Greg Johnson, a former Eagle, has come home to roost. He was hired at the regular session of the Watonga School Board Monday evening as the head football coach.
Johnson was a 1979 graduate of Watonga High School where he was a standout football player, earning all-state honors and named as a member of the Watonga Football Hall of Fame. He went on to play football at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, and after graduation became an assistant coach at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, not far from Guymon.
Later he coached at Tennessee Tech University then moved to Langston University where he started as the defensive coordinator. He became the head coach at Langston from 1990-97. Johnson has also coached at Prairie View A&M University and Middle Georgia State University, as well as serving Jacksonville State University as offensive coordinator.
He then returned to Langston University for seven more years where he had all conference winners and lead the team to all conference championships five times. Johnson is considered the all-time winningest coach at Langston.
But it wasn’t just Johnson who was given a lanyard and whistle.
Kirk Wilson has been hired as athletic director and transportation director. His wife is Amber Wilson who will serve as the principal at Watonga Elementary School next year.
Greg Adams was hired as head track coach. He was the athletic director at Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City. Prior to Capitol Hill, Adams was coaching football and track at Crooked Oak for eight years. He was also at Walters for eight years.
Dustin Beasly has been tapped as assistant football coach. He served as a line coach for 10 years at Cordell High School.
Cooper Cox – no relation to school board member Shawn Cox – will be the wrestling coach and Brandon Nyberg, who has been a coach at Seiling for decades, will join the coaching staff as well.
Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran was upfront about the legacy of longevity and great coaching he and the board are looking to build at Watonga.
“I am extremely excited to bring in multiple coaches with experience as head coaches and as athletic directors,” he said. “The board is super excited about the future and the coaching hires we’ve made so far.”
The board was notified at the meeting that work on the track will begin next week. The top layer of the entire track will be removed and two inches of asphalt underlayment installed. Then the new track surface will be applied on top of that.
There is also work going on at the old concession stand. It will be reroofed and the block walls painted. Plans are to use it to store hurdles and tackling dummies when not in use.
The Oklahoma state fire marshal’s office is set to inspect the new endzone facility this week and after that an open house will be held to show it off to the public. Lastly, the old weight room renovation is expected to be completed by the end of June, beginning the end of the $19 million bond projects and upgrades to the high school campus and sports facility.