UPDATE: Bunting set to lead Indians

When St. Stephens High’s varsity returns to the football field this fall, it will be under a new head coach.

Chris Bunting was named to succeed Fred Whalen at a Thursday afternoon press conference at the school.

Bunting, 31, came to St. Stephens in 2010 and was the team’s defensive coordinator last season.

Whalen, whose teams went 17-29 and to the state playoffs twice, decided to step down as the football coach after four seasons to pursue a master’s degree in administration. He will remain a science teacher at St. Stephens.

Bunting said he won’t make severe changes in what the Indians do on the football field, and the majority of the current football staff will be back. Scott Williams, Todd Cook, John Wernquist and Scottie Armstrong and Bunting were assistant coaches last season at St. Stephens.

“You won’t see any major changes in the coaching staff,” Bunting said. “We may switch a few responsibilities here and there with the assistants, but it will be predominately the same.”

St. Stephens returns a number of skill players from a 4-8 team that reached the state 3AA playoffs before losing in the first round at West 3AA champion Crest.

 “One thing you will see is a step up in intensity in our program,” Bunting said. “I’ve always been blessed to have a little bit of passion in everything that I do, and I think that will translate into the kids getting after it pretty well.”

Bunting is a graduate of West Montgomery High and Catawba College. He attended Catawba on an academic scholarship and played inside linebacker there before a shoulder injury ended his playing career.

Whalen made Bunting his defensive coordinator last season. Bunting had previously been a defensive coordinator at Patton, West Montgomery and North Stanly. He spent 18 months at Patton, four years at West Montgomery and three at North Stanly.

The change at St. Stephens came quickly. A press conference was called at the school about four hours before Bunting was introduced as the Indians’ 11^th head football coach since 1972.

Whalen notified St. Stephens Principal DeAnna Taylor before the Christmas break that he wanted to pursue a master’s degree. He applied at Appalachian State and, after being accepted, gave Taylor his official resignation on Tuesday.

“I love being at St. Stephens,” said Whalen. “It’s just a great place to be. Hopefully it will be a place that someday my kids will graduate from as well.

“I’ve been thinking for the last two or three years about going into administration and after coaching for 15 years, now just seemed like the time to do it.”

Whalen said Taylor asked him about coaching and pursuing a master’s degree. He has one master’s and needs one year of graduate school to land one in school administration.

Whalen said he felt coaching football and taking graduate school classes wouldn’t work.

“I just felt like that would be too much,” he said. “With night classes, football practice and Thursday and Friday night games, I wouldn’t be giving it my all to both. So I felt like stepping down was best.”

Said Taylor: “This was all Fred. I was surprised when he spoke to me prior to Christmas, but at the same time had to begin making preparations to possibly get a new coach.”

Whalen took over for Doug Justice just before the start of the 2008 season, after Justice left to become head football coach at North Henderson.

 “He stepped up when we needed him the most,” Taylor said of Whalen. “Doug Justice stepped down and we were staring at leaving for camp in the face and he really stepped up. By all means he will remain here as a teacher as long as he chooses.”

Whalen, who was instrumental in Bunting coming to St. Stephens, said he believes Bunting is the perfect choice to become the Indians’ next head coach.

Bunting will be the sixth head coach at St. Stephens since Dick Foster ended a nine-season run there in 1995. Those who followed Foster stayed two years (Gary Moore and Frank Snider), three years (John Jarman), five years (Justice) and four years (Whalen).

“I actually had spoken to Principal Taylor when Coach Justice was here about Chris Bunting,” Whalen said. “We were actually recruiting him pretty heavy to try to get him to St. Stephens but simply had no jobs available.

“Fortunately for us, when we were about two weeks into the 2010 season and a position opened up and I told Principal Taylor that we had the perfect guy for it.

“He came down and was hired during the season, but with the season in progress we kind of just started working his way in. He then became our defensive coordinator this past season.”

Whalen praised Bunting’s intensity level.

“His intensity is probably the best thing we could have gotten from him,” Whalen said. “Since he arrived our participation in workouts has doubled and that attitude and his work ethic have led him into the new position as head coach.”

Bunting serves as the Online Facilitator at St. Stephens.

“We’re going to support Fred’s decision and do what we can to help our school,” Taylor said. “At the same time, we are thrilled to have Coach Bunting.

“Sometimes you hear these horror stories about coaches getting fired or forced to resign and all that goes with it. But in this instance there was none of that.

“It was honestly a very natural process. As teachers go along their life’s journey, things happen and this one worked out beautifully and we appreciate all Coach Whalen has done and all that he will continue to do.”

Record Sports Editor Chris Hobbs contributed to this article.