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Former BHS coach takes helm at Goshen

Friday, 14 March 2008

By SARAH CLARK

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GOSHEN — Nick Inabnitt has a rich coaching history when it comes to football at Blanchester High School. Now, he looks to add a new chapter to that story after being named the new head football coach of the Goshen Warriors.

Nick Inabnitt, former head football coach at Blanchester, is now the head football coach at Goshen High School.

“I am very excited about the new position. It has always been my goal to give back to the program that gave me opportunities,” said Inabnitt. “For me, it is a dream that has been fulfilled.”

Inabnitt is a 1990 graduate of Goshen. He then went on to play football at Ohio University before returning to the area. He coached eight years under George Rise at Blanchester before taking over as head coach in 2004. Rise — who currently is a member of the Goshen Board of Education and the principal at Blanchester High School — was Inabnitt’s first coach at Goshen.

In 2005, Inabnitt led the Wildcats to the Southern Buckeye Conference championship and to the state playoffs. In 2006, the ’Cats played a perfect regular season and advanced to the regional finals of the state playoffs finishing 12-1. Last year, Inabnitt was offered a position as assistant high school principal at Goshen where he then took over as defensive coordinator for the Warriors — also an SBC school — which claimed the 2007 league title (8-0) and advanced to the playoffs with a 9-1 regular season record.

Former GHS head coach Mark Slagle announced his resignation in February. But Slagle may not be completely clear of the sidelines yet and may stay on staff as the team’s offensive coordinator.

“I plan on keeping the same staff we had this past season. We have a seasoned staff that has playoff experience and has raised the bar for our program. Coach Slagle is a valuable member of our staff and his 25 years of coaching experience is priceless,” said Inabnitt. “It truly is an overwhelming feeling to coach for our alma mater — Coach Slagle graduated from Goshen in ’78 and myself in ’90 — and lead our program back to the glory days of Coach Rise.

“I fell very lucky to have have coached at Blanchester and will always cherish the people and players I have encountered. I will always feel part of the program and part of the Clinton County coaching fraternity. Hopefully, the old gridiron fans of Goshen and Blanchester will get to see a rivalry similar to that of Jack O’Rourke at Blanchester and George Rise at Goshen. It is awesome to be part of both programs.”