By Malcolm Butler
Cedar Creek will turn to a familiar face as its next head football coach.
Former Creek assistant coach William Parkerson was introduced to the Cougar players Monday afternoon culminating a three week search following the resignation of Matt Middleton, who departed April 3 to join the staff at Harding University.
Cedar Creek Head of School Cindy Hampton said Parkerson was chosen from an impressive pool of candidates.
“We were very fortunate and grateful to receive interest from many qualified football coaches, and we can’t say enough how impressed we were with the quality of the candidate pool,” said Hampton. “During the interview process, Coach Parkerson revealed himself to be an excellent fit for our football program.”
Parkerson returns to the Ruston-based Class A program where he previously spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for the Cougars on Ben Haddox’s staff. During that stretch, the Cougars posted a record of 57-26 with six playoff appearances, including four quarterfinal appearances and semifinal runs in 2013 and 2016.
“It’s returning home,” said Parkerson. “This place became home during my seven years here. I am excited to be back.”
He served as both the program’s offensive coordinator (2017-18) and defensive coordinator (2011-2017). He also led the Creek track and field team during his time at the school, including to state runner-up finishes on the boys side twice.
Parkerson said he plans to return to his roots when it comes to X’s and O’s.
“The plan is to move back to the flex bone triple option,” said Parkerson, referring to what offense the Cougars ran during his time at Creek. “It’s what I know, and it’s what I believe in. I always thought the entire time I was (at Cedar Creek) that it fit the kids we had, year in and year out. You can tweak it if you have a special quarterback. But I always said that if you can’t fix it on Friday night, then don’t run it. That’s what I’m able to fix when things are going bad so that is what we will do.”
Haddox, who is a Creek alum and who served as the head football and baseball coach and the school’s AD before departing to enter the business world a few years ago, said he believes Parkerson will be a great fit for the school.
“Having the opportunity to work alongside Coach Parkerson was tremendous,” said Haddox. “His dedication to his craft is second to none and it challenged the coaches, and more importantly, the players to perform at their best. I feel confident that he will prepare our student athletes not just for the challenges they face on Friday Nights, but for the world that awaits them when their Cedar Creek careers are over. I could not be more excited to have him leading our Cedar Creek football program.”
Parkerson, who served as a student assistant for Jack Bicknell at Louisiana Tech while earning his bachelor’s degree from the University, was the head coach at Catholic Pointe Coupee in 2008. He also served as an assistant coach at Central Catholic (2009, 2010) prior to his seven seasons with the Cougars.
The 41-year-old comes from a football family. His father was the head coach at West Feliciana High School for more than a quarter of a century and he knows the importance of the coach-player relationship.
“Building that trust is crucial.” said Parkerson. “I will meet with the seniors quickly and tell them whatever happens five years from now, you guys laid the foundation. I will ask them to trust me and buy into everything we are doing. And in return I will invest in them and fight for them.”
Parkerson, who will begin May 1, said he plans to forgo spring practice due to the tight time-frame. Instead he will utilize the LHSAA rule and add an extra week on the front end of fall workouts. However, he will use the final few weeks of the current school year and summer to begin acclimating himself back to the school and program and learning the current roster.
“I look forward to meeting with everyone individually and getting to know them,” Parkerson said. “I will probably observe for a week to see how everything is going before we start implementing how our training will be. I want to watch them work for a week without ripping the band aid off.
“We will stress from the beginning that everything we do we want to be fast, physical and aggressive. That will be how we work out. How we practice. Everything we do will be geared towards being fast, physical and aggressive.”
Parkerson did confirm that both Mark Ware and Jacob Angevine would remain on the staff with their current positions, something that he and school officials feel is integral for the stability of the program.
“It is critical to for us to build long-term success and stability for our program and for our student athletes,” said Board of Director member Lance Hall. “We are so fortunate to have such strong coaches and leaders in Coach Ware and Coach Angevine on campus to invest in and lead these young men. We look forward to long-term success as Coach Parkerson leads this strong staff.”
