Yockey Proud To Take Helm As Newsome Head Football Coach

Above photo: Newsome junior Sean Dispenza at practice.

Photos Courtesy of C.J. Yockey

“This has been my goal, to be a head high school coach, since I was playing in high school,” said C.J. Yockey, who became the head coach of the Newsome High School football team in December.

He replaces 12-year head coach Ken Hiscock, who retired this year. Yockey is the son of a former college assistant football coach at the University of Toledo, and he also played high school football for Sylvania Northview High School in Ohio. “This has been a dream come true to become the head coach at Newsome, and hopefully we can build it into something great,” he said.

Yockey previously was the quarterbacks coach at Newsome before being elevated to head coach. For the three years prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Lennard High School. He has been a teacher at Newsome for eight years as well, teaching Algebra 2 Honors and Calculus.

The Wolves are returning six starters on offense and six on defense, including 4 offensive lineman: Calhoun Wolverton, Alec Torres, Kyle Hoerner and Matt Rainey. Other key returning starters include Sean Dispenza, who plays a hybrid fullback/tight end position, and running back, Issac Trammel.

There will be a quarterback battle in camp. Dylan King and Baylor Crews are both vying for the starting job. King was the team’s backup last season and played in the first two games when the starter was injured. Crews played strong safety last season and he has converted into a quarterback.

Yockey said that the most important thing that they will need to do is to take care of the football, limit their turnovers, and be able to hold teams to field goals and not give up touchdowns. The previous coaching staff ran a Wing-T offense, primarily keeping the ball on the ground. Yockey said that there will be similarities to the old offense, but they will enhance some other aspects as well, possibly running a hybrid system between a spread offense and a Wing-T offense.

The team started their offseason conditioning program on January 22, working out and playing 7-on-7 football. The spring football game is scheduled for May 17 at Durant High School. The opponent is not yet known, but Newsome, Durant, Brandon and Bloomingdale will all be participating.

Yockey has high expectations for his team next season and for the years to come. “Our goal next season is to win a district championship and we want to beat all of our rivals,” Yockey said.