LaRoi Johnson resigns as Sto-Rox football coach, athletic director
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Monday, December 13, 2021 | 8:22 PM
LaRoi Johnson (middle) reacts during a skills challenge at a 7-on-7 football tournament July 28, 2021, at Bethel Park.
Football coach LaRoi Johnson, who led Sto-Rox to the WPIAL finals twice in his four seasons, said he resigned Monday as coach and athletic director.
The Vikings went 37-9 under Johnson and finished as WPIAL runner-up in 2020 and ’19. The team went 12-1 this season and reached the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.
“It’s an opportunity to pursue other endeavors,” Johnson said. “That’s probably the best way to put it.”
Johnson said he’ll continue to work with district students as a drug and alcohol counselor for Three Rivers Youth.
Sto-Rox’s offense was one of the WPIAL’s highest-scoring over the past four seasons. The Vikings averaged at least 35 points per game, and this season scored 42.8 ppg, which ranked second-best in the WPIAL.
Johnson told with his players his plan last week.
“It’s always hard to walk away from a group of kids,” he said. “I love my kids. And I mean that. I love them. We had good man-to-man conversations and they understood where I was coming from.”
This was the first head coaching job for Johnson, a Peabody graduate. Johnson added the Sto-Rox athletic director title to his job as football coach before the 2020-21 school year.
Johnson said he hopes to coach again soon.
“That’s the goal,” he said. “As I get older, my family’s getting older, my son’s getting older, my daughter’s getting older. The goal is to be coaching, but to find something more stable for myself. We’ll see.”
I want to first say thank you to everyone who has been apart of the last four years. It was an honor to be your Head Coach the last 4 season's. To every student athlete I coached I thank you for all of your efforts. I will love you always and will be in your corner forever. pic.twitter.com/V2uIWzV2Dk
— Coach LaRoi Johnson LLC (@Chise89) December 14, 2021
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Sto-Rox
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