Kurt Page, who last coached a high school football game in Tennessee 14 years ago, is virtually set to return to the Midstate sidelines after being appointed interim coach at Hillwood.
Page was originally hired last spring to serve as offensive coordinator under Taylor Burks at Hillwood after spending the last two seasons at Monsignor Donovan in Athens, Ga. Burks resigned Monday to join Oakland’s staff as linebackers coach.
“We’re not thinking or talking about the past,” Page said. “We’ve got a good summer plan. Coach Burks set up a good offseason for them, going back to January. We got five good (spring) practices in and a good intrasquad scrimmage. Now they’re getting into the weight room, getting their running in.”
The offensive-minded Page has incorporated Nashville’s new area code into Hillwood’s ‘pistol’ attack for the upcoming season.
“I went over the last part of May and did a week of spring practice, and the guys responded well to the offense,” he said. “We’ve got a new area code – 629 – and a new adventure. We want to run a six-second play, and be the first team to score 29 (points). We’re trying to get that installed and ingrained into their thinking.”
Hillwood went 1-19 in two seasons under Burks, after he spent three previous seasons as a Hilltoppers assistant under Bubba Spears.
“Oakland is one of the top 10 programs in the state,” Burks said. “I felt this would be a great opportunity for me moving forward in my professional career, to be a part of this program.”
A former standout quarterback at Father Ryan who went on to play at Vanderbilt, Page established the MonDon program two years ago and led it to an 8-3 finish in 2014 and a berth in the Georgia Independent Schools Association (GISA) state semifinals.
Prior to the move, he had spent five years as athletics director at Franklin Road Academy, after previous coaching and administrative roles at Randolph School in Huntsville and St. Thomas in Houston.
In 13 seasons at Battle Ground Academy (1989-1993) and Father Ryan (1994-2001), Page posted a 97-50 mark with a berth in the 1990 state finals and a 1997 state championship.
“I feel good about what I can bring to the table, and I think the players trust me,” he said. “I’ve started two new programs (Randolph and MonDon), and this is something similar – starting over. We’re just trying to instill good work habits and attention, and let all the other take care of itself.”
With his football program set to become 1 of 26 under a different coach when the season opens in 11 weeks, Hillwood principal Steve Chauncy admitted the timing of Burks’ resignation wasn’t optimal.
“Any time you have a change, it’s sudden, but especially this late in the year,” Chauncy said. “But people make decisions that are best for them. We were fortunate to be able to name coach Page in the interim, and we’ll see where we go with that. It will provide some continuity for the kids.
“We’re going to gauge the situation. We certainly anticipate that coach Page could handle it if called to do it through the season, so we don’t expect any problem there if need be.”
Though Hillwood had not enjoyed a great deal of success of late – the team’s last win came in Week 4 of the 2013 season, followed by a current losing streak of 15 games – Chauncy was and is optimistic about the program’s chances heading into this season. The Hilltoppers will be in Region 6-4A with Creek Wood, Kenwood, Lipscomb, Montgomery Central and Northwest this fall.
“Sometimes you have to establish enough athletes and enough momentum to turn a situation around,” he said. “I think the reclassification will be advantageous and hopefully make a tremendous difference for us.”
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