RISON - Cleveland County School District Athletic Director Davy King said the district has interviewed five candidates for head football coach at Rison High School, but the committee overseeing the search is still evaluating the candidates and no timeline has been set as to when a decision will be reached.In March, King said 19 candidates applied for the job to replace former Coach Caleb Carmikle, who resigned at the end of March to become head football coach at his alma mater, Heber Springs High School. King said the pool of candidates included current head coaches as well as assistants from larger programs.King acknowledged the need to hire a coach soon in order to give that person enough time to meet with the assistant coaches, put together plans for spring football and make plans for the upcoming summer program.However, King said he and the committee wants to do their due diligence in making a selection. He said the district is currently conducting background checks on the finalists.The four-person search committee includes King athletic director, Rison High School Principal Letitia Walker, teacher Chris Power and Cleveland County School Board President Harrell Wilson.Brandon Godfrey, the defensive coordinator under Carmikle and former head coach at Mc-Crory, is overseeing the Wildcats’ offseason football program, King said.Whoever is selected must be approved by the Cleveland County School Board. The next board meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday, April 15, in the administration building at Rison.This is the second consecutive year that Rison has had to search for a new football coach. Clay Totty, who led the Wildcats for 25 years, resigned at the end of December 2022 to become the head coach at Class 5A Wynne....
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