Cornelius school’s first coach

Published 12:09 am Saturday, February 7, 2009

Larry Cornelius, who in 2001 became the youngest head wrestling coach in Pennsylvania history, is the new football coach at North Murray High School in Chatsworth.

Cornelius, now 28, was one of nine coaches interviewed for the job at the school, which will begin classes in the fall. He was unanimously chosen by a three-person selection committee of North Murray athletic director Josh Lowe, assistant principal Keith Swilling and principal Maria Bradley.

“He got the job because he was the most qualified person for the job,” Lowe said. “He’s got the energy and enthusiasm to help create a healthy atmosphere over the next several years. There’s a lot of hype and buzz in the community about this new program and it’s an opportunity for Murray County to branch out and have something special and unique.”

Cornelius will also be the wrestling coach at North Murray, a school which has been aligned with Region 6-3A by the Georgia High School Association.

When Lowe took over Murray County’s football program prior to the 2007 season, Cornelius came to Chatsworth with him from Randolph-Clay in Cuthbert and served as the Indians’ offensive coordinator. In 2008, he was the Indians’ special teams coordinator and is currently an assistant for coach Chris Thornbury’s wrestling team.

Murray County lost the final football game of the 2005 season, 28-22 to Rockdale County in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs, and suffered back-to-back 0-10 seasons in 2006-07 while competing in Region 5-5A. Back in Class 4A in 2008, Murray broke a 21-game losing streak in the season opener by beating East Hall, 17-13, but lost its final nine games and did not win inside Region 7-4A.

Losing was new to Cornelius, and he’s hopeful of making North Murray a winner right away.

“I don’t accept losing,” said Cornelius, who was 21 years old when he became head wrestling coach at Cambridge Springs (Pa.) High School in 2001. The Cambridge Springs school system had dropped wrestling, but Cornelius revived the program entirely with underclassmen.

“If you have (losing) on your mind you’re headed toward a disaster. Since the fourth grade I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a losing season until the last two years. I’m not the type person that will put my head between my knees. I’ve been taught to work even harder to get those wins.”

Bagley Middle will be the feeder school for North Murray, which will have only freshmen and sophomores in 2009-10. Juniors are to be added in 2010-11 and seniors will come on board in 2011-12, Lowe said. The school will be housed in the old Bagley Middle School building, which currently is being used for Murray County High’s Ninth Grade Academy. The new facility on Mount Carmel Road is scheduled for completion in time for the 2010-11 school year.

Cornelius met with students at Bagley and the Ninth Grade Academy on Friday morning.

“They gave me a nice round of applause at Bagley and that surprised me a little bit,” he said, “I don’t know if they’ll applaud me once we get on the field because I’m pretty intense. I’m more familiar with the students at the Ninth Grade Academy, so that was a more relaxed atmosphere.

“But one of my strong attributes is the strong relationship I have with the student-athletes.”

North Murray’s schedule this season will be a mix of junior varsity and varsity games. One of those varsity games will be against Murray County on Oct. 29.

“I’ve already made a note of that,” Cornelius said. “That should be a healthy rivalry.”

Lowe said North Murray’s team mascot and school colors will be revealed in a ceremony at 2 p.m. on Feb. 12 at Bagley Middle.

One of Cornelius’ first objectives is to get a staff in place and he started that process Friday morning before leaving for Rome with the wrestling team for the two-day Area 7-4A traditional tournament. He expects to have a minimum of four assistants in the first season, although the exact number has not been determined.

“I’ve already been on the horn to different coaches,” Cornelius said. “Hopefully, within a week I’ll have the foundation set with those coaches.”

In his first three stops as an assistant football coach at Cambridge Springs, South Columbus High in Tabor City, N.C., and Randolph-Clay, Cornelius helped those teams post a combined 62-18 record.

Lowe said the selection committee received applications from across the state, but Cornelius, a graduate of Edinboro (Pa.) University, was confident about his chances to land the job.

“After my interview I felt pretty good,” he said. “There were some great in-house candidates and I’m excited about this opportunity. It’s a tall order to create a program but I have some experience in that regard.”

Lowe, hired as North Murray’s athletic director on Jan. 13, will turn a lot of his attention toward getting other coaches in place, but it could be hard to top Cornelius’ hire.

“He’s the first coach hired at North Murray,” Lowe said. “That’s unique, but I’m looking forward to naming the other coaches and building an overall great athletic program.”