On Wednesday, it was officially announced by Martin County that Hunter Jenks has been selected as the new head coach for their football team.

Jenks will take over for Mike Sartain, who stepped down in the previous season.

Before the start of the previous season, Martin County Schools combined the sports teams from its two high schools, Riverside and South Creek. Although the schools remain independent, the students now compete under the name Martin County. The football team practices and plays at Riverside High in Williamston. Sartain was brought on board prior to the merging of the athletic programs.

During the autumn season, Martin held its inaugural playoff game as a unified athletic organization. Asim McGill, the district’s athletic director and former head football coach at Riverside, assumed leadership of the team following Sartain’s departure in the fourth week. Martin ended the season with an overall record of 5-6. McGill played a significant part in choosing Jenks.

Jenks has been an important member of the Millbrook staff, serving as a key assistant. Since joining in 2021, the Wildcats have achieved a record of 33-7. During his tenure, Jenks fulfilled roles as both offensive and defensive coordinator for the team.

Jenks gained popularity for his role as head coach and athletic director at Clayton High School, where he achieved a 28-10 record over three seasons. However, he resigned from his position in August 2019 due to a probe into eligibility issues conducted by Johnston County Public Schools. The district ultimately found no evidence of wrongdoing in the football program.

In October 2022, Todd Sutton, the chairman of Johnston County Public Schools board, issued a public apology to Jenks for the difficulties he and his family faced during the investigation.

Jenks was the head coach at Vance County High School for the abbreviated 2021 spring season due to Covid.

Before coming to Clayton, Jenks served as the head football coach at South Johnston. Originally from Wake Forest and a graduate of Elon University, he has a total record of 42 wins and 25 losses as a head coach. He has also achieved two conference championships.

Source: highschoolot.com