HobbsDailyReport.com
VALDESE – Scott Lambert’s second tenure as head football coach at Draughn High has ended.
The move was first reported by HobbsDailyReport.com.
A Twitter post at Draughn athletics on Tuesday morning —https://twitter.com/Draughnsports/status/932762877454364672 – said: “Coach Scott Lambert has stepped down as head football coach — we appreciate the 9 years he dedicated to the program.”
LAMBERT
In a press release from the school later Tuesday, Lambert said: “It is with great diffculty that I step down from a position that has enabled me to interact with so many wonderful people, but I feel that this is the right time.
“I would like to thank all those that I have worked for and with over the years. Particularly, I would like to extend a debt of gratitude to all of the players and coaches that I have been privileged to spend time with.
“Being the head coach at Draughn has been the highlight of my career. More than anything, I hope that I made a difference.”
Lambert, 48, was the Wildcats’ head football coach when the school opened and coached their first five varsity football seasons, 2009 through 2013.
Draughn opened in 2008 and played only junior varsity football, with that team going 10-0.
Lambert returned for a second tenure in 2015 when Allen Wittenberg left after one season (2014) to become head coach at Hickory.
Lambert’s record in eight seasons as head varsity football coach at Draughn is 30-61.
The Wildcats finished 2-9 this season, beating Avery County and new Northwestern Foothills 2A foe Bunker Hill. They tied Bunker Hill and East Burke for fifth place.
Draughn went 5-6 overall and 3-5 to tie for fifth place in the South Mountain Athletic 2A when Lambert returned in 2015. The next season, they were 2-9 and 1-7 in the SMAC 2A-3A, finishing ninth.
The Wildcats went 21-37 during Lambert’s first tenure as their head coach, gaining their only two state playoff bids in 2011 and 2012.
The 2011 team finished 9-4, reaching the state 2A playoffs after a third place finish in the Catawba Valley Athletic 2A. That team beat Madison for the program’s first postseason win before being eliminated the next week at Lincolnton.
Draughn went 5-7 in 2012, falling in the opening round of the state 2A playoffs to Black Mountain Owen.
Lambert is a 1987 graduate of East Burke who was an assistant coach at Freedom in the early 1990s, and he coached at his alma mater as an assistant coach from 1995 through 2007.
In the press release, Draughn principal Karen Auton said: “Mr. Lambert is a charter member of Draughn High School and has designed a sustainable football program from the ground up.
“We appreciate his years of service to this school and the community, and we look forward to him continuing to serve students as a social studies teacher …”
Auton said the search for a new varsity head football coach will begin immediately.
“We hope to use input from all of our stakeholders in finding the right person to lead our student athletes and take the program to the next level.”
The change at Draughn means three of Burke County’s four schools have changed varsity head football coaches since 2016 and all four have had changes since 2014.
Mark Buffamoyer replaced Tom Brown for the 2017 season, Jim Bob Bryant replaced Brandon Allen at Freedom for the 2017 season, and Tom Eanes replaced Joe Glass at Patton in 2014.