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Milchovich resigns as Ringgold football coach

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The decision of Ringgold High School football coach Nick Milchovich had already been made.

Early Friday, prior to the Rams’ final game of the season, Milchovich told Ringgold athletic director Laura Grimm that this season would be his last.

Moments after Ringgold’s 55-34 loss to Trinity Friday night in a Big Nine Conference finale at Hiller Field, Milchovich announced that he was officially stepping down from the role of head coach to spend more time with his family.

“I’m just at a phase in my life where my son is six years old and getting into activities. My daughter is getting ready to go into high school,” Milchovich said. “Family is taking more of my time. It’s not fair to my players. They deserve someone better than me to devote the time to building a winning program.”

This season was the only one in Milchovich’s four years at Ringgold that the Rams failed to make the playoffs. They advanced to the WPIAL semifinals two years and the quarterfinals once.

“It’s something that I’ve thought about, even going back to the end of last year,” Milchovich said. “We came so close to making it to Heinz Field and that semifinal ending – a 38-17 loss to New Castle – was deflating. I also had a lot of turnover on my coaching staff coming into this year.”

Distractions headlined Milchovich’s final season at Ringgold, including two players who faced legal issues after allegedly assaulting a teammate and a teachers’ strike that had the Rams’ routine wrecked late in the season. Ringgold finished 3-6 and in seventh place in the Big Nine.

“There were a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “It was a rollercoaster. It seemed like every week something else would happen.”

Milchovich went 30-13 in four seasons at Ringgold. It was his third head coaching job at the varsity level with four-year stays at Charleroi (2003-06), Peters Township (2007-10). He began coaching as an assistant in 1994 and was the head coach at California (2000).

“My experience at Ringgold has been great,” Milchovich said.

“We’ve been on a great ride together. My players, through their hard work, have given me memories that will last a lifetime. I just physically can’t do it right now.”

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