Coach leaves Bulldogs

Bill Blankenship is one and done at Fayetteville. Blankenship, who guided Fayetteville to the Class 7A state championship in 2016, resigned from his position as football coach Wednesday after one season, it was announced in a news release issued by the school. Blankenship, 60, has accepted the head coaching position at Owasso High School in Oklahoma, according to the Tulsa World. "This past season has been a blessing for my wife, Angie, and for me. We were welcomed with open arms by the school, the faculty and the Fayetteville community," Blankenship said in the news release. "Everyone in the district ... made this seem like a destination job for us. "Over the holidays we became especially aware of how much we have missed being near our kids and grandkids. This decision to return to the Tulsa area was hard, but the right thing for our family." Fayetteville won a share of the 7A-West Conference championship, the school's first conference title since 2003. The Bulldogs finished the season with eight consecutive victories after a Week 4 loss to Bentonville, including a 53-19 victory against North Little Rock in the Class 7A state championship game in Little Rock. It was Fayetteville's fifth state championship since 2007. Blankenship was hired by Fayetteville on June 8 after the resignation in May of previous coach Daryl Patton, who at the time cited personal reasons for his departure. Patton later admitted to an improper affair. He completed his first season at Bauxite in 2016, going 0-10. Blankenship won state championships at Tulsa Union in 2002, 2004 and 20o5, and he coached four seasons at the University of Tulsa (2011-14). He inherited a Fayetteville team coming off a state championship in 2015. The Bulldogs didn't skip a beat with Blankenship at the helm. "Coach Blankenship's wealth of experience at the high school and collegiate level were the perfect fit for our program during a time of transition," Athletic Director Steve Janski said in the release. "His time here in Fayetteville benefited our students, district, and community." Owasso, which was 3-7 in 2016 under Bill Patterson, is Oklahoma's fourth-largest high school -- with an enrollment of 2,900 -- behind Broken Arrow, Jenks and Union. Fayetteville is now in the process of hiring a third head coach in the past nine months. Superintendent Matthew Wendt indicated in the news release that the search would begin immediately.

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COACH LEAVES BULLDOGS

VERNON TARVER

Arkansas Online | 1/5/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Shupe