Chapel Hill High School announced last week that Ryan Horton will be the new head coach of the CHHS football team following coach Issac Marsh’s retirement after 26 years.
Horton has already worked as a part of the team’s coaching staff for 12 years, nine of which he served as the team’s offensive coordinator.
CHHS athletic director Lewis Newman was part of the search committee to find a new head coach. He said the committee interviewed many coaches, but that Horton stood out.
“Ryan has been a big part of our success here for a long time,” Newman said. “With that being said, he’s been on our coaching staff, he went to school here, he’s an alum and he’s in our Hall of Fame.”
Horton has been around football for most of his life. He played at CHHS, and then in college at UNC Pembroke as a quarterback — where he was the most valuable player in 2009 and set multiple passing records.
Newman said Horton has a unique way of bonding with the student-athletes.
“I’m very relationship-oriented,” Horton said. “You got to form those bonds, form those relationships with students, same thing with athletes, so that you know and they know you’re genuine and want them to do well.”
CHHS senior quarterback Joshua Kelley said he had been coached by Horton since he was a freshman. Kelley said he watched Horton coach his older brothers, which made the transition to a large program less intimidating.
During Kelley’s first year, CHHS was playing against Orange High School for a playoff position. Kelley’s older brother, the quarterback at the time, completed a few long passes to put the team in field goal range to win the game — and, all the while, Horton kept his composure, Kelley said.
