When the Pierce County Bears return to the gridiron in the fall, they’ll have a new head coach for the first time in six years. Jason Strickland, who guided Fitzgerald High School to the state finals the past two seasons, takes over for Sean Pender, who left Bearville in January. Pender will be the new head coach at Brunswick High School.
Strickland’s Purple Hurricanes posted consecutive ledgers of 13-2 in 2015 and 2016. The ‘Canes fell short of a state championship this past season, losing to Benedictine in the Class AAA final. Two years ago, Pace Academy topped Fitzgerald for the title. In five seasons at FHS, Strickland’s teams never missed the playoffs and advanced to the Elite Eight four of those times. His team also won a region title in 2014. His record at Fitzgerald was 54-14-1.
Prior to Fitzgerald, Strickland served as head coach at Lamar County High School for four seasons. His teams were a combined 27-18 with playoff berths each of his last three seasons there. The Trojans also won a region title in 2013. Overall, Strickland’s teams have gone 81-32-1 including a playoff record of 16-8.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to be here,” Strickland said. “The big thing that brought us here was the vision of what the future was going to look like that was laid out before us by Mrs. Bennett and other members of the administration. You know, I think football is football. What you’re hoping for with any stop that you get to is that you’ve got great administrative support and great community support. And I don’t know that we’ve been anywhere where that has been stronger than what we’re seeing right here in Pierce County.”
Meanwhile, Pender leaves Bearville as the winningest coach in school history with a 54-18 mark. PCHS was the third head coaching stop for Pender, who came to PCHS from Crisp County in 2011. Prior to his arrival, PCHS won only two region titles in 30 seasons of existence, with the most recent coming in 1995. Pender’s teams subsequently captured back-to-back region titles in 2011 and 2012. The Bears also posted consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time, doing so in three straight seasons: 2012, 2013, and 2014. His teams earned postseason berths during all six years of Pender’s tenure, including two trips to the Elite Eight. With a 6-5 postseason record, he coached more playoff games and registered more playoff victories than any other coach in PCHS history.
Strickland, a noted proponent of the Wing-T, saw his Hurricanes average 42.1 points per game last season en route to their finals appearance. Historically, Pender favors a spread offense, and his Bears averaged 42.0 points per game on the way to an Elite Eight appearance.
Pender, who was previously named In the Game magazine’s (Southeast) Coach of the Year, takes over a BHS program that has experienced just one winning season during the past six years and averaged 28.4 points per game over the course of a 5-5 campaign in 2016.
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Written by: Pierce County High School
Photography by: Jennifer Carter Johnson
