as the head coach but also for his many years of service to Knoch football as an assistant coach.”

Mowry confirmed on a social media that the district will open his position.

“This brings a bittersweet close to three seasons as head coach and an additional 15 years as an assistant at Knoch,” Mowry said in a statement posted on the Knoch Football Facebook page.“I have had the opportunity to work with and coach some tremendous young men and have seen them go on to do some great things in life. This current group of Knights will be no different. I look forward to the things that they will do in seasons to come as well as beyond the halls of Knoch HS.”

Athletic director Kurt Reiser said the district is working through the process of posting the position so the search for the next coach can begin.

Mowry, a 2002 Knoch graduate who played as an offensive and defensive lineman under former Knights coach Mike King, was elevated to the head coaching position in January 2019, taking over for Frank Whalen, who resigned after two seasons at the helm.

Mowry’s three Knoch teams went a combined 8-19. The 2019 squad started 5-0 before finishing 6-4 and missing the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs on a conference tiebreaker.

Last year, the team went 0-7 in a season shortened to just Greater Allegheny Conference games by the covid pandemic.

This fall, Knoch compiled a 2-8 record. The Knights scored a 21-13 nonconference victory over Deer Lakes and also edged Indiana, 27-26, en route to a 1-6 mark in conference play.

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: Knoch