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Moore forced out as Waynesburg’s football coach

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Russ Moore’s latest stint as the head football coach at Waynesburg High School has ended two weeks before the Raiders’ season concludes.

Moore said he was asked Saturday morning by two school officials to “resign, effective immediately.” The coach confirmed he has submitted a letter of resignation.

Moore’s departure came hours after Waynesburg lost 28-27 in double overtime Friday night at Bentworth. The loss dropped Waynesburg’s record to 1-6. The Raiders have two games remaining, a Class AAA Interstate Conference contest Friday at home against Derry (7-1) and a nonconference season finale Oct. 27 at South Side Beaver (2-6).

It is not clear who will coach the Raiders in the two remaining games.

Telephone calls to Waynesburg athletic director Justin Stephenson were not returned.

“I told my coaches to do what’s best for the kids. The kids always come first,” Moore said.

Moore admitted he wasn’t surprised that he was asked to resign.

“I saw it coming,” Moore said. “What can you say when you’ve been asked to resign? I knew it was coming, so why fight it when you know you’re not wanted?”

Waynesburg is one of the youngest teams in the WPIAL with only three seniors and four juniors. That’s hardly a recipe for success, especially at the Class AAA level, though the Raiders’ youth makes for optimism about the future of the program. The Raiders’ next head coach could be walking into a good situation with many returning starters.

“I’ve seen some kids grow up and get better,” Moore said. “Some of those seniors have missed games because of injuries, so we’ve basically been playing freshmen and sophomores. I like this team. It’s going to be a good team. I can’t find a team that has fought harder than this one. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I’d like to see this group succeed. I also would have liked to have been able to see some of that sunshine with them.”

Moore guided Waynesburg to a Class AAA playoff win in 1996. The Raiders won another postseason game in 1998 and defeated Washington in the 1999 Class AA championship game at Three Rivers Stadium before losing to Tyrone in the PIAA playoffs.

Only five months after winning the WPIAL title, Moore resigned and spent several years coaching at the high school and collegiate levels. He was the head coach at Ringgold for two years.

Moore was brought back to Waynesburg for a second stint as its head coach in 2012. The Raiders went 6-4 and made the Class AA playoffs in 2014, losing to South Fayette in the opening round. Waynesburg has gone 2-23 since then and seen its roster numbers drop.

Moore retired as Waynesburg’s football coach and athletic director after the 2015 season, but when a new coach could not be found he agreed to return to the sidelines.

“I guess you can’t go home again,” Moore quipped.

Moore’s coaching career began at his alma mater, Clay-Battelle in Blacksville, W.Va. He has coached nine playoff teams and has a career record of 96-122, including 52-57 at Waynesburg.

A Canonsburg resident, Moore said he would like to stay in coaching, though he will miss Waynesburg.

“Oh, yes, I want to coach. I love this game,” he said. “I hope to hook on somewhere. I felt comfortable at Waynesburg. There were only two places that I ever wanted to coach, Clay-Battelle and Waynesburg.”

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