Forest City, North Carolina — East Rutherford has named Philip Ruth as its next head football coach. Russ currently serves as the Cavaliers’ athletic director and physical education teacher. East Rutherford is his 2A school playing in the Mountain Foothills 7 Conference. The league also includes Brevard, Chase, Hendersonville, Patton, Polk and RS Central. The previous head coach was Josh Wilson.
The Cavaliers have been struggling with numbers lately, but have seen improvements over last year. .
The Rutherford County team isn’t far from having a very successful season.In 2018, the Cavaliers won 10 games.
Russ graduated from Barnes High School in 2007, where he was an athlete in three sports. He continued playing football at Catawba College. Russ also holds master’s degrees from Western Carolina University and Gardner Webb University.
Here is the full statement sent to HighSchoolOT from East Rutherford:
“East Rutherford High School is proud to announce its next head football coach, Philip Ruth.
“I am extremely honored to be the next Head Football Coach of East Rutherford High School,” said Russ. East Rutherford is a prestigious high school built on tradition, with strong ties to the community, and our football program reflects the same excellence exhibited by teachers and students across campus. I look forward to continuing the process of rebuilding a strong culture with a blue-collar work ethic.My wife, Hannah, and I are proud to serve in this position representing all communities in eastern Rutherford County. I am very excited to be seated.
“This is home and it’s exactly where we wanted it to be. This job is a prayer answered and a dream come true because this place is really special. The people at this school are special. This community I want to be your head coach and I want to be a leader in Cavalier football and we need this whole community to come together and empower these young people with our programs We are Azuma and this is our team!
Coach Russ, who currently serves as Athletic Director and teaches physical education, is no stranger to the soccer gridiron. Born and raised in Cleveland County, he graduated from Barnes High School in 2007. During his time at Barnes High School, Coach Russ was very successful as an athlete in his three sports. After graduating from high school, he continued his teaching and football career at Catawba His College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education in 2011 with a minor in Secondary Education. He got his Project Management Certificate in 2018 Sports Management. Cochrath recently completed his second Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Gardner’s Webb College, NIAAA and he earned national certification as an Athletic Administrator from the NFHS. ”