Former DC Lodge hired as Seminole coach
Seminole High School has turned to a familiar face to lead its football program as defensive coordinator Eric Lodge was promoted to head coach in place of Don Stark late Wednesday afternoon.
Stark stepped down early this month after accepting the head football coaching position at North Paulding High School in Georgia.
“In this nationwide time of uncertainty, I want to bring some certainty to SHS and the Sanford community,” Seminole principal Jordan Rodriguez wrote in a tweet while announcing the hire.
Stark, who finished 40-6 at Seminole with three postseason trips over the past four seasons, was among the names Lodge thanked in a twitter post Wednesday. Others included Rodriguez and former Seminole head coach Kerry Wiggins, who also served as an assistant under Stark.
“And all of the assistant coaches that we’ve had over the past four years that have helped lay the foundation,” wrote Lodge, 30.
“Lastly, I would like [to recognize] the huge support that I received during this process from current and former players, parents, and colleagues. I can’t wait to get to work and take our program to the next level, on and off the field.”
Lodge, an Okeechobee native and UCF graduate, is the father of twin 9-year old daughters. He’s assisted Stark in a variety of capacities during the past decade, dating to their time coaching together at University High of Orlando.
“Working with Don, we’ve always done things together and I never felt like I needed to get out and do things myself,” Lodge said by phone Thursday morning. “I was always there to take things off of his plate, and now it’s all a little surreal to be in this position.”
Seminole High became the 14th school in the Orlando Sentinel coverage area — and the fourth in Seminole County — to fill a football head coaching vacancy in time for the spring season, which is scheduled to begin April 27. It is unclear whether spring football practices can proceed as planned because of the coronavirus pandemic.