Patton selects Freedom assistant as new head coach

Morganton native Chip Lewis isn’t usually the emotional type.

But when he learned his dream of being a high school football head coach would come in his home county – as the young Patton High program’s third coach – he couldn’t help himself.

Lewis, who turns 40 in September, was named Tuesday to replace Chris Deal, who resigned after one season to join the coaching staff of former Freedom head coach Tim McMahon as offensive coordinator at Emerald City High in Greenwood, S.C.

Lewis will be the first black head football coach for any of the four existing Burke County high schools.

“For about a 30 or 45-minute time period, I didn’t know whether to cry or run around the house or scream,” Lewis said. “My father was a middle school coach for 15 years and I had an uncle who was a coach for 30 years. So the range of emotions for being able to follow in their shoes, I can’t put it into words. It’s just amazing. We’re going to make the best of it.”

Lewis inherits a varsity program that went 6-6 last year and made the state 3A playoffs for the first time under Deal, a former head coach at Alexander Central who left Lexington (N.C.) High to lead Patton.

Patton opened in 2007 and played a junior varsity schedule, then went 3-8 and 4-7 in its first two varsity seasons under J.K. Adkins, who came there from South Iredell and left to become an assistant coach at Salisbury.

 “There have been a whole lot of people before me that were deserving but didn’t have the opportunity,” said Lewis of landing his new job, specifically mentioning John O’Neil, a former mentor of his at Oak Hill Junior High. “It’s an honor, but also at the same time, it gives me a responsibility that there’s certain things I have to maintain.

“(No one) could put more pressure on me than I put on myself. It is a tremendous honor, but football is football.”

Lewis graduated from Freedom in 1990 and played defensive back at Catawba College, where he was once named an honorable mention All-American.

Lewis coached secondary and later running backs at East Burke, where he was also was the junior varsity offensive coordinator at one point.

At Freedom, Lewis coached the secondary before moving to defensive coordinator-linebackers coach under head coach Mike Helms the past two seasons.

Patton athletic director Rich Linens said Lewis’ knowledge of the game lifted him above other candidates.

“I know he’s a great coach and have had the pleasure of coaching with him,” said Linens, who was at East Burke for four years with Lewis. “Now having watched our teams play against him, he certainly knows what he’s doing. He’s got great sideline presence and makes decisions quickly.

“In talking with him in the past, he knows what makes high school kids tick and how to get the most out of them. And he’s always had a great relationship with staff and teachers.”

Patton principal Debbie Kendall echoed Linens’ sentiments about the hire of Lewis.

“One thing I was very impressed with Coach Lewis about was he’s watched a lot of film on Patton,” she said. “He knows what we have; he knows what our personnel is. That was very important.

“He’s committed to Burke County. That was of prime worth to us. We wanted someone who would make a commitment to Patton High School. He has a true passion for student-athletes.”

Lewis indicated the 2011 Panthers would run a 4-4 base defense and an offense more similar to the flexbone Patton ran in 2009 than last year’s spread offense.

“We’re going to be a running team,” he said.

The Panthers coaching staff currently consists of returnees Jeff Davis, Rob Colley and Mike Harper. Chad Keller is also expected to return and several new assistants will be brought in.

Lewis coached football, JV girls basketball and track last year at Freedom and may coach more than one sport at Patton.

 “I’m here to help kids. Not necessarily to just coach football,” he said.

Record Sports Editor Chris Hobbs contributed to this article.