Rhoades accepts job at Hutchinson juco

Fort Scott Community College head football coach Rion Rhoades was expected to be introduced as the new head coach at Hutchinson Community College at a press conference this afternoon.

According to the online edition of the Hutchinson News, Fort Scott athletic director Bob Marshall said Wednesday evening he was aware that Rhoades would be accepting the job. The position came open when Craig Jerslid resigned his position in late October, following an 0-9 season, the first season without a victory in HCC history in any sport.

Rhoades came to Fort Scott last season after serving for two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Coffeyville Community College. The Greyhounds were coming off of consecutive 0-9 seasons, entering 2006 on a 22-game losing streak.

Although FSCC lost its first two games of this season, the Greyhounds went on to finish 7-5. It was Fort Scott's first winning season since 1992.

The Greyhounds finished the season ranked 12th in the final National Junior College Athletic Association Poll. When they appeared in the poll on October 31 after beating then-No. 10 Garden City, it was the first time Fort Scott had appeared in the national poll since 1999.

The Greyhounds finished their season with a loss to Texas runner-up Kilgore in the Heart of Texas Bowl at Copperas Cove, Texas, December 2. It was Fort Scott's first bowl game appearance since the 1999 season, when the 'Hounds lost to Blinn, Texas, in the Mineral Water Bowl at Excelsior Springs, Mo., to finish the season 5-5.

Rhoades played at Hutchinson as a linebacker and is still the third-leading tackler in school history with 268. The teams he played for there were a combined 14-9 and made consecutive appearances in the Valley of the Sun Bowl.

Hutchinson will have an 11-game losing streak going into the 2007 season. In Rhoades' only other head coaching job, at Leoti High School in 1999, he took over a team that had lost 21 games in a row. The Indians lost their first seven games of that season but rallied to win an improbable district title.

An attempt to reach Marshall for comment earlier this morning went to voice mail. But he did speak to Hutchinson News sports writer Brad Hallier Wednesday.

"You're getting an outstanding coach," Marshall told Hallier. "He's very organized, a tireless worker and a model citizen. He's really active in the community and with the church. His kids really conducted themselves well on campus, and he's a real disciplinarian. His teams will play hard and his defenses are great. He's about perfect, and we're incredibly upset about losing him, but we understand we're a stepping stone."