Interim tags removed for Greenba

Last season's renaissance run to the Class 1A football state championship game was enough to convince Greenback School co-interim coaches Brent Kilpatrick and Greg Ryan to return another season.

They'll do it without the interim tag this time, though, as school principal Mike Casteel formally upgraded their status on Tuesday, announcing the duo would remain in charge of the program.

"It was a very easy decision to come back," said Kilpatrick, who handles administrative duties while Ryan focuses on coaching. "I know me and coach Ryan are both excited now that it's officially done. After the season we had, and the kids we have coming back, we definitely wanted to build this program and try to keep taking it where it needs to go."

Kilpatrick and Ryan were appointed as co-interim coaches following Dustin Lyles' abrupt resignation in July.

The move marked Kilpatrick's return atop the program after serving as head coach from 2006-08, and reunited him with Ryan, who was his offensive coordinator.

The program didn't flutter under their guidance.

Greenback (12-3) finished 6-0 in Region 2-A en route to a title, then finished as state runner-up after advancing to its first Class A state championship game since 1987.

"We're Greenback guys," Ryan said. "When he was a senior, I was a freshman. When he coached in '06, '07, '08, I was his offensive coordinator. There wasn't really a whole lot of talk about what was going to happen this year. It went without saying that we enjoyed this past season and we wanted to keep this going."

The cupboard won't be bare.

Greenback will lose nine seniors, none bigger than all-state linebacker Jaden Harris, but are expected to return fellow all-state selections Kayne Roberts (athlete) and Josh Silvey, a Mr. Football Lineman of the Year semifinalist.

"We like the players we have coming back," Kilpatrick said. "We'll have about 34 kids coming back, plus incoming freshmen."

Chris Thomas covers high school sports. Follow him at twitter.com/prepxtra.