Bronchos move in new direction

A turbulent chapter in Broncho football was closed Monday night when the Central High school board elected not to offer any coaching duties for 2009-10 in executive session.

At stake was the coaching future of first-year head coach Stony Burt, whose tenure ends with a 2-8 record. The board voted to not offer the coaching job by a 4-1 margin, putting the school in the position of looking for a head coach for the second year in a row.

“There is no timetable to replace him,” Central High Superintendent Benny Newton said. “We will sit down, look at the program and set a procedure to put a new coach in place. We would like to put the best possible coach in that position.”

Burt took over for former head coach Keith Burton, who resigned to take the Empire head coaching position. Burton’s resignation came late, leaving Central High with little time to find a replacement. That will not be the case in this situation.

“We’ve got time to look at applicants and do all the work that needs to be done and we will work hard to get the best possible hire,” Newton said.

Newton expects the opening for head football coach to be posted in a timely manner.

In his only year at Central High, Burt led the team to a 2-8 record with wins over Macomb and Cyril. In its eight losses, the Bronchos lost by an average of over 40 points.

Burt’s status as head coach divided the community, which spoke for and against him at a February school board meeting.

Efforts to reach Burt for comment were unsuccessful.